The Marketing Hall of Legends just announced the 2011 inductees. The gala event takes place next year, April 14th at Roy Thomson Hall. The MHOL was conceived in 2004 by Mandrake and the Toronto Chapter of the AMA.
My firm has been involved with the MHOL for a number of years and this year we will once again be conducting media relations around the announcement and the gala event. This year I personally lent my support to the MHOL judging panel.... I can tell you first hand, not an easy task with so many qualified and outstanding marketing professionals in Canada. But the list of inductees is impressive and sooooooo truly Canadian. I am so proud to have been part of making this selection. See all the inductees here.
The gala format will have a new twist: a two-tiered format. So if you want the full enchilada .... sit down VIP dinner (no enchiladas will be served!), networking event, gala and after party you need to fork out $495 a ticket. (total deal and you get up close and personal with the legends). Second tier is at $225. For that you still get fed (buffet), networking, gala and after party. A great price point if you don’t want the swish sit down dinner part. And oh ya .... alcohol is included. For tickets please call 416 922-5600 ext. 255.
I am urging the PR community to get behind this event and come out and support the MHOL and the honourees. I’d like to see way more PR folks support these kinds of events and be part of the larger marketing community. Last year, there were only a handful of PR agency professionals in attendance. Too bad, because the event was outstanding. If you didn’t make it out last year, you missed inductee, the legendary Geoffrey Roche, pay tribute to his wife with a full –on gospel choir! The highlight of the evening for sure!
Congrats to all the inductees and see you on the 14th.
Showing posts with label Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Awards. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Canadian Marketing Awards: My Highlights
Friday night I attended the Canadian Marketing Awards at the Westin Harbor Castle. It was my first time attending this show, and it definitely won’t be my last!
It was a fabulous evening that celebrated spectacular work in Canada from various marketing disciplines like traditional advertising, digital, promotions and of course a few PR campaigns made the list.
The big winner was DDB Toronto for their work on Subaru—you know the ads with those loveable, hunky, Sumo wrestlers! Go Big or Go Home! And they did go home, with tons of awards. It was the Ben Hur of the evening. DDB were up on the podium seven times – sweeping category after category and then finishing with the top overall award of the night. I had the pleasure of having drinks with the DDB team and the Subaru client just prior to the show and their wins couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys! Thanks to Prez David Leonard for buying me all those very expensive cocktails! Next one is on me.
Other highlights of the evening included big wins for John Street and their War Child campaign; McDonald’s Free Coffee campaign; Rethink’s Coast Capital Savings; TAXI II for Mini (nice going Lance!) and my pals at Doner Canada for their win on MAZDA3 “33 Keys” – that was a proud moment for Maverick too as our little agency helped spread the word on that campaign. Nice work Dave! Get Strategy Magazine that will run down the bronze, silver and gold award winners in full.
However, the best part of the evening for me was connecting with all the ad agency folks I have done business with in the past and continue to. The blessing of the evening was the fact that I didn’t run into any smarmy PR folks .. so refreshing to mingle with creative and agency heads who don’t speak to you like their on a message track.
I ran into my friend, Geoffrey Roche (his agency won an award for their work on ALS, a very moving, compelling spot); Aldo Cundari who was a major sponsor of the show and took home some hardware too for work with the LCBO; the dynamic duo Bill Sharpe and Tom Blackmore, the most sincerest and funniest guys in the biz and finally met Mitch Joel of Twist Image very cool guy, he looks just like his blog photo. But making my highlight reel complete is when I ran into Tony Chapman of Capital C. The guy is truly one of Canada’s most creative guys and knows the value of PR for his own brand, even better than Lavoie. So I see him, and I say “Hi.” I get the blank stare, he has no clue who I am, and I don’t blame him. He probably knows like a million people and I have one of those forgettable faces. So I’m like, “Remember me? Julie from Maverick.” Ahhhh, the fog lifts, he puts two and two together. “Ya right, how are you? You’re independent right? We should do some business together.” Yeah, I’ve been waiting over a year. So call me already! By the way Tony, nice skinny tie you were wearing, you pulled that look off.
I have to give a special shout out to two people who literally saved my night. As a last minute ticket buyer, I was relegated to the backwoods table – you know the one, the sorry ass singles table where they forget to put the centerpiece, no wait staff and you are up in a corner with dim lighting talking to a guy selling post cards. Well, David Engel of Innovative Graphics (a client of ours) and marketing maven Mona Goldstein come and whisk me away from purgatory and placed me at their very prominent table holding centre court. That was sweet! Thank you sooooo much!
'Cuz in the words of the immortal Patrick Swayze … “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
To next year. I’m buying my ticket early!
It was a fabulous evening that celebrated spectacular work in Canada from various marketing disciplines like traditional advertising, digital, promotions and of course a few PR campaigns made the list.
The big winner was DDB Toronto for their work on Subaru—you know the ads with those loveable, hunky, Sumo wrestlers! Go Big or Go Home! And they did go home, with tons of awards. It was the Ben Hur of the evening. DDB were up on the podium seven times – sweeping category after category and then finishing with the top overall award of the night. I had the pleasure of having drinks with the DDB team and the Subaru client just prior to the show and their wins couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys! Thanks to Prez David Leonard for buying me all those very expensive cocktails! Next one is on me.
Other highlights of the evening included big wins for John Street and their War Child campaign; McDonald’s Free Coffee campaign; Rethink’s Coast Capital Savings; TAXI II for Mini (nice going Lance!) and my pals at Doner Canada for their win on MAZDA3 “33 Keys” – that was a proud moment for Maverick too as our little agency helped spread the word on that campaign. Nice work Dave! Get Strategy Magazine that will run down the bronze, silver and gold award winners in full.
However, the best part of the evening for me was connecting with all the ad agency folks I have done business with in the past and continue to. The blessing of the evening was the fact that I didn’t run into any smarmy PR folks .. so refreshing to mingle with creative and agency heads who don’t speak to you like their on a message track.
I ran into my friend, Geoffrey Roche (his agency won an award for their work on ALS, a very moving, compelling spot); Aldo Cundari who was a major sponsor of the show and took home some hardware too for work with the LCBO; the dynamic duo Bill Sharpe and Tom Blackmore, the most sincerest and funniest guys in the biz and finally met Mitch Joel of Twist Image very cool guy, he looks just like his blog photo. But making my highlight reel complete is when I ran into Tony Chapman of Capital C. The guy is truly one of Canada’s most creative guys and knows the value of PR for his own brand, even better than Lavoie. So I see him, and I say “Hi.” I get the blank stare, he has no clue who I am, and I don’t blame him. He probably knows like a million people and I have one of those forgettable faces. So I’m like, “Remember me? Julie from Maverick.” Ahhhh, the fog lifts, he puts two and two together. “Ya right, how are you? You’re independent right? We should do some business together.” Yeah, I’ve been waiting over a year. So call me already! By the way Tony, nice skinny tie you were wearing, you pulled that look off.
I have to give a special shout out to two people who literally saved my night. As a last minute ticket buyer, I was relegated to the backwoods table – you know the one, the sorry ass singles table where they forget to put the centerpiece, no wait staff and you are up in a corner with dim lighting talking to a guy selling post cards. Well, David Engel of Innovative Graphics (a client of ours) and marketing maven Mona Goldstein come and whisk me away from purgatory and placed me at their very prominent table holding centre court. That was sweet! Thank you sooooo much!
'Cuz in the words of the immortal Patrick Swayze … “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
To next year. I’m buying my ticket early!
Monday, March 30, 2009
IABC Toronto Maverick Student of the Year Award
Ok, kids. You have exactly one month to get your entry in for the most coveted award at the IABC Ovation Awards ceremonies coming up end of May in Toronto.
That’s right, you can forget about the Best Media Relations Campaign or Best Event awards (I sure have, ‘cuz we’re not picking up any trophies this year, the judges apparently didn’t understand our objectives section, which is too bad, because we kicked-ass on measurement and creativity and the judges seemingly have tunnel vision when it comes to reading award submissions) ooops sorry, that was my inner voice talking....back to original blog post.
The Maverick Student of the Year Award is all about you, the great PR student. This is the fifth straight year that Maverick has sponsored this award through IABC and we love handing it out to worthy students!
It’s easy (and FREE!) to enter. Just click on this link, for details and write a two-page press release on how you plan to make a difference in the PR industry. HINT: social media better make a star appearance in your submission.
If you are the lucky winner of this award, here’s what’s in it for you: an evening out with the Who’s Who of the Toronto PR community, a seat at my corporate table (which, for you, will probably feel like a three-hour interview!); the opportunity to go on stage, shake my hand and be publicly recognized by the PR community; bragging rights on your resume, a few trade media hits and a feature in your school newsletter; and, lastly and most importantly, a handsome $500 cheque to be spent on anything you like. And if you want to buy me dinner with it, that’s cool, too!
I’m the key judge on the entries so ensure you do the following:
Don’t make any spelling errors on the submission or I will toss it directly into the blue bin;
Be creative. Make your submission stand out;
Showcase extracurricular activities and volunteer work;
Make the deadline of April 30.
