Month: March 2007

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the CMA’s half-day Not For Profit conference in Toronto’s East end. While the presenters were from not-for-profit organizations, it was clear that their marketing tactics were harnessing advanced marketing experiences to attracted both buzz and attendance.

I walked in late due to a queue at the parking meter payment location, but heard a majority of Maureen Oxley’s presentation on UNICEF. When presenting her case-study Maureen stated that UNICEF had a big hurdle to overcome, where donors thought; “I’m a donor, I gave 17 cents last year.” For UNICEF, partnering and co-branding with a known cause – in the presented case it was the Nelson Mandela Foundation – UNICEF was able to use what it had learned from the South-East Asian Tsunami fundraising drives, and put raised funds towards a singular and directed cause.

While Maureen stated co-branding as a strategic move, what was most important for her was to “create a connection point for the kids, and for their education.” Known for the Hallows-eve charity box, it was important to link the UNICEF campaign back to Halloween. UNICEF created trick-or-treat bags, complete with reflective stripes – to not only help kids throughout the eve, but also keep them safe.

April 12th the CMA will be hosting the Word of Mouth conferenceat the Holiday Inn on King St. West. As with many of the CMA events I will be attending, I had the opportunity to speak with event organizer Louis Gagnon who shared some insight in the events’ planning.