The Liberal government delivered its long-awaited budget last month, unveiling $101.4 billion in new spending. Supports were specifically promised to aid the recovery of Canada’s hard-hit tourism industry, which includes meetings and business events. It outlines $1 billion over three years for tourism, starting in 2021/2022; a $500-million Tourism Relief Fund to support investments by local tourism businesses in adapting to the pandemic; a $595-million Recovery Hiring Program to make it easier for businesses to hire back laid-off workers or…
News & Articles - CanSPEP
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Venues Host What Could be Most Important Event of 21st Century
Hard-hit by COVID-19, convention centres are once again seeing lines of people eagerly waiting to gain entry. But unlike in ‘normal’ times, they’re not there to attend a ‘typical’ event. Rather, thousands are flocking to these facilities to take a jab in the arm to protect themselves from the potentially deadly virus. The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) is among several events venues across the country that have pivoted for the public good. Canada’s largest convention and meeting facility opened…
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Meetings Industry Euchre Tournament (MIET 2018)
The Meetings Industry Euchre Tournament, an annual event which raises money for cancer research, is excited to announce the transition of the 7th Annual Tournament to CanSPEP, the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners. CanSPEP and MIET have signed a memorandum of understanding which supports the integrity of the event and ensures profits will support cancer research to find a cure through Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Founding member and Chair of MIET and BBW Vice President Sheila Wong states, “It’s…
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Six marketing tips to promote your next event
By Brent Taylor Let’s talk marketing. It seems today that there is a plethora of marketing materials, opinions and experts advising us on how to best market any product or service we have to offer. Why is that? Why is there so much attention being given to marketing? I recently read Seth Godin’s books, All Marketers are Liars and Purple Cow. I recommend both these books along with Simon Sinek’s Start with Why. I was intrigued by what Godin identifies as…
Event Branding & Marketing, Event Operations, Social Media & Technology
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Mission possible: The business of event management
By Lorne Collis CanSPEP is unique in the events industry in that the focus of the organization is not on the management of events, but on the business of event management. Our newly revised mission statement – “The network of professionals providing leadership and education in event management as a business” – was created to better reflect the entrepreneurial nature of CanSPEP’s membership. To this end, programming at CanSPEP’s conference in Ottawa focused on achieving those objectives. “There is a…
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Staying connected: An eventful summer for CanSPEP members
Imagine that a conference attendee walks up to your registration desk and suddenly drops to the ground. What would you do? What if your parent, your spouse or even your child experienced a medical emergency? Would you know what to do? On May 10, CanSPEP offered CPR Certification training to 20 people comprised of both planners and suppliers. Our gifted speaker, Geoff MacBride, CPR Instructor and EMS consultant, taught us how to administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to both adults and…
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Planning for success: News and views from Canada’s entrepreneurial event management industry
CanSPEP Report Continuing with its strategic plan for 2013, CanSPEP has many new options for its members, partners and the profession in general. During the 16th annual conference, held this year in Fredericton, N.B., suppliers and planners gathered from February 28 to March 2 to learn, network, make new connections, revitalize old connections and yes, have a lot of fun! With an amazing committee of volunteers at the helm, this year’s conference theme was WIRED: Where Independents Reconnect, Energize and…
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All hands on deck: How joint ventures can help produce an amazing event
It is not always easy to be totally self-sufficient when organizing a large and complicated event. Nor is it an easy feat to coordinate several projects for various clients, all happening on the same day, unless you give in to hiring additional staff for the duration of the projects. There are a lot of independent meeting planners who like to work on contracts as it gives them time do other things, and they are not tied down to a full-time…
Breaking News, Event Operations, Meeting Community, Special Events
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CanSPEP update: Promoting professionalism, creating awareness
Now in its 16th year, the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners began in 1996 as IMPAC (Independent Meeting Professionals Association of Canada). Its founder and first president, Joy Fox, CMP Emeritus, created the association out of a need to gather independent planning professionals as a strong group of entrepreneurs. The organization’s first meeting was held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto where the 24 planners in attendance developed a mission to “promote, support and educate independent meeting and…
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Conferences as your brand promise
I recently had a browse through the January issue of The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business and this article caught my eye: Canada’s Top 50 Brands by Steve Brearton. Brearton talks about your brand being the value of a promise that is consistently kept. Brearton breaks down his definition as follows: Value: What’s the actual dollar value of the company’s brand? Is this the old accounting ‘goodwill’ value of a company? To find out the mathematical value, read the…
