meshmarketing: a one-day event on November 17 providing insight, perspective and information from some of the most innovative minds in digital marketing to embrace and capitalize on emerging trends, tools, and companies. 

“It’s going to be an exciting event. There have been so many leaps and bounds in just about every facet of the digital space over the past year -- I’m looking forward to seeing what our speakers and panels bring,” said Stuart MacDonald, mesh co-founder and a moderator of meshmarketing 2010.

Tickets are on sale now for $539 with an allotted 50 spots for students at a sale price of $99.  

Keynote speakers, attendees, panels and workshops at this year’s meshmarketing conferece

From their diverse backgrounds, speakers and attendees for the meshmarketing 2010 conference include:

• Michael Slaby, Executive Vice President, Edelman Public Relations, Global Practice Chair, Digital: As the voice of long-term digital strategy and development for the world’s largest private public relations company, Slaby is a guiding figure in the future of digital marketing. Slaby’s presentation will focus on providing social media insight from strategic and tactical standpoints. Prior to joining Edelman, Slaby served as a technology and new media advisor to the Obama administration and Livestrong.                                                                                                                                         

• Natania Dashner, Marketing Manager, Pepsi Canada: One of the key faces in launching the Pepsi Refresh Project in Canada, Dashner’s work with what Forbes.com recognized as one of the top five “Best Ever Social Media Campaigns” has been essential to bringing this innovative, democratically inclined initiative across the border.

• Marian Salzman, President, Havas’ Euro RSCG Worldwide PR: Named as one of the world’s top five trend spotters, Salzman’s experience in digital marketing goes back to 1992 when she co-launched the first online marketing research company, Cyberdialogue. An author and co-author of 15 books, including Next Now and The Future of Men, her expertise lies in one-to-one persuasion, the new consumer in China and India, narrowcasting and emerging niches. Prior to becoming President at Havas’ Euro RSCG, Salzman held the position of worldwide director of TBWA’s Department of the Future. 

• Graeme Menzies, Former Social Media Director, Vancouver Olympic Committee and President, MenziesOnline Communications

• Jonathan Savage, Vice President, Digital Media, Score Media

• Gabe Zichermann, Founder and CEO, Gamification.com

• Noah Lang, Director of Business Development, ReputationDefender

• Colin McKay, Director of Research, Education and Outreach, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

• Lee LeFever, Founder, Creative Craft

• Janice Diner, Social Media Strategist, Horizon Studios

• Ramon De Leon, Operating Partner, Dominos Pizza

• Michael Ho, Founder and CEO, Bering Media

• Dave Bullock, Founder and CEO, LiveHive Systems

• Francois Bedard,  Senior Strategic Planner, Transmedia Experience, Plan B Developpement Inc.

• Chris Abraham, President and COO, Abraham Harrison LLC

• Asif Khan, Principal – ARK Consulting, Location Based Marketing Association

In addition, meshmarketing will feature a number of workshops and discussions from three different categories: Future & Innovation, Social Media, and Storytelling.

Here’s a look at what attendees can expect from this year’s conference panels and discussions:

• You Are Here. The Digitization of Retail Location- Based Marketing: Featuring a panel consisting of Whole Foods’ Interactive Art Director, Marla Erwin; CEO of TeamSave.com, Chris Nguyen; and BStreet’s VP Digital and Mobile, Phil Barrett, the focus of this discussion is location-based marketing and where the smartphone revolution will take us in tomorrow’s marketing campaigns. The panel will look at the challenges of geo-location marketing, along with case studies of companies who have successfully implemented the technology.

• The ROI of Social Media Customer Service: Zappos’ Community  Architect, Thomas Knoll, will discuss the successes and challenges of engaging customers in real-time with product inquiries, issues, and general interaction through the demanding social media undertakings of his company. Throughout this workshop, attendees can explore key lessons companies have learned, the tools and actions needed to reach out, and the ROI of customer service through social media.  

• Five Key Insights to Great Trans-Media Storytelling: This workshop reinstates the notion that content is still king. With companies telling their stories across different regions, audiences, and mediums, how do companies continue pushing content that will resonate with their customers? How do ad campaigns appeal to the masses while still giving an air of personalization to the individual? This workshop – headed by award-winning, Brooklyn-based, creative agency, Big Spaceship’s Ivan Askwith and James Milward of the interactive boutique company, Secret Location – will look at successful cross-platform campaigns, and the lessons we can take from them.

The mesh prize, which will be awarded annually to a project or groups of projects, aims to encourage projects that will create new understanding, capabilities or tools to benefit the digital media community.

"Canadian companies need to reinvest in our industry in a significant way, and the mesh prize is a way to do that.,” said Jon Lax, a partner with Teehan+Lax, which established and financed the mesh prize.

“I am excited about the projects that this prize will fund and the ideas that will emerge from them. I want to encourage other companies in our industry to follow our lead and participate in the mesh prize"

mesh prize winners, which will be announced each year at mesh, will receive $40,000 to be used to successfully complete of their project or projects.

The first recipient of the mesh prize is Justin Kozuch, whose project involves a research study on the size and scope of Canada’s digital media industry. The study will focus on suppliers of digital media services, as well as the needs of digital media customers.

“We're doing this because there doesn't exist a unified, industry effort to truly understand our industry's makeup, or a grassroots campaign to catalog and report on the size and scope of our industry,” Kozuch said.

“This is an amazing opportunity to do something significant for the Canadian digital market. The mesh prize is the perfect launching pad for any initiative that will help us improve the Canadian digital media landscape. This is an first important step in continuing to nurture and grow our digital community.”

Submissions for the 2011 mesh prize will be accepted later this year. Anyone interested in becoming part of the advisory board can learn more about how to apply at meshprize.org.

