The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) of Toronto and the PR community celebrated last week in recognition of industry excellence at the annual ACE (Achieving Communications Excellence) Awards gala.  Argyle Communications took home the prestigious PR Campaign of the Year Award for their campaign, Peanuts in Crisis, and the Best Creative PR Campaign of the Year went to Faye Clack Communications for their campaign, Avocados from Mexico. Again this year, the ACE winners and nominees set the bar exceptionally high for communications practitioners in Toronto, and across the country.  Marketwire is proud to continue as Platinum Sponsor of CPRS Toronto, and shared sweet treats, our SM 10X30-branded cookies, with everyone who attended.

Unlike Lisa Davis’ initial impression of SMX Toronto, I walked into the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit knowing many of the speakers and attendees for years – these are my people.  Being a member of the Web Analytics Association (WAA) has its privileges, as I started the conference a day earlier than most at the WAA Industry Meeting and Elbow Rub Reception.

WAA members were treated to a great show from Theresa Locklear and her team from NHL.com, who provided a run-down of the organization’s online goals (no pun intended), their approach to web analytics and real-world examples of reports they provide across the organization.  In what had to be a first in our industry, real reports with real numbers were presented by the team to the crowd assembled, showcasing one of their latest email campaign wins.  (more…)

When I took a look at the agenda for SMX Toronto, I thought the content was not for me.  Personalization algorithms, offline conversions, ranking tactics and Google Sitelinks were surely not what I had in mind when I signed up for a marketing conference.

As I sat through the sessions however, it quickly became apparent that everyone really was talking about marketing:  best practices and tools for optimizing the exposure of our companies; products and services to the marketplace to tell our stories; how to forge relationships, boost our brands and grow our customer bases.  Even if I didn’t understand every technical conversation or Droid in-joke, I learned a lot. The sessions and speakers were tremendously insightful into the current state of search marketing and the five places it is headed: (more…)

A few weeks ago, I attended this year’s Search Engine Strategies (SES) New York Conference & Expo, intent on searching for some useful information for Marketwire customers and prospective clients. Here are a few highlights.

One of the panels I went to treated the audience to a perky case study from the food phenoms at Chicago’s Foiled Cupcakes, who have deftly used social media to extend the gourmet cupcake craze by at least 4,234,982 calories. Foiled Cupcakes employs many best practices I frequently suggest to Marketwire clients, including: (more…)

With the Winter Olympic Games taking place in Vancouver this time around, watching the athletic events ended up being only one part of the whole Olympic experience, albeit, the main one. Marketwire’s Senior Vice President, Sales Canada Judy Hutchins, based out of the Vancouver office, was among them, along with her husband and friends. Below, she provides a first-hand account of the Olympics “in action,” not only as a spectator, but as a patriotic Canadian.

Watching the Olympic events was but one part of the whole Olympic experience, the main one being the actual athletic competitions.  But, like any Canadian, I wanted to make sure that I had the “right” gear before heading up to Whistler for the women’s giant slalom and the men’s bobsleigh races that weekend – February 20-21, 2010. Mittens were de rigueur, as were scarves, pullovers, children’s clothes, men’s garb, red Canadian hoodies and T-shirts. It was estimated that C$1 million would be spent daily at Hudson’s Bay where official Olympic retail items were sold.  Before the Olympic Games commenced, lines to enter the department store were non-existent. Once the Games were underway, it took a several-hour wait just to get in the door! (more…)

We are in the midst of a media revolution, and that revolution is taking place at warp speed. For most of us, just trying to keep pace with what we need to know about social media, search, email and analytics to successfully participate can become a full-time job. As soon as we begin to feel a bit secure in one area, we realize we’re falling behind in another. But, as we heard at last week’s Online Marketing Summit (OMS) in San Diego, “online is where your audience is,” and if you aren’t in the game, your competitors are.  (more…)

Would you believe that more than 90 percent of journalists think that, to some extent, new media and communications tools and technologies are enhancing journalism?  The statistic is staggering, and perhaps unbelievable to those who think the practice of true journalism has no place for citizen media, Twitter and social networking.

According to the 2nd Annual Middleberg/SNCR Survey of Media in the Wired World, the notion that today’s journalists shun the use of social and digital tools is a myth. Instead, journalists embrace social media, using it more and more to disseminate news, find story ideas and sources, monitor sentiments and discussions, conduct research on individuals and organizations, keep up on issues and topics of interest and participate in conversations. (more…)

Marketwire’s EVP of Marketing/Editorial Operations/Media Relations Paolina Milana is speaking at the Online Marketing Summit (OMS) in San Diego, Wednesday, February 24, 2010, on the Integrated Marketing Forum panel discussion. In her blog post for OMS, she uses a Sicilian quote to highlight the importance of relationships in integrated marketing strategies.

Earlier this month, Econsultancy’s Vice President, North America Rebecca Lieb and Sally Falkow, president and social media strategist at Expansion Plus, presented “Engagement: The Key to Success in 2010,” a webinar that highlighted case studies and other research to show how engagement in social media and other online channels is tied to financial success. Appropriately, this second installment of our Ask the Expert interview series features Rebecca and Sally as they answer Nick’s questions  on social media engagement. (more…)

Social Engagement. Today, it’s vital for business sustenance and success. For many companies, social media and other online channels were lifelines that helped them overcome a tough economic climate and, in some situations, allowed them to grow.

Join Sally Falkow, social media strategist and president of Expansion Plus, and Rebecca Lieb, eConsultancy’s VP, North America, for a free webinar and case study presentation on real-world applications and benefits of social media engagement. (more…)