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Whoever came up with the phrase Actions Speak Louder Than Words probably didn’t realize they were creating the rallying cry for our entire industry. Especially given experiential marketing probably didn’t exist at the time. So hopefully they will be flattered that we have ironically taken their words literally and fashioned a vital form of business communications from them.

Day III of CSFX16 is an action packed day. It should be since I am asking you to attend a conference on the Saturday of a holiday weekend. But then again I am inviting you to spend it with some pretty active people. The highlight of which will be the NBA All-Star Practice. We have great seats reserved for you to watch the best basketball players in the world get warmed up for the All-Star Game.

We also have great seats for you to watch the All-Stars of our industry share with you their best game plans for implementing experiential and sponsorship marketing programs. Immerse yourself in their worlds as they demonstrate how they connect with consumers and stakeholders alike.

Another highlight of the day is our women’s-only panel. This was first deployed at our CSFX15 event and is the brainchild of former WTA CEO Stacey Allaster. So many of you implored me to ensure we had it become an annual feature that I not only agreed, but doubled the time allocated to it. For young female leaders in our sector, this panel promises to be the most important 90 minutes of your year. You need to be there. Tell your boss. Bring her as well.

For those looking for digital activation, Twitter is fielding an All-Star group of their own which will sure to trend highly among our attendees. Back by popular demand to lead the panel, Christopher Doyle has developed and executed media strategies for some of the most enviable sports properties, like FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. He’s joined by Jared Kleinstein, who stumbled upon and turned Tebowing into a mini-craze, award-winning Head of Brand Strategy, Jamie Michaels, and TJ Taylor Adeshola, Twitter’s Content Partnerships Manager for Sports.

Gregory Hegger’s passion for live music may be fuelled by a self-confessed terrible singing voice. At least at Virgin Mobile, he’s able to live out any musical dreams by bringing to life Virgin’s major partnerships with Osheaga and the Squamish Valley Music Festival.

One speaker whose executional talent took her to the world stage is Rogers’ Alexandra Orlando. She dedicated over 15 years to rhythmic gymnastics and represented Canada at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Sherida German has taken media partnerships to a whole new level, having negotiated the largest co-marketing initiative in Shaw’s history with Johnson & Johnson and recently gave CFL fans unprecedented behind-the-scenes content and virtual experiences for the Grey Cup.

I’m banking CP’s Mark Wallace grew up playing with some intensive train sets as a kid. He’s been in the railway business, a business predicated on flawless timing and execution, for almost 20 years.

Having evolved Crankworx from an exclusive high-performance event into a massive celebration of endurance, we knew Darren Kinnaird would be perfect for a workshop on Activity Day.

We’re wrapping up the day with someone who has clearly made an impact on PepsioCo and its consumers, having started her career as a Sales Representative in Australia before climbing the ranks and moving abroad to Thailand, back home to Australia, and then ultimately around the world to become Senior Director, Sports, PepsiCo North America Beverages.

In any business you must have a sound strategy and devise creative solutions to problems. But at the end of the day, if you don’t execute with greatness, you’re sunk. All that preparation, focus, and concentration is out the window. The moment of truth is all anyone will remember.

There’s a reason in Hollywood the final words before the camera rolls are Lights, Camera, Action.

The BIG idea.

How many times a year are you asked to deliver one? Something ownable. Never been done before. Out of the box. Bigger than Movember/Christmas Miracle/Ice Bucket/Like a Girl combined. On a shoestring budget. In ten days.

Sound familiar?

Under ideal circumstances, being creative is a daunting challenge. It requires a clear understanding of the business problem. The necessary background information to understand all critical circumstances. Precise clarity on what needs to be achieved to classify the endeavour as a success. Time to ideate, collaborate, and evaluate various options. Talent from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

If those conditions exist in your world on a daily basis, you should safeguard them at all costs. More than likely only some exist. You’re not alone. Which is precisely why we decided to dedicate Day II of CSFX16 to Creativity.

The day will be hosted by T1’s award-winning Chief Creative Officer, and one of my key business partners, Graham Lee. Graham and his creative team at T1 are mission critical to ensuring that we develop ideas that scale to build business for our clients. Ideas are the most valuable currency in our industry, and your ability to create, or access creativity, is directly linked to your organization’s market worth. Graham will headline an all-star cast guaranteed to fill your mind with provoking concepts.

We’ve got a panel of CD’s from some of the best agencies in Canada. Dave Diamond of Diamond Integrated Marketing, who recently won the CMA’s Best of the Best award for #TDTHANKSYOU. Plus Matt McCoubrey of Mosaic, just-announced gold winners of Event Marketer’s Experience Design Awards for both Best Collection of Technology Interactives for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference 2015, as well as Best Pop-Up Store for the Diet Coke Get a Taste Style Bar. And then there’s SDI Marketing’s Luke Kinmond, whose Rogers Hometown Hockey has won the nation over by celebrating local communities and the game through the cross-country hockey festival.

To get the day off to a rocking start, I’ve convinced brand guru and digital marketing rock star Mitch Joel to join us. He’s been named top “insert prestigious marketing award here” many times over. And he co-launched a music label with Juno and MuchMusic award-winning acts. Any one else feel lazy yet?

If not, Alison Simpson is sure to do the trick. Beyond driving the Holt Renfrew, Holt Renfrew Men, hr2, and Ogilvy brands, she’s completed almost 50 marathons and ultramarathons. Seriously.

Honoured to have Judy John, CEO and CCO of Leo Burnett Canada grace our stage. Her team created the #LikeAGirl campaign last year for P&G Always. The one that won awards around the world, including Canada’s first Titanium Lion at Cannes.

If there’s anyone who’d celebrate the machines taking over, it would be wonderMakr’s Mark Stewart. He’s the imagination behind a smile-activated photo booth vending machine, a selfie-taking vacuum, and several other experience-driving contraptions that brands never dreamed they needed.

A proudly iconic Canadian brand, Roots has successfully promoted the spirit of Canada’s heritage globally through James Connell’s innovative approach to digital marketing and music partnerships.

From date nights at the store to fashion week sponsorships, Metro Ontario has been wooing new loyal customer segments through Nancy Modrcin’s knack for creating unexpected brand experiences.

For far too many years I thought I was the most creative person around. I eschewed brainstorms. Poo poohed group sharing. Shat on others’ thoughts. All the while not realizing how great the opportunities were that was passing me by. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn at this stage in my career that creativity is a result of collaboration, inspiration, and dedication. Dedication to process and dedication to discipline that’s required to generate the Big Idea. It’s not luck. It’s not (just) booze. It’s not a sudden lightning bolt or stroke of genius. The thunder will come eventually, but only when the heavy lifting has been put in.

A big part of the pursuit of greatness is learning from the best. I can’t promise you that Creativity Day will make you a creative guru. In fact I can assure you it won’t. But what I can promise you is a day that will illuminate what’s been successful for others, so you can apply that to your own box, you’re so eager to think outside of.

Recently I made my return to the squash court for the first time in five years since a disruptive knee injury. Though not cleared to play, I’ve decided to take some tuneup lessons before participating in a winter house league.

What does squash or my wonky knee have to do with the Canadian Sponsorship Forum Xperience (CSFX16)? A lot.

For CSFX16, presented by T1 and hosted by the NBA, we have decided to forgo our annual approach of programming the event to an overall conference theme, but rather feature a unique daily focus. Each day of our event February 11, 12, and 13, 2016 at the Delta Toronto will effectively be a mini-conference unto itself. We took this approach, knowing that sometimes it’s difficult to commit the time to attend a multi-day event. For those who are attending the entire show, I’m hopeful the variety will spice things up for your Xperience.

Now back to squash. Day 1 of CSFX (February 11) is Strategy Day, and my new squash pro quickly reminded me of the value of strategy. In assessing my game he told me essentially that my power was useless without strategy. In his words, Squash is like Chess. You need to play under control and get your opponent off-balance, attacking them all over the court. Most importantly he said you need to finish every shot or chess move, before moving onto the next.

That’s sage advice because finishing what you start is a savvy strategy whether you’re on the court or planning a marketing campaign.

If you’re looking for similar advice I can send you to my squash pro or you can take a look at our speaker lineup for Strategy Day at CSFX16. It’s packed with speakers and content that will equip you with new insights, data, and key learnings to help you shape your program strategies for a long time to come.

The day will feature speakers from DAVIDsTEA, Wrigley, CIBC, and the Canadian Olympic Committee. You’re going to hear a lot about transformation in big organizations. How a brand evolves a twenty-year-old partnership, in an era where it seems three years is the unofficial shelf life for partnerships in too many executives’ minds. You’re going to hear how a major property has obliterated international standards and set a new bar in national partnership revenue, activation, and integration. You’re going to understand how a multinational has been able to align disparate internal departments, procurement and marketing, to create a powerful and thoughtful approach to sponsorship. Every brand is chasing millenials and you have a chance to engage with some great marketers, including the one beer brand that has really shone at cracking the code and experiencing how they did it.

Many of our Day 1 speakers I know personally. If you haven’t met Kristina Schaefer, this is your opportunity to hear from a woman who has literally hopped the globe helping the biggest of brands navigate the biggest of properties. I have only met Visa’s Zaileen Janmohamed once, but am thrilled she is willing to make the trek from San Fransisco to Toronto because her expertise in Sponsorship Intelligence is quite unique on the continent. I get to work daily with the marketing team headed up by Rachel MacQueen from AIR MILES and am excited you will get to see their unique take on building brand love.

Our friends at the NBA are delivering us an All-Star speaker in Emilio Collins, their EVP of Global Marketing Partnerships. If you think you’ve got a busy development job, try overseeing the NBA, WNBA, USA Basketball, the D-league and all its teams and all its partners. Whew. I’m honoured Emilio even has time to sit with us during his crazy All-Star Week schedule.

No Strategy Day would be complete without data and insights. The Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study will be presented for the ninth time, and our Most Valuable Property Study, done in conjunction with Ipsos, will appear for the fourth time. To cap the day will be IMI’s infamous Don Mayo, who could probably present for the entire day on his own, but in only an hour will certainly deliver a year’s worth of strategic gems from real life global case studies.

The last strategic challenge of the day will be some high-profile networking at the IMI International Happy Hour to wrap February 11th up. Start working on your best move now!

If you’ve never attended CSFX, T1’s annual conference formerly known as the Canadian Sponsorship Forum, then my next few blog posts are for you.

Today marks the first in a series of CSFX previews that I’ve decided to prepare for you to devour. Today I will whet your appetite as to what CSFX is all about. Then over the next few weeks, I will add to the sizzle with some tasty bites of the meaty content and savoury networking you can feast on next February.

Of course if you’re not hungry for my cooking, you can always resort to the best way to get a good recommendation. Regardless of whether it’s a restaurant or a business conference, ask somebody who has already been. The odds are unbelievably high that you know, not one, but several industry peers who have attended this amazing fete in the past. They will enthusiastically share what over three thousand others know. CSFX isn’t a conference that talks about being a great conference, it’s a conference that lives it.

I think it’s important to begin the CSFX story with you by focusing on the Why versus the What. For clarity sake I will let you know the When and Where: February 11, 12, 13, 2016 at the brand spanking new, super beautiful, unbelievably appointed, conveniently located Delta Toronto. If those dates sound familiar to you, you’re not only a shrewd marketer, but also a sports fan, as those days are right smack in NBA All-Star Week. Which makes sense given our CSFX16 host is none other than the National Basketball Association!

Having an annual host is central to the Why. Why did I think Canada needed another conference? Why did I decide to enlist my colleagues to embark on this labour of love? Why did we decide to partner our forum with a major event every year? Why does any of this matter to you?

We didn’t start CSFX because we felt Canada needed another experiential marketing and sponsorship conference. No. We started it to create a platform for learning, to create an opportunity for sharing, to create a venue for inspiration. As marketers our number one enemy is our desks. The more time we spend in our offices or boardrooms the less strategic and creative we become. Over time our senses become dulled, our skills eroded, and the passion we had for pursuing our life’s work is in a distant rearview mirror.

However being a smorgasbord of motivation is just the beginning for us. We concocted an event that combines endless amounts of proprietary research, unparalleled speakers addressing the most topical issues of the day, and networking that is curated to ensure even the most introverted of introverts will leave with a pocket full of business cards. (I personally volunteer as host, match maker, and cruise director.)

I have a passion for connecting people. I have an endless thirst for knowledge. I have endless admiration for the best work, people, campaigns, and brands in the sponsorship marketing world. So if any of that translates into the Why of CSFX, the mission of our event, and a sneak preview into the value of attending, then you and I share something very powerful in common.

They say that sports is PVR-proof because it’s the truest form of reality television. I’m beginning to question that.

On the surface the analogy is simplistic. The outcome of sports events isn’t scripted, tested, edited, and manipulated. Writers and directors don’t decide the hero’s fate. It’s decided in the arena. You can speculate all you want, but the final buzzer is judge and jury. As a fan you want to know the outcome in real time. Not on your week off in a fit of binge watching. Save that for Game of Thrones.

Advertisers love it. Consumers follow their teams, their heroes, their home side in real time because the moment is so special in sports. It’s incomparable. Sport is real.

It’s grounded in the passion you developed as a kid. Cheering for your grandfather’s team. Worshiping that athlete who came to visit your childhood sports camp. Or a book signing. Or a chance meeting at a restaurant.

No matter how you fell in love with that team, that athlete, you had a team. You lived with them. You died with them. You prayed for their playoff chances. You cringed over their injuries. You screamed at the coach after losses. You lionized the captain after wins. They are your team.

Reality. Meet TV. It’s called sports.

I love sports because it’s simple. My team. My guy. My gal. Head to head. Face to face. 1:1. Me versus you.

It doesn’t matter who wears my colours. You’re my hero. Maybe for the night. Maybe for the season. Maybe just for one inning.

However I’m worried. Recently you have some new admirers and I’m not sure you even realize this.

They don’t cheer for your teammates. They aren’t a fan of our club. They don’t know about our playoff drought. They aren’t clamouring for the coaches’ heads. They aren’t already fantasizing about next year.

I’m struggling to describe these new admirers as sports fans. They claim they are. But when I gently prod them, they spill much evidence to the contrary. These people aren’t fans.

A fan loves her team.
A fan worships her starters.
A fan makes excuses for their coach.
A fan watches the game.
A fan argues.
A fan cheers.
A fan cries.
A fan what ifs themselves for days on end.
A fan brainwashes their children.
A fan argues with friends.
A fan ignores family members.
A fan dreams of next season. Before this year is over.
A fan can’t be bought. Sold. Persuaded. Discouraged. Hoodwinked. Influenced. Tempted. Convicted. Convinced. Flattered. Intimated. Educated. Denied.

In short. There is no way possible to understand a fan.

That’s why I love sports.
It’s also why I don’t love fantasy sports.
I don’t get it.

Here is the value proposition of fantasy sports.
Pick players from any team you want.
Base your love solely on their past statistics.
Disregard all measures of character.
Cheer for them to achieve individual success.
Disregard their teams efforts.
Express zero allegiance to the past.

Clearly I don’t get, can’t get into, am bothered by, see it as a perpetual nuisance, haven’t had any success with fantasy sports.

Candidly fantasy sports is something I don’t understand.

On the radio I don’t hear game forecasts anymore. I hear advice for draft picks.

When I’m away from the TV I can’t get scores online. I get fantasy stat updates.

My son’s groans from the TV room are based solely on the defence he’s drafted for the weekend.

I don’t know how to play fantasy if it requires me cheering for the enemy. There is only one quarterback I love. There is only one goalie I pantomime. There is only one small forward’s spot up shots I cross my fingers for. There is only one reliever I will hold off heading to the bathroom for. They all play for the same team. My team. It’s a real team. Not a fantasy team.

I’m not trying to win a pool. I don’t need in-office, online, Facebook/Snapchat/ Instagram bragging rights. There is no reason for me to aspire to win back what I bet (why bet!).

Being number one among buddies doesn’t matter. I just want my teams to win.

Fantasy isn’t fanatic. But tell that to the accountants. They are loving the advertising money that is literally altering the way sports, sports news, online reporting, videos, and highlights are packaged and presented.

Fantasy is ruining reality. Hard to believe. But I see it. If sport becomes nothing more than a glorified game of trading cards, then why bother playing the games. Why not just turn sport over to Hollywood. That may be more than a fantasy.

There is nothing else I can say.

Until Saturday night I had no idea of the racially fueled flareup that was occurring at the University of Missouri. In fact neither did much of the United States or the Western World.

I had no idea that the head of the Student Government had been verbally assaulted with racial taunts from some people in a pickup truck on campus. I had no idea that a swastika made from human feces had been drawn on a residence wall. I had no idea that a drunken white student had crashed a black student group’s homecoming preparations and insulted them using every word imaginable. I had no idea the university President laughed at black students from his car during a protest. I had no idea that the offer to introduce new anti-racism measures on campus and hire more black faculty was suggested by the school’s Chancellor to begin in 2016, as a means to end one protester’s hunger strike…

Did you?

If you did it was probably only after one of the most powerful student groups on campus decided to get involved. Was it the Agribusiness Club? Delta Alpha Pi? The Masters of Business Administration Association? The College Democrats? The College Republicans? The Journalism Student Council? The Economics Undergraduate Student Association? No.

It was the Missouri Tigers Football Team. More specifically the African Americans on the team. Saturday night they issued a strike ultimatum. If the school President and Chancellor did not step down, they were not going to practice, prepare, or play for the school. Less than forty-eight hours later they had won. The President, and the Chancellor, agreed to resign. That’s some fierce blitz those players threw.

Just like that.

What protests couldn’t do. What tent cities couldn’t accomplish. What emails and social posts failed to achieve. What even a hunger strike couldn’t muster, the athletes could. Because they, in this era of influencers ruling the world, knew they were influencers. They knew they had profile. They knew they had clout. They knew they had financial impact. They also knew they had their coach. He had to support them or he could say goodbye to recruiting a black athlete ever again. They knew their school faced a $1 million fine for forfeiting their next game. They knew that no football would get the alumni out of bed.

Part of me is elated. The protest had won due to this game changing threat. The bad guys, or alleged bad guys, are gone. Finally I witnessed athletes with a lot to lose, risking everything for their fellow students. It’s amazing.

Part of me is sad. I can’t believe that in 2015 an institution of higher learning, of all places, can be the scene of such backward thinking. Worse yet that it can be led by a tone deaf President who is empowered with the safety, well-being, and education of 36,000 children. I say children, because that’s what they are. Somebody’s child. You send your offspring to university and expect this man, or woman, at the top to look after them like you have.

Instead, at the University of Missouri, it took the football team to protect them.

How amazing was it to have one more hour in your Sunday this past weekend?

Did you remember you were going to be the recipient of this magical gift when you opened your eyes in the morning? Did you roll over and delight that your wish to sleep just a little longer wasn’t going to cost you any lost minutes? Or did you spring for the hardwood in anticipation of how much extra weekend work you could power through?

One day a year I love Daylight Savings Time.

The rest of the year I don’t get it. It seems like a concept that has past its best before date. Surely as our society has transformed from an agriculturally based economy to an app based one, the need to provide farmers with extra daylight in the morning has evaporated. You’ll agree wholeheartedly with me this week, when that demotivating shower of darkness hits you leaving the office. But on Sunday, that extra hour is a coveted treat.

How many times have you said to yourself how great it would be to have an extra hour. Just one more hour. When you’ve slept in. You’re caught in traffic. Prepping for a major presentation. Racing to the airport. The 25 hour day is not just the dream of the procrastinator. Very few of us would turn it down.

I often say the same to myself. Why did I sleep in. Why did I stay up so late watching movies. Why didn’t I come home earlier from that event. There are so many times when you realize you wasted an hour. An hour that probably wasn’t as valued as it should have been until it’s gone.

So how did you spend your extra hour this weekend? Did you do something that made it worthwhile.  Or did you waste it.

I wonder what we would do if we were granted an extra hour, every day, for the rest of our lives. Think about that.

Would you sleep longer.
Would you exercise.
Would you work overtime.
Would you read.
Perhaps you would write that book.
Or at least a few letters.
Started those French lessons.
Those cooking classes.
That forgotten wine tasting course.
Finished those piano lessons.
Pick up a guitar.
Visited your parents.
Played with your kids.
Volunteered.
Donated.
Rehabilitated.
Meditated.
Talk with a friend.
Make a few new ones.
Visit with some old.
Cleaned your attic.
Build a shed.

It’s amazing the good for you things that seem so attainable if we had these magical minutes.Yet, you lament that getting going on many of these ideas is just a dream. There never will be time to get fit. To read. To eat well. Sleep better. Live longer.

But that hour is already here. We were given it the day we were born and we will posessss it until the day we die. It’s just that often we squander it. Waste it. Lose it in the never land of good intentions.

But it’s out there. We just have to seize it. Pick it. Protect it. We can take that hour, to do want we dream of. Everyday. Whether it’s chasing a promotion at work, a new personal hobby, or a commitment to others.

One More Hour. It’s here every day. Just don’t wait another year for it to come.

In the two seconds between the ball leaving Josh Donaldson’s bat, and the first base umpire signalling that would be the Blue Jay’s final out of 2015, I had emphatically killed my TV and threw the remote across the room in one violent motion.

My actions joined a collective anguished scream of thirty million Canadians expressing their agony. The thrilling ride of the Blue Jays World Series quest was over.

I was so crushed I rudely couldn’t make small talk about it come Saturday. Wasn’t interested in analyzing poor coaching strategy, misplayed bunts, and costly defensive decisions. I was neck deep in the unwritten sports rule of a twenty-four hour limit for mourning a loss. Two days later my dark cloud of despair is slowly, very slowly, lifting and allowing for more mature reflective thinking to permeate my thoughts.

As Jays media pundits, sports insiders, and fans began to combine their dissection of what went wrong with speculation about next year, they will all come back to one common denominator. Talent. Who will be around in 2016? Who were the key contributors in 2015? How much was our success the result of the core team built in spring training? Or should all the accolades go to the trading deadline arrivals who seemingly sparked the marvelous run to glory? No matter what side of this debate you fall on, there is no question of the foundation of the debate. Talent wins.

You don’t have to look much further than the Jays or our recent federal election to see the impact of talent on almost any type of organization. As the Tories point accusatory fingers at one another for their historic collapse, the critiques of their campaign management braintrust are almost as loud as the kudos directed to the Liberal backroomers. In overly simplistic terms this election will be regarded as a textbook case where (apparently) one group of very smart people was able to outsmart another group of also (apparently) very smart people. The net result is political history.

You may not be a fan of the oft repeated sports to political machine to business analogies that I have so clumsily added to. But it’s undeniable in my mind. Talent wins on the field, in the boardroom, and at the ballot box. Open any twenty business magazines and the proof is right in front of you. Top 30 Under 30 lists. Best Marketers designations. Top rated CEO in the world research. Each of these three are on the covers of some of the top publications in October alone. Beyond the headlines and covers, there is more emphasis on talent in the business press than ever before.

Go to any conference in the world and I guarantee you will hear more than one speech that starts with a reference to the rate of change or digital impact on the world. Not only is that the go to line of a mediocre public speaker, it masks the real change in the world. The nerds have taken over.

I use the nerd word for impact and it’s rude of me to do so. What I really mean is smart people have taken over. Historically the world has been governed by the biggest people, the bravest fighters, and the most barbaric leaders. Over time that translated to a self-created concept of royalty which then dissipated into a falsehood called democracy, which really was a mask for the rich and powerful to rule as they saw fit.

But today there is a new weapon that is more powerful than brawn and more sustaining than wealth. Intelligence. Competence. Resilience. Talent. The change that the boring speaker you saw last week referred to isn’t in the outputs residing as apps on your mobile phone or drones flying in your warehouse. It’s the creators and innovators behind these products have now been given an opportunity to impact the world. Call them what you want. Geniuses. Serial Entrepreneurs. The next Steve Jobs. Makers. They are here and they have taken over.

Which is a good thing for your organization, your career, the educational choices of your sons and daughters. The old rules of the game are disappearing and the new rules are much like the famous quote from the movie Fight Club. Rule # 1 is there are no rules.

Talent wins. That should be the game plan for your organization just as is it is for the World series finalists.

Friends and Partners of TrojanOne,

Mark Harrison
President, T1