Thursday March 1st the CMA will be hosting its second annual B2B Conference at the Westin Harbour Castle.
Before the event kicks off I had the opportunity to chat with conference organizer Mark Patenaude, VP Sales & Marketing at St. Joseph Print, who described B2B as “an element which every business needs in order to push products, regardless of industry.”
With a wide range of speakers, perhaps the most out of place at the event is the famous Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki. When asked about how the supposed out-of-place Suzuki fits into a B2B conference, Mark noted how having David as a keynote speaker will help divulge how “companies are perceived in the marketplace in the environment, [and how to] do a better job.” Mark went on to say that Dave’s role is to “instill in us, as marketers, a bit of his background knowledge, to be able to go back to our corporations” to become greener.
This progressive approach overshadows the fact that Mark is hoping to make a distinct difference between the relatively new field of B2B business form B2C. “Seeing, hearing, and living the B2B world is what this conference is about”, noted Mark, describing that audience members can take a lot out of a 1 hour lecture, in what might come out of a 4 year university degree.
If you are interested in attending the event and hearing this great lineup of speakers, sign up for the conference at the CMA Online Signup.
Arieh,
This sounds cool. Makes me wish I was still in T.O.–well, just a little.
Business should get involved in the environment because those who are first through the gate won’t get hurt when governments are forced to legislate.
Business can actually save money in the long term by being environmentally conscious. All too many corporations and small businesses alike think that they don’t need to recycle or use less energy or put out less byproduct but they forget that they end up paying higher taxes either personal or business to pay for cleanups, added health care costs, effects of deforestation like floods and drought.
Smart business thinks about consequences for real long terms survival and those who don’t will end up looking like Montgomery Burns (yeah, a Simpsons comparison).
All the best,
Jay
Hi Arieh,
I didn’t see the connection between B2B and David Suzuki when I registered for the conference (guess I didn’t read that part). However, it was an incredible, inspirational speech by David Suzuki. It made the conference worthwhile. I have written more about it in my blog.