AIMS Canada

Seeking an Email Marketing Consultant

AIMS member Adele McAlear from Radio IP Software, Inc. in Montreal is looking for help…

I am looking for consulting services to help us with our email marketing implementation and deliverability.  Although there are many ESPs out there who could relieve our problems, we have just completed a very long and painful implementation of a Microsoft CRM.  The CRM includes a marketing module which tracks email campaigns to the contact database.  However, after our first test in December the module proved to have many shortcomings for email marketing.  Because the MS CRM is brand new, our company is determined to find a solution to our email campaign implementation and deliverability issues.  Outsourcing to an ESP is not feasible, unless they are able to work within our CRM to enable the contact database to be updated without intervention or without incurring a drain on our marketing department.

Can anyone recommend a consultant who can help me?

Anyone have any suggestions for Adele?

PR and Surveys: Looking for Best Practices

AIMS member Robert Mendelson, Executive VP at Select Blinds Canada sends in the following question...

We're thinking of conducting a survey for PR purposes--we'll publish the results in hopes of them getting picked up by media outlets across Canada and getting our name/site mentioned as often as possible as the sponsors of the survey.

Can anyone who has done this before provide some guidance as to best practices, pitfalls to avoid, checklists for execution, recommendations for getting the survey results out with maximum impact, etc?

Anyone have any suggestions/guidance for Robert?

Speaking Opportunity: Share Your Expertise About the World of Blogs

AIMS member Rob Crocock from Festivals and Events Ontario is looking for a speaker for his upcoming conference. He sends in this question…

Do you know of anyone who might be interested in speaking about the world of Blogs at our annual conference in March 2007? Unfortunately my budget is as small as ever but there might be someone out there who could benefit from a networking opportunity with Festival and Event Organizers.

The conference is by the Toronto Airport and they’re expecting 300-400 delegates with 30-50 folks attending each session offered. If you’d like to find out more please contact Rob directly at marketing (at) festivalsandeventsontario (dot) ca. (And of course you can use the comments section if you'd like to recommend someone).

Tracking Customer Service Calls - Looking For Software Recommendation

AIMS member Robert Mendelson from Select Blinds Canada is looking for some help... 

We're looking for software that can help us keep track of customer service calls: keep track of issues with orders, scheduling call-backs/follow-up's, generate reports revealing trends (e.g., this product seems to have an abnormally high rate of problems), etc. Suggestions?

Anyone have any recommendations for Robert?

Recommendation for In-House Training

Emily Ward from theadlibgroup sends in the following question…

We are presently looking at upgrading our knowledge on blogging and viral marketing. Do you know of any seminars or courses available in the Toronto area?  Do you have any members who offer in-house training on these subjects?

There were a number of events in October and November about social media, blogs, communications but I'm not aware of any for December. Anyone? Any recommendations for in-house training?

I'm currently working on the 2007 event calendar for AIMS and we'll definitely be talking about these and other topics in the new year so stay tuned!

Categories in the Member Directory - Your Input Please

As I mentioned in a previous post we're working on adding an AIMS member directory to the website. (Everyone will have the option of choosing whether they want to be included and what contact information should be displayed)

We're planning on adding two categories to each persons profile. The intent is to make it easier to find the types of companies and products/services you're looking for. The initial list of categories is shown below.

I'd really like to get some feedback from members - Are these categories useful? Are we missing any key areas?

Please respond in the comments below or send me an email - klagden@aimscanada.com.

Industry:

• Advertising/Marketing
• Associations/Not for Profit/Charity
• Automotive and Transportation
• Consulting
• Education and Training
• Financial Services and Insurance
• Government
• Healthcare/Pharmaceutical
• Industrial Products
• Legal
• Manufacturing
• Media/Entertainment
• Other
• Packaged Goods
• Professional Services
• Publishing/Printing
• Recruitment/Staffing
• Retail
• Technology
• Telecommunications
• Travel and Hospitality
• Utilities and Energy Services

Type of Service:

• Analytics (or ‘Metrics/Measurement’)
• Copywriting
• CRM
• Ecommerce
• Email Marketing
• Games/Contests
• Graphic Design
• Hardware
• Internet Service Provider
• Marketing/Communications Agency
• Other
• Promotions
• Public Relations
• SEO/SEM
• Social Media (blogs, podcasts, etc.)
• Software
• Software Development
• Video
• Web Development
• Wireless/Mobile
• Word of Mouth

What is the Typical CPM Rate for Banner Ads?

A fellow AIMS member is doing some research and sends in this question about ad networks and CPM...

1. Who would you say are the leading banner ad networks to align oneself with?
2. what is the typical/avg cpm rate nowadays for banner ads…… ballpark figure is aok

A bit of background...

• Banners would be posted on a gaming site/portal i.e. fun games
• Users would be across various demographics and not targeted in any particular fashion
• What would be the cpm rate that the portal owner could expect from an ad network they partnered with

Anyone have any metrics or suggestions?

Looking for a list of awards shows in Toronto

Candice Weber, an AIMS member and volunteer from Cesart, is looking to put together a list of award shows. She sends in the following post...

I'm putting together a list of award shows that our agency should be participating in. Do you know where I might find the list of the main awards shows in Toronto, particularly those geared to online agencies?

It's too late to enter this year but here are a couple for the agenda next year.

• The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) are having their awards gala November 17th. Obviously too late to enter this year but tickets to attend are available on their website - http://www.the-cma.org/awards/welcome.html
• The Digital Marketing Awards produced by Marketing was held on Nov. 2nd.

Any other suggestions for Candice?

AIMS Member Directory: Public or Members Only?

Our new website has been up and running for a few months now. One of the biggest requests I've heard since we launched is for a member directory, a way for members to find and network with each other.

The chief apricot over at Wild Apricot just sent me an overview on how the directory will work and I'd like to get some input from AIMS members.

First a couple of important notes:

Everyone will have the choice whether they want to be included in the directory or not.

If you choose to be included in the directory you'll have the choice to 'display' or 'not display' telephone and/or email address.

The directory can be viewable by the general public or limited to being viewed by AIMS members only.

Do you have a preference whether the directory is displayed on our public website or just shown to AIMS members? Would it impact your choice of being included or not?

Please add your comments to this post or email me directly at klagden@aimscanada.com. Thanks for your input!

Any recommendations for how to improve online copywriting skills?

AIMS member Brian Moran sends in the following...

I'm a copywriter with many years experience writing traditional marketing communications copy (brochures, web site copy, ads, etc.). I want to update my knowledge of online marketing so I'm able to work in a marketing agency/firm that specializes in marketing for the online world.

I've already sent resumes to dozens of agencies that specialize in online marketing but none are interested in seeing me. I'm wondering if fellow AIMS members could make some suggestions as to how I could update my skills.

I'm considering a return to school (the Centennial program looks good - http://www.centennialcollege.ca/future/ccc_nmd_index.jsp), individual courses, conferences, etc. I'm up for anything that will update my knowledge and make me more marketable.

Any practical suggestions would be appreciated.

Anyone have any suggestions for Brian?