The Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce brought together five communicators in different disciplines from the North Coast last month to share thoughts on how the Chamber membership can make the most of the Digital Age, providing for a one hour, plus class for those in attendance on themes of getting their message out to the community.
The event was organized and sponsored by Reid Skelton-Morven a co founder of Northern Online Results who also participated on the panel as the keynote speaker for the event.
The theme for the afternoon session was Surviving the Digital Marketing Shift in Northern BC and included some observations and tips from the Chamber's presenters on the day, they included:
Chris Armstrong -- CityWest
Barb Burton -- Stuck On Designs
Michael Gurney -- Michael J. Gurney Communications Strategy and Realization
Veronika Stewart -- City of Prince Rupert
The Moderator for the event was Nathan Randall from Ecotrust Canada
Mr. Randall opened the forum with a short introduction of the plans for development of the Northcoast Innovation Lab, a project which will be hosted by Ecotrust Canada.
The main focus for the day however was how Chamber members can make use of the Digital technology to become more competitive and to compete in the local, national and international marketplace.
Each participant brought their own perspectives on how to approach marketing and message delivery, making for a range of views on how to get key information out to your customers and the public at large, as well as to manage the flow of information in the most effective manner.
Michael Gurney spoke on ways to thrive in the digital shift which is already well underway, highlighting the difference between hot and cold media and where the potential and risks are found.
He shared what he called the big ideas that those in attendance need to be aware of and how to personalize your message to be aware of what's coming towards your business in the future.
Barb Burton shared some of her thoughts on how to transition from traditional concepts of advertising and how to ensure that your branding strategies meet your goals.
Veronika Stewart provided a glimpse into how the City approaches the way it shares its messages, staying with the traditional mode of print, along with its growing presence online and through the new app that they have introduced to the community. Her advice to the audience was to pick their platform when it comes to message sharing and to be sure to engage your audience early, observing that in Prince Rupert Facebook appears to be the dominant stream in the community.
Chris Armstrong offered some background on how CityWest approaches marketing, and the tools that they use which include Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and how often they make use of it and what form of brand awareness approaches that they take with each.
Reid Skelton Morven introduced some audience participation for his presentation, putting those in attendance through their paces of presenting ideas through the process of sharing marketing ideas with a Board of Directors. Showcasing the need for creativity and innovation to convince the Board of Directors on the merits of using digital methods.
The presentation is now available on line for a follow up review, accessible through the Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, the audio levels at times however tend to drop, so it's probably best to view the online replay with headphones to catch some of the finer points on communication.
To learn more about the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce and some of their initiatives see their website or Facebook page.
Further notes related to the Business Community in Prince Rupert can be found on our archive page.
To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.
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