MARCOM Professional Development Annual Forum

An important stream each year at MARCOM is social marketing.

Influencing opinion and changing behaviour is becoming increasingly important. Social marketing seeks to influence and change behaviour to benefit the target audience and society at large. The problem facing most public sector and non-profit managers, is trying to develop a social marketing plan as they often have more information than can possibly be absorbed. They are also under pressure to have the plan done “yesterday” and to have the behaviour changed by “tomorrow”.

Anyone trying to understand a target
audience and how to influence their attitudes, values and beliefs will
want the latest expertise and MARCOM delivers some great sessions:

May 31 – Workshop:  9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Social Marketing Planning: Implementing an Effective Campaign

It’s time to go beyond awareness building and start using persuasive strategies like social marketing.  This intensive one-day Workshop will provide you with a workbook that guides you through the process for creating your own customized plan.
Jim Mintz | Managing Partner, CEPSM

For those non-profits and associations using social media who may not be realizing its real marketing potential as a means for developing and influencing relationships with members, funders, media, decision-makers and other key target communities, this session is for you.
Keenan Wellar | CEO, LiveWorkPlay
Stacey Diffin-Lafleur | Senior Director, Marketing and Communications, United Way Canada

In 2009 the Ontario Government reacted to a possible Mumps outbreak with a social marketing campaign.  What resulted was a fascinating multi-media integrated campaign with staggering results.
Dennis Edell | CEO, Rain43
Yvette Thornley | Assistant Director of Communications, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

REGISTER NOW :  Early Bird only 2 weeks away – April 15th

Full Link for those who need: http://www.marcom.ca/index.php/forum/tuition-fees/

JUNE 9: 09:00 – 16:30
Essential Selling Skills Bootcamp

Bernie Colterman | President, Colterman Marketing Group (CMG) Canada

One of the biggest challenges facing not-for-profit and government organizations is how to effectively engage and recruit corporate partners. This one-day workshop is designed for fund development and sponsorship managers and related professionals involved in soliciting corporate funds and/or in-kind services who want to take a more professional approach towards selling. It will provide the essential sales training you need to be more effective at reaching potential prospects, presenting your solutions and influencing the decision-making process.

Where? At MARCOM June 11, 8:30 a.m.
What? “Leading the Charge” Panel: Marketing Driven Organizations in Government

Facilitator: Jim Mintz | Director, Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing
Karen Dufton | Senior Director General, Service Canada, Head, Marketing and Communications
Greg MacDougall | Director, Communications, CATSA
Lisa Allaire | Director General, Production and Advertising Services, Department of National Defence

What is a marketing-driven organization? What are some of the challenges faced in transforming a bureaucratic culture into a customer-centric organization? How do you get buy-in across the organization? These are some of the questions that will be answered by our panel of public sector marketing leaders who will share their experience and expertise on how they are creating a dynamic marketing culture in their organizations and what you can do to advance marketing as a powerful business transformation tool.

The social marketing approach will put users on the cutting edge of social change. Social marketing need not be expensive; but a way of thinking and approaching behavioral change and not a way of spending money… it is not an ad campaign! It is a tool; really a process and set of tools wrapped in a philosophy for helping an organization do what it wants to do to better society.

To be successful social marketers should focus on aggressive listening rather than aggressive promotion. The planning process starts and finishes with research, and research is conducted throughout to inform the development of the strategy.