Seven Questions With Jillian Fleming Manager, Marketing & Business Development for the City of Waterloo

We are very excited to shine a client spotlight on Jillian Fleming. Jillian has been working very hard on Manulife signage for The City of Waterloo.From time to time the City has to replace existing signage, however this was a large scale sign replacement project. I had the pleasure of speaking with Jillian about all of the new Manulife signage, and learning more about this exciting new project.

Question One: Tell me a little bit about yourself! How long have you been with the company? What do you like to do outside of work?

I’ve been with the City of Waterloo since January 2007. During my time with the City, I’ve been in the following business units: Recreation Services, Economic Development, and Corporate Communications. My role includes marketing the recreation programs, services, and facilities, and bidding and securing large sporting events with a provincial, national, or international scope for the City of Waterloo. I also manage the sponsorship program and advertising sales for the recreation department. I thoroughly enjoy my work. It enables me to work on numerous projects with a variety of people, all with the overarching purpose to provide a high quality of life for the residents of the City of Waterloo through recreation. Outside of work I’m an active hockey mom, and enjoy working out and being outside.

Question Two: Explain the Manulife signage project.

We are fortunate to have Manulife as a long time community partner. They are a naming sponsor on a number of municipal facilities including recreation buildings, diamonds, trails and parks. Manulife Financial recently re-branded as Manulife and updated their logos. As a result of this re-brand, all signage related to their sponsorship with the City of Waterloo needed to be updated from Manulife Financial to Manulife and include the new logo. The project took quite some time, and in the end was successfully implemented.

Question Three: How were you involved with this project?

As the lead for corporate sponsorship in the recreation department, I was the main contact with Manulife and eventually with FASTSIGNS, to execute on the sign replacement program. I was responsible for ensuring the corporate sponsor (Manulife) was happy and informed, and the internal City departments were happy and informed (Parks, Corporate Communications, Recreation Services), that the production company (FASTSIGNS) had everything they need to get the job done and answer any of their questions.

Question Four: What are some of your highlights of the project so far?

The highlight of the sign replacement project would be the new sign on the Abe Erb Grist Mill. The current sign position posed significant challenges and required some creative solutions. Working with FASTSIGNS we were able to come up with a solution that met all interested parties needs (City of Waterloo Parks, City of Waterloo Marketing, Manulife, and FASTSIGNS). The result is an impressive looking sign that mixes traditional and modern elements.

Question Five: Were there any challenges? How did you overcome them?

Aside from the challenging sign position for Abe Erb Grist Mill, the weather in the spring also posed considerable challenges. It was an extremely wet and rainy spring which created challenges to getting to the actual sign locations and not damaging fields in the process. Working with the City of Waterloo Parks, FASTSIGNS, and their installer, and having consistent communication between all parties we were able to find a window that allowed for the install.

Questions Six: How did FASTSIGNS help you achieve your goals?

This project was big in scope with a number of different sign positions and styles, and materials (backlit, non-backlit, aluminum, plastic, marquee, directional, etc.). FASTSIGNS was able to help us navigate all of our questions for each particular sign including choice of material, installation timelines and requirements and provided us with consistent communication and a smooth process from start to finish. FASTSIGNS understood the complexity of dealing with a municipality, multiple internal teams, and an external corporate sponsor and their staff changes, and was patient throughout the entire process.

Question Seven: Is there anything else you want to tell our readers?

We invite you to enjoy anyone of the Manulife sponsored facilities within the City of Waterloo - Manulife Soccer and Sports Centre, Manulife Sportsplex at RIM Park, Abe Erb Grist Mill sponsored by Manulife, or the ball diamond at Bechtel Park sponsored by Manulife. Thank you to Manulife for their support.

If you would like to learn more about FASTSIGNS and everything we do please come and check out our homepage https://www.fastsigns.com/681-kitchener-waterloo-on.