Design. Charity. Life.

The 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer shows the largest-ever gap between trust in business and government (since they began the study 14 years ago).

Globally, business has a 14-point trust advantage over government. In more than half from the 27 nations surveyed, business has a significant trust advantage:

In this complex environment, almost half of the public wants greater government regulation of business. This is especially true in less-trusted industries such as financial services, or in geographies that face scrutiny. Businesses now have not only the permission to engage on development regulation, but are expected to do so.

8 in 10 respondents believe business has a role in developing regulations. Edelman believes that businesses should support regulation in partnership with government and other key stakeholders such as NGOs, which are consistently the most trusted of all institutions.

But business still has work to do, as trust in the institution remains low. Just over half of our global respondents trust institution at all and some markets like the US, Singapore and Mexico experienced significant declines and trust me institution. There are four factors that shape trust in business, and within them some trends to observe:

Technology remains the most trusted industry, while financial services remains the least. Small medium and family owned enterprises tend to be more trusted than big business, and state-owned enterprises suffer from lack of trust globally.

We continue to see a crisis of trust in the leadership in business, with 1 in 5 people trusting a business leader to tell the truth, and CEOs having low credibility compared to other potential spokespeople.

In order to build trust, CEOs must embrace transparent communications and engage key stakeholders such as employees and NGOs. Protecting consumer data, respecting employee rights, and managing a responsible supply chain are 3 behaviors that will have a positive impact on public perceptions, improve the business’ integrity, and therefore build trust.

Trust has always driven action enable successful long-term relationships. Edelman says that now, trust and businesses must go one step further and create the contacts for positive widespread change.

For more statistics and reports, visit Edelman.com/Trust2014.

There is a growing wealth gap within the United States of America. But until you watch The One Percent, it’s challenging to understand how big the gap is.

If you’re wondering what this “One Percent” is, essentially it’s the wealthiest people in America. These few control a HUGE amount of the country’s wealth. The top 1% of households owned over 35% of all privately held wealth (as of 2010). Only 10% of the wealth in America is left to share between the bottom 80%. Many more stats can be found here.

But where do they get the money? The richest 1% earn roughly half their income from wages and salaries, a quarter from self-employment and business income, and the remainder from interest, dividends, capital gains and rent. (See more about this from The Economist).

This film, The One Percent, was actually made by heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune: 27-year-old Jamie Johnson.

Jamie explores the political, moral and emotional rationale that enables a tiny percentage of Americans – the one percent – to control nearly HALF the wealth of the entire United States.

It includes interviews with Nicole Buffett, Bill Gates Sr., Adnan Khashoggi, Milton Friedman, Robert Reich, Ralph Nader and others.

Before this film, Johnson made an Emmy-nominated HBO documentary called Born Rich.

The full 80-minute documentary, The One Percent, is available below.

Hockey fans and members of the press are always in search of the next opportunity to get a great shot of pro hockey stars. Sometimes it gets crazy.

So the NHL hosts pre-season media events in New York City, every year.

Interviews, head-shots, promos, all day. If you’re a photographer or videographer who likes hockey, this seems like heaven.

For the 2013 shoot, Dion Phaneuf and David Clarkson represented the Leafs, at this league-wide event.

The Leaf, a series sponsored by dying BlackBerry, covered the NHL Media Tour.

Watch it right here:

Now I’m not a fan of trends – it’s better to look ahead then at what’s already happening, in terms of creativity, design and innovation, of course.

Every creative wants to make something original that stands out, so according to iStock, knowing which visual themes and tools are trending (and then puing your own spin on them) is how to keep your work fresh.

From lense flares to wearable cameras, here are some of the top visual trends to look out for in 2014.

Infographic: 2014 Visual Trends

In 2012 the Bank of Nova Scotia (which we know as Scotiabank) bought ING Groep NV’s Canadian arm, ING Bank of Canada, for $1.9 Billion. The terms of the sale required that the bank’s name be changed, to distance it from the former parent company. The deadline for this name change was 18 months from the date of purchase. In November 2013, ING Bank of Canada announced that it is adopting the new name, Tangerine.

ING DIRECT has always been a progressive alternative in the banking industry. This unique new name reflects the simplified, innovative, and fair approach Tangerine takes to everyday banking.

Staying unique. Staying strong.

The bank strives to be unique in the Canadian banking industry. The long-term goal of Tangerine is to continue NOT charging unfair fees, to continue offering truly innovative products, and to continue its award-winning customer service — meeting the needs of today’s consumer.

Employees love working with this bank because of the creative working environment and positive culture. This is only going to be enhanced over time, as a key component of what keeps the bank strong and unique.

Tangerine helps ING DIRECT stay tied to its signature orange-coloured branding, unique in the industry. The bank aims to heavily maintain the colour through social media graphics and online video campaigns, and of course within the offices that currently integrate the colour scheme.

Going for growth, not drastic change.

As the bank has had great success and is viewed very positively among Canadians, the objective is to maintain that Tangerine is the ING DIRECT people know and love.

The change will help the bank grow, expand and build its own identity unique to Canada apart from the previous ING parent company. Through this change, Tangerine plans to expand its service offering, with help from Scotiabank’s infrastructure and resources.

Tangerine will operate separately and deliver excellent service through the existing ING DIRECT cafes and award winning call-centres, simple and transparent products, and great value to customers.

“All of the values embodied in that brand,
all of the things that customers and the staff
of ING have come to know and love, are still there.”
– Robin Hibberd, Executive VP, Canadian Retail Banking, Scotiabank

The Story of Tangerine

A solid video from ING Direct, Tangerine, Scotiabank, and the branding firm.

The big reveal.

The bank will continue to operate as ING DIRECT until the Spring of 2014.

However, the company firmly believes in transparency, and has chosen to reveal the new name well in advance, in the Fall of 2013.

Tangeine.ca has launched already. It serves as a transition site. For Services, visitors are automatically directed to the existing INGDirect.ca.

The brand launched to employees first. To inform employees and present the energy and excitement behind this change, the bank hosted a live event called #OrangeRally.