February 9, 2010

This Thursday, you're invited to show your love for our fabulous planet at IABC/AIP's sustainable Munch 'n' Mingle event. Learn about sustainable approaches to communications while you network with other members and enjoy healthy and delicious food. Participate in our green footprint icebreaker and have a chance to win eco-friendly door prizes.

This exciting event is being held at the Haworth Toronto Showroom featuring organic workspaces.

The OVATION Awards is celebrating its 25th year of honouring communications excellence and the Call for Entries is now available for download. This is your best opportunity to let the communications community know who you are and get the recognition you deserve for your tremendous work!

There are only 10 days left to submit your entry (enter by Friday, February 19 and save) entries will be accepted until Friday, February 26, 2010. The OVATION Awards program is open to all GTA communication practitioners, including non-members.

2010 OVATION Key Dates and Deadlines

• OVATION On-Time Entry Date February 19, 2010
• OVATION Last-Minute Entry Date February 26, 2010
• Judging of 2010 OVATION Awards March 2010
• Notification of 2010 OVATION Winners March 31, 2010
• OVATION Awards Gala May 6, 2010

Questions/Comments about IABC/Toronto's OVATION Awards Call for Entries? Please send them to our VP, Awards at toronto-awards@iabc.com. All inquiries are kept confidential.

IABC/Toronto is pleased to announce this year’s Awards of Distinction honouring top OVATION winners and the addition of a new category for Mid-Sized Agency of the Year.

These awards will be presented at the OVATION Awards Gala on May 6, 2010.

The four awards are:

1. Independent or Small Agency of the Year (Five or less employees)
2. Mid-Sized Agency of the Year (Six to 20 employees)
3. Large Agency of the Year (21 or more employees)
4. Corporate Communications Department of the Year.

These awards are decided upon by total OVATION awards won. For each OVATION Award of Excellence won, a winner receives three points and for each Award of Merit won, the winner receives one point. The company in each category with the highest point total wins the award (In the event of a tie, total score of each OVATION entry will be totaled and the highest average will be the winner). Winners will be announced at the OVATION gala.

Questions/Comments about IABC/Toronto's Awards of Distinction? Please send them to our VP, Awards at toronto-awards@iabc.com. All inquiries are kept confidential.

Time is running out! We invited Chicago-based Steve Crescenzo, number one seminar leader at IABC world conference 2008 and 2009, to speak to the IABC/Toronto chapter. He has never spoken to the chapter! Don’t miss out on this special opportunity to learn from Steve about using creativity and social media to breathe new life in your communications.

Have you been using the same communications tactics quarter after quarter? Looking to step up your game using multimedia tools! The seminar includes: how to start using multimedia and social media tools, such as podcasts, blogs, social-networking sites, and video, right now -- without blowing your budget and things you can do to turn your intranets and web sites from electronic wastelands to powerhouse communication tools.
 
You won’t regret it! Steve is a dynamic and engaging speaker. He will share best practices and case studies from both small and large organizations in Canada and the United States. Sign up now!

If you are interested in a more in-depth workshop with Steve Crescenzo, sign up for his full day seminar on Friday, February 26, 2010 at http://crescenzotoronto.eventbrite.com. Special rate for IABC/Toronto members - a $100 off the regular price available. Everyone who registers for the seminar will go into a drawing for a free Flip Video camera, which will  be raffled off at lunch!

Date	Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time	Registration, food service (cash bar) and networking start time: 6 p.m. Presentation: 6:45 p.m. Q&A: 7:30 p.m. Completion time: 8 p.m.
Venue	Sutton Place Hotel, Stop 33 room, 955 Bay Street, Toronto Map to Sutton Place Hotel
Speaker	Steve Crescenzo, President, Crescenzo Communications
Ticket Price	$25: Student/Transitional member $45: Regular member $65: Non-member
Registration
Sponsor

We hope that title got your attention, because we really need your valuable input. We extended the deadline to complete the IABC Canada Salary Survey until February 12th. So far, we have received approximately 630 responses (the 2006 survey had more than 1,300 responses). We need your help for more robust data. It only takes 15 minutes. If you already completed it, thanks. Please pass the word on to your network to help. It is open to all Canadian communicators. Share a few minutes of your time, so we can all benefit.

COMPLETE THE SURVEY NOW!

For only $230 per posting, your investment in the search for perfect talent will pay off!

With IABC/Toronto’s CareerLine, you can pitch your job opportunities to more than 1,600 professional members in the GTA. Each week, CareerLine receives more than 1,500 web hits. It gets even better – at no extra charge, we will e-mail your posting to subscribers of our e-job notification service. This way, you reach your target audience instantly! Current and previous employers have been overwhelmingly positive about the quality and number of applicants received from the service.

With CareerLine, you reach:

• More than 1,300 intermediate to senior level communication professionals
• 100 Accredited Business Communicators (ABC)
• More than 100 independent/freelance communication professionals
• More than 250 entry to junior level communication professionals
• More than 1,600 individuals with specialties that range from public relations, employee communications, investor relations, government relations, web content development, writing and editing, social media and more!

Want to find out more and/or post a job now? Go to https://toronto.iabc.com/career/postajob.asp

The World Comes to Us – and we need your help. Be a part of a spectacular event on June 5 to 9, 2010 - we need LOTS of volunteers to assist with planning and on-site activities to make this conference a success. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity to network and gain event management experience - complete the conference volunteer application form today! As a reminder, you must be an IABC member in order to volunteer. Click here for the Job Descriptions and Volunteer Application.  We look forward to working with you.

