With a range of speakers on tap from youthful hipster Evan Solomon to grizzled humorist Dave Broadfoot, the 2000 edition of the Canadian Marketing Association’s national convention and trade show gets underway later this month in Toronto. Close to 1,600 marketing professionals and industry analysts are expected to converge on the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the proceedings.

The central theme expected to emerge during the April 25-27 event is using technology to build customer relationships in an ever-changing marketing environment.

"There are several key issues facing our members, but that is going to be the big one," says CMA president and CEO John Gustavson. "The speakers and panels we have at the conference will be discussing tactical approaches in areas such as interactive marketing, branding, new technology, customer management, e-commerce and database management."

Helping marketers understand and work through these issues is a roster of keynote speakers that includes CBC Television host Solomon, who will speak on "Technology, Marketing and the Future", author and Yahoo! vice-president Seth Godin, who will bring to the podium his ideas on permission marketing, and AOL Canada CEO Stephen Bartkiw and Royal Bank vice-chairman James Rager.

Gustavson, who will offer a chairman’s welcome on Wednesday, April 26, says he will speak to three key issues: the economic impact of direct marketing, privacy legislation and the future of e-commerce.

"We’ll be releasing an economic study done by the Wharton Business School that will indicate the economic contribution of direct marketing in Canada," says Gustavson. "This is not just what or how much Canadians are buying, but the overall economic impact. It will give us some idea of what we contribute to the economy."

Privacy, he adds, "is the next thing that’s coming at us", as Bill C-6, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, goes into effect next Jan. 1. The legislation, literally more than a year in the making, was formally passed into law earlier this month, and governs how marketers obtain consumer consent before disclosing their personal information to third parties (see "Privacy law proclaimed – finally", page D2, for more information).

Also part of the event is the Strategy DirectResponse "Be on Top" cocktail reception, to be held in the Horizons Café on the CN Tower’s lookout level. It takes place April 26 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact Jennifer Lussier at (416) 408-2300, ext. 275 or e-mail jlussier@brunico.com.

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Friday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the oldest category at the Cannes festival, Film, as well as Sustainable Development Goals, Dan Wieden Titanium, Glass: The Lion for Change and Grand Prix for Good. Canadians were recognized with four Lions today: two Silver and a Bronze in Film, as well as a Bronze in Sustainable Development Goals.

FCB Toronto was given yet another nod for its work, “The Count,” for SickKids, bringing the medal count for that campaign to four, including a Gold for Health & Wellness. Another Canadian agency recognized on the final day of the festival was Klick Health Toronto, which earned a Silver in Film for its work “Love Captured” for Human Trafficking Awareness and a Bronze for “18 Months” for Second Nurture. And over in Sustainable Development Goals, the Bronze went to Publicis Canada and its “Wildfire Watchtowers” work for Rogers.

Another massive win for Canada included not one, but two Young Lions (pictured above) taking home medals in the annual competition. In Design, the Gold Young Lion was awarded to Rethink’s senior motion designer Jesse Shaw and ACD Zoë Boudreau. The second, a Bronze in Media, went to Cossette Media’s business intelligence analyst Samuel David-Durocher and product development supervisor Tristan Bonnot-Parent.

Film (2 Silver, 1 Bronze)

1 SILVER: “The  Count” by FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation

“The Count,” a striking campaign from FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation, has earned 1 Gold, 2 Bronze and now 1 Silver for Film at Cannes. If you watch it, it’s easy to see why. The collaboration between brand and agency honoured the hospital’s “VS” platform, while steering it in a new direction from its initial development by previous AOR Cossette. The creative celebrates childhood cancer patients who have to fight for every birthday, while honouring the hospital’s own milestone – 150 years and counting.

1 Silver: “Love Captured” by Klick Health Toronto for The Exodus Road

Klick Health Toronto added to its medal tally with a Silver in Film for it’s work “Love Captured” for The Exodus Road. The creative features a romantic getaway that isn’t what it seems in an experiential short film for the global anti-trafficking organization. The experience takes viewers through a tragic and twisting experience of exploitation.

1 BRONZE: “18 Months” by Klick Health Toronto for Second Nurture

Klick Health Toronto also won a Bronze in the Film category for its work, “18 Months,” done for the charity organization Second Nurture. The animated film is based on a real-life story in which a same-sex couple adopts a baby found in a subway station, and the 18-month journey into a story of hope.

Sustainable Development Goals (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Wildfire Watchtowers” by Publicis Canada for Rogers

Publicis Canada landed on the winners board for its work, “Wildfire Watchtowers,” for Rogers. The Canadian-developed wildfire-detection tech – which has been billed as “a fire alarm in the forest” – uses AI-powered sensors installed on 5G towers to monitor vast remote areas in real time. By scanning, identifying and reporting early signs of wildfires (up to 16 minutes faster than other systems), the technology helped prevent 54 fires in 2024 alone.

Catch the Gold winners later today when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.