Good luck, and may the best PR student win!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Pleasantville meets The Stepford Wives
This Thursday night I will be attending the annual IABC Ovation Awards in Toronto. This is one of Toronto’s most prestigious and important award shows for the PR industry. MAVERICK is not only going to grab a few awards that night, but we are the proud sponsors of the Student of the Year Award.
I really look forward to this event as it’s nice to get out every once in a while and see some old friends and colleagues in the business. Since you can’t write on my Facebook wall ('cuz I don’t have an account), this is a great way for me to catch up.
I particularly love chatting it up with other agency folks. But, I swear, I have the same conversation each year. PR agency types are known for their warm handshakes, ear-to-ear grins and gushing positivity. It’s like the Stepford Wives descended into Pleasantville for a night.
If you’re not going to the show, don’t worry. This is how most of the conversations will go. I will write the dialogue à la James Frey (that Million Little Pieces faker):
Heeeeeeey! Great to see you!
Omigod, great to see you too! Love that outfit!
Did you cut your hair? Looks awesome!
Thanks! Seeing this wonderful stylist in Yorkville.
Are you up for any awards tonight?
Of course! And I’m here with my client too.
Oh, that’s great. How is business?
Amazing, having one of our best years yet. And you?
Oh fantastico. Just landed a huge client. We’re so thrilled.
That’s terrific. How is (insert name here) working out?
Oh, just grand. One of my best hires yet.
That’s great to hear.
Well, it was wonderful seeing you. You look great, as usual.
Ya, you too! See you around. Have fun tonight.
You, too!
(end with big teeth smiles and air kisses)
Feel a sugar rush coming on? ‘Cuz that’s basically the dialogue most of the night. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that PR people are fake or laying it on thick, but PR people pretty much stick to a standard core message. After all, didn’t we invent the message track?
Once, just once, I would love to hear a conversation go something like this:
Hey, are you okay? You look like crap.
I’m so bloody tired.
Why?
I’m short staffed and I can’t seem to find anybody at the mid-level with half a brain.
I hear so and so is looking. Have you talked to her?
Are you kidding? I heard that miserable cow can’t hold down a gig for six months. What about you? How’s biz?
Not bad, but just had one of my big clients back off a huge project this quarter.
That’s gonna leave a mark.
No kidding.
I heard you won the XYZ account. How’s that working out?
Talk about high-maintenance. We’re over servicing it big time. I think we’re 50K in the hole already.
So glad we lost that pitch to you!
Listen I gotta run. My table ran out of drink chits and they’re too cheap to buy any themselves.
Yeah, me too. Gotta go.
Bye
See Ya
(both shrug and wave a gentle goodbye)
What conversation will you have on Thursday night?
Til then…
I really look forward to this event as it’s nice to get out every once in a while and see some old friends and colleagues in the business. Since you can’t write on my Facebook wall ('cuz I don’t have an account), this is a great way for me to catch up.
I particularly love chatting it up with other agency folks. But, I swear, I have the same conversation each year. PR agency types are known for their warm handshakes, ear-to-ear grins and gushing positivity. It’s like the Stepford Wives descended into Pleasantville for a night.
If you’re not going to the show, don’t worry. This is how most of the conversations will go. I will write the dialogue à la James Frey (that Million Little Pieces faker):
Heeeeeeey! Great to see you!
Omigod, great to see you too! Love that outfit!
Did you cut your hair? Looks awesome!
Thanks! Seeing this wonderful stylist in Yorkville.
Are you up for any awards tonight?
Of course! And I’m here with my client too.
Oh, that’s great. How is business?
Amazing, having one of our best years yet. And you?
Oh fantastico. Just landed a huge client. We’re so thrilled.
That’s terrific. How is (insert name here) working out?
Oh, just grand. One of my best hires yet.
That’s great to hear.
Well, it was wonderful seeing you. You look great, as usual.
Ya, you too! See you around. Have fun tonight.
You, too!
(end with big teeth smiles and air kisses)
Feel a sugar rush coming on? ‘Cuz that’s basically the dialogue most of the night. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that PR people are fake or laying it on thick, but PR people pretty much stick to a standard core message. After all, didn’t we invent the message track?
Once, just once, I would love to hear a conversation go something like this:
Hey, are you okay? You look like crap.
I’m so bloody tired.
Why?
I’m short staffed and I can’t seem to find anybody at the mid-level with half a brain.
I hear so and so is looking. Have you talked to her?
Are you kidding? I heard that miserable cow can’t hold down a gig for six months. What about you? How’s biz?
Not bad, but just had one of my big clients back off a huge project this quarter.
That’s gonna leave a mark.
No kidding.
I heard you won the XYZ account. How’s that working out?
Talk about high-maintenance. We’re over servicing it big time. I think we’re 50K in the hole already.
So glad we lost that pitch to you!
Listen I gotta run. My table ran out of drink chits and they’re too cheap to buy any themselves.
Yeah, me too. Gotta go.
Bye
See Ya
(both shrug and wave a gentle goodbye)
What conversation will you have on Thursday night?
Til then…
Friday, May 11, 2007
Thoughts on PR Awards
Well, the IABC Toronto PR Awards were handed out this past Tuesday and I have to give it a great big A … for Absenteeism! What has happened to our industry? If the awards show was to honour the best of the best and be inclusive of the work from Toronto PR agencies, then we are a bunch of insular, apathetic, “who-gives-a-crap about awards” community. Tuesday was a reflection of that attitude and it was really sad to see.
Sorry for the mudslinging, but we should all be embarrassed if these PR awards are to be a shining example of our work, our profession or our people. The awards night fell short on its potential on so many levels (I won’t get into the venue or logistics cuz that is a separate blog altogether!). I’m referring to the quality of entries, the firms who participated, and the level of sponsorship - or rather the lack thereof.
Let me first point out this isn’t a “sour grapes” posting - anything but. MAVERICK took home a nice haul of awards including one big prize for media relations over $50K budget and three Awards of Merit in media relations under $50k. We are also a sponsor of the MAVERICK Student Award, into which we contribute thousands of sponsorship dollars each year. MAVERICK does its part and will continue to do so in the future. But where the heck is everyone else?
Nobody seems to care about these awards (or any other PR award shows) outside of a handful of independent PR firms, a few banks and maybe one public sector entity. That said, maybe the organizers should rename it the IABC Indie Awards. The big multinationals seem to have completely ignored what many of us believe is essential to the industry: awards and peer recognition. This show received only about 100 entries. In a city like ours, how pathetic is that?
Throughout the evening I kept on hearing the same firms win their trophies: … Apex … Apex … Strategic Objectives … Apex … MAVERICK … … Cohn & Wolfe, (wait a minute, how did that big multinational get in?) Environics … Strategic Objectives … Peel Region (they always get in there for a few) … Apex. You get my drift. By the way, please print out this paragraph and bring it to the next awards show. Should be about the same lineup of winners for next year.
So here is my personal and professional plea to all the “other” agencies: Enter awards, be proud of our industry and, moreover be proud of your own work and your clients. We compete against each other daily on RFPs, so why can’t we compete collectively for awards? Let’s make PR awards really worthy of earning one by having a real and honest competition inclusive of as many firms as possible and not the same old band of independents who dominate awards entries. These shows are getting tiresome and boring. What’s truly heartbreaking is that the value of these awards has been diminished by a lack of support from large agencies and their corporate clients.
Sorry for the mudslinging, but we should all be embarrassed if these PR awards are to be a shining example of our work, our profession or our people. The awards night fell short on its potential on so many levels (I won’t get into the venue or logistics cuz that is a separate blog altogether!). I’m referring to the quality of entries, the firms who participated, and the level of sponsorship - or rather the lack thereof.
Let me first point out this isn’t a “sour grapes” posting - anything but. MAVERICK took home a nice haul of awards including one big prize for media relations over $50K budget and three Awards of Merit in media relations under $50k. We are also a sponsor of the MAVERICK Student Award, into which we contribute thousands of sponsorship dollars each year. MAVERICK does its part and will continue to do so in the future. But where the heck is everyone else?
Nobody seems to care about these awards (or any other PR award shows) outside of a handful of independent PR firms, a few banks and maybe one public sector entity. That said, maybe the organizers should rename it the IABC Indie Awards. The big multinationals seem to have completely ignored what many of us believe is essential to the industry: awards and peer recognition. This show received only about 100 entries. In a city like ours, how pathetic is that?
Throughout the evening I kept on hearing the same firms win their trophies: … Apex … Apex … Strategic Objectives … Apex … MAVERICK … … Cohn & Wolfe, (wait a minute, how did that big multinational get in?) Environics … Strategic Objectives … Peel Region (they always get in there for a few) … Apex. You get my drift. By the way, please print out this paragraph and bring it to the next awards show. Should be about the same lineup of winners for next year.
So here is my personal and professional plea to all the “other” agencies: Enter awards, be proud of our industry and, moreover be proud of your own work and your clients. We compete against each other daily on RFPs, so why can’t we compete collectively for awards? Let’s make PR awards really worthy of earning one by having a real and honest competition inclusive of as many firms as possible and not the same old band of independents who dominate awards entries. These shows are getting tiresome and boring. What’s truly heartbreaking is that the value of these awards has been diminished by a lack of support from large agencies and their corporate clients.
I welcome the competition with open arms. C’mon, we’re waiting!
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