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Le Quartier des spectacles: experiencing culture in all its effervescence

Le Quartier des spectacles: experiencing culture in all its effervescence

The Quartier des spectacles is the cultural heart of Montreal. Its one square kilometre is home to more than 80 cultural venues, including 30 performance spaces, 40 festivals and events, and 8 vibrant public places.

Upperkut was given the mandate to create and produce promotional videos aimed at promoting events for upcoming seasons.

“The challenge in this project consisted of presenting all the eclectic richness of the Quartier’s programming, while never losing sight of the inventiveness that animates our client. At Upperkut,  we use all the new technologies of communication and the arts to stimulate our creativity, so we’re proud to help Montreal expand its presence, not only in Quebec, but throughout the world,” notes Marc Hallé, the agency’s studio director, producer and co-director of the videos.

12 months a year and almost every hour of the day, both Montrealers and visitors flock to its festivals, events, performance spaces and public places. Dazzling and bold in a unique urban landscape, the Quartier des spectacles is a must-visit destination to experience culture in all its effervescence.

Mosaïcultures: a growing success

Mosaïcultures: a growing success

More than 10 years after making its debut on the international stage, Montreal once again welcomed Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal 2013 to the Botanical Garden. With a theme of “The giants of the horticultural world are a cut above”, the event surpassed all its objectives in attracting more than 1 million people and injecting $35.3 million into the Quebec economy.

Upperkut developed the graphic signature, the event tagline, the advertising campaign, (posters and print), the graphic platform, signage, promotional products, as well as the website and social media.

At the same time an international competition, an exhibition and a performance of the horticultural art, the event was a fantastic success and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Quebec. “By the end of the event on November 15, we had attracted 1,015, 666 visitors,” Lise Huneault, director of communications and marketing for MIM 2013 proudly reports.

Traditionally, horticultural exhibitions attract a certain public. In our communications we highlighted the grandiose nature of the competition, in order to appeal to a larger audience,” revealed Serge Leathead, Upperkut’s president. “What’s more, we provided a special place for Frédéric Back’s work, L’homme qui plantait des arbres, one of mosaïcultures’ leading lights. Furthermore, Marc Hallé, Upperkut’s studio director, had the pleasure of working with Mr. Back, a few months before the great artist passed away at age 89. “It was a privilege to discuss with him the process of ideation while preparing a work, whether it be for film or advertising,” recalls this creative maestro, pleased to have contributed, along with his team, to the success of an event of this stature.

The not-for-profit organization Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal was created in 1998 to put on the first edition of Mosaïcultures Internationales. Its mission is to promote horticulture as an expression of the values of the new millenium and a significant element in the urban landscape.

L’Office de consultation publique de Montréal

L’Office de consultation publique de Montréal

For several years, Upperkut has collaborated with the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OPCM) to develop communications campaigns for the various public consultations it was mandated to undertake.

Recently, the organization requested the agency to create a communications campaign to celebrate the OPCM’s 10th anniversary, and to disseminate it on different platforms. “We are proud to work with the OPCM, because not only does it allow us the opportunity to reflect collectively on crucial urban issues, but as well to stimulate democratic participation. A real privilege for an agency as socially conscious as ours is,” says Serge Leathead, Upperkut’s president.

Over the years, the agency has created communications campaigns regarding the future of Griffintown with the theme “Regards sur l’avenir”, about the future of Old Montreal with the theme ” Faire du neuf avec le Vieux” (Out of the Old, something new), and on the place of urban agriculture with the theme ” Montréal, un avenir à cultiver” (Montreal: cultivating the future). This campaigns have been deployed in printed material, ads, flyers, websites, videos and special events.

Created in 2002 by the city of Montreal, the OPCM is an independent organization charged with surveying the general public about questions of urbanism and land-use planning.