MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Aug. 30, 2010) - As Brother André's canonization, to be held on October 17, draws ever closer, the mood at Saint Joseph's Oratory is one of celebration. The Oratory's team will invite all visitors hailing from Québec, Canada, the United States and beyond to join the numerous celebrations highlighting this unique event.
"Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal seeks to welcome a large number of visitors and pilgrims to the unifying and historical event that is Brother André's canonization. In order to promote our festivities program, created in collaboration with the Montréal and Saint-Hyacinthe dioceses, we created a large-scale, integrated communication and advertisement campaign, for which we were able to count on the generous involvement of several partners, such as Tourism Montréal," explains Luce Dion, Director, Communications and Publications Office, Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount-Royal.
This integrated communication and advertisement campaign aims to underscore Brother André's exceptional heritage and promote the activities program. Indeed, the program schedule for the weekend of October 16-17 will culminate with the live broadcast of the Rite of Canonization of Blessed Brother André, held at Saint Peter's Square in Rome, on a giant screen at Saint Joseph's Oratory, as well as throughout Canada and the world via Internet, in collaboration with the Sel et Lumière network. On Saturday, October 30, a great celebration will be hosted at Montréal's Olympic Stadium, which over 35,000 participants are expected to attend.
Public Relations Campaign
The Communications and Publications Office of Saint Joseph's Oratory and Massy-Forget Public Relations collaborated through the various phases leading to Brother André's canonization. In December 2009, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI recognized a miraculous healing act through Blessed Brother André's intercession. On February 19, 2010, the Pope announced the official date of Brother André's canonization, which was underscored by a press conference at Saint Joseph's Oratory's Basilica.
The team has since spearheaded a series of initiatives, including the development and launch of a local celebration schedule (May), as well as the Month of Brother André and several special publications (August). In order to better meet the needs of Web surfers, a new website was created and rolled out. Furthermore, thanks to the City of Montréal's generous collaboration, streamers will be posted as of September 23.
The Communications team will manage the numerous local, regional and international media requests that will arise regarding the celebrations at both Saint Joseph's Oratory and the Olympic Stadium. Public relations activities reached their cruising speed as of last spring. Furthermore, members of the Oratory's Communications and Publications Office and the Montréal diocese will attend the rite in Rome, feeding fresh information through various social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Lastly, the services New York-based public relations firm Lou Hammond & Associates were retained in order to organize a media relations operation aimed at major US religious media sources, as well as regional media centers in the American Northwest, during the next two months.
Ad Campaign
Created by Ogilvy Montréal under the theme "Brother André, a Friend, a Brother, a Saint" the ad campaign will share the joy and pride inspired by Brother André's canonization, and enable people to discover or rediscover this humble man.
Besides rolling out a moving campaign across television and radio stations, posters and signs, as well as certain specialty magazines, the firm will share news about the canonization event through various social media networks, starting early September; a world first. Web surfers across the globe will be invited to witness this historical event by climbing virtual steps.
The generous contribution of the firm's media and production partners was invaluable and bears a special mention.
| Client – Saint Joseph's Oratory |
| Luce Dion, Danielle Decelles, |
| Collaborators: Annick Robert, Nathalie Dumas, Marie Trudel, Richard Morin, Claude Grou and Pierre Dufour |
| Associated Partners: Lucie Martineau and Richard St-Louis, Communications Office, Montréal diocese. |
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| Public Relations – Massy-Forget Public Relations |
| Project Manager: Elaine Mayrand |
| Coordinator: Claudia Martin |
| Consultant: Mylène Forget |
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| Advertisement – Ogilvy Montréal |
| Creative Director: Martin Gosselin, Normand Miron |
| Designers: François Vaillancourt, Luc Dupéré, Bernardo Andrada, Bob Lachapelle, Frédéric Demers |
| Consulting Service: Linda Perez, Hugues Gendron, Sophie Massé |
| Project Manager: Daniel Martel |
| Media Planners: David Tremblay, Danuta Boehler |
| Technical Director: Valentin Backofen |
| Programmers: Omar Al Faleh, Thomas Henocque |
| Print Production: Studio 333 |
| Electronic Production: Miryam Champagne |
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| Production House: 401 |
| Director/Director of Photography: Nicolas Bolduc |
| Producer: Marie-Claude Langlois |
| Image Integration: Fly Musique, Éric Bolduc |
| Narrator: Maxim Roy |
| Sound: Audio Z |
Celebrating Together at the Stadium on October 30!
A huge crowd is expected to attend the great celebration at the Olympic Stadium at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30. During this important event, seat reservations will be required for a nominal fee of five dollars (5 $). Tickets are currently available online via Admission, at www.admission.com, or by phone, at 514 790-1245 or 1 800 361-4595 (toll free), as well as the Olympic Stadium's ticket office, located at 4545, avenue Pierre-De-Coubertin, Montréal.
Accreditation: media representatives seeking to attend the event held at the Olympic Stadium on October 30, 2010 must secure prior accreditation by contacting Elaine Mayrand, at 514 842-2455, ext. 24, or at emayrand@mfrp.com.
All scheduling details regarding the canonization's celebrations are available online at www.saint-joseph.org.
Photos available upon request and in the Media section of Saint Joseph's Oratory's website.