ICON

Collaboration, connectivity and creativity make up the foundation upon which ICON Communications and Research Inc. has built its reputation. Add trust, technology and teamwork into the mix and you’ve got an international award-winning communications firm in Nova Scotia.

ICON, incorporated in 1996, is a branding agency based in Sydney, Cape Breton. The agency has two satellite offices—one in the rural town of Chéticamp, Nova Scotia, and another in southern Ontario. ICON offers strategic advice to clients nationwide. Their team is made up of experts in market research, management consulting, public relations, media placement, and design and creative services.

“We’ve been able to do this by using innovative technologies and really embracing the power of the internet,” says Terry Smith, president of ICON.

The agency could not do what it does today even 15 years ago. Thanks to webcams and teleconference technology, ICON employees can collaborate with distant clients and still live in the place they love. For example, the company has recently started working with a division of Johnson & Johnson in Toronto. Smith recalls when he asked the client why, when there are so many marketing agencies available in Toronto, did they choose a small 12-person firm from Cape Breton.

“They responded that they felt the work we provide is every bit as strong and effective as what they had previously received from a Toronto-based agency,” Smith recalls. “But they feel that we are an extension of their team, rather than an outside contractor.”

That feeling comes from ICON’s collaborative approach, he continues: “We’re excellent listeners and we are very good at ascertaining the root of a client’s needs, and then developing a solution to meet that need. I think our Nova Scotian roots—being down to earth and having an honest approach—are attributes that have developed and nurtured this in us.”

Those Nova Scotian roots have other advantages too, especially in the last six months as the company has started to break into the Ontario market. Smith says there have been numerous instances when he is dealing with a potential client and discovers they are originally from Nova Scotia or have family in the Maritimes. From the client’s point of view, that automatically changes the way they see ICON.

“They view us as someone they can trust. For us, this has been hugely beneficial. It really means something when you’re a company that comes from Nova Scotia.”

Motivated to help the local economy, ICON has attracted employees from New Brunswick and Ontario. It has also brought back former Cape Breton residents who had been working elsewhere. “We’re very proud to be able to provide that opportunity,” Smith says.

A large part of the company’s success lies in its employees, Smith says. He describes them as a true team, working together and supporting each other. “Whenever one person gets overloaded, there’s always someone to step in to help them out. They’re extremely creative and bright.”

Those attributes come in handy when facing the challenges inherent in working where they do, Smith says.

“There are no million dollar accounts in our small geographical base,” he admits. “But that has resulted in using our creativity and ingenuity to think about things a little differently. We’ve had cases where we’ve brought partners together to form a marketing cooperative rather than each one trying to do something on their own. It’s rolling up our sleeves, putting on our thinking caps and trying to come up with unique ways to create new opportunities. Maybe we have to work a little bit harder to make things happen, but that gives us unique skills that are very important and beneficial.”

The ICON team treasures the sense of community they get from working and living in Nova Scotia. “As a company that’s in the creative business, I would say it’s very important to us. The inspiration we receive from our beautiful surroundings is a big part of the final results for our clients.”

Smith lives in Glace Bay, and says he’ll often go walking along the ocean cliffs to rejuvenate and clear his mind. And ICON’s office in downtown Sydney affords a view of Sydney Harbour. Just downstairs is a vibrant, locally owned coffee shop that Smith describes as a hive of community activity.

“This amazing place where we live is one of the inputs, in economic speak, in the product that we deliver at the end of the day,” he says.

And the list of deliverables from ICON is impressive. It includes helping to shape the brand of the Celtic Colours International Festival, managing the 50th anniversary of the Canso Causeway, and working with clients like Cape Breton University, Signature Attractions of Atlantic Canada and Laurentian Energy Corporation. This small team’s dedication, determination and inspiration won them a 2007 Summit Creative Award in recognition of a campaign developed for Cape Breton University’s Annual Art Gallery Gala.

True to their Nova Scotian roots, ICON staff members remain committed to the community around them. ICON sponsors many events, such as Lobsterpalooza and the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Women’s Soccer Championships at Cape Breton University. To mark the company’s 10th anniversary, ICON started up a charitable program of its own called Hugs for Haitian Kids.

“We’ve been involved in raising funds for Haitian refugee children in the Dominican Republic to build them a school,” Smith explains. Funds come from ICON employee salary deductions; tapping into contacts, friends, family, clients and suppliers; and holding events such as concerts and auctions. Over $20,000 has been raised so far, and the first floor of the school is complete. When the second floor is finished, between 300 and 400 Haitian children will be able to attend the school.

“We’re here for one purpose: to serve the needs of our clients,” Smith says. “But we’re all just people on this journey. We may as well have fun and make the best of it, and create a lasting legacy.”

A lasting legacy, fit for a true Nova Scotian ICON.

Feature story written by Tara Lee Wittchen