Categories: Articles

The 2005 Canadian Marketing Association Awards

It’s been a long few days. I just got back from attending The 2005 Canadian Marketing Association Awards in Toronto. This year’s event was branded as Full Contact Marketing (a hockey theme) and the event was a serious power play of the Canadian marketing industry’s leaders. As a disclaimer, I was a Judge for this year’s event.
I arrived in Toronto on Friday morning (very early) after my first flight on WestJet. I have to admit, it was damn fine. From the leather seats – that are fairly comfy for someone like me who requires the extra leg room – to the twenty-plus channels of satellite TV, it included a friendly crew and timely departure considering the falling snow.
I met some friends in the hotel lobby and off we went to the pre-awards cocktail. Once the event started, I was thankful enough to have two wing-people (thanks Tara and Michael) who guided me through the evening’s flow. It seems like most people stick their heads into the actual ceremony and then duck out back to the hotel lobby bar where the action ensues.
We went back to the hall for the dinner and then it was off to the “private suites” for more beverages and schmoozing. Good times. Lots of laughs and one comment that will linger for years (it had to do with someone losing their monkey and no, it is not a euphemism).
For all of the criticism I can have of the marketing and advertising industry in Canada, this really was a unique night of celebration. It made me realize that the industry is continually strong in Canada and that there are many creative and intelligent people who are pushing the boundaries.
For a full list of this year’s winners, please click here: The 2005 Canadian Marketing Association Awards Winners.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.