Testimonials

TOURISM / TOURISM VANCOUVER:

“Tourism Vancouver’s successful brand concept has just a few parents, all of them brilliant, insightful and strategic – and key amongst them was Larry Donen. When it came together, his direction was true to the core: “Vancouver is a brand that consumes you, you don’t consumes it…” And so it became. That insight has been diligently built upon with his quest for “One City; One Brand,” and a lot of other good work.” We know he will be successful in his new venture, jamjar, because his passion for brands makes them stick.”

Rick Antonson
President & CEO
Tourism Vancouver

“I have served on the board of Directors for Tourism Vancouver on two terms over the past 4 years and in that time I have come to appreciate Larry's keen understanding of brand principles and his unique approach to brand stewardship. Larry and I have both been members of the marketing committee where he offers great guidance and direct experience in market messaging and communications.  I would highly recommend Larry if you are looking for a fresh approach in branding, communications and marketing of product or services.”

Ken Cretney
Board Member Tourism Vancouver
General Manager, Vancouver Convention CenterGeorffry Howes

“I worked closely with Larry while I was Chairman of Tourism Vancouver 2008/09 Larry was an excellent Board member and out of the box critical thinker. His unique approach to problem solving and positive attitude made for very productive debate. I would have no hesitation whatsoever recommending Larry to any future clients.”

Geoffrey Howes
Past Chair Tourism Vancouver
Director of Operations, Toseki Entertainment Ltd

“Larry is a clear no-nonsense professional that really takes the time to understand the needs and objectives of his clients. His work on the re-brand of Tourism Vancouver was brilliant.”

Howard Jang
Executive Director
Arts Club Theatre Company

“Larry is passionate about helping companies achieve their objectives. He listens well and offers timely advice. Larry is creative and solution-oriented. When he believes in your product or service, you have an advocate for life”

RETAIL & HOSPITALITY:

"On our journey to re-define and re-energize all of our store brands at Sterling Shoes Inc., we looked for a partner with retail experience, strategic and creative strengths, and a passion for the business.   A few minutes into my first meeting with Larry and I knew that JAMJAR Brands was the partner we were looking for.

Larry quickly became one of us and started to understand our business from the inside out, engaging in all levels of our organization.  With this understanding and focus he was instrumental in creating new brand frameworks for all our store brands and developing the foundation for an exciting new brand campaign.

Larry's passion and creativity was clearly demonstrated with his stewardship of our new Shoe Wear House concept, which we launched in the spring of 2011. This new SWH brand invites consumers to experience "fresh footwear finds for less".

On a personal note, Larry, Magda, Joanne and Nigel at JAMJAR Brands have been an absolute pleasure to work with and we look forward to more exciting developments as we continue to work together to evolve the Sterling Shoes brands."

Dave Alves
President and CEO
Sterling Shoes Inc.

"Larry Donen and I have worked together for over 10 years.  In that time, he has been a cherished mentor to me, and at the same time, I have been his client.  We first worked together at White Spot Restaurants where Larry was one of the originators of our brand transformation from a local burger spot to one of Canada’s top family/casual dining success stories.  

Larry’s leadership and vision for White Spot was clear and driven from the moment he arrived and without his input many of the critical components to the brands success would not have been realized.   His lead from behind style is contagious and supportive, he believes in branding from the inside out and he was instrumental in influencing change at White Spot. He was a Brand Steward.  Later, he focused his efforts on the creation of our second concept Triple O’s.  In conjunction with the Leadership team at White Spot, he successfully launched our first free-standing Triple O’s location a year prior to his appointment as President of Traction Creative.

I retained Larry’s group to help create and develop Triple O’s new brand and marketing direction.  Larry approach to marketing is distinct, he simply “get’s it” in a very short time, and then acts with passion and precision and that’s very reassuring.  

I would highly recommend working with Larry and his new company jamjar to anyone who desires to grow their market share and maximize brand equity."

Chiyoko Kakino
President, Dermal Laser Centres;
Former Vice President of Marketing,
White Spot Restaurants

“Larry Donen spearheaded our brand, Uptown, for the past 4 years, first when he was president of Traction Creative and later with his firm DCI Strategies as our brand steward for this ground breaking Morguard development.

