West Queen West & “myStreet” The Perfect Partnership for the Times
by Rob Sysak, September 1, 2016
The City of Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America. Mexico, New York, Los Angeles & then Toronto; and yet what makes Toronto so special & so unique, is that Toronto it is still known as the “City of Neighbourhoods”. Toronto’s 82 Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) are at the heart of those neighbourhoods.
The West Queen West (WQW), the Art & Design District, the Creative Heart of Toronto is one of those neighbourhoods. WQW is the 2 kilometre stretch that runs along Queen Street West form Gladstone Avenue to Bathurst Avenue, and it members share the same philosophy; every day is a day to celebrate “Art & Culture”, all the while bringing commercial success to everyone in the neighbourhood.
So far, so good!
October 26th, 2011- “Neighbourhood of the Year” at the inaugural TABIA Awards
September 5th, 2014- Vogue International declares WQW the 2nd Coolest Neighbourhood in the World!
Global Street Style Report: Mapping Out the 15 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World
June 23rd, 2016- Cushman & Wakefield “Cool Streets Report” places WQW in the top 15 coolest retail streets in North America
August 3rd, 2016 – Huffington Post readers declare WQW is number one in the Country!
“Canadians Have Named The Coolest Communities In The Country”
BUT Times are changing fast; so how does WQW not only continue to succeed, but grow that success? The “Question” is being asked by all “Main Street Brick & Mortar Businesses”.
Answer; Small Business needs to start acting like Big Business, and through the use of digital technologies, Small Business can now do that at a reasonable cost!
What makes WQW so special is not only its amazing and creative members, its incredible shopping and dining; but all the stories in WQW! How to go about telling the WQW story?
- WQW has planted in all of our 75 planters, plants to attract pollinators. WQW joins the City of Toronto in becoming part of Bee City. What is Bee City? Why do we need pollinators?
- The fantastic block sized mural at Sanko, the laneway full of graffiti art, who are the artists?
- Nice shops at Bathurst and Queen, but what businesses are at Gladstone & Queen.
- Are there any Theatres in WQW? How about a dinner & Theatre special?
- WQW, for Nuit Blanche, will launch its “Outdoor Art & Artist Gallery”. 50 planters from Bathurst to Ossington will be covered in amazing art done by 12 amazing artists. Who are the artists? Why this art?
So many stories that need telling and questions that need answering; and that is where Hyllo’s “myStreet” and its “Location based Technologies” comes in.
Through the use of the “myStreet” app, WQW is now able to share its “stories” and give answers to those questions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Just like Big Business!
Through the app you can find out all about Bee City, what’s in the planters and why.
During Nuit Blanche, take a tour of the “Outdoor Art & Artist Gallery”, and discover the “stories” about the art and the artists. Watch a 1-minute video interview with each of the 12 artists! ALL thanks to the “myStreet” app.
The MyStreet app uses Hyllo’s online-to-offline analytics platform which combines online behaviours with offline behaviour to deliver highly relevant messages. The marriage of “big-data analytics”, “geo-fencing”, “beacons” and a whole lot more make the partnership between WQW and “myStreet” perfect for these times.
