Over 400 CEOs, publishers, editors and corporate executives from the Canadian newspaper, advertising and marketing industries will converge in Toronto this May for the annual Canadian Newspaper Association and Canadian Community Newspaper Association conference.
In line with its theme, Ink & Beyond, this year’s joint conference, to be held May 7-9 at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle, will highlight innovations newspapers are using to reach audiences through mobile and online technologies as well as print. Seminars and trade show exhibits will focus on Internet solutions and new technologies.
Canadian newspapersÔÇöboth weekly and dailyÔÇöremain a far-reaching medium with strong national and regional brands preferred by both advertisers and readers. According to just-released NADbank figures, 78 per cent of all Canadian adults read a daily newspaper last week either in print or online, while 74 per cent read the last edition of their community newspaper (ComBase 2005).
“The $4.3-billion newspaper industry is a powerful force that reaches 16 million Canadian adults weekly across the country,” said Anne Kothawala, CEO of the Canadian Newspaper Association. “Ink & Beyond will be a milestone event for our industry, bringing together experts and innovators to share insights into the wave of new opportunities for newspapers unleashed by advances in technology.”
“At Ink & Beyond, every newspaper large and small will hear the best national and international experts talk about the state and future of our dynamic industry,” said John Hinds, Chief Executive Officer of CCNA. “The multi-streamed program is designed to allow delegates to participate in sessions on a broad range of topics about emerging trends and better business practices.”
Conference speakers include:
- Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of Denuo, a futures marketing agency, and chief innovation officer of Publicis Groupe Media (PGM), which oversees Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and Zenith Optimedia, which together allocate over $45 billion in global media spending.
- Michael Raynor, author of The Strategy Paradox and co-author of The Innovator’s Solution, is the Deloitte Research Distinguished Fellow and holds a doctorate in business administration from Harvard.
- Geoff Beattie, President, The Woodbridge Company Limited. Woodbridge, the private investment company of the Thomson family which controls The Thomson Corporation, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers, with over 40,000 employees and services in 130 countries.
- Candy Lee, president of loyalty services at the Washington Post and former publisher of Harlequin Enterprises.
- Josh Cohen, business product manager responsible for product strategy, marketing and publisher outreach for Google News.
- Piet Bakker, an expert in newspaper innovation and professor of Cross Media Content at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Hogeschool Utrecht and associate professor at the University of Amsterdam.
Other events scheduled as part of the conference include the annual Canadian Press Dinner on May 8, featuring speaker Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion; and the National Newspaper Awards and CCNA Better Newspapers Competition Awards, both to be held Friday, May 9.
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