Larry was instrumental in the branding of Uptown, from naming the project, to crafting the brand story and brand positioning.  His brand vision for the project completely aligned with our objectives, and his teams creativity and communications prowess delivered great brand messaging.  These results came through Larry’s drive, pride and passion for our brand, that he stewarded on Morguard behalf.  

I would be happy to work with Larry again, and plan to do so, and I would recommend Larry and his new firm jamjar to any organization the wants their brand to stick.”

Geoff Nagle
Director, Development, Western Canada
Morguard Investments

“The birth of the Baby’s World brand happened in 2000. Larry Donen was given the task to develop a retail concept into a longstanding, successful and distinctive brand. Baby’s World has grown into an industry leader for children’s furniture, equipment, clothing and accessories with over 6,000 items. Larry and his associates designed everything from the physical plant, website, logo, and every aspect of the brand’s connection points to ensure long-term success. With confidence, I would highly recommend jamjar and Larry Donen, the Chief Brand Steward.”

Scott Savage
Owner
Baby’s World

“Larry is an extremely creative individual who is very good at designing marketing programs to build brands and increase sales.”

Sultan Thiara
CFO – Deputy Chairman
Shato Organization – White Sport Restaurants

“Larry is a creative and visionary leader who can connect well at all levels of an organization to facilitate change in a positive and productive manner.”

Dick Vollet
Vice President
VANOC 2010

CONSUMER PRODUCTS / MANUFACTURING / AGRICULTURE:

“Larry and his team at Traction helped steer a new branding concept in retail grocery for our company from start to finish. We launched this new product brand with great success and his brand stewardship was invaluable. Larry led his team in a professional manner with excellent follow up and fresh recommendations along the way, going beyond our expectations” (October 7, 2009)

Brian Konar
Director of Marketing
Original Cakerie

“We have been very fortunate at Star Produce to have been able to work with Larry in the past and now again with his new company jamjar. From helping to refresh our company’s logo, website, presentations and image, to developing our complex packaging brand architecture, Larry has been able to provide the branding expertise to take ideas from concept to full implementation.”

Mike Reed
VP Marketing and Business Development
Star Produce Ltd.

SPORTS MARKETING / ATTRACTIONS / ENTERTAINMENT:

“When we set out to bring an NBA Franchise to Vancouver, we put together a dynamic team of executives to fulfill this dream. Larry Donen was instrumental in creating the brand identity, character and images of our new entry into the NBA family.  He worked directly with NBA Properties, and fostered our relationship with licensees throughout the market place. Larry orchestrated our international brand market launch at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, and developed our new team Jersey, uniforms and basketball court at General Motors Place.  As Vice President of Properties and Licensing and General Manager of our Winning Spirit Stores, Larry successfully stewarded all of Orca Bays brand properties, including the Vancouver Canucks, Grizzlies, Vancouver Voodoo and the Air Canada Championship.

Larry was originally hired to create and develop North West Sports Retail arm, which he named Winning Spirit, I would say that in it’s time Winning Spirit was the leader, in licensed product and sport memorabilia merchandising. Larry’s direction and knowledge of retail led the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Grizzlies to the top of the industry.

I would recommend Larry and his new firm jamjar to anyone looking to develop and activate their brand in the market place.”

Arthur Griffiths
Former Owner
Governor Vancouver Grizzlies,
Vancouver Canucks

“I have worked with Larry over the past three years in his capacity with DCI Strategies. Throughout this time, Larry has always been able to capture how an organization should use its brand identity as the driving force behind everything that organization does. I would strongly recommend Larry to any organization looking to create or recreate their brand to move their organization forward.”

Michael McDaniel
President and CEO
Pacific National Exhibition (PNE)

“What really resonated with us, about working with jamjar was the inclusiveness and transparent approach they take in working with the Client. Very refreshing and different from the traditional agency experience. Larry Donen was responsive to our needs while directing his team of creative collaborators that included Barbershop Films, Koko Productions and the Karo Group.  

Larry’s understands true brand stewardship, but mostly he is very open to idea generation and activation from all contributors including our marketing team and senior management at the PNE.  We would be pleased to work with jamjar again and we would highly endorse them to other organizations.”

Shelley Frost
Vice President Marketing
Pacific National Exhibition (PNE)