Conference Program

Attract, Keep, and Engage More Customers – Part 1
How to use Customer Experience Innovation to drive radical growth in your business

Why you? No really… why you? Why should your perfect LGBT customers spend their tourism dollars with you? Why you and not the hotel down the street or the restaurant across town or for that matter, why you and not the tourist attractions in another province all together?

Today’s LGBT traveler wants to know that you want their business. That means that every day those travelers are looking for new and better reasons to do business with you; to continue to do business with you; and to tell all of their friends and colleagues that they should do business with you to. If you can't provide them with those reasons; if we aren't clear on how to continually create, provide and demonstrate our value to the LGBT consumer base, they WILL go elsewhere. In fact for some of you, they may already have.

In this high energy, high content and highly entertaining opening keynote presentation, 5 time award winning business owner Toni Newman will introduce you to the basic principles of a powerful 3 step approach to Customer Experience Innovation. If you are ready to discover a proven process designed to help you attract, keep and engage more LGBT customers more often so that you can drive growth in your business, then this presentation was designed just for you.

Program Highlights

• Why being better isn’t good enough anymore
• What’s the only question that your LGBT customers are really asking when they think about doing business with you
• Two types of thinkers – which one are you?
• Why every one in business should own a bright red ladder
• What three tasks you should be focused on more than any others if you really want to attract more LGBT travelers
• Why finding yourself in the wrong bathroom could be the best thing that ever happens to you.

Presenter: Toni Newman, Professional Catalyst

1A: The Canadian LGBT Travel Market: Who Are They & How Do You Reach Them?
For those new to the LGBT travel market, it can seem a bit intimidating and overwhelming. This session will present you with a better understanding of just who the LGBT market is, what they’re looking for, and what you need to do to reach them. You’ll also learn how TGC can assist you to ensure you’re successful in your efforts.

Presenters: Laurence Bernstein, Managing Partner, Protean Strategies; Bruce McDonald, Co-Founder, Travel Gay Canada

1B: Web Real Estate: Where You Need To Be
Facebook. Google +. Twitter. With so many different sites available, it’s hard to know where to focus your marketing efforts. This session will identify where businesses need to be if they want to reach the gay consumer, and help you create a roadmