Join us for this deluxe reception to meet and mingle with fellow industry professionals. This reception will be held in conjunction with the delegates from the Hotel Association of Canada. 

Sponsored by:

Speakers:
Patricia Brusha | A Couple of Chicks e-marketing
Edward Perry | WORLDHOTELS

With over 18 million Canadian users, Facebook has become a powerful and necessary tool to compete and engage in today’s society. As a result, there is a radical shift in how the web is organized – it’s now organized around people. With people in mind, brands are rethinking their marketing strategies to give consumers access to engage with Brands where they want, when they want and in a way they want.

Steve Irvine, Senior Business Leader at Facebook Canada explores the need to bridge consumer and brand voice in order to engage in a unique, relevant and memorable customer experience. He will reveal how marketers can leverage word-of-mouth marketing at a scale never before possible, with the power of the social graph. We have always known that a recommendation from a friend is the best kind of travel marketing and on Facebook it is possible to tap into this word of mouth at unbelievable scale.

The Zero Moment of Truth is that decision making moment that takes place a hundred million times a day on mobile phones, laptops and wired devices of all kinds. It’s a moment where marketing happens, where information happens and where consumers make choices that affect the success and failure of companies around the world.

Nikki Germany, Head of Travel at Google Canada, explores the latest in digital marketing trends impacting the travel industry. Online has forever changed the way consumers buy travel and how marketers reach consumers. Join Nikki to discover if you are capturing the opportunities available in the Zero Moment of Truth.   

Join Tom Gierasimczuk, Editor-in-Chief for MARKETING MAGAZINE in a candid and insightful interview with Nikki Germany (Google Canada).

Have questions you want Tom to ask?  Tweet them: #ORC2012

11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Still challenged by the prominence of bookings through third party intermediaries, and by cautious spending on behalf of corporate and leisure travelers, the hospitality industry is actively seeking methods and techniques to enhance revenue, understand distribution costs and its impact on hotel profit. The lodging industry can move onto the productive task of growing profit through revenue by better understanding a hotel's optimal channel mix.

Co-authors Cindy Estis Green and Mark Lomanno have tackled these issues in the industry's most comprehensive study on the subject to be published in Q1'12 Distribution Channel Analysis: A Guide for Hotels and provide a useful springboard for the industry to move proactively forward to take advantage of the economic recovery as it unfolds. Sponsored by AH&LA, STR and the HSMAI Foundation along with AAHOA, HAMA and the IHG Owner's association, the study had widespread industry support.

Speaker:

Cindy Estis Green | The Estis Group

Back by popular the demand, the eighth annual Canadian Travel Intention study will be presented with a focus on specific markets. All registered delegates will receive access to the presentation.

Can one agency do it all? Do you need a web developer, a traditional ad agency, a digital agency, or a PR agency? What questions should you ask when hiring an outside agency? Can smaller budgets afford to outsource? How do you know what you need?

Moderator:
Ed Perry | WORLDHOTELS

Speakers:
Gerry Chase | New Castle Hotels & Resorts
Malcolm Fraser | ISL
Patti Hunt | Travelodge Canada
Mike Little | WebCanada Inc.

We all agree that digital marketing is fundamental in travel marketing, but with tighter budgets and resources it’s hard to invest in all of them. This fast paced, information packed session will entertain and discuss latest digital marketing concepts including QR Codes, Videos to Social Media Gaming. What works? What doesn’t? How do you measure the success? Remember podcasts? 

Speaker:
Christopher Chong | TripTelevision LLC

How has Search changed, and more importantly, how does it affect your SEO? A review of Google Instant, Google Local, Google Plus and the dreaded A-word (algorithm), and the SEO tips and tools you will need to keep you from pulling your hair out!

Speaker:
Chris Adams | gShift Labs Inc.

The Canadian e-Tourism Council and Online Revealed Canada present awards for travel and for tourism industry categories. These awards were created in recognition of the growth and the marketing power of Social Media and Web 2.0, adding a unique spin to the Awards competition as a whole.

