Schedule
Conference Opening May 12, 2008
Conference Opening Monday, May 12, 2008
*Meet, Greet, Tech, Talk*
Registration Open 5 - 9 pm
Day One: Tuesday May 13, 2008
8:00 - 9:00 Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 9:30 - General Session and Opening Remarks
* Patricia Brusha, A Couple of Chicks e-Marketing Co-Chair Online Revealed
* Martin Byrne, Yahoo! Canada Co-Chair Online Revealed
9:30 - 10:45 - KEYNOTE Presentation
Kyle MacDonald, One Red PaperClip
10:45 - 11:00 - Break
11:00-12:00 - Keynote Debate
Selling Canadian Destinations in a Global Marketplace
What are the major DMO’s & PMO’s doing to promote tourism to Canada online? Top Tourism Professionals from Nova Scotia/ Cape Breton, Alberta, Niagara, Vancouver and more discuss the challenges and share success stories on innovative ideas to promote their destination online.
Moderated by: Alan Young Vice President Sales, Canada, IBS Software Services Americas, Inc.
Panel
* Niagara Falls Tourism - Anna Pierce, Executive Director
* Ottawa Tourism - Tom Price, Director of Convention Sales and Marketing
* Municipality of Victoria County/Cape Breton - Tom C. Wilson Director of Recreation & Tourism
* Travel Alberta - Cameron Spence, Porfolio Manager International
12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch
1:00 - 2:00 - Yahoo! Keynote
Kerry Munro, General Manager - Yahoo! Canada
Marketing Tourism to Canada with Web 2.0
Search, Behavioral Targeting & Social Media are the newest and most intriguing ways to market products & services to consumers. During this Keynote presentation Mr. Munro will share insights & knowledge on this type of marketing methodologies and how Canadian Tourism Professionals can use them to attract travelers to their hotels and destinations.
Real People, Real Solutions, Real Canadian! ORC 08 presents four tracks of practical application workshops to provide participants with hands on steps to improve the success of their online marketing efforts. 16 unique workshops will be presented over two days divided into four important learning tracks.- Beginning , Intermediate, Advanced and Strategy Development
Workshop Color Key
Each workshop addresses a primary interest. The topics are color coded. It is your option to mix and match or stay all in one discipline.
BEGINNING
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
STRATEGY
2:00 - 3:00 - Workshop Rotation #1
Beginner Track
Intermediate Track
Search Engines and Consumer Friendly Websites
Website Strategy-Test My Site!
Presented by: A Couple of Chicks e-Marketing
* Exploring your Natural Placement on Search Engines
* Understanding Search Engine Optimization. How can you best optimize your Web Site?
* Making the most out of your Organic Presence and improve rankings.
* Website Usability and why it matters to you
* How has Search behavior changed?
o Writing for the web
o Independent site Testing
Presented by: Ken Jurina President, CEO, Epiar Inc.
Laura Callow, Senior Search Analyst, Epiar
* This workshop is intended to appeal to all attendees, from beginner level to advanced, Using attendees web sites, all aspects of web site usability and search engine optimization strengths and weaknesses will be addressed.
* Live usability analysis will be conducted on randomly selected* attendee web sites:
o Site usability positives and negatives for both human users and search engine spiders will be identified.
o Solutions for rectifying potential or existing usability problems will be provided.
* Free live advanced keyword research will be performed by Epiar on selected attendee* web sites:
o The most appropriate terms the sites should be targeting from a search perspective to maximize their exposure in the search engine results will be identified.
o Keyword search volume, competition, market relevance and more will be discussed.
* Beyond usability and search engine optimization issues, suggestions will be offered on potential social media marketing opportunities.
* You will leave the workshop with specific action steps for improving the usability of your web sites as well as its rankings in the search engines.
Advanced Track
Strategy Development
Feeding the Beast: How can small tourism operators keep their online and offline content fresh?
