ThePathFindersforHumanRights

The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) plays a crucial role in promoting the welfare of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals With its relentless advocacy efforts and unwavering commitment to providing support services, NWAC has become an indispensable organization for Indigenous communities across the country. Through its strategic goals, objectives, and visionary leadership, NWAC is working tirelessly to create an inclusive world that embraces and honours the diversity and individuality of all Indigenous communities

If you’re someone who wants to join this NWAC in their mission to unite the world or learn more about their activities, then visit their website at https://nwac.ca/about-us.

Find motivation in the stories of successful Indigenous Canadian designers, artists, and business owners by subscribing to Indigenous Small Business Magazine The magazine comes out every other month and features in-depth interviews with successful entrepreneurs who have followed their ambitions against the odds Follow us on Twitter at @IndigenousSme for all the latest information

In our insightful interview with Keli Pollock, Creative Director of Daughter Creative, we discussed her role within the company and her thoughts on Daughter Creative's recent achievement of being ranked 66th on the Institute of Canadian Agencies Creative Power List for the first time. Keli highlighted the importance of creativity in today's corporate landscape and elaborated on the dynamic nature of the creative industry. She also shared how Daughter Creative has successfully adapted to evolving client needs and industry trends over the years Looking ahead, Keli offered her vision for the future of Daughter Creative and the strategies that will foster the company ' s growth and success in the years to come

Keli is a traditional art director by trade, but her skill set doesn’t begin and end with the stroke of a keyboard Born in Medicine Hat, Keli has spent most of her career working on some of Calgary’s biggest brands, including WestJet, TELUS, The Calgary Stampede, Shaw, TransAlta, Calgary Co-op, and Bow Valley College. Away from the screen is where Keli gets to truly embrace the craft. Pottery, photography, and most recently painting keep her inspired. Her resume features a who’s who of agencies and accolades to fill many a trophy case. Partnered with Stephanie, Keli is an active creative as well as a CD, concepts and developing work for Arts Commons, TransAlta, Calgary Co-op, and more Keli also has a strong background in photo and video production

When did you start your career? And what is your role as the Creative Director of Daughter Creative?

I started my career in 1992 As a Creative Director, my role is multi-faceted A lot of it is envisioning what a successful outcome looks like on any given project There are always many variables the client, budget and timeline my role is to get the best work possible produced Sometimes that means I’m designing, sometimes I’m just making sure the right people are in the right room, and sometimes it’s ensuring we have the right strategy in place or reading the clients’ needs It’s a combination of artistic vision and experience that allows me to steward teams to a successful outcome.

What do you have to say about Daughter Creative’s recent announcement that it has been ranked 66 on the Institute of Canadian Agencies Creative Power List for the first time?

We’re obviously thrilled; it’s an impressive list to be on One of the most exciting parts of this is the other Calgary agencies that are on the list with us (shoutout to Bamff in particular) There is so much incredible talent in Calgary, and seeing the new entrants on the list is indicative to me of the bright, creative future our city has in store Our city doesn’t have a reputation for being a creative hub, but it unequivocally is The more that reputation is cemented, the more our community thrives being on this list signals that

What role does creativity play in the current corporate environment? How are smaller firms, such as Daughter Creative, particularly situated to present creative solutions that larger firms might overlook?

Creativity is everything for brands right now and it doesnt matter if you ’ re a B2C or B2B The role of brand matters; the companies that see that and invest are the ones that will win the future We’re a small agency, but we ’ re a relatively large creative team with a very specific area of expertise For businesses that understand the outsized power of a brand and how it can supercharge growth, we ’ re a great fit we deliver work on par with the largest, most elite design firms without the layers of overhead to pay for

What is the evolving nature of the creative industry? How Daughter Creative has adapted to changing client needs and industry trends over the years?

Everything and nothing has changed, which is an opaque answer, but I’ll elaborate Brand is still about creating emotion and meaning That will never change, but the channels and the speed at which that emotion and meaning need to be conveyed have accelerated. The essential nature of what we do has not changed, but we ’ ve had to adapt and create more content more quickly

What do you think the Calgary creative scene is like? And how does Daughter Creative fit in with other illustrious firms like Bamff, Believeco, McCann, and Critical Mass?

We all have different areas of expertise, and we all know the types of clients our agencies are fit for Someone like Critical Mass isn’t set up to swing at a local brewery, where you can see Bamff just knock that out of the park No one but Critical Mass can serve the digital needs of blue-chip clients We’ve focused on branding and brand advertising, and that’s a niche we ’ ve excelled at For McCann, bigger corporate clients that need a high level of service are a great fit We could spend time seeing each other as the competition, but we think that’d be missing the point we need to work together to establish Calgary as the creative hub it already is.

What are the challenges of operating a small agency in a competitive market? How has Daughter Creative overcome these obstacles by prioritizing collaboration, relationship building, and exceptional client service?

We don’t see our clients as our clients It’s our clients’ clients that we need to connect with This comes back to having empathy for our ultimate audience It’s not about selling to the people across the boardroom table; it’s about delighting the people that keep our clients in business This is the heart of exceptional client service building alignment around a shared goal It’s not about liking each other, although we usually really love all of our clients; it’s about finding a shared definition of the problem and then being uncompromising as we work together to solve it

What does Daughter Creative's future have in store, and how will the company develop and flourish as an organization in the years to come?

The north star for the agency has not changed since its inception. We want to put great creativity out into the world on behalf of our clients We’re going to continue to strive for that while building the creative community around us We’re launching a non-profit later this year whose main mandate will be to support Calgary’s creative community

Indigenous Treaty Partners (ITP) is a new and innovative firm with a significant influence on the Canadian business scene In the spring of 2021, Indigenous Training Partners (ITP) was founded by Indigenous businesspeople Houston Barnaby and Corey Mattie to fill a need for a comprehensive but accessible Indigenous cultural awareness training program for the Board of Directors, Corporate Directors, Management, and General employees. Their training courses are adaptable and are conducted either virtually or physically.

FacilitatingReconciliationbyMeeting GroupsWhereTheyAre

ITP's Indigenous Treaty Partner Program is designed to meet individual businesses where they are in the journey of reconciliation and bring them to a point where they feel comfortable acting as an ally to their Indigenous neighbours ITP believes that mutual understanding is the bedrock of positive working relationships. The program shares knowledge and insight into what it means to be Indigenous in Canada and how businesses can be better allies

AssessingtheNeedsofEachOrganization

ITP works with each organization to assess their needs and ensure that their materials are geared towards the appropriate audience This is done through a written assessment and/or a phone call ITP offers various curriculum packages that cover topics such as history, business, and governance, to name a few Upon completion of the ITP course, organizations receive an ITP certificate.