TITLE SPONSOR

Join the Master of Ceremonies, Carol Alderdice from the New Brunswick Tourism and Parks and the Canadian e-Tourism Council as we celebrate and recognize the best of the best at this special awards luncheon i

n the Osgoode Ballroom.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

	Best Innovative Use of Technology and/or Media
	Vancouver Airport Authority www.liveatyvr.ca   Sponsored by:
	Best Online Campaign
	Bay of Fundy Tourism www.votemyfundy.com Sponsored by:
	Best User Generated Content
	Iceberg Quest Ocean Tours www.icebergquest.com
	Best Website
	New Brunswick Tourism and Parks  www.eauchaude.ca

To view the 2nd and 3rd place contestants, please click here.

For more information, please visit www.canadianetourismawards.com

CET AWARDS WEBSITE DESIGN/PRODUCER

It's time to stretch your legs and walk to your next session!

Warren Markwart, a seasoned international hospitality professional with over 30 years of hotel and travel technology experience, has used his operating knowledge to integrate guest service and business objectives with technology. Join Warren when he interviews Jonathan Tafler, General Manager of Jaunt.ca and co-creator of Canada's daily deal site, WagJag.com, and takes you on the inside of the flash sale industry.

• How did this new market evolve so quickly and where is it headed?
• How does the flash sale model work for travel?
• Can hoteliers and tourism executives leverage this new channel without negatively impacting brand and rate integrity?
•  Which strategies and tactics are successful and which should be avoided?

Dr. David Martin, Director of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University leads a panel discussion amongst 5 recent entrants to the hotel industry. The candid discussion will focus on their expectations as it relates to their career path, job duties, attractiveness of the industry, motivational factors and more. Dr. David Martin will be joined by:

Ryan Frook | University of Guelph
Tracey McAteer | George Brown College
William Ng | Ryerson University
Joshua Samad | Ryerson University
Katie Watson | Humber College

2011 was the year Social Media got a budget which allowed marketers to expand their internal resources. How do you determine the role of your social media champion? How do you measure their success? How do you train them or is it better to outsource your brand voice? Come listen to the Vote My Fundy Case study and lessons learned from determining who manages your online voice.

Moderator:
Patricia Brusha | A Couple of Chicks e-Marketing

Speakers:
Alanda Banks-MacLeod | New Brunswick Tourism and Parks
Christine Korda | Windsor Arms Hotel
Edwin Frizzell | Hilton Toronto Hotel

Gone are the days when just measuring an increase in traffic to your website was a way to measure success. How do you use analytics to track ROI on campaigns, and effectively use the data to improve your monthly tactics? What reports are useful and what red flags should you look for?

Speaker:
John Hach | TravelClick Inc.

Managing your online brand reputation is more important than ever. This panel-style workshop will explain how brands are using monitoring tools, how to choose a proper platform and who in your organization should be responsible for managing the process.

Moderator:
Alicia Whalen | A Couple of Chicks e-Marketing

Speakers:
Michael Bower | Marriott International
Jim Brody | TripAdvisor
Casey Davy | RateTiger - eRevMax
Jennifer Eaton | TY Review Analyst Inc.

We are living through one of the most complicated and transformative times in human history; a period in time which will be seen to be a magnitude more significant than any other period before it. We have experienced more change in the previous 17 years than we saw in the critical 195 years from industrialization to the end of World War II. There is no doubt technology is a big part of the metamorphosis we have gone through. But it is not the complete explanation. What is important is not the technology (social media, the web, etc.) itself, but what it has done to us as people. Technology platforms have unlocked layers of human desire and behaviours that were previously dormant or thought unattainable.

There are lots of people that offer their services around the ‘how’ of social media and the web. The much more pressing question is ‘why’ engage in the first place. The answer has nothing to do with concepts like reach or efficacy or volume. It has simply to do with one fact: social media and the web are as a medium, a collective reflection of who we have become as people. Join Leonard Brody, a two-time Emmy nominated entrepreneur that has been building companies in the space for over a decade, Leonard will teach you not only some of the fundamentals of the genre and tricks of the trade, but more importantly enlighten you about the intricacies and changes for the Canadian Travel Industry.

