It’s been another great year here at Bluetrain! From conquering challenges to reaching new milestones, we believe in celebrating our wins. Here’s a look back at where we’ve been and what we’ve accomplished over the past year that has made 2023 unforgettable.
Google Premier Partner
This year, we were thrilled to announce that we requalified as a Google Premier Partner!
What does this mean? We’re in the top 3% of Google Ads agencies across all of Canada. Bluetrain is one of the seven Alberta-based Google Premier Partners and one of the three based here in Edmonton!
We’re very proud of this accomplishment and owe a huge part of this success to our incredible ads team and their expert knowledge, training, and ability to execute and achieve results for clients.
GA4 Transition
In 2023, we proactively embraced the GA4 Transition (the new Google Analytics), a more significant change than most anticipated, which cemented our position in the region at the forefront of digital analytics.
We transitioned over 80 client domains to GA4 and corresponding dashboard reports. Not only did we execute this with precision and timeliness, but we also ensured that our clients were thoroughly acquainted with the upcoming alterations. All while maintaining the integrity of their vital analytical data throughout the process!
To exemplify our team’s dedication, we initiated our campaign an entire year in advance of Google’s deadline, setting a gold standard for preparedness and execution. This included educating the market proactively on this significant change with multiple blogs (article #1, article #2) and numerous social media posts.
Client Growth
With 40 new clients this year, we proved that strong client relationships are our specialty. We proudly serve as the trusted digital advisor for renowned brands spanning multiple regions, including distinguished names such as:
- EPCOR (US/Canada),
- UNHCR Canada (UN Refugee Agency),
- Campari Canada (Forty Creek Whiskey),
- Canadian Western Bank (CWB),
- Strathcona County,
- Edmonton Global, and many others!
Overall, the Bluetrain team truly cares about our clients, and we enjoy celebrating success throughout the year together. Case in point: we were honoured to celebrate the Chiropractic Association of Alberta’s big win at the IABC Capital Awards Gala for our joint “Why Wait to Feel Better” digital campaign along with our friends at Sticks and Stones.
Canada Learning Code Partnership
We firmly believe that the digital world should be accessible and representative of all voices, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Cue our three-year partnership with Canada Learning Code at the Champion level!
This partnership involves not just financial contributions but also substantial in-kind work, including SEO, Google advertising, and analytics. Furthermore, we’re developing an SEO course that will equip individuals with valuable skills to succeed in the digital landscape. This contribution underlines our dedication to leveling the playing field for marginalized groups in the digital realm.
Community Initiatives
Our team is proud to be active participants in our community. Our President and Founder, Bryan Smith, has taken on some impactful roles, serving on both the Alberta Municipal Services Corporation Board of Governors and the Board of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Edmonton. He is currently the Chair of the EO Accelerator program, where he doubled participation this year for small business owners. He further dedicates his time to the Edmonton Executives Association (EEA), of which Bluetrain is a proud 5-year member!
Our community involvement extends beyond our immediate sphere. We’ve sponsored and spoken at the Rocky Mountain Business Seminar, supporting students on their entrepreneurial journeys. Additionally, we sponsored and spoke at AIESEC’s National Leadership Development Conference, once again empowering the leaders of tomorrow.
Throughout the year, we’ve continued to share our expertise and insights through various speaking engagements, furthering our mission to foster knowledge and innovation within our community. Most recently, one of our social media specialists spoke at Strathcona County’s Small Business Week Conference about “Unlocking Social Media Success”.
Our commitment to community engagement, diversity, and inclusion remains steadfast. We’ve supported organizations like Bent Arrow (Traditional Healing Society) and actively participated in events such as Jandel Homes’ Stuff a House event. We were also proud to be a part of the incredible Giving Tuesday campaign where we matched all donations made that day up to $5000.
At Bluetrain, our dedication to community engagement and diversity is not just a slogan; it’s a way of life. We’re committed to making a meaningful difference, one partnership, one initiative, and one contribution at a time.
Team Development
Despite our compact size, Bluetrain has a profound impact on the promotion of diversity and inclusion within Canada’s digital landscape. Our forward-thinking remote-work policy, implemented even before the pandemic, has allowed us to harness local and non-local talent, bringing top experts from across Canada and beyond.
In addition to our core team based in Sherwood Park and the greater Edmonton area, we have team members situated in Calgary, British Columbia, and Europe. This year, Bryan was able to take a trip across the globe to visit Bucharest, Romania and meet two of our long-term remote employees, Andrei and Ciprian, for the first time! It may not happen very often, but it’s always great to have the opportunity to connect with our international colleagues face-to-face.
What’s more, we offer the flexibility for our team members to work remotely from locations of their choosing for extended periods. This demonstrates our commitment to enabling personal and professional growth. 20 different countries were explored by our team while working remotely this year, and that count is sure to grow in 2024. In fact, one of our managers already has plans to embark on a remarkable six-month adventure in the UK in the new year!
In our relentless pursuit of staying ahead in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, we have placed a strong emphasis on remaining at the forefront of emerging trends and platforms. To stay innovative in a fast-paced industry, we invest in our team. This year, in addition to countless webinars, we had the opportunity to send two of our senior SEO/Analytics leaders to MozCon in Seattle. Check out their conference behind-the-scenes as they learned the latest and greatest about where the digital landscape is moving!
Culture
We finished off the year on a connection high! To celebrate the Bluetrain team, we organized an epic Team Day where all team members from across Alberta and BC came together. Virtual buddies became pals in real life, and the team morale couldn’t have been higher.
Some of our time spent together involved group reflection and learning sessions about industry topics like AI. The rest of the time was all about team bonding, including a competitive pickleball tournament and a final dinner overlooking the river valley.
Our Core Passion, “Do Great Things With Great People,” reflects our people-first approach, which extends to clients, partners, and our internal staff. We share our appreciation for our team through our highly engaged Bluetrain Culture Club (aka social committee), which hosts monthly social events like virtual yoga, scavenger hunts, bowling, pickleball, and much more.
Wow, what a year it’s been! Thanks to our clients and partners for their support and loyalty this year, and cheers to more shared successes in 2024! We can’t wait to see what wins we will be celebrating next year.