Podcamp is like band camp but with cooler people

Another year another PodcampTO has come and gone.

Stewart chicken sandwich, with @casiestewart

Out of all the Tweetups, Meetups, Meshes and Mashups we can attend in a year PodcampTO is maybe the only one I really feel the need to attend. That being said, I don’t go for the learnings or presentations – but rather to see the passionate familiar faces in attendance.

Podcamp is a funny and unique event put best by @DoctorJones -

The sessions I attended were:

Community Management: It’s still important

Social Psychology of Social Media

The Future of Social and Talent Attraction

Sincerity is Everything

Social media barometer

Getting the Insiders Onside: Working with Bloggers and Influencers
All but one of these I found very interesting, compelling and useful. The other, was not.

The only little issue I have with Podcamp is the screening process (or lack thereof) – You sponcer yourself, you’re not elected as a thought leader among your peers to share your incites. Some use this as a platform to spread their valuable key learnings from the past year (I’m looking at you @EdenSpodek @martinwaxman @davefleet @cugelman) … And others, use it as a platform to talk about themselves.

Other than the key learngings and reinforcement of best practices, Podcamp is more of a reunion with friends. I go because I get to spend a little time, touche base and catch up with my internet chums. We talk about who’s doing what, where, and how much fun they are having doing it – This is the real spirit of Podcamp.

Well done organizers, I tip my hat to you.

Until next year.

   

Filed under: Events, Personal, Social, #PCTO2012, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, Digital Marketing, marketing, Podcamp Toronto, Public Relations, social media, Toronto, Twitter

It’s a darn good time InToronto!

A few weeks back I went to the InToronto Magazine One year anniversary party at the Roosevelt Room. It was a fabulous time with amazing peeps. I know a number of people at the magazine includeing my dear friend @michaelpihach - who I adore. I adore this magazine because it uses style and substance not sex to sell to the LGBT community. So often people and publications within this community draw on raciness and sensationalism to sell and get attention – InToronto is a more refined and polished publication. Keep up the good work guys, can’t wait till your next party!

Filed under: Events, Social, Uncategorized, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, InToronto Magazine, PR, social media, Toronto, Twitter

Retrofy Everything

So last night I went to the Pepsi Throwback party hosted by the ever lovely @CasieStewart. The party was fun and represented the throwback retro relaunch of the beloved Pepsi product.

As some of you may know I’m a HUGE fan of Pepsi and almost all Pepsi products, at one point consuming a 1.5 liter bottle of Diet Pepsi a day (I have since cut back). My love of Pepsi goes back to my childhood, I have alwayse preferred Pepsi over other brands for as long as I can remember – not just for the taste but for the branding and marketing of the product. I think the Pepsi peeps do an awesome job at distinguishing themselves from the competition in a vibrent and youthfull way consistantly.

I love this Retro revolution! Just yesterday I was pitching a retrofyed idea for one of our brands. Everything old is new again (I blame the hipsters and Instagram) People are looking for reminders of a simpler time while not wanting to give up the convienence and awesomeness that is 2011. I think we will be seeing a lot more of this kinda kitch in marketing to come.

Follow them, like them, love them, because this is retro beverage is only on shelves for a limited time:

Twitter: @PepsiCanada

Facebook: PepsiCanada

Thanks for having me Pepsi.

Your BFF: AFS

BTW: Congrats on trending within an hour, impressive!

Filed under: Events, Social, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, marketing, Pepsi, PR, Public Relations, social media, Toronto, Twitter

“Back In My Day!” #CPRS360 Event

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of being a guest speaker at the CPRS (Canadian Public Relations Society) Ninth Annual 360 Degrees: ALL THINGS CONNECTED round table event. I was invited to speak about the importance of social media within PR.

The night was awesome! A full round of applause is due for Matthew Ventura this years head of the CPRS student association. The event was beautifully produced and everything went off without a hitch.

The event was set up with several tables that had different PR specialties:

Social Media, Government, CSR, Fashion & Beauty, Investor Relations, Hospitality & Tourism, Tech, Public Affairs, Agency, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Sports & entertainment.

At the Social Media table I was joined by Stacey Fowler, an awesome SM Tweep from Rogers. Stacy and I made a pretty fantastic duo given that my experience is agency and hers is large corporate. We had very different story’s and experiences but agreed on most every aspect, question and approaches that came up.  The questions ranged everywhere from: How did you get started, to How do you conduct measurement and ROI. It was a joy to find out that both our approaches into the field and how we measure our successes were remarkably similar.

The students were friendly, polite and engaged in the experience. Looking back I find myself wishing that I had attended more CPRS events in my PR school days. The CPRS students association is such a valuable and needed community for young PR Tweeps.

Thanks for having me guys, it was a pleasure!

Filed under: Events, Social, Andrew F Stewart, Canada, CPRS, Digital, Digital Marketing, media, PR, Public Relations, social media, Toronto, Twitter

Werking IT on New Years with #INQNYE

Normally when you are asked to work New Years Eve you are hesitant to say the least. Well not in my case. I have been working on an awesome contest for INQ Mobile for a few months now. The facebook contest was designed to create online buzz and excitement … and that, we did! The idea was to connect with some of Canada’s most notorious and popular bloggers, hook them up with the HOT new INQ 3G chat phone and take them on a epic VIP weekend even Lady Gaga would be jealous of. (Sorry Gaga)

We asked the public and INQ fans to join and “like” the INQ Canada facebook page, upload their most legendary party pics and get their online crew to vote, vote, and vote again. There was much excitement on facebook and twitter about this campaign thought the month that it ran, (you can have a gander by checking out the #INQNYE hashtag). We promoted the contest online with the help from our awesome bloggers, and my personal friends Raymi and Casie Stewart. (Those two Rocked my socks continuously all weekend)

Once the votes were i,n and we had our party crew, it was time to get’er done! Off to Montreal we Fly via Porter (my Favorite airline), picked up by escalade limo’s to chauffer the crew around in style and bring us to our boutique hotel. We had two nights stay at the luxurious and trendy W Hotel Montreal along with a all expenses paid shopping spree (for the contest winners and bloggers) at Style Exchange. After picking out our New Years Outfits we followed up by hair and makeup at a cool downtown salon. The Pièce de résistance for me was the amazing breakfast, lunch, and dinner at some of Montreal’s finest hot spots.

The night of we partied like rock stars to a fully loaded VIP experience at a cool and exclusive club. Bottle service and burlesque was the theme of the night. The dancers were awesome and the staff were great. Everything went off without a hitch. Here are some pics from our awesome #INQNYE experience.

I want to also say, not only how awesome my team was (Monika Rola is the best thing since sliced bread) But also how truly awesome Porter Airlines was to me. I tweeted a problem I had and they replayed to me within 15 minutes and called me within 30. I am truly impressed with there social media PR peeps and will continue my ongoing and never ending love for their simple yet elegant brand. Thanks Porter!

AFS

Filed under: Events, Marketing Mix, Personal, Social, Strategic Objectives, #INQNYE, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, Canada, Casie Stewart, Facebook, INQ, INQ Mobile, marketing, New Years Eve, Porter Airlines, Raymi, social media, Toronto, Twitter

Do You Know TED?

Yesterday was TEDxTO. If you don’t know about TED by now, I strongly urge you to YouTube some excellent TED talks, or just have a poke around my blog for some of the videos I have shared.

To say that yesterdays TED was inspiring would be an understatement. Never have I been in such a warm, smart, compassionate and stimulating setting. The day began early with one of the most beautiful poets I have ever had the privilege of listening to, Boonaa Mohammed. His word song was relevant, funny and provocative. All the things I need early in the morning, and much more awakening than any coffee. Following Boonaa was a man named Drew Dudley, he was one of my favorite speakers of the day. Drew talked about how everyone has the opportunity to change someones life every day without even knowing it just by doing the right thing and having a genuine spirit. His talk touched me because I have had many (Many) of these moments in my life.

Some of the other notable speakers that really made me think were: Dr. Catherine Zahn from CAMH who talked about the importance of compassion to those inflicted with mental illness, and Trey Anthony the creator of “The kink in my hair”.  Another speaker that brought an “Ah Ha Moment” to me was Neil Pasricha, author of “The Book of Awesome”. Interestingly enough Trey and Neil were the only two to get a standing ovation.  DR. Zahn was the #3 trending topic on Twitter Canada.

The atmosphere at TED was so hot you could have fried and egg. Everyone who attended had a story of how they were trying to do things differently to make a positive impact. There was no pretension between doctors and tradesmen, professors and students or front line workers and CEO’s. Everyone was talking to everyone else, sharing their stories, and trading ideas.

Here are a few pictures I took. I was blessed to sit in the front row with such awesome people as Casie Stewart, Distility CEO (The Boss man) Axle Davids, and Dave Coleman.

FYI: A band called Broadway Sleep performed and were AWESEOME! Please check them out.

BTW: A BIG thank you goes out the organizers of TEDxTO for putting on such a great event!

Filed under: Events, Personal, Social, Words to live by, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, Enlightenment, life, Party, Passion, potential, social media, TED, TEDxToronto, Toronto, Twitter

So I Saw The Social Network

Last night I was invited to attend a pre screening of “The Social Network” by the lovely Craig Lund.

The movie was as expected in that it followed the life and times of mark zuckerberg the founder of Facebook (allegedly).  I found it to be overall well done, dramatic and defenetly worth seeing. But fair warning, this movie is a little pretentious and geek oriented. Also, they cast a lot of male models and rather attractive people to play people who are … Shall we say… Not so…

A friend of mine had called it the Citizen Kane of our generation …. This it is not.

I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up and a rating of 8/10

Special thanks to Zaigham Zulqernain for running a cool tweet up / contest (That I didn’t win, but luckily Craig did).

Filed under: Events, Personal, Social, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, Canada, Facebook, life, media, Scocial media, Toronto

If I didn’t drink coffee I would be drunk and slightly less genius?

Next week is TEDxTO. I can’t wait!

Here is a great video about the creation of ideas and what spurs us to be creative thinkers.

After watching this I started to wonder: Where do you draw inspiration from?  Where do you have your best ideas?

Have a watch and give me your thoughts.

Filed under: Events, Interesting finds, Personal, Social, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, Enlightenment, life, Scocial media, TED, TEDxToronto, Toronto

Do You Walk The Walk?

This Sunday, September the 19th is the ScotiaBank AIDS Walk For Life. As the Social Media chair I have been responsible for that side of the marketing mix. I have loved every moment of preparing for this event. The event itself usually raises half a million in funds for AIDS research, and acts as a reminder that this decease is still killing millions of people from every walk of life. Gay, Straight, Male, Female, Black, White, we are all affected!

As you may recall from my blog post “The dark side of social media. Using your powers for good, not (just) evil.” It hasn’t been an easy ride for the AIDS walk steering committee. But I am happy to announce that we are ready! We are ready to walk, talk, and step up to the challenge of this cause. I have had the privilege of working with some of the most talented people I have ever met on this committee. They have selflessly giving their time, energy, and resources to create an event that will subsequently help thousands.

We have the sponsors (My personal favorite bank) Scotiabank. We have the amazing talent of Blake McGrath from So You Think You Can Dance Canada! And fingers crossed we have good weather. Now all we need is YOU. Come out and support, walk, and donate!

You can join the Facebook group here and follow us on twitter here. You can also sign up to walk and donate money here.

I can’t wait to see you out on Sunday!

AFS

(Here is the PSA from @AidsWalkToronto)

Filed under: Aids Walk, Events, ACT, AIDS, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, Canada, HIV, Scotia Bank, social media, Toronto, Twitter

Vodka & Vitamins

Last night after work (and a quick but well done haircut) I went to the #TIFF vitamin water party for a drink, some mini burgers and a visit with some awesome tweeple. There has been a bit of bad press recently surrounding this brand, but this party was very well executed. No celebs or movie stars but a lot of well done product placement. As you can see in these pics the product was the star and the tweeple were the fans. I chatted back and forth with the community manager at @vitaminwater_ca who was friendly, fun and quick to reply. Well done guys!

Filed under: Events, Social, Andrew F Stewart, Andrewfstewart, marketing, Party, Scocial media, TIFF, Toronto, Twitter, vitamin water