CMA National Convention Wrap-Up

There was not enough love for the latest CMA(Canadian Marketing Association) National Convention and Trade Show which took place last week in Montreal on One Degree. In the interest of full disclosure, I sat on the organizing committee for this amazing three-day event, and here's my (somewhat biased) perspective: The theme of this year's CMA Conference was "Next:" - with the core message being, "what do marketers need to be on the look-out for." I was very fortunate to also win a coveted speaking slot, where I let loose on the digital marketing space and all of the opportunities marketers seem to not be paying enough attention to. My presentation was called _The Brand is Flat: How Brand Democratization is Going to Change Your Business...For The Better,_ and it was followed by One Degree contributor, "Bill Sweetman":http://www.onedegree.ca/category/bill-sweetman, who presented a stellar perspective with: _Impatience Is A Virtue: The Rise of the On Demand Consumer._

Whether it was "a keynote by Lovemarks and Sisomo author, Kevin Roberts":http://www.onedegree.ca/2006/05/16/the-interactive-gospel-according-to-kevin-roberts (CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi) or the experiential marketing brilliance of "Max Lenderman":http://experiencethemessage.typepad.com/ (author of Experience The Message and Creative Director at GMR Chicago), all speakers were there to show marketers the brave new worlds that are existing and not being monetized and newer worlds that have yet to be discovered. The final day featured a morning keynote from "Joseph Jaffe":http://www.jaffejuice.com/ (who is quickly becoming my favorite marketing guru). Jaffe brought his book, Life After The 30-Second Spot, to life in his presentation, and he points a virtual finger back at the advertising and marketing leaders in the room to get on board with new models and create a marketing environment that actually treats consumers with care and respect. Dr. Martha Rogers (Founding Partner at Peppers & Rogers Group - and also the person behind the one-to-one marketing model) gave a keynote - _Return on Customer: Creating Shareholder Value from Your Scarcest Resource_ – on Tuesday morning that was more data and technical driven, but in the end, Rogers, Lenderman, Roberts and the rest honed in to Jaffe's message. This is my loose translation: the traditional model is not working anymore. Consumers are much more powerful than marketers and they are marketing to each other. We need to wake up to this and get in on the conversation. We need to give them great content and get them excited about our brands by getting rid of the elitism. They own the brand. They are the brand. The best part about all of this for One Degree readers? It's all happening online and all advertising models and campaigns are waking up to the digital marketing world. Amen.