Leonard Brody is the President, Clarity Digital Group.  He has been called "a controversial leader of the new world order." He is a highly respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist, bestselling author and a two time Emmy nominated media visionary who has been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history. 

Leonard currently sits as the President of the Clarity Digital Group, a company responsible for overseeing one of the largest online news conglomerates in the world including Examiner.com and NowPublic.com, which between them share over 20 million unique visitors a month and host over 200,000 contributors. In 2004, NowPublic was named one of the top 50 websites in the world by Time magazine and inducted into the Newseum in Washington, D. C.  

Speakers:
Patricia Brusha | A Couple of Chicks e-marketing
Edward Perry | WORLDHOTELS
Alicia Whalen | A Couple of Chicks e-marketing

57 channels sounded like a lot in 1992 when Bruce Springsteen launched his hit song.  Twenty years later, mainstream media channels are struggling to stay relevant in a sea of digital and social channels, the balance of power has shifted from marketers to consumers and consumers are increasingly cynical about ‘traditional’ advertising.  There is a widening cultural and communication divide between ‘social’ generations and the ‘old school’ generations and it’s the job of leading marketers today to take limited marketing dollars and deliver the biggest impact for their organizations.  How do the best marketers choose their audience?  Where is the best place to invest money and how do you make yourself relevant in sea of copycats and also-rans?  How can you be ‘customer-centric’ if your customer isn’t loyal and is transient between so many available brands and destinations?

Duncan Fulton will give us a retailer’s perspective on all of these issues and reflect on his current role overhauling the marketing strategy of leading sports retailers Sport Chek and Sports Experts. Duncan is the Senior Vice President of Communications for Canadian Tire Corporation and Chief Marketing Officer of FGL Sports, Canadian Tire’s latest acquisition that oversees 10 leading sports retailers.  Don’t miss this straight-talking and entertaining kick-off to a day of sessions about breaking through to travellers and being more relevant to our customers.

Professor Rod Harris, former CEO and President of Tourism British Columbia and current faculty member in Royal Roads School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, will present an engaging examination of the five major shock waves that will impact global tourism in the 21st century.

His presentation explores the mega forces that will largely determine Canada's success on the world stage. He will draw lessons from the strategic supply chain management practices of various multinational corporations in other sectors of the economy, applying the principles of "synchronized collaboration" as a viable risk management strategy.

Conscious travel is a movement designed to help tourism suppliers build sustainable businesses through attracting, engaging and supporting an emerging and influential market of people called Conscious Travellers, who are shaping a post recessionary consumerism – one that is mindful, collaborative, participative and co-creative.

Sport tourism is on a roll across Canada (and internationally) as a means for destinations, large and small, to attract meaningful visitation on a year-round basis. From major international events to local and regional tournaments, there’s opportunity in sport!

Moderator:
Duncan Ross | Red Canoe Inc.

Speakers:
Chris Gibbs | Ryerson University
Blair McIntosh | Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games
Mark Milliere | TSN

What is your destination's reputation online? What are people saying about the overall state of the travel business? How does Canada measure up? And how does this stack up against your competitive destination set? This tag team presentation between TripAdvisor and Miles Media will look at two of the most critical areas of a destination’s marketing performance - online marketing and traveller reviews.

Firstly, the reach and impact of the online marketing efforts of DMOs, and secondly, how visitors perceive and share the quality of their experience in a destination - with accommodation, activities and restaurants/dining.

Speakers:
Chris Adams | Miles Media
Jim Brody | TripAdvisor
Paul Winkle | Miles Media

For those new to the LGBT travel market, it can seem a bit intimidating and overwhelming. However this market segment represents over $7 billion dollars to the Travel Industry. Do you need to change your marketing message when targeting the LGBT segment? Come learn from the experts on how to approach and maintain business from the LGBT travel market.

