February 22, 2011
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News & Updates
- Last chance to enter the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards!
- Last Notice! Effective Communications for Community Investment (Breakfast Seminar)
- NEW! IABC/Toronto 2010 Communicator of the Year Breakfast
- Have you completed our 2011 Membership survey?
- NEW! Write Like you Talk, Only Better (evening seminar)
- Remember – Join IABC or renew your membership by February 28th to take advantage of reduced rate!
- Enter by March 31st - IABC/Toronto’s Student of the Year
- Enter now! The Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award
- NEW! PIC presents: Interview with your website
Of Special Interest
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Events Calendar
February 24, 2011
Community Investment & CSR (breakfast seminar)
March 22, 2011
Write Like you Talk, Only Better (evening seminar)
March 30, 2011
IABC/Toronto 2010 Communicator of the Year Breakfast
April 6, 2011
PIC presents: Interview with your website
June 12-15, 2011
IABC 2011 World Conference – San Diego, California
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Last chance to enter the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards!
Is your OVATION entry ready? The OVATION Awards are the perfect opportunity to step up and show your colleagues how you stand out. You still have time to make the last-minute deadline!
OVATION Last-Minute Entry Date – 5 p.m. February 25, 2011
Notification of 2011 OVATION Winners - April 2011
OVATION Awards Gala – May 26, 2011 at the Liberty Grand
Everything you need to know about this prestigious awards program can be found in the Call for Entries.
Not sure which category to enter or have any last minute questions? Please send them to Katie O’Dell, IABC/Toronto’s VP Awards at toronto-awards@iabc.com. All inquiries are kept confidential.
Last Notice! Effective Communications for Community Investment (Breakfast Seminar)
Thursday, February 24, 2011, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., Marriott Downtown Toronto Eaton Centre, Salon 1-2, 525 Bay Street
Featuring: Stephanie Robertson, Facilitator, LBG Canada
You have a great Community Investment portfolio, but do your stakeholders know that? Join us for a breakfast seminar led by Stephanie Robertson, facilitator for LBG Canada and President, SiMPACT Strategy Group, and learn a powerful and succinct way to communicate your CSR success. The discussion will also highlight effective strategies for measuring and reporting your community investment efforts to help meet expectations and allow better communication when engaging community partners.
Session attendees will learn:
- The seven-step approach to enhance project communications
- How to meet the challenge of effective stakeholder communications in the emerging field of corporate responsibility and sustainability
- How effective benchmarking can help articulate your message and foster greater internal communications
Registration Fees:
- $40: IABC Regular member ($45.20 with HST)
- $25: IABC Student/Transitional member ($28.25 with HST)
- $50: Non-member ($56.50 with HST)
Sponsored by:
NEW! IABC/Toronto 2010 Communicator of the Year Breakfast
Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 8 to 9:30 a.m., One King West Hotel & Residence, King Gallery, 1 King Street West, Toronto
Featuring: IABC/Toronto’s 2010 Communicator of the Year, Peter Aceto, President & Chief Executive Officer of ING DIRECT Canada
Join fellow communicators as we honour a truly innovative business leader and communicator – Peter Aceto, President & Chief Executive Officer of ING DIRECT Canada, and IABC/Toronto’s 2010 Communicator of the Year. Aceto will share his thoughts on the value of strategic communication, and there will be ample opportunities for questions, as well as networking with members of the ING DIRECT team and other communications professionals. Space is limited so reserve now!
Peter Aceto has an approachable demeanour and accessible, honest style of leadership that has enabled a culture of dialogue among ING DIRECT employees. Through strong relationships with the company’s media relations team and high engagement on the social media landscape, Aceto has been identified by the Hay Group as a social media “Shining Star”. For more details, see the news releases from IABC/Toronto and ING DIRECT Canada.