Website Project Management
Presented by: Rogier Gruys- Product Specialist, Product Innovation and Enhancement - Canadian Tourism Commission
Twenty-first century content needs to live on social networking sites, moulded for Web 2.0 applications, optimized for search engines, and to compete on a global scale, translated into several languages. With all these demands placed on content, it is easy to forget that first of all, we need to create appropriate content, tailored to our target audiences. More importantly, it needs to be updated and refreshed continuously.
In this workshop, Rogier Gruys will discuss strategies to create, find and distribute content (including images, maps and video), how to tailor it to your target audiences, and how to keep it fresh.
Presented by: Carson Pierce, Point B Marketing
* How to plan for success and avoid the pitfalls that can derail your website project.
* Developing your website is a bit of a moving target; it’s a dynamic, ever-evolving process that can really get away from you if you’re not careful.
* In this workshop, we’ll cover the tasks and steps you need to work through to ensure a successful (ie, on budget and on time) project.
* From research, goal setting, and planning to content gathering, design and testing, we’ll leave you with a plan outline that will help walk you through the website development minefield.
3:00 - 3:30 - Break
3:30 - 5:00 - Workshop Rotation #2
Beginner Track
Intermediate Track
Search Marketing 101
How to create Image and Video Ads
Presented by:Yahoo! Canada
* Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns let you connect with customers who are searching for your products and services.
* This workshop will focus on the basics of Search Marketing, How to get started, what type of budget you need and tips on Ad Writing.
Presented by:Blink Media Works
* Already running a Pay per Click Campaign?
* Learn about the features, creation process, and guidelines for image ads and Video Ads.
* Image ads are graphic ads that can be static (motionless) or animated
* Video ads are click-to-play or in-stream ads that appear on select content sites
* Video ads let you interact with and engage the user
Advanced Track
Strategy Development
Social, Local, Mobile- Web 2.0 of Search Marketing
How to Manage Geeks
Presented by: Malcolm Fraser President & Managing Partner ISL Inc.
* Should you be advertising on Facebook and other Social Media Sites?
* What type of advertising opportunities are available in Social Media
* Have you developed a Local Search Strategy?
* Is Mobile Marketing right for you?
Presented by: Rob Swick-Alpha Search
Remember the fable of the blind men and the elephants? Just like the elephant, a website has many, very different parts and can be different things to different people. As project leader, your challenge is to guide an eclectic group of professionals, each with their own view, to build that elephant from the ground up. Not an easy task! But it helps if you know that there are common biases among programmers, designers, clients, and other key players - and if you know where you’re going! This workshop, by an Internet marketing veteran with 11 years experience in managing web projects, will help your next project succeed by:
1. Helping you understand and assess key team members, their roles, obstacles, and skills.
2. Showing you whose vision matters most - and how to use that one fact to layout a plan that will keep the team focused on a common goal.
3. Giving you simple, practical tips and tricks, for managing the “geeks” (and others) around you, to get more done, with less hassle, and more success then before.
6 - 8 pm Travelzoo Cocktail Reception - “A Toast To Canada”, Imperial Ballroom
Day Two - May 14, 2008
8:00 - 9:00 - Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 9:15 - Opening remarks
* Honoring the DELS! Online Revealed Destination Education Leaders
9:15- 10:00 - Morning Keynote
Noreen Henry VP, Hotel & Packaging, Travelocity.com
“Breaking the Perception of Online Travel Agencies and Supplier Competition”
Noreen Henry will review recent research showing how suppliers and OTAs are not competing to the degree once thought. Armed with this information, there is an opportunity to focus on delivering an even better experience for consumers. At the same time, she will talk through all of the things the suppliers should now expect from their OTA distribution partners. And, she will discuss new technology that better serves consumers and suppliers.
10:00 - 10:45 - Panel Discussion
Come hear the top three search engines talk about what is happening with travel in Canada.
Panel and Moderator
* Chris Breikss, Co-Founder and President 6S Marketing
Panel
* Martin Byrne Director Search Marketing Yahoo! Canada
* Ken Headrick, Director of Marketing MSN
10:45- 11:00 - Break
11:00 - 12:00 - Workshop Rotation #3
Beginner Track
Intermediate Track
New Media- What is Web 2.0?
