The Commerce Times

Sneak Peak at How Technology Has Changed Marketing Strategy

The Third Annual Ted Rogers Marketing Conference was held on Thursday night, and involved a panel discussion on the topic of ‘How Technology Has Changed Marketing Strategy’. Ryerson students and staff attended the event hosted  by the Ryerson Marketing Association, which involved panellists’ views and opinions on the topic. Keynote speaker Terry O’Reilly, host of CBC Radio’s The Age of Persuasion, lead the panel with thought provoking ideas and questions. Panel speakers included Mike DaPonte, the VP General Manager at BIMM Direct and Digital, and Walter Levitt, the Chief Marketing Officer at Canwest Broadcasting. Also on the panel, Marc Belcourt, the Brand Communications Manager for BMW Canada, and Jason Keown, the Senior Director of Marketing for Burger King Canada.

The technological focus was on social media and its influences on corporate marketing strategies. Social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace seemed to be very influential and powerful marketing tools for each of the company’s corporate marketing strategies and objectives. The panellists agreed that the growing trend in social media helped the companies to reach their consumers/users, and retain both positive and negative feedback.

With the array of social media channels to market through, each of the panellists had varying opinions on the most effective strategy. Some companies took advantage of marketing through numerous social media channels including Twitter and Facebook, and others focused primarily on one social media channel. Jason Keown was asked how his company chooses to make media decisions. His response;

You have to take some leaps of faith.