By IAN ROSS
When Jeff Elgie co-founded Lucidia Studios in 2001, he admittedly had yet to fully grasp the future impact of the Internet as a commercial marketing technology.
What began as an IT support firm and a web development shop has morphed into a fully-integrated, and award-winning, marketing communications agency.
The firm, now certified as a Microsoft partner, has grown from three people to 25.
The company does a fair amount of work for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts worldwide, but they also build websites and member management systems for the Canadian Professional Golf Association and the American Federation of Musicians, the largest entertainment union in world.
The agency has won a bushel of national and international web, creative and marketing awards most recently for the northernontario.com eco-tourism web portal and the accompanying travellers' handbook.
The realization that they were not just in the web business, says Elgie, but in marketing and communications, was the beginning of the company's evolution.
Their breakthrough moment was working with Community First Credit Union, an institution going through a transformation of their own.
"That was one of the first clients that we really worked with from the ground up," says Elgie, designing the website, logo, ads, billboards and launching a new branding campaign.
"They really challenged us to deliver."
Elgie is one of four "client strategists" seeking out opportunities in their core niche areas of travel and tourism, health care, member associations, First Nations, government and financial services.
"Internationally we're active, responding to select proposals and clients. We have an idea of the type of clients we want to work with.
We don't do a lot of mass marketing."
Elgie is mum on future growth plans, but says a recently landed public sector contract will see more expansion in Ontario.
Last fall, Tourism Sault Ste. Marie's Explorer's Handbook, prepared by Lucidia, was selected first place by the Economic Developers Association of Canada for their 2007 Marketing Canada Awards.
They were also recognized with a 'Best in Show' selection for the interactive outdoors program in the 2007 W3 Awards announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts.