Animate My Site!
Presented by: Richard Kunz, Principal Consultant, Travel & Hospitality, T4G
* Blogs, RSS, Wikis, Mashups, technorati tags…what are these things?
* Come learn about the basic elements of Web 2.0 and determine if these new media platforms are nesscessary for your business
Presented by: Michael Pettlier, Partner, Virtual Visit
* Is Flash dead? Or can you incorporate Flash for users and Search Engines?
* What are the best uses of virtual visits, video and animation for your website?
* Learn how to incorporate the best elements of Rich Media on your website
Advanced Track
Strategy Development
Building a Community
Integrating your Online and Offline Spending
Presented by: Douglas Walker, Experiential Marketing Director , Venture Communications
Co-Founder, Rock, Paper, Scissors World Championship
Social media is all the buzz, with Communities popping up all over the place.
* How do you determine if a Social Media platform is right for you?
* If you build it will they come?
* What are the stages of creating Community?
* How do you create a social Media Strategy?
* Rock, Paper Scissors World Championship- Case Study
Presented by: Keith Tandy, Regional Online Trainer, Canwest Digital Media.
Traditional Media is still a valid portion of your marketing budget.
* How do you integrate your offline marketing to enhance your online strategy?
* Can you use traditional media to drive more qualified traffic to your website?
* How do you allocate your budgets for offline and online advertising?
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
* My Home Revealed 2008 Student Contest
1:00 - 2:30 - Workshop Rotation #4
Beginner Track
Intermediate Track
Bloggers Summit Analyze This!
Presented by: Stephen Joyce,
Co-founder and CEO, Sentias Software
* Have your organic presence be diagnosed by a professional. Live examples of how to improve YOUR site.
* How to prepare your website and identify conversion points
* How to target the right keywords and phrases
o Key bidding strategies
o Maximize returns and track conversions to ensure the success of your PPC Campaigns.
Presented by: Chris Breikss President 6S Marketing Inc.
* Online advertising is one of the most measurable forms of marketing
* What analytic tools are available?
* How can you measure ROI and CPA?
* What analytic data should you be paying attention to?
* What do you do with all that data?
Advanced Track
Strategy Development
Technology, Technology, Technology! Benchmarking Success
Presented by: Lindsay Smith, CEO & Producer- Massive Technology
* Choosing the right platform for your website can be challenging.
* Multiple browsers, foreign language, robust online products, integrating various booking engines , shopping carts and other applications…How do you get started?
* A Checklist for choosing the correct platform for your website
Presented by: Edward Perry Director of E-Commerce, World Hotels
* You have incorporated the elements of SEO, SEM, New Media and Analytics
* You have a solid plan and team in place
* How do you benchmark success?
* Come see Case Study Examples and learn how you can tie all the pieces together
2:30 - 3:00 - Break
3:00 - 4:00 - Panel Discussion
Canada & America- Are we really different?
Canadians are promoting tourism to Americans, Americans are encouraging Canadians to travel to the US. What are the similarities and differences between the two countries and how they are promoting tourism online? What effects will issues such as the currency exchange, passport requirements and gas prices play in the way the two countries market travel online?
Panel and Moderator
* Jens Thraenart, President & COO, TourismInternetMarketing.com
Panel
* Marriott Lodging Canada Inc. - Scott Allison Vice President, Sales & Marketing
* Orbitz - Ian Ross - Vice-President, Eastern Region - Partner Marketing, Orbitz Worldwide
* Travelzoo - Mandy Gresh Country Manager Travelzoo (Canada) Inc.
* TIG Global - Steven Paganelli, CDME, Vice President-DMO’s, TIG Global
* Realstar Hospitality - Eric Barber, Senior Director, Operations
4:00 - 5:00 - Closing KEYNOTE Presentation
* Henry Woodman, President- ICE Portal - “How to sell travel on the internet”
5:00 - 5:30 - Closing Remarks
6:30 - 8:30 - “Web 2.oooohh We’re Going to Party” The Mash-up Mixer
Event Sponsors
Global Sponsors