Recipients of the mesh prize are required to complete their stated objectives and project plan. An advisory board ensures that the projects are completed. The prize winner will present their project at mesh ‘11, and the new winner or winners will be announced at that time.

• The mesh09 Media Hub – new this year, this is THE place to get mesh 09 photos, videos and more.
• Twitter: Follow us at @meshconference and or watch the Media Hub as it tracks #mesh09. We’ll be tweeting throughout the conference, so check back often.
• meshTV: Here’s where you’ll find interviews with mesh keynote speakers and panelists, brought to you by on-the-scene “reporter” Mark McKay and his film crew, as well as other behind-the-scenes footage. All video content will be posted on the mesh09 Media Hub, and will also be available on YouTube.
• Photos: Check the Media Hub to see mesh in still life. And if you’re an attendee, please remember to add your own photos!
• mesh blog: For more in-depth updates from the mesh team, take a look at the mesh blog for regular posts on panel discussion workshops, and all the news that’s fit to blog.

Social: The best part of mesh is connecting with other people, and sometimes that’s easiest in a more social setting. Here’s an overview of mesh’s social events:

meshUp, April 6, 2009
The beer o’clock at the Drake Hotel brought to you by meshU and StartupNorth
Time: 6 p.m. to close. Everyone is welcome. Space is limited. There is no charge for this event.
Where: The Lounge & Dining Room at the Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. West (Click for map). Thanks to our hospitality sponsor and host the Drake Hotel.

The Social, April 7, 2009
Hosted by: Hyndman | Law
Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: The Atrium, MaRS (private function for mesh09 participants)

mesh after-party at The Mod Club (Thanks to sponsor Social Media Group!)
Time: 8 PM - close
Where: The Mod Club (Map), 722 College St.(College & Crawford)
mesh09 participants: admission included in registration price (present your name badge at door to access event free of charge); otherwise tickets will be $15 at the door. The net proceeds from the door go towards supporting War Child, the charity voted for by the mesh community via email and Twitter. Transportation to The Mod Club will be provided by Expedia.ca.

mesh09 wrap party, April 8, 2009 (Sponsored by Edelman Digital)
Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Proof Lounge, 220 Bloor St. W (west of Avenue Rd.)
Transportation will be provided by Expedia.ca.

If you’re interested in the CNW Group/Leger Marketing Social Media Reality Check Survey results, sign up for a Webinar at Newswire.ca/SocialMediaRealityCheck that will take place on April 29th for a full analysis of the survey.

For further information, or to book an interview, please contact:
Megan Hooper or Riannon John
Edelman
416.979.1120 Ext. 297/242
Megan.Hooper@edelman.com / Riannon.John@edelman.com

meshU

The conference

Starting May 21, the mesh conference offers a full slate of panel discussions and workshops. Kicking things off each morning, this year’s four keynote conversations are:

• Matt Mason – Author of the recently published The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism, Matt is also a former pirate radio and club DJ in London, England, as well as the founding editor-in-chief of the seminal magazine RWD.
• Lane Merrifield – Lane is the EVP of Walt Disney Internet Group, and also the Co-founder and General Manager Club Penguin, one of the most popular virtual worlds for children, which was acquired by Disney last year for $700-million.
• Garrett Camp – Co-founder of StumbleUpon, which was acquired by eBay for $75-million last year, Garrett is responsible for product design and strategy, and has guided the site from inception to its current 3.5-million users.
• Ethan Kaplan – Head of technology at Warner’s Bros. Records, Ethan is responsible for all consumer-facing Web properties, technology initiatives, business development and research/development.

Based around the broad themes of media, society, marketing and business, all panel discussions are moderated to ensure exciting and interactive conversation. Here’s a taste of who will be sharing their thoughts and instigating discussion at this year’s conference:

• Daniel Burka, Digg’s creative director, Pema Hegan, co-founder of GigPark, and Candice Faktor of OurFaves.com discuss how social media sites are replacing TV and newspapers as our primary news source during The New Front Page.
• In Video is Everywhere – Dina Kaplan, co-founder and COO of blip.tv, Andre Gaulin of CTV and Guinevere Orvis of the CBC discuss the explosion of online video, and where the medium might be headed.
• David Usher, the singer/songwriter who can be found at CloudID, talks with Graham Henderson of CRIA and Jeff Remedios of the Arts & Crafts record label about how the Web is affecting the music industry in Where's the Business in Show Business - Music and the Web, a discussion moderated by David Gratton of Project Opus Technologies.
• Private vs. Public explores the changing notions of privacy online. Philosophy professor and author Mark Kingwell debates the relationship between data and disclosure with Nancy Baym of Online Fandom.com, a discussion moderated by Rachel Sklar of The Huffington Post.
• Michael Garrity, co-founder and CEO of CommunityLend, talks with Maggie Fox of Social Media Group and Rohit Bhargava about identity and Building a Brand on the Web.
• Michael Masnick, founder, and editorial and strategic director of Techdirt Inc. talks about what marginal content production costs mean for businesses and producers alike in the Infinite Good panel discussion.
• Julia Johnston, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of mEgo, Inc., Leah Culver of Pownce and Ryan Carson of Carsonified share the lessons learned on the road to building a successful startup in Founders’ Stories, moderated by venture capitalist, columnist and CNBC analyst Dr. Paul Kedrosky.

Be sure to check out the complete schedule and the full list of panelists, speaking on a wide range of topics.

15 Minutes of Fame

Back again this year is 15 minutes of fame, offering start-ups an opportunity to showcase why they’re the best thing to happen to the Web. On each of the conference days, three of the best and brightest online start-ups get five minutes each to tell attendees why they’re wonderful. Watch videos of last year’s winners to see how it’s done.