8:00 a.m.
Registration, Continental Breakfast & Networking

8:30 a.m.

Chairperson's Welcome & Opening Remarks

Jacqueline Taggart, Senior Consultant, Communication
WATSON WYATT WORLDWIDE

8:40 a.m.

“When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going:” How To Leverage Your Internal Brand To Survive In Challenging Times

Internal branding gets talked about a lot, but what does it really mean and how can yours help you right now? While most managers understand their business strategy, less than 60% can explain their company brand and how it differentiates them from their competitors. That doesn't bode well in today's challenging markets.

In this kick-off session, you will learn how applying the lessons from current research and market leaders can position your company for long-term survival. In addition, you will learn how to assess your current brand effectiveness and identify three key steps you can take immediately to improve the impact of your branding efforts.

Jacqueline Taggart, Senior Consultant, Communication
WATSON WYATT WORLDWIDE

9:40 a.m.

Speed Networking

You'll have a chance to meet and greet your fellow attendees in this fun and fast-paced forum!

10:40 a.m.

How To Create A Strong Internal Culture Of Brand Ambassadors To Effectively Sell To Your External Audience

Cundari had the challenge of rebranding the venerable luxury automaker in Canada. Cundari changed just one word of BMW's tagline - from The Ultimate Driving Machine to The Ultimate Driving Experience - and saw the opportunities unfold to shift gears from a product focus to a richer experience. But before they could shift again, this time to The Ultimate Customer experience, they had to bring BMW's employees into the loop. Cundari had to ensure that the BMW Associates - the ambassadors of the brand - were on board with the campaign's potential and purpose. Cundari designed a new culture for the company based on the motto "We power joy and excitement".

• How pivotal internal communications are as well as external communications
• How to employ solidarity and consensus on the brand
• How by creating internal advocates, its easy to sell to consumers externally
• How internal communications is a huge cultural connector

Marketing Representative
BMW GROUP CANADA

Robert Lewocz, Executive Vice President
CUNDARI

11:35 a.m.

How To Build An Engaged Culture And Link Employee Commitment To Customer Loyalty

Employee opinion surveys have become a common tool in many organizations, but the larger challenge is to commit to and actually act on feedback that will generate excellence. Delta Hotels, Canada's leading first-class hotel management company, has been successful at transforming their annual employee opinion survey from an "event" to being a critical part of their culture. Employees are encouraged to have a voice and participate in the company decision-making processes, which in turn results in them embracing change.

This presentation will describe how Delta has created and sustained a culture of engagement and how the company has successfully been able to link employee commitment to guest loyalty, in order to strengthen the Delta brand.

Delta Hotels is the only hotel company to have been recognized for its sustained focus on business excellence by the prestigious National Quality Institute with three Canada Awards for Excellence, including the highest honour, the Order of Excellence (2007). The company consistently ranks as one of the country's best employers in The Globe and Mail: Report on Business Magazine's annual "50 Best Employers" list (2001-2003, 2005-2009).

• Creating a participatory work environment
• Implementing the initiatives
• Measuring the return on resources (ROR)
• Communicating and celebrating the successes
• Transforming the challenges

Janice Smith, Director, Quality and Recruitment
DELTA HOTELS

Join a group of your communication, marketing, and HR colleagues for lunch with an informal discussion facilitated by one of our expert speakers. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing internal branding concerns.

2:00 p.m.

How To Create A Strong Employment Brand That Effectively Communicates Your Organizational Initiatives

For organizations that have well-known product brands, the employer brand is equally important, while often lesser thought of, in not only attracting talent, but communicating important organizational initiatives such as community involvement to their current workforce.

Using an integrated approach of engaging the right people, leveraging the good news stories and a strong employee value proposition, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd, created a strong corporate, employment brand, and community involvement strategy, which effectively communicated their total brand story.

• Setting an objective that meets all stakeholders' needs
• Learning which strategies and tactics are needed to make it happen
• Leveraging existing information and communications avenues – which doesn’t involve reinventing the wheel
• Being mindful of the digital generation and utilizing relevant Web 2.0 technology

Debra Watkinson, Manager, People Development
MAPLE LEAF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LTD.

3:10 p.m.

Green Branding From The Inside Out: How Employee Engagement Is Crucial To Launching A Successful Green Branding Strategy

Environmental and social responsibility issues are definitely top of mind with Canadian consumers and businesses. In challenging economic times, how can organizations justify the expense of going green? Learn how one of North America's largest commercial real estate companies was able to engage employees to communicate green accurately, persuasively and profitably.

• Green branding can enhance employee engagement and loyalty
• Employee ambassadors drive campaign credibility to transform your skeptics into your biggest advocates
• "Going green" makes dollars and sense for your bottom line
• To avoid common pitfalls and build reputational capital
• To align your communications strategy to your organization's overall objectives and core values

Heath Applebaum, Manager, Corporate Communications & Media Relations
THE CADILLAC FAIRVIEW CORPORATION LIMITED

4:05 p.m.

Creating Dialogue And Building Engagement With A Large, Distributed Workforce Through Two-Way Strategic Communication

Communication leaders at MeadWestvaco (MWV), a global leader in packaging solutions with over 20,000 international employees, recognized that in order to achieve their demanding business objectives it would require a fully engaged and collaborative employee environment. Tasked with developing a strategy to transform employee communications from a one-way, top-down monologue to a two-way, shared conversation, they turned to online interactive tools and community building solutions.

• Examples of real-world tactical executions with measurable results
• Strategies for internally selling a new approach and implementing a successful online two-way dialogue and community-building program - even when your entire workforce is not online
• Initiatives that will help you embrace and leverage technology to manage current and emerging communication challenges
• Self-confidence in your ability to embrace and leverage technology to accomplish current and emerging communications objectives
• Insights regarding next generation two-way dialogue and community-building solutions

David Wright, Director of Employee Communications
MEADWESTVACO

Steven Green, President
POLLSTREAM INC.

5:00 p.m.

End Of Day One

5:15 p.m.

Networking Reception: Please Join Us!

Let's meet and have a drink as you relax with your peers. ALL conference attendees and speakers are welcome to join us for this special opportunity to network. Don't miss this chance to benchmark ideas over complimentary drinks!

Sign up during the day for dinner with a group. Take advantage of Toronto’s fine dining while you continue to network with your colleagues.