Registration Fees:
- $35: IABC Member early bird ($39.55 with HST) – ends March 15, 2011
- $45: IABC Regular member ($50.85 with HST)
- $25: IABC Student/Transitional member ($28.25 with HST)
- $55: Non-member ($62.15 with HST)
Sponsored by:
Have you completed our 2011 Membership survey?
You have until end of today** to tell us what you think!
It’s important to have your say! Your feedback helps us understand what’s important to you as an IABC/Toronto member, and helps us plan our chapter activities for the next two board years.
As a reminder, based on the feedback from our 2008-membership survey, we made these improvements:
- Increased our efforts to bring our members greater value
- Improved our membership communications with a new e-Lert and a revamped Communicator newsletter
- Launched a new and improved website
- Organized more compelling and cost-effective events
- Launched a social media platform
It takes only 5 – 10 minutes to complete the survey and your responses are completely confidential. Make sure to remind your fellow Toronto members that they have a few hours left to complete the survey too!
Get started here.
**Fill out the survey before the February 22 deadline, and you will have the option of entering to win a FREE pass to an upcoming Professional Development event and a $100 MasterCard prepaid gift card. This is a confidential survey, and no record is kept of your name or e-mail address.
NEW! Write Like You Talk, Only Better (evening seminar)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., location TBD (will be downtown Toronto)
Featuring: Barb Sawyers, MA, owner of Sticky Communication, past Chair of Professional Independent Communicators
Barb Sawyers makes writing faster, friendlier and more fun; using the principles of everyone’s first and favourite way to communicate, talking.
In this session, you will:
- Cover the basicsof planning your writing and what to focus on when you revise
- Develop the conversational style of social media
- Discover how to avoid common errors spell check can’t catch
- Learn how to encourage readers to remember and respond
Everyone will become better equipped to help others back at the office, with a fresh approach to a tool that everyone needs to sharpen.
Registration Fees:
- $35: IABC member early bird ($39.55 with HST) - ends March 15, 2011
- $40: IABC Regular member ($45.20 with HST)
- $25: IABC Student/Transitional member ($28.25 with HST)
- $50: Non-member ($56.50 with HST)
Sponsored by:
Remember – February 28 to join IABC or renew your members at a reduced rate!
You’ve still got six days left to join or renew your IABC membership and have your application fee waived during Worldwide Membership Month. There is no better time to start enjoying the numerous benefits of IABC membership, including networking and professional development opportunities, access to CareerLine, special members-only resources, reduced admission prices to IABC events and much more! You will also receive exclusive access to Discovery, an online resource for business communication best practices, templates, research, and how-to information, offered through IABC International.
Only a few more days left to renew at the reduced rate – so don’t delay!
Did you know IABC has a membership payment plan?
In addition to waiving the application fee, IABC has made it even more affordable for you to join by providing you the option of paying your membership dues in four equal monthly payments. Click here for more information.
IABC/Toronto’s Student of the Year
It could be you! If you possess creativity, strong writing skills and passion in both your academic and volunteer projects and are an IABC Student Member, you may be named the IABC/Toronto Student of the Year!
Entry requirements:
- Completed entry form
- A news release of no more than two pages on how you plan to make an impact on the practice of public relations/communications in the future (to be submitted on 8.5″ x 11″ letterhead, no smaller than 10 point font and 1/2″ margins)
- One writing sample (can be from school work and can include a news release, speech, communications plan, etc.)
- An up-to-date resume
The Award is free to enter. The winner will receive $500 cash prize and will be recognized at the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards Gala.
Enter now at http://toronto.iabc.com/recognition/student-awards/. Entries will be accepted until Thursday, March 31, 2011.
Enter now! The Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award
Submit your entry to the Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award and get recognized for your contribution to the betterment of the community through an in-house program or for your service as a volunteer to an existing cause!
Entry requirements:
- Completed entry form
- A 100-word summary statement – why the candidate / team deserves this award
- Executive summary of communication plans / campaigns / projects in which leadership ability is demonstrated (submissions should include evaluation / results)
- Other awards and recognition (local, national, international)
- Recent media coverage, if applicable
Any team or individual in the GTA can enter at no charge. The winner will be recognized at the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards Gala.
Enter now at http://toronto.iabc.com/recognition/ovation-awards/awards-of-distinction/. Entries will be accepted until March 31, 2011
NEW! PIC presents: Interview with your website
Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 6 to 9 p.m., Location TBC, Toronto
Featuring: Paul Chato, Founder of Your Web Department™
"What has your website done for you lately?" is one of Paul Chatto's favourite questions. Paul's company, Your Web Department™, helps small businesses design and manage their websites so they don't just look pretty but also accomplish real, measurable results. He has developed a technique called Interview with Your Website that can help you learn how to:
- Make your website earn its keep
- Establish clear goals for the site
- Treat your site as if it were an employee
Soft drinks, juice, coffee and tea will be provided.
Registration Fees*:
- $22: IABC member ($24.86 with HST)
- $32: Non-member ($36.16 with HST)
*Advance registration and payment is required. Registrations and payments will NOT be accepted at the door.
Brought to you by:
Get recognized for your Canadian website
In 2009, social gamers bought $2.2 billion in virtual goods, a number that's projected to increase to $6 billion by 2013. Virtual goods are non-physical objects purchased for the use of online communities/games, for example, a gift on Facebook. It’s striking how entangled we have become with technology.
Technology has changed everything – from the way we do business to the way we communicate. As communicators, it’s important to find our spot in technology and use it as a tool rather than avoiding the inevitable.
Canadian communicators need to especially pay attention to their online presence. With the rise of location-based social networks like Foursquare and Gowalla, website extensions linked to a particular geographical area, such as .CA, are rising in value and relevance.
Canadians are increasingly using the Internet as a part of their hourly lives. Over 74 per cent of Canadians search the web for weather and road conditions rather than flicking on the TV and going to the weather network. Internet medical forums can be found in all corners of the Internet with close to 70 per cent of Canadians searching it for medical or health-related information.
Websites are more than just the last line on your business card; they are an integral facet of your brand and a key medium for communicating with your customers and stakeholders. The Internet goes well beyond technology – it is a significant force, a catalyst, and a powerful agent of social change.
That's why the first ever .CA Impact Awards has been created to celebrate the impact of .CA websites and applications.
Winners of the .CA Impact Awards will receive $5,000 and the visibility that comes with winning a national award. There are four broad categories to enter: E-Learning, Small Business, Not-For-Profit and Web Technology and Design. There’s no entry fee and the deadline for entries is March 25, 2011.Winners will be announced at an awards reception at the mesh Conference in Toronto, May 24, 2011.
The .CA Impact Awards are designed to recognize youth, educators, not-for-profit organizations, small businesses, technology developers, and web designers for their innovation, quality of work, and the impact of their .CA websites and applications.
Go to www.impactawards.ca to submit your .CA website until March 25, 2011. Judging takes place in April 2011 and the winners will be announced at the Awards Gala at the 2011 Mesh Conference.
Internal Branding & Employee Engagement Conference (paid advertising)
By attending the Internal Branding & Employee Engagement Canada Conference from April 14-15, 2011 in Toronto, Canada, you will hear from leading experts as they discuss what initiatives work in order to leverage the organization’s gains in social media, corporate social responsibility, green stewardship and the internal communications infrastructure capabilities.
Come take part of this year’s discussion to understand best practices in the industry and incorporate regional ideas to engage your workforce.
The Internal Branding & Employee Engagement conference is a content-driven event that includes case studies, presentations, and panel discussions over two days. This conference targets industry leaders in Internal Communications and Employee Engagement roles in order to provide an intimate atmosphere for both delegates and speakers.
As an IABC/Toronto member, you can receive an exclusive 10% discount off the registration fee! Please email Michele Westergaard, Michelew@marcusevansch.com for more information or visit the event website at: http://www.marcusevansch.com/IABCCanada
About the e-Lert
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