Early next month, the 2009 IABC/Toronto Communicator of the Year Award will be presented to Rob Devitt and IABC/Toronto invites you to attend a special networking breakfast Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Currently, Devitt is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto East General Hospital. He has a tremendous history of innovative leadership and implementing successful, two-way communications programs. Simultaneous to his current role, Devitt recently served as interim CEO of eHealth Ontario and was instrumental in guiding the organization through a challenging and high-profile period. Devitt’s adept storytelling, openness and strategic communications have helped him become a trusted leader, influencer and ‘fixer’ in a challenging sector.

Join us at this special event to enjoy a delicious breakfast, hear from Devitt and have an opportunity to network with him, some of his team, and other guests.

If you are thinking of moving on, then mark March 25 on your calendar for your next PD event!
 
IABC Toronto is hosting a thought-provoking evening of practical advice from leaders across the communications field.  Learn from those who are doing the hiring -- What’s new in hiring practices? What skills do I have that are easily transferable across sectors? Our star studded panel won’t disappoint.

Start planning your future!
See you there!

Join IABC/Toronto's west end group from 6:30 to roughly 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23 at Wendel Clark's Classic Grill & Sports Lounge, located just south of Dundas Street East at Trafalgar Road in Oakville. (From the 401, exit south at Trafalgar. From the QEW, exit north on Trafalgar. See a map at www.wendelclarks.com/.)
 
Cost is $25, tax and tip included, for a glass of wine or beer and a selection of finger foods, such as veggie spring rolls, quesadillas and California rolls. Sign up by Friday, Feb. 12 by e-mail to Sue Horner. Payment at the restaurant; please bring exact change if possible.
 
Date:    Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Time:    6:30 to 8 p.m.
Venue: Wendel Clark's Classic Grill & Sports Lounge, Dundas St. E. /Trafalgar Rd., Oakville
Cost:    $25 including tax & tip

Hey, IABC/Toronto Members:

Time and space is running out! Sign up for my brand-new, one-day seminar at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto on February 26, 2010: Creative Communications: Taking the next step.

This is the only seminar where you’ll get dozens of social media case studies where communicators have taken the plunge and are seeing the results! You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at successful blogs, podcasts, social-networking sites, interactive video, and other social media tools.

You get a $100 discount—only $495 for IABC members . . . which is about half of what we normally charge for this seminar – plus you don’t have to spend money on traveling to another city – you can’t afford not to go!

The whole day is going to be about creating great content for both new and traditional channels. You’ll learn field-tested tactics for blogs, podcasts, print publications, social networking sites, video, intranets, Web sites, and new tools such as Twitter.

Because here’s the thing: Anyone can have a blog these days (and many do). Anyone with an $80 digital recorder can have a podcast. Everybody is on Facebook, Twitter is the fastest-growing communication platform in the world, and for $180 bucks you can have your own show on YouTube.

But . . . so what? If your content sucks, it really doesn’t matter how many of the new tools you’re using.

Some companies understand this, and some companies don’t. Some companies are changing the way they approach communications . . . and some are just shoveling the same old corporate crap into the new channels.

In my seminar, at the Sutton Place Hotel on February 26th, we’re going to showcase what the smartest communicators and companies are doing. You’ll learn:

• How UPS used a video contest to link its internal and external communication campaigns . . . and by doing so was able to reach, engage, and motivate both audiences!
• How the IRS—yes, the IRS!—is using blogs and podcasts to creatively connect with its various audiences.
• How one Lockheed Martin communicator used a $300 investment to turn a group of engineers (yes, engineers!) into dynamic storytellers.
• How Teko Energy—a small Florida power company with a limited budget and a small staff of communicators—overhauled their intranet and made the entire thing an interactive, multimedia tool that employees love . . . and use.
• How Southwest Airlines uses new media tools to reach both internal and external audiences.
• How SaskPower, a Canadian utility, revamped its tired old print publication, and turned it into something that would stand out on any newsstand.

You’ll get all of those practical case studies . . . and dozens more. Plus we’re going to do some hands-on work—such as creating podcasts and video right there in the class.

And the best thing about the entire day is the price. It’s only $495 for IABC members ($100 of the regular price)—that includes a light breakfast and lunch!

If you want to send three or more people from your team, we offer group discounts! Just email us at service@crescenzocomm.com and we’ll arrange everything from there.

And, since there’s no travel involved, you can’t afford NOT to go!

The bottom line is this: We’re bringing some of the freshest, most creative case studies right into your backyard, at a price you can afford. Why wouldn’t you sign up?

Hope to see you there!

Steve Crescenzo

Are you a company leader interested in embedding sustainability into your organizational culture? Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, the Network for Business Sustainability and the Ivey School of Business present a full-day workshop on approaches to building a culture focused on sustainability - ideal for sustainability executives and other leaders.

• What is the business case for sustainability as a culture building initiative?
• What are the lessons learned from the wellness and health & safety movements regarding culture building?
• How is sustainability different from other types of organizational culture building approaches?
• What tools or practices have been used to embed sustainability into culture?

The workshop includes expert presenters from Hewitt Associates, Network for Business Sustainability, Farm Credit Canada, Temple University and CBSR.

EVENT SCHEDULE and LOCATION

February 23, 2010
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Ivey ING Leadership Centre, Toronto

Event registration and information

The Canadian Institute of Investor Relations (CIRI) Ontario Chapter presents a lunch with Joe Martin, bestselling author of the just-released book Relentless Change. He will explore how lessons from Canada's business past can be instructive to today’s decision makers, particularly in light of the recession.

IABC/Toronto members can register for the February 23 luncheon event by visiting http://www.ciri.org/chapters/on/events/?event_id=739

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