CMA National Convention Defines "Next"

What an appropriate time to begin my blog, right on the heels of the Canadian Marketing Association's National Convention in Montreal last week.

This year’s theme was “Next”. It lived up to it’s billing and delivered an exciting glimpse at the road ahead. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Keynote speakers (in order of appearance) included Ron Swift, Kevin Roberts, Dr. Martha Rogers, John Gustavson, Heather Fraser, Max Lenderman, Steve Levy, Joseph Jaffe and Sally Hogshead.

Two keynotes that stood out were Kevin Roberts (Emotional Rescue: Winning in the Attraction Economy) and Joseph Jaffe (Life After the 30 Second Spot: Energize your brand with a Bold Mix of Alternatives to Traditional Advertising). If you have a chance to hear them speak anytime in the future, jump at it. Both were highly relevant and revealing with fantasitic examples of what “Next” really means.

From the client side, there was so much to learn and some great takeaways. Ideas and inspiration were in no short supply. The only disappointment was missing Mesh 2.0 held in Toronto at the same time.

The whole event teemed with energy. I’ve always liked Montreal and last week I liked it even more.