Moderator:
Matt Skallerud | Pink Banana Media

Speakers:
Joel Peters | Tourism Toronto
Yves Rannou | Air Canada Vacations
Darrell Schuurman | Travel Gay Canada
Robert Sharp | OUT Adventures

This session explores the key insights from the TNS 2011 Digital Life and Mobile Life Global studies. More specifically the drivers behind consumer behaviour and attitudes digitally. It also addresses the key elements that inform strategic marketing investment in the changing digital world including:

• how to reach digital users by understanding how the segmentation of users live online;
• how to engage the digital user online as well as via smartphone and tablet technology;
• how to identify and cultivate the digital advocate; and
• how to convert the digital customer by understanding the role digital channels play in relation to the “path to purchase travel cycle”.

Speaker:

Ron Caughlin | TNS Canada

Jowi Taylor owns and designed the most unique guitar in Canada. Officially nicknamed “Voyageur” at a ceremony in Winnipeg in February 2008 – is an instrument unlike any in the world. The guitar is quite literally a piece of Canadian history.... or 64 pieces of history to be exact. The Voyageur guitar represents and holds pieces we treasure across the country and tells of geography, history, pride and more: one of the seat boards from Massey Hall, a tiny bit of gold from his Maurice Rocket Richard’s Stanley Cup ring, and tells a moving story of one of the most rare & revered trees in Canada that embodies the spirit of a nation. His presentation is more than a story about a guitar, but rather a story and lesson about our country.

Special performance: Leah Leslie, Director of Sales & Marketing for JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa

Travel Alberta has launched its new research based brand beginning with the 2011/2012 winter season campaign. The session, led by Royce Chwin, Vice President of Marketing for Travel Alberta, explores the practical aspects for how destination brands are best conceived, created and launched.

Please download the documents below, which will be referenced in this session:

• Directions Spring 2011 Publication
• Travel Alberta Annual General Meeting Slides
• For more information, please visit www.Industry.TravelAlberta.com

Aeroplan, and parent Aimia, have proven the value of customer analytics in driving customer loyalty. This session provides insight into consumer behaviour and the ability to drive much improved marketing ROI through the use of data.

Speaker:
Rick Ferguson | Aimia Inc.

Every year millions are spent developing and building tourism and hotel brands, but is it worthwhile? How can the hospitality, travel and tourism industry use benchmarking to manage their brand and drive revenue and return on investment? Matt Kelly,  Managing Director, Brand Advisor of LEVEL5 Strategy Group, will discuss the benchmarks successful organizations use, both internally and externally, to get the results they want.

This hands-on workshop taught by Google will show you how to leverage your AdWords campaigns. Targeted toward beginners to experienced advertisers, Google will provide the necessary info on how to get started, how to optimize current campaigns and present new opportunities that are available.

Speaker:
Kara Moddemann | Google Canada

Content marketing is one of the fastest growing concepts in our industry, particularly in the interactive space. It places the focus on creating a powerful content strategy as a main consideration in web development, email marketing, social media, mobile applications – and has a huge impact in SEO/SEM campaigns/programs.

This interactive presentation will be all about creating a custom content strategy that will deliver strong results for DMOs. Recent case studies of success will be offered and the information will be presented in a highly actionable format for destination marketing and technology professionals who are interested in learning about new approaches to drive maximum visitation based on today’s and tomorrow’s predicted trends.

Presented By Paul Winkle, Senior Vice President of MilesMedia

With a US$150-million budget for 2012, America’s first-ever global consumer brand, christened Brand USA, has a tightly focused objective: to increase international visitation to the United States and grow America's share of the global travel market.

Unveiled to an international audience in London, England in the fall of 2011, the new campaign which is a public-private partnership between the travel industry and the U.S. government, has set its focus on repositioning America on the world travel stage. At home, it intends to drive economic activity, including billions in new spending, tens of thousands of new outsource-proof jobs and much-needed tax revenue, to spur powerful growth throughout all corners of the United States.

This compelling wrap up session, will explore how a partnership of corporate America and government will work together to reposition one of the world’s largest and best-known tourist destinations. How will Canada collaborate, cooperate and compete? Find out when Lyle Hall (Managing Director of HLT Advisory) moderates an interactive discussion with Joel Secundy (Vice President of Strategic Outreach for Brand USA) and Michele McKenzie (CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission).