Je Me Souviens, I remember MIXX Canada.

Daniela Lopera
Sep 25, 2014
7 min read

There are two quotes that I admire a lot and in fact, I put them to practice in my everyday life.

The first quote is by Maya Angelou, in which she states that how we make someone feel is the way in which we will impact that person and be remembered. We cannot heavily rely on people’s memories for information as it is stored in the short term memory and it is replaced with new information gained from new experiences. However, a person can be heavily impacted by their emotions, and depending on how they feel, they will always remember an event, a person or an experience. This information will therefore be stored in the long term memory, where it can be kept for reference for days, months and years.

Maya Angelou on People’s Memory and Impressions from Google

Albert Einstein’s quote that states we should all treat everyone equally and with respect is another quote I heavily rely on in my everyday life. This quote compliments Maya Angelou’s quote as it is depending on the treatment you give others that you can influence them in a positive or negative way. Negative inputs in a person’s life can start off a chain of negative reactions, emotions and experiences.

Albert Einstein’s on Equality and Respect from Google

I have always heard from my parents, teachers and elders that treating others like you want to be treated is the mantra I should be living with. Therefore I have always tried to be the best version of myself with others. I don’t believe I am better than anyone else and I treat others with respect and equality. I thank them for the job they do no matter what it is, whether it is the janitor, the bus driver, my teacher, a boss or even the receptionist at an office. I hold the door open for others when I see they are behind me, and I thank those who extend that same courtesy. To me this comes naturally, and I believe that everyone should behave in such way.

My belief has been reinforced in class. In our event marketing course we have learnt that no matter what rank or part a person plays in an event, they should always be treated with respect, with equality and with kindness. You never know who is the person that can help you build your event, reach or obtain sponsors, or who can destroy its reputation, or success.

Last week, Seneca’s Event Marketing Class of 2015 was invited to attend the Mixx Canada Conference and we all saw how important it is to treat others with such values, as well as how important emotions are in impacting a person’s experience.

I remember the feeling I got when I was told that we were invited to the IAB Canada Fall Mixx Conference, I not only felt excited because this was my first conference, but I also felt very fortunate because we were getting complimentary tickets to a conference that originally cost $500 per seat. I thought that it would be an amazing experience to be able to network with successful individuals that worked in the field of marketing, and I felt lucky that I would learn from them and hear about their everyday labour life.

The day of the conference arrived. I was so excited yet nervous, I wanted to make a good impression that day. I left my house at exactly 6:00 am in the morning, I caught the two buses and the train to downtown. At 8:15 a.m, I finally arrived at my destination. My stomach went in a knot as excitement rushed through my body.

The Conference took place in Toronto’s most significant and unique historical special events venue, The Carlu. This location was perfect for the conference as it is not only a very modern and chic venue, but it is also very accessible as it is in the heart of downtown.

The Carlu Sign from http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Once I got off the elevator the buzzing and excitable atmosphere quickly embraced me. . There were signs located everywhere with the event’s logo, IAB Canada, with guiding directions for registration.

Mixx Canada Registration Signs Located Beside the Elevators

In front of the elevator entrance, there was a divider panel that exposed all the different sponsors for the conference. This panel divided the entrance of the conference from the VIP area in which professionals would later on be enjoying lunch and networking.

Dividing Panel with Sponsors’ Logos

To right side of this panel was the registration station for both students and professionals. As soon as I had confirmed my attendance at the event as a Seneca Event Marketing student I got a blue lanyard with the conference logo, Mixx Canada, and a laminated student pass. Before I could leave the table, the lady told me that I was not allowed behind the dividing panel as that was the VIP area for the professionals who had paid for their seats, and that just behind registration there was an area for students. This area had muffins, juice, tea and water included. However, she repeated: “do not go to the VIP area.”

My IAB Canada Student Pass & I

I thought it was very generous of them to have served us a light breakfast as we had not paid for the conference, and we were getting our lunch included. I left the table, thanked the lady for her help, and went upstairs to reserve my seat.

Carla Rojas, Danielle Martino and I at the Second Tier Mixx Canada Conference

The conference started at promptly 8:45 a.m. with a speech from the President of the Mixx Conference, Chris Williams. He thanked everyone for coming, and made me feel welcome when he thanked the students for joining the event.

IAB President Chris Williams In His Opening Speech

Following his introduction, Charlene Li took the stage. Charlene Li is the CEO and founder of the Altimeter Group, as well as the author of two social technology books. This section to me was the most interesting and informative. She did not talk down the crowd but she talked to them. Her talk was not to argue in the name of digital media, but instead she aimed to teach us about it.

The Secret To Digital Success by Charlene Li

She began her talk with the 4 components of a relationship based digital strategy, as she believes that it is by creating a relationship with the consumer or customer that we can achieve digital marketing success. She explained that we had forgotten about the people and instead we prioritized technology. We need to have first a strategy to be able to have a successful digital marketing campaign, therefore we must think and build relationships with the customer and understand the customer journey with the product. Then, we must look at the social data to see how we can affect all areas of marketing and target customers based on their behaviours. Following data research, we must posses the capabilities to face the biggest challenges in the campaign and organization. The biggest challenge is the culture of organization; therefore we need to unify the concept of culture to build customer relations. Lastly, we need to have leadership.

This talk for me was the most important because it recognized people and the relationships with consumers over the technology that now seems to be prioritized. It recognized human interaction and behaviours as important to marketing, and as a priority to marketers.

After Charlene Li’s session, we had a break to network and get to know the professional attendees. We were all so excited to have this opportunity to network, but when we got to the VIP area, they showed no interest in us. I felt like a child at an adult party, where we were looked down upon or were ignored because the “adults were too busy talking.” I tried smiling and approaching two ladies, but they seemed more interested in their conversation to pay attention to us trying to greet them. I was a little disappointed but I kept my hopes up for the next break.

Break Time with the Girls by Carla Rojas

After three session with Annette Warring, Marie Josee Lamothe and Marta Martinez, my mind was a little tired and it was focused on lunch time.Before the event we had been told that lunch was included with the invitation, therefore none of us was prepared for what happened next. There had been a miscommunication error with the program co-ordinator and event staff and in fact we would not have lunch included in our invitation. I have to admit I was annoyed with this situation, but mistakes happen. However, it was the way that we were treated with such issues that bothered me most. We were segregated from the professionals we could have networked with, and also we were mistreated when trying to go to the bathroom, which was located behind the VIP area. An apology would have been greatly accepted for such miscommunication and mistreatment.

Secluded from the Networking Fun

After this incident the conference lost my attention. I was no longer interested in taking part in an event that treated me with such disrespect and with such unprofessionalism. Many of my classmates seemed to be in the same position as I was, and we were all eager to leave the conference as soon as we could.

I do not remember what was said at the conference except for the first presentations, but I do remember the way I felt at the event.

Even though my feelings are mixed towards the conference big time, I think that we can all learn from this conference. I learned the importance of treating everyone with respect, I feel that even though we are not professionals yet, we will be someday and we could be important professionals or sponsors for events such as these. We are the generation of the future and we could in fact be key pieces in an event’s success. However, as of now we are only seen as students, and not as important as we should be considered and this view should change.

Yasmin Salehi, Olga Shikolay, Carla Rojas and I at the IAB Canada Fall Mixx Conference

Also, I learned that making sure every detail is perfect is important, especially when it comes to communicating information to others. I cannot say I hated it all; I did enjoy some sessions and did learn quite a bit. Even though digital marketing is not my main interest, it is still an important part of marketing as it is by using social media that we can reach an audience today.

Seneca’s Event Marketing 2015 Class at the Mixx Conference. Photo by Professor Chris Bacchus

Even though the conference did not meet my expectations, I am glad that I got to socialize and network with my classmates from the other Event Marketing group, MT. It was great to see old friends and catch up with them. We bonded over the experience and at the end of the day, these are the people I will one day work with and we can help each other succeed.