Students attend IAB MIXX Conference 2012

The IAB MIXX Conference took place at the Carlu in downtown Toronto last week and Humber students were once again invited to attend. The theme of the 2012 conference was Fighting for Attention: How Brands Win which focused on how brands are using new and interesting ways to make sure that they remain current and "front and centre" (http://www.mixxcanada.com/)

The conference featured some great speakers who are truly embracing the new ways that they can reach customers. These are companies that are not afraid to put the gloves on and fight to gain customer trust and loyalty.  This year's fearless speakers included:

• Bryan Johnston, CMO, The Ultimate Fighting Championship, ZUFFA (LLC) USA 
• Justin Kingsley, VP Strategy + Partner, Sid Lee (CAN)
• Sherrill Mane, SVP Industry, IAB US (USA) 
• Joan Fitzgerald, Vice President, TV and Cross-Media Solutions, comScore (USA)
• Mark Greenspan, Community Director, Next Media (CAN) 
• Tom Fotheringham, Director, Digital Solutions, OMD (CAN)
• Tara Walpert Levy, Global Director of YouTube Ads Marketing, Google (USA

While each speaker talked about the importance of the use of new technologies to reach potential and current customers one of the speakers that I found to be the most engaging  was Tara Walpert Levy of Google. Walpert Levy discussed the importance of video for reaching customers of today. In fact, according to Levy "90% of internet traffic next year will be video." (Levy, IAB MIXX 2012) 

During her presentation Levy told attendees that they have to make video work for them. They need to: 

• move hard to reach audiences
• act on new consumer insights 
• drive loyalty in an active community in an ongoing way

She gave the audience the perfect example, Justin Bieber. Bieber is the perfect example of making video and the internet work for you and ensuring that the web is what you make it. According to Levy, and I'm sure that Bieber's millions of fans would agree; Justin Bieber is "a master brand builder in today's digital age and he has built his brand almost entirely in digital." (Levy, IAB MIXX 2012)

Along with Walpert Levy, another highlight of the conference for many students was the presentations from Justin Kingsley and Bryan Johnston of Sid Lee and The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
It was interesting for students to learn that both UFC and Georges St. Pierre do not attract the audience that most precieve them to. In fact, "UFC attracts the second most affluent audience after the PGA and airs in more than 500 million households."(Johnston, IAB MIXX 2012).

Not only has UFC created a extensive world wide following but so has Georges St-Pierre by teaching his fans seven important lessons:

• Surround yourself with people better than you so you can become better
• What gets measured gets done
• Love the haters, fans will take care of them for you
• Give your fans something to do 
• Show your weaknesses 
• Be honest and generate more love and appreciation from your fans
• Turn struggle into an opportunity

Take a look at this video to see how Georges St- Pierre and Sid Lee have helped fans connect with Georges brand. 

-Rachel 

Top 10 Study Tips

Exam season can be a very stressful time for students. It can be difficult to manage study priorities like what to study, how long to study, or even how to study so with that in mind and the summer exam season about to begin here are some important tips for successful studying that may help ease that exam stress.

1) Ask your professor about the format of the exam. Knowing the type of questions that will be on the exam will help you know what and how to study.

2) Find a comfortable and distraction free space to set up your study centre. Make sure you have all the necessary supplies: pencils, pens, paper, notes, textbooks,  calculator, water and snacks.

3) Read only the parts of the textbook that cover what you need to know. If your professor tells you to focus solely on the material taught in class use the textbook as a reference for things that you don't understand.

4) Make summary notes of your class notes and important textbook chapters. Summary notes help to highlight the most important concepts that could or will appear on an exam.

5) Study in a group. Group studying can help with retention of important concepts. Take turns quizzing one another and explaining important course concepts. Having someone else explain something to you in a different way may help you better understand information that may be confusing

6) Practice the types of questions that will be on the exam. By practicing exam type questions you will be better prepared for what you will see when you open the exam booklet. If your professor has provided you with review exercises, complete those, they will give you a clue as to what questions you can expect.

7) Make a schedule so that you can maximize your study time. Often, students have more than one or two exams to study for during exam week so time management is very important. By making a study schedule you can give each course the focus that it deserves and ensure that you are ready for all of your exams.

8) Get some sleep. Pulling an all nighter does not lead to exam success. Get lots of sleep the night before each exam. This gives your brain time to rest and helps with recall of important concepts once you get into the exam.

9) Eat well. Make sure that you are eating well during your studying. Snacking during studying can help you stay focused and awake. Choose foods that are healthy such as carrots, apples and nuts.

10) Do not start studying the night before. One night of studying is not enough to learn all the information that you have be taught over an entire semester. Use your time wisely and ensure that you are preparing in advance so you feel comfortable when you walk into the exam.

-Rachel 

Networking using your "network"

Networking has always been an important aspect of the job search, whether it be searching for that first job opportunity or looking for a change in career. With new job opportunities, competition and changes in the workforce traditional networking has also changed.


Students, executives, human resources managers understand the importance of networking and there are numerous tips available to help job seekers get in touch with and stay in touch with potential employers. Some of these tips include:

• Connect with your school's alumni association 

• Have a clear idea of what you want and what you are looking for 

• Know who you are

• Use business cards

• Use business networks

Perhaps the most important of these tips when hunting for that first career and looking for helpful and meaningful connections is use business networks. Job seekers and students should "think of Facebook as a virtual cafe where people easily talk between tables and think of LinkedIn as a conference that is always in session." (http://www.randstad.ca/finding_jobs/ctVideo/successful-networking.aspx)


While communication and connections have become much easier with the rise of business networks, it is important to remember that these networks, especially Facebook should be kept private and be monitored for inappropriate content. Despite these privacy concerns Facebook remains the most popular social networking site for Canadians. Recently however, LinkedIn has begun to grow in popularity amongst professionals and students who are seeking to connect. In fact, "one in six Canadians are now members of LinkedIn,"(http://business.financialpost.com/2012/01/19/linkedin-tops-five-million-users-in-canada/) and that number continues to grow with a 66% increase since 2011.


So with such a steady increase in membership and a continually growing community of professionals waiting to network how can young professionals maximize the potential that LinkedIn has to offer?


1) Sign up for discussion groups- these groups will connect you with people in your field and allow you to remain current on what is happening within your industry.


2) Invite and accept connections from people that you know or have worked with in the past- they may be able to recommend you for a position or provide you with career advice.


3) If you feel that you may share a common interest with someone you are not connected with contact them privately to ask for a connection.


With it's growing network of professionals and openness to connecting with important industry individuals LinkedIn is helping students worldwide enter the world of networking with full support and assistance from major companies and corporations actively seeking bright and tech savvy graduates.

-Rachel

Ad Buzz give advice to new grads

On June 8, lucky new graduates and current students attended the sold out inaugural Ad Buzz event "What You Weren't Taught in School." The goal of the one day conference was to teach recent advertising and marketing graduates the tips and tricks of "how to get in, fit in and be amazing in the advertising industry."(http://theadbuzz.com/WYWTIS.html)

The event, was held in downtown Toronto at the historical Arts and Letters Club . Students were provided with advice and insights from some of marketing and advertising's most influential people including:

Ron Tite: President, The Tite Group
Leslie Ehm: Principal, Three Training
Trina Boos: President, Boost Agents & Ad Lounge
Ken Dobell: President, Digital, DAC Group
Luke Sullivan: Author, Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This


The speakers spoke to students about the importance of being a brand, understanding your role, building relationships and how to figure out what you need to become the best possible version of yourself and why people should care and take notice of who you are.

But, perhaps the most anticipated and best advice came from author and instructor Luke Sullivan. Luke spoke to the attendees about the importance of tension in advertising and that creating advertising around tension "can often leverage these tensions and help creatives produce more and often better work."( Luke Sullivan, 8 June, 2012)



In his presentation he told the audience that there are two major questions that advertisers and marketers must ask themselves when looking at and starting a campaign:
1) What is the truest thing I can say about this product or category?
2) Where is the emotion in this product, service or category?

In the end the message
of all of these speakers was to create an image for yourself, an idea of yourself that people want to pay attention to, create something that is interesting because "when everything is okay, we're not interested." (Luke Sullivan)

Click on the video below to see a message from Luke Sullivan.

-Rachel

Humber Students attend the IAB Mixx Conference

Last week students from the Humber College Internet Marketing class were invited to attend the IAB Mixx Conference downtown Toronto. The annual conference welcomed the students to learn about the trends within Digital Marketing from respected industry professionals. The full-day conference focused on the areas of: innovations in efficiencies, creative ideas and consumer experiences within Digital marketing.

The event featured innovative and insightful information from six industry professionals covering all areas of digital marketing. The presenters included:

·         Jeff Rosenblum, Documentary Filmmaker "The Naked Brand", Co-President and co-founder, Questus

·         Geoff Ramsey, CEO and co-founder, eMarketer

·         Randy Weyersberg, Vice President Marketing, Canadian Tire

·         Steve Mykolyn, Chief Creative Officer, Taxi

·         Sheldon Owen, CEO, Unified,

·         Wendy Robertson, CEO and Co-founder, Kneebon

Throughout the day, all of the presenters touched upon key areas within the world of Digital Marketing. The importance of transparency, social responsibility, trust and creativity were highly stressed by each presenter. In order to touch upon all of these areas I would like to refer to the presentation from Randy Weyersberg on the Canadian Tire House of Innovation.

The House of Innovation

Last year Canadian Tire purchased a four-bedroom, two-bathroom fixer-upper home in Toronto. The purchase made Canadian Tire the first major brand to ever own a home in Canada. Upon purchasing the home, Canadian Tire launched their ‘Bring it on’ campaign, which focused on trying to better understand the struggles and duties that typical Canadian homeowners face. The campaign kicked off with a large banner advertisement on the homepages of Youtube and Facebook along with a micro site, which contained twenty videos featuring various products that are available for sale at the massive Canadian retailer. The goal was to feature the various products as they made everyday repairs and replacements to the home. Canadian Tire pledged that once the home was completely fixed up, they would sell it and donate all of the proceeds to their national charity ‘Jumpstart’.

I wanted to share this example as I feel that the House of Innovation covers all of the key areas of: transparency, social responsibility, trust and creativity. Not only did Canadian Tire make their brand truly transparent and trustworthy by replicating a level of similarity between the average Canadian homeowner and the brand; but also they were extremely creative in their approach to target and educate the average homeowner. In addition, they even pledged to be socially responsibility by donating all of the proceeds to their charity.

The entire conference was filled with extremely valuable and insightful information. The House of Innovation was only one of the many examples that helped unify all of the main points throughout the event. Again, I would like to extend a very special thank you to the IAB Mixx Conference and Humber College for not only inviting the students but for also making opportunities such as these available. I truly believe that keeping up-to-date with industry trends is an essential ingredient for success; I highly encourage all students to take advantage of the various networking and conference opportunities that are available to them.

Check out this video for more insight into the Canadian Tire House of Innovation: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXvTDHtXAIM

-Tim

How to make your blog stand out

The increased accessibility of social networks has allowed for the average individual to make their voice heard throughout the entire world. With over 500 million active blogs worldwide, it is very difficult to make your blog stand out. The attraction is due to the level of creativity and freedom of expression that each blog holds- from vacation destinations to movie reviews and even wedding tips, there is a blog for virtually everything! In this blog I will be highlighting five tips to make your blog stand out amongst the crowd. 

#1- Choose a unique topic

Choosing an effective blog topic is easier said than done. The most important aspect is finding an area of interest that you actually enjoy. Try and narrow the focus of your topic to one or a few specific areas. Don’t always jump at selecting the latest and most popular trend. If you are knowledgeable and take pleasure in your topic, it will be well translated into your writing. After all, the last thing that you want is an over-saturated blog topic that will get lost in the crowd.

#2- The title is everything

Nothing is worse then trying to find a specific blog and being faced with titles that are completely unrelated and irrelevant to the topic. When choosing a title it is important to keep it short, bold and catchy. Ensure that the title clearly explains what the blog is about while also catching and holding the readers interest and attention.

#3- Create an attractive design

The appearance of your blog is very important as visitors will decided if they want to stay on the blog solely based on the appearance regardless of the content. It is important to be creative, take the time to create your own blog background rather than relying on a template. In addition, carefully divide your content into relative segments to better organize your content. Lastly, make sure that your blog includes a variety of different widgets including: social media sharing buttons, search bar, blog archive and contact information. 

  

#4- Be visual

A blog is much more than the words that you write and the information that you share; it encompasses a variety of different visual elements to appeal to the readers senses. The most effective blogs include a variety of pictures, videos, charts and graphics in order to capture and hold the readers interest. It is very important to try and incorporate an image or video into every blog post that you write. Not only will it make the blog look more appealing, but it will also help drive traffic through the use of outbound links.

#5- Update your content regularly

The key to having a successful blog is regularly updating the content with timely information that your readers can relate to. Updating your blogs content will not only ensure that the blog contains relative information, but it will also assist in increase the level of traffic to your site. Search engines such as Google, uses algorithms to systematically rank your blog amongst all of the possible search results. One of the main components in ranking websites is based upon the frequency of updated information within your blog. The best practice is to create a schedule with a list of topics that you will write about on a weekly basis; this will help you stay on track and remain focused.

The last step is to have FUN! The above information may seem difficult and tedious, but it will help ensure that your blog is successful.

Creating and managing a blog can feel very rewarding; simply watching the metrics grow is one of the most exciting aspects. Engage with your readers, capture their interest and remember to have fun!

Here is a short video that explains the concepts of a blog in plain English, check it out here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI

-Tim

Humber Students Volunteer their time!

Humber College students Courtney Dicks, Catherine Laramore and Karla Olivares have graciously volunteered their time to help strengthen online communications for the Dufferin Hi-Land Bruce Trail Club (DHBTC). This non-profit organization needed help in this area and Humber marketing students rose to the challenge.

The students have done an exceptional job creating a welcoming, stylish and informative online presence using a blog, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to communicate to the target market using social media. The blog showcases the beauty of the Dufferin Hi-Land Bruce Trail, provides details on membership, events, trail information and a hiker’s guideline. Social media will be used to connect and engage with online users, in order to stimulate interest and capture attention. In addition, social media will act as an outlet for effectively communicating trail information and updates.

A screen shot of the DHBTC Blog 

The challenge was to build on the trail’s respected brand image and to increase its online presence with current members, new members, and its various trail users.  The students turned to skills obtained in their marketing communications and Internet marketing courses and worked to establish a solid social media presence for the DHBTC. “The greatest challenge was coordinating all the content into a unified platform that could be easily interpreted and shared,” explains Courtney Dicks .“The most enjoyable aspect is engaging people through social media.”

Christina Clements, Humber Internet Marketing professor states these types of volunteer activities give students an edge and some experience they can point to in a resume. “These students are very talented and motivated and I am thrilled at the work they are doing for the Dufferin Hi-Land Bruce Trail. I have no doubt that their efforts will increase awareness for the DHBTC!" She goes on to express that International Marketing professor, John Dickason, made this opportunity available to students and is helping liaise with the non-profit organization.

This student work is an excellent example of the skills and caliber of the marketing students at Humber College. Please take a moment to check the links below that showcase the students’ work. I am sure they would be thrilled if you LIKED and FOLLOWED the Facebook and Twitter pages and SUBSCRIBED to the blog!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dufferin-Hi-Land-Bruce-Trail-Club/176393675798814

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DHBTC

Blog: http://dufferinhilandbrucetrailclub.blogspot.com/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dhbtc/

-Tim