The organizers of the Canadian Media Directors Council’s (CMDC) spring conference say this year’s attendees will find a much different event this time around.
Organized under the theme “New Voices, More Choices,” the event has a new format compared to years past. Not only has it switched venues (it will now be held at Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox rather than the Metro Toronto Convention Centre), it is also now a two-day affair instead of just one.
The time was right to bring a major shift to the event, said Cathy Collier, CEO of OMD Canada and a CMDC board member. The media world has evolved over the event’s 30-plus year history. The team decided to recreate the event “and leapfrog it beyond where everybody else is to take a leadership role again.”
Commenting on the theme of this year’s conference, Collier said that, for years, media was considered to be siloed. Now there are so many options of what it can be, from PR to social, she said. At the same time, there are more people playing in this arena and having an influence, or “voices.”
A VIP networking dinner for advertising, marketing and media professionals will take place on April 23. The dinner will feature speaker Jonah Lehrer, the author of Imagine: How Creativity Works, who specializes in how science and the humanities intertwine. Lehrer spoke in Cannes last year and Collier said he’s an interesting speaker choice because he can address the need for closer integration between creativity and media.
The speakers, panel and breakout sessions – as well as a networking lunch – will happen on April 24. Speakers include:
• Conference keynote speaker Jack Myers, Media Advisory Group chairman and media economist
• Jeff Green, CEO of demand-side platform technology company The Trade Desk
• Craig Hutchison, a senior vice-president marketing and PR at Joe Fresh
The panel of the day is called “Who is leading the digital agenda?” Panelists include Jason Tafler, chief digital officer at Rogers Media; Steve Rubel, EVP/global strategy and insights at Edelman; and Dave Lafond, president at Proximity Canada.
As CMDC executive director Janet Callaghan pointed out in a release, consumers are redefining the marketing relationship by bringing their voice to the conversation and there’s so much choice available for them. “The big questions for communications professionals are how to best gain access to their target audiences and simply how to keep in step with the pace of change,” she said.
More information about the event can be found at the CMDC website.
