White Spot Wins Prestigious BCAMA "Marketer of the Year" Award

    Legendary restaurant receives top honour for brand revitalization

    VANCOUVER, Aug. 29 /CNW/ - The BC Chapter of the American Marketing
Association (BCAMA) has named White Spot winner of the coveted "Marketer of
the Year" award for 2007. The legendary restaurant chain is being recognized
for successfully revitalizing its 80-year-old brand and turning it into a
contemporary market leader.
    "Marketer of the Year"-the BCAMA's prestigious honour-is presented
annually for the most outstanding integrated marketing strategy in the
province. White Spot was unanimously selected for its strategic approach to
gaining market share and attracting a new, younger "core" market, while at the
same time preserving the essence of the brand that has made the restaurant so
popular for so long.
    "The BCAMA is proud to be honouring White Spot with the 2007 Marketer of
the Year Award. It was a unanimous decision to recognize the tremendous work
White Spot has accomplished in successfully rebranding themselves. Through
their "Fresh Thinking. Fresh Cooking." campaign, they have strategically
increased store sales and customer visits, while strengthening their
heritage-type brand. We are excited to be working with White Spot and look
forward to sharing in their celebration as this year's annual Marketer of the
Year," says Evangeline Englezos, past president and chair of the MOY Judging
Committee.
    Chiyoko Kakino, White Spot Vice President of Marketing and Menu
Development says, "It is a wonderful acknowledgement to win this award. We
have worked very hard and are extremely proud of our efforts to take the White
Spot brand to a new and much higher level. Every aspect of the organization
has been committed to delivering on the marketing promise."
    White Spot's dramatic changes to re-energize, reposition and re-establish
its brand started six years ago with restaurant renovations, menu updates and
a renewed focus on guest experience. To better reflect these changes, White
Spot worked with agencies of record Wasserman + Partners Advertising and
Traction Creative Communications to launch a new brand identity and shortly
thereafter an aggressive province-wide marketing and public relations campaign
that communicated White Spot's new image and improved guest experience. The
campaign, which included television, radio, newspaper and integrated in-store
point-of-sale materials, was unique in its approach because it focused on the
"heart of the house"-the kitchen-and used renowned local Chefs as credible
third party endorsers.
    "As a result of this campaign, people's perception of White Spot has
changed. They now see White Spot as a contemporary restaurant that offers
fresh, high quality dishes. In addition, top of mind, unaided awareness and
our frequency of visitation have increased substantially. Overall, it is
impressive to see the increased pride and momentum that has developed in each
restaurant to support our `Passion For Food' messaging," adds Kakino.
    The BCAMA will present the award to White Spot at the 37th Annual
Marketer of the Year Gala at the Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina on
September 26, 2007. For event details and ticket information please visit
www.bcama.com.

    About BCAMA

    The BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association (www.bcama.com) has
been the province's leading marketing source since 1955. With approximately
500 members, the BCAMA is a non-profit association made possible by a
dedicated team of volunteers including Board Members, Committee Members and
Sponsors. As one of the most highly regarded chapters in North America, BCAMA
was awarded with the prestigious international "Chapter of the Year" in 1995,
1996, "Chapter of Excellence" in 1997, and special merits in both 2004 and
2006.

    About White Spot

    Headquartered in Vancouver, White Spot is a BC legend. Founded in 1928
when Nat Bailey launched Canada's first drive-in restaurant at Granville and
67th, the 80-year-old restaurant chain now sees more than 17 million guests -
almost half the population of Canada - dine each year at 104 White Spot and
Triple O's locations throughout BC and Alberta. Bailey's original vision was
to build a restaurant that served the highest quality, unique tasting food. He
knew that in order to keep his guests happy, he would have to serve his great
food in clean and comfortable surroundings. So, he committed to having the
cleanest spot in town. He was so committed, in fact, that he named his
restaurant "White Spot" where "White" represented spotlessly clean. Today,
White Spot continues Nat Bailey's philosophy of providing guests with high
quality food, cleanliness and friendly service.

For further information:

For further information: Joanne Unsworth, Director of Public Relations,
Traction Creative Communications, t. (604) 408-7040 x 125,
junsworth@tractioncreative.com; Heather Phillips, Director, Communications,
BCAMA, t: (604) 928-4358, heatherphillips@telus.net