CMA Word of Mouth Marketing Conference Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Jackie Huba
Since 2001, Jackie Huba has been researching the effects of word of mouth on customer loyalty. Forbes calls her work in this field "the word of mouth gospel."
Huba is the co-author of two books: "Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force," and "Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message." The New York Times called "Creating Customer Evangelists" "the new mantra for entrepreneurial success." She is also the co-author of the Church of the Customer blog.
Since 2003, "Creating Customer Evangelists" has grown into a worldwide phenomenon; the book has been translated into six languages. As an example of what word of mouth can trigger, prior to the book's release, Google returned only two mentions of the term "customer evangelists." Today, the search engine finds hundreds of thousands of citations.
As a business advisor, Huba has worked with Microsoft, Ulta, Discovery Education, Yahoo! and Verio as well as thousands of small and medium businesses at association conferences. Prior to that, Jackie led B2B marketing efforts for 12 years at IBM in its software division. She is a board member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and a graduate of Penn State University.
Her work in researching passionate customer loyalty has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fortune, Businessweek, U.S. News & World Report, the Financial Times, Fast Company and several thousand blogs.
Kyle Macdonald
Originally from Belcarra, British Columbia, Kyle MacDonald has planted more than one hundred thousand trees, delivered more than one thousand pizzas, but eaten only one scorpion. He has also traded one red paperclip for a house only once.
Inspired by “Bigger and Better,” a game he played as a child, MacDonald came up with the idea of trading objects over the Internet. He posted a red paper clip on Craig’s List and waited for offers. The buzz was almost instant, showing how a unique story can capture the minds and imaginations of people all over the world, and create a movement unto itself.
In one year and 14 trades, which involved a fish pen, a keg of beer, a cube van, a recording contract and a snow globe, MacDonald’s dream came true.
He traded a KISS snow globe for a speaking part in a Corbin Bernsen film. As luck would have it, Bernsen collects snow globes. Then, the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan offered up a house in exchange for the movie role.
Along the way, MacDonald and his paperclip caught worldwide attention from the likes of ABC, 20/20 and Hollywood. Visitors from as far away as Australia flew to Kipling to watch him make the final trade for his new house, and his story has inspired many others to dream big and begin their own Internet trades.
When he's not stealing a flag from the Prime Minister's office or promoting Alberta Beef by hitch-hiking in a parade, you might find him leaving his wallet in El Segundo or hanging out in Bangkok modeling Italian Soccer jerseys to fund 4 a.m. Red-Bull and Rum-fueled urban hitchhikes. He also enjoys writing third-person bio pages for his website and loves to stand on street corners in Montreal hawking shoddily-bound English literature to Francophones in sub-zero temperatures.
His mom still cuts his hair.
Other Speakers
Mike Arseneault
Brand Marketing Manager, Nike Canada Ltd.
Mike is a marketing junkie addicted to uncovering deep emotional insights. Mike joined Nike in February 2004 but is no stranger to word-of-mouth and influencer marketing as an effective strategy to connect and build brand heat with today’s youth. Prior to Nike, Mike was Marketing Director with Second Cup, Canada’s leading specialty coffee retailer, and before that, HMV, the country’s leading music/DVD retailer. Mike started out agency side and helped lead advertising communications and the development of several award-winning campaigns for LEVI'S® Red Tab and 501®.
Today at Nike, Mike oversees brand strategy for the categories Sport Culture (Nike’s lifestyle product) and Basketball and has led several successful integrated cross-categorical brand initiatives including: RUN TO, Joga Bonito (World Cup soccer campaign), Art Of Speed, Battlegrounds, Air Max 360, and recently, the 25th Anniversary of Nike’s iconic Air Force 1.
Mike has been invited to speak on various topics including “Marketing to Youth”, “Advertising Effectiveness", “Media Effectiveness” and "Selling More Sponsorships”, to name a few.
Besides Nike and sport, music, film, the stage (acting), art, design, travel, and sushi are just a few of Mike’s other addictions.
Pierre Delagrave
President, Cossette Media, Fjord Interactive Marketing + Technology
Pierre Delagrave is a founding partner and president of Cossette Communication Group’s Media, Research, and Interactive Services, with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Fuelled by the passion of a born communicator, Pierre Delagrave is forever on the lookout for new ideas to help him develop the innovative projects that have shaped the reputation of Canada’s No. 1 advertising agency and one of the world’s top 25.
Having studied classics at Collège Sainte-Anne-de-La-Pocatière, Pierre Delagrave completed a bachelor’s in administration, with a major in marketing, at Université Laval. He quickly made a name for himself in the world of communications during his time with Jacques DuSault et Associés, and later Bleau, Dupéré, Giguère et Associés, a firm renowned for its creative prowess in the early 1970s. But the attraction to Cossette proved irresistible, all the more so when former university classmate Claude Lessard invited him to join the team that was to redefine advertising and the role of an agency. With Claude Lessard at the reins, Pierre Delagrave devoted himself to crafting communication tools designed to help clients hit their marketing targets. This shift in emphasis was to become Cossette Communication Group’s trademark and to this day remains the reason behind its extraordinary success in North America.
At Cossette, Pierre Delagrave’s leadership and ability to motivate led him to become director of the media department, while continuing to mull over the future of communication agencies. He has always been a pioneer, striving to be the first to define the future of the communications and marketing sector. His far-sightedness has always guided him when it comes to promoting marketing research. In 1980, he created the Tracking Efficiency Study (TES), now considered to be a benchmark for measuring the impact of campaigns. He then created Impact Research, Cossette Communication Group’s research division.
Jennifer Evans
President, Sequentia Communications and Partner, Swing
Jennifer Evans is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, writer, and technophile and the president of Sequentia Communications, recently ranked as Canada’s 27th fastest growing emerging company by the PROFIT Hot 50.
Prior to starting Sequentia, Jen co-founded DigitalEve International, a not-for-profit association for women and technology, and served as Executive Director of its international and national organizations from 2000-2002. She is the co-chair of the White Ribbon Campaign and a board member of both Computer for Schools Ontario and The Beach School, and sits on advisory panels for the Software Human Resources Council (SHRC) and Women in Film and Television (WIFT). Jen was a two-time finalist for the Canadian New Media Awards and continues to function as a judge for the awards. She is a technology columnist for the Globe and Mail's online edition and appears regularly on Report on Business television's Tech Tuesday panel.
Jen has taught at the University of Toronto, York University, Humber College, and Ryerson. She is a graduate of Queen's University and her international work experience includes Bermuda, Tokyo, the US, South America and Korea. She speaks regularly on women, girls and technology.
Louis Gagnon
Vice President, Marketing, Monster.ca
Louis Gagnon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Université Laval, a degree in International Affairs from the University of British Columbia, and a Master of Marketing degree from the HEC Montréal. From 1992 to 1996, he held general management and executive positions for social marketing and pharmaceutical organizations in Africa and Europe. From 1996 to 2004, Louis co-founded and presided over two technology companies dedicated to consumer acquisition strategies in industries such as retail, telecommunications and credit cards. In 2004, he joined Monster Canada as Vice-President Marketing where he helped transform that division into a high-growth, data-driven environment. In 2006, after he and his team won more than a dozen marketing, advertising and interactive awards, Louis was nominated as one of Canada’s Marketers that Matter by Marketing Magazine. He also was nominated the Marketing Personality of the Year by the Montreal Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA).
Over the years, Louis Gagnon has developed expertise in the creation of Internet applications driven by business intelligence. He is the co-author of an international patent on a technology that is designed to facilitate word of mouth among consumers. Over the course of his career, several of his accomplishments have made headlines in international management magazines including The Economist.
Alison Gordon
Director of Marketing and Communications, Rethink Breast Cancer
While doing a PhD in cultural studies/sociology, Alison shifted gears and started a career at ZiG Inc. where she worked with one of the country's creative advertising teams as a Strategic Planner. She became passionate about the breast cancer cause while working on and providing the strategy for a groundbreaking award winning breast self-exam awareness campaign.
As a founding board member of Rethink Breast Cancer, as will as Director of Marketing and Communications, Alison has been integral to the vision and growth of the charity. Using marketing savvy to engage a younger generation of women and men in the cause, Alison, along with Executive Director Mary-Jo Decoteau, has been recognized for "thinking differently" in their approach to education and fundraising-including being named Marketing Magazine's top ten marketers that mattered. Alison has partnered with some of Canada's top companies such as Gap, Revlon, Roots, Bliss and Rogers to create innovative cause marketing programs. Alison brings a keen interest in women's health issues and the desire to find fresh, progressive ways to communicate about them.
David Jones
Senior Vice-President, Fleishman-Hillard Toronto
David Jones joined Fleishman-Hillard Toronto as a Senior Vice-President in the consumer products/marketing communications group in 2006.
Since beginning his career, Mr. Jones has amassed a wealth of marketing communications, corporate and sports marketing experience as both a consultant and in-house communications leader. At Fleishman-Hillard Toronto, he provides senior counsel to Yahoo! Canada, Gatorade, and Score Media.
Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, Mr. Jones was Vice-President at the Thornley Fallis Group in Toronto where he led the marketing communications and financial groups and was a key contributor to the firm’s leadership in adopting and evangelizing social media as a communications tool. Before Thornley Fallis Group, he held positions at the Canadian National Exhibition, Edelman Toronto, Harbinger Communications and a stint as the director of communications for the Royal Canadian Golf Association. In his first five years at Thornley Fallis Group, Mr. Jones built and led the consumer marketing, sports and financial side of the client roster, working on award-winning programs for Molson Canada and leading the Gillette, Charles Schwab, and Nike accounts.
Mr. Jones joined Molson Canada as the brewery’s director of public relations for English Canada. While there, he acted as the primary media spokesperson while also coaching and developing many of its senior executives’ media abilities. He led PR activities around major issues, special events, product launches and sponsorships, including working closely with Molson Sports & Entertainment to oversee crisis management at the Molson Indy events in Toronto and Vancouver. He also handled Molson’s communications for the planning and execution of the world’s largest single-day ticketed concert — the Molson Canadian Rocks Toronto SARS benefit concert, featuring the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and 450,000 attendees.
Robert V. Kozinets
Professor, Schulich School of Business and WOMMA Board Member
Robert V. Kozinets is an Associate Professor of Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business. An anthropologist by training, he also has extensive consulting experience with over 300 corporations, including Pepsico, IBM, EDS, Rogers, Novartis, Honda, and Interrep.
Robert developed and continues to expand the technique of netnography or Internet ethnography for the marketing-related study of virtual communities and computer-mediated communications. He has also been instrumental in developing videography as a marketing and consumer research methodology. His research on virtual communications, online branding, community marketing, and retailing has been published in journals such as the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography and the Journal of Retailing.
He is currently an Advisory Board Member of WOMMA (the Word of Mouth Marketing Association), Associate Editor of the Journal of Retailing, an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Research and is currently co-editing a volume on Consumer Tribes that will be published in 2007 by Elsevier Press. In 2007, he launched one of the first dedicated Word of Mouth Marketing courses in Canada.
Baron Manett
Vice-President, Segal Communications
Baron Manett has been involved in the marketing profession since 1992 when he joined Artsmarketing Services, a full service agency specializing in the development and execution of marketing campaigns for culturally focused organizations. Baron went on to develop marketing strategies for the New Bastion Theatre Company, the Royal Ontario Museum, and TVOntario.
In 1994, Baron founded twenty-four productions, an event-marketing and promotions company based in Toronto. Clients included the City of Toronto, Campus Canada Magazine, Harbourfront Antique Market, ClaimSecure, and Baxter Healthcare.
In 1997, Baron joined Vancouver-based Future Shop, to direct the advertising, promotion, and event marketing initiatives for the organization’s entrance into the entertainment software market. He led the group’s creative and promotional strategies for the North American consumer electronics retailer.
In 1999 Baron joined Myriad Marketing in Toronto as Director of Strategy & Client Services. Baron led the firm’s business growth and developed brand experiences for ATI Technologies, HP, Subaru and Swiss Army.
In 2002, Baron joined Segal Communications, where he is currently the Vice-President of Strategy & Client Development. Segal is one of Canada’s leading promotion and experiential marketing agencies and develops brand-focused programs for leading national marketers, including Axe, Degree, Hellmann’s, smart car, Mercedes Benz, and National Bank. Baron’s work has received many national and international awards; most recently his work for Degree for Men was awarded Gold at this year’s Canadian Sponsorship Awards, Best of Show at the 2006 Promo Awards and silver at the International Globes awards. Segal has been recognized in Marketing Magazine’s recent “Agencies that Mattered 2006” edition, and the firm has been nominated for 2006 Promo Agency of the Year.
Sean Moffitt
President, Agent Wildfire
A marketer-turned-word of mouth expert, Sean Moffitt has had over 15 years of experience leading and managing some of Canada's most loved brands in senior marketing and communications roles at Molson, Diageo/Guinness, Procter & Gamble and Echo.
In 2004, Sean founded Agent Wildfire, Canada's word of mouth marketing, media and research firestarter, specializing in fanning the flames of word of mouth evangelism for Canadian clients through word of mouth community building, campaign development and research panel programs.
Sometimes more marketing cause than business, Sean can be found passionately musing on the subject of word of mouth through industry conferences, seminars and university presentations, his blog Buzz Canuck and Agent Wildfire's monthly e-newsletter The Buzz Report.
Steve Osgoode
Director, Digital Marketing & Business Development, HarperCollins Canada
Steve Osgoode is the Director of Digital Marketing & Business Development for HarperCollins Canada. During his 8 years with the company, he has had several roles within the marketing and sales departments and has been responsible for all corporate online and digital strategy in Canada since 2001. He has overseen the launch and redesign of all corporate and author sites, including harpercollins.ca. He supervises all of the company’s direct to consumer programs, including FirstLook, AuthorTracker, and Invite the Author, as well as the e-newsletter program. He has also managed the recently launched multimedia program which features podcasts, author videos and book trailers. Steve also works in developing the Canadian market for digital media, including e-books and audio.
Martin Ouellette
President, Creative Director, Provokat
1985: Long before MusiquePlus even came into being, Martin Ouellette already produces and directs 32 video clips.
1989: As a young advertising creative at BCP, he is the only one to have a keyboard on his desk: « En… noir… et Black ».
1990: Works at Y&R; 20 national and international prizes.
1993: Group Creative Director at Cossette, Martin has already had his email address for 4 years while the Web we’ve come to know only begins to emerge.
1996: As advertising director, he quickly makes his mark in the world of visual effects using new digital technologies.
1999: His passion for Web sets him on a new path: he begins offering his services as digital advertising and viral marketing Consultant.
2001: He founds Provokat, first agency in Montreal to specialise in digital advertising.
2004: Agency of the Year and Acquisition Campaign, Boomerang Awards.
2005: Campaign of the Year and Grand Prize, Boomerang Awards.
2006: He blogs regularly about Advertising 2.0.
Eric Petersen
Director of Community Relations, Lululemon
Eric is responsible for the creation and execution of all marketing communications, brand initiatives and public relations for Lululemon. He manages a team of twelve across Canada and the US that make up the Community Relations department.
Eric has 15 years of marketing experience and brand building in a variety of businesses. He started his career in public relations with positions in the first Bush administration in Washington, DC. He worked there as Deputy Press Secretary for the Secretary of the Interior. His passions for sports lead Eric to ProServ, a leading sports marketing firm in the US where he was responsible for all advertising for professional tennis tournaments in Scottsdale, AZ and Washington, DC.
Eric left ProServ to start his own business teaching English to business professionals in Mexico City. Following the Mexican economic collapse of 1995, he moved to San Francisco and joined Electronic Arts, the global leader in video games where he spent seven years moving his way up through the sports marketing department.
Following a three year stint at EA SPORTS in San Francisco as product marketing manager, he was transferred to EA’s European Headquarters in London. There he was responsible for marketing nine American sports titles across Europe. Eric was twice recognized by the European company for Excellence in International Awareness.
After three years in Europe, Eric moved to EA’s largest studio in Vancouver as Marketing Director of Sports. Under Eric’s direction, EA launched some of its most successful global titles including NBA and World Cup Soccer with revenues over $600 million. He left EA to consult and manage athletes. Eric began consulting with Lululemon in May 2004 before joining full-time in 2005.
Bill Sweetman
Vice-President, Internet Strategy, MacLaren MRM
Bill Sweetman is one of the interactive marketing industry's most respected authorities, and his innovative work over the last 15 years has been recognized by numerous awards, including the prestigious Internet World Impact Award for Communications.
As an interactive marketing specialist, Bill has overseen Internet marketing campaigns for companies such as Alliance Atlantis Communications, CBC, Dupont, Enbridge Gas Distribution, Harlequin Enterprises, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer Canada, and RBC Royal Bank.
Bill is a regular contributor to various industry publications and websites, a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and is regularly interviewed by the media as an interactive marketing expert. He is also one of the founders of The Canadian New Media Awards, and he has worked as a producer on numerous award-winning Websites.
A member of the Association for Internet Marketing and Sales (AIMS), Bill also serves on the Digital Marketing Conference Committee for the Canadian Marketing Association. You can get tons of Bill’s practical Internet marketing advice, tips, and best practices from his popular blog, Sweetmantra.
Michael Thouin
Brand Manager, Evian Canada
With over 5 years in the marketing industry both at Kraft Foods and Danone, Michael Thouin has worked on a number of large businesses each with unique issues, opportunities, and objectives. Graduating with Honors in Business from Queens University, Michael started his career at Kraft Foods, working on the Nabob Coffee Business, Delissio Pizza Business and even on Kraft’s very successful CRM Marketing Program and Magazine, “What’s Cooking”. With the opportunity to run the Evian Water business in Canada, Michael moved over to Danone, and has been successfully running and marketing the Evian Brand for Canada for the past year. Cutting through the media clutter, Michael’s Evian “Pop- up Evian Spa in Yorkville” in 2006, and PR leveraged media, has shown his ability to think beyond traditional marketing.
Stephania Varalli
Director, Marketing, Sweetspot
After earning her Honors degree in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, Stephania Varalli spent five years working in marketing and advertising. She left a successful career at OgilvyOne Worldwide to join sweetspot.ca as the second employee of the start-up email newsletter, targeted at trend savvy women in Toronto.
Over the last two years, she has helped guide the editorial, marketing, and strategic direction of the business. In that time, Sweetspot has grown to include three additional cities, a Sweetmama version targeted at new and expectant mothers, and a loyal subscriber base of just over 20,000. With the typical “Sweetspotter” fitting into the category of high-income, high-education, and high propensity to consume – the e-mail newsletter and website has generated countless success stories for both featured businesses and advertising clients. In June 2006, Rogers Communications became a minority shareholder, further supporting the continued success of sweetspot.ca.
Douglas Walker
Managing Director, World RPS Society, Toronto
As the Interactive Strategist for TBWA\Toronto, Doug Walker is responsible for developing the agency’s online and digital practice. Doug is the key client consultant on all matters pertaining to interactive communications.
Prior to joining TBWA he spent ten years developing and implementing online strategies for some of Canada’s highest profile brands including General Motors, Molson Breweries, IBM, Microsoft, Rogers AT&T and Scotiabank.
In his spare time Doug has conducted a unique viral experiment to become the world’s leading authority on the subject of Rock Paper Scissors. The experiment was a massive success and led to interviews by hundreds of media outlets including Rolling Stone, CNN, BBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Today Show to name a few. He is the author of The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide (Simon & Schuster 2004) and is the subject of a feature film documentary to be released in 2007.
He also runs the annual World Championships of Rock Paper Scissors in Toronto. Doug runs RPS Events, which provides professionally managed, referee-run rock paper scissors (RPS) networking tournaments at corporate gatherings such as conferences, office parties and other business events. He is also a frequent speaker at marketing industry events and is a recognized expert on the subject of online Word of Mouth, viral communications and social media. He is an active participant in Canadian social media and maintains the Advertising and Culture blog webwalker.ca
CMA Word of Mouth Marketing Conference | Thursday, April 12, 2007 | Toronto
