Zach Bussey » Living

Chivas 1801 Comes to Toronto! #ChivasTO

Zach — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:26:09 +0000

Increasingly over the last year or so, I’ve become a lot more interested in drinking. I mean, I always had the desire to drink, but either it would be something awful to get me drunk or it would just be a single drink with a meal. Now though, I find myself interested in drinking for taste, culture, experience and fun. I’ve found a nice balance between getting buzzed and enjoying the benefits of a good drink.

Chivas 1801, a popular Scotch, is hosting a series of tasting events in Toronto over the next weeks. These tasting events are being thrown in partnership with several partner industries in food, tech and fashion and they are all being geared towards men. Though, surely a scotch loving woman would be more than welcome to attend.

The events are all about the modern man… shaving tips, style, music, art, and food are all being paired with Chivas!

Sip, Shower and Shave @ Mankind on May 1st
Scotch and Style @ Gotstyle on May 9th
Listen Up! @ Bay Bloor Radio on May 16th
The Art of Scotch @ MJG Gallery on May 22nd
Butcher and Bartender @ The Healthy Butcher on May 29th
Then June 14th, Dragon’s Den’s Bruce Croxon, and guests like Wendel Clark will celebrate Chivas!

How do you get access to these events? Contact the partnering companies to get on the guest list, and for the June 14th event, you can sign up to be added to the guestlist here.

Not Myself Today… Well Lately…

Zach — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:30:59 +0000

My friends know that I have been all over the place lately, both emotionally and in my focus… personally I’ve been dealing with some stressful situations which have really been tough on me and shaken some of the confidence and motivation I normally have.

Fortunately for me, I’m pretty self aware and know when I need help and what I can’t handle on my own. I also recognize this in others, and try to help. But there is some mental illness in my family – mostly depression, anxiety attacks, bipolar disorders… so I’m also pretty familiar with the symptoms and issues surrounding it. As such, knowing where I am right now, I decided to seek out some therapy – something, quite frankly, I think all people could use. We all deal with so much, having someone to help you work through issues is a great thing.

With that said, did you know that nearly every person in Canada is touched in some way by mental health problems/illness?

There’s a stigma about mental illness though… one that we need to get rid of because we’re all affected by it! So on April 30th, you should join in to help make mental health a priority in Canada! If you’re in Toronto, come down to Yonge-Dundas Square and pin your mood to a huge art installation. It will be available from 6AM to 6PM!

You should also follow them online at @NMTCanada and make the pledge online!

So… how are you feeling today?

Actually I Like to Touch

Zach — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:47:24 +0000

Quick poll, how many people are expecting something R rated to come up in the rest of this poll? Pervs.

No, actually Keifer Sutherland likes to Touch… mainly on his new show coming out on March 22nd on Global. The show, called Touch, actually looks decent! I saw the opening teaser a couple weeks ago and thought it might be interesting. Jack Bau— Martin Bohm is a widower who learns that his son can predict events before they happen. Could be a good show!

Now, the reason I agreed to talk briefly about the show is because of a program that Global are running alongside to promote the show. They sent out phones to some folks across the country asking them to photograph something, someone or somewhere that has touched them today. Me, I’ve been touched by the weather recently as it’s been quite invigorating and makes me happy. Then I simply text that picture to 101010.

The result? 10 cents being donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation!

It’s very easy, takes virtually no time from your day and does some good! So I encourage everyone to join in and do the same… take a picture of something that’s touched you today and send it to 101010.

Titanic: Social Media and Rogers

Zach — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:56:08 +0000

Social media is a dangerous place for brands who have a history of abusing their customers and unless social media teams are doing ‘good’ things with social media, they are going to get a backlash from the social world. Why social media teams don’t understand this fact, I’ll never know… but they continue to throw themselves into the shark tank hoping everyone has forgotten the past.

Today, Rogers’ social media team decided to promote their new service with a sponsored trending topic. Almost immediately, the hashtag (perhaps bashtag) went wrong with people all over Canada tweeting how much they despise the company, telling horror stories of financial abuse, lack of customer service, general neglect and plenty of other difficulties had with the company. Hell, I jumped in on it because while I haven’t been a Rogers customer in years, I continue to receive their badgering phone calls and ‘mail’ to sign up for their horrible services.

The problem here is that the Rogers Social Media team are, quite frankly, the best thing that Rogers has to offer at the moment. I honestly don’t have anything negative to say about them and their attempts to help out their sinking community. Rogers as a company for years has been a horrible, horrible company to many people. Many have left for better companies providing real service and value like WINDmobile (cellphones) or Teksavvy (internet) – who, despite Rogers’ aggressive anti-competition bullying of the government, continue to grow their business with disgruntled Rogers’ customers.

While their social media team may not have known prior to their promotion the general sentiment of the Canadian public, surely they must know now the Titanic ship they are riding with. Social media gives a voice to the disgruntled, who for too long have been shut up, ignored and abused by Rogers “Customer Service”. As hard as their social media team may try over the coming years, their efforts will ultimately be wasted if the entire organization doesn’t start giving a damn about their customers.

Iceberg ahead… Do you finally clue in and turn the ship or just try to go through it?

Otherwise, if you’re planning to keep doing social strategies, make sure they are for good things – like Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign!

Read more about this: Globe & Mail, TechVibes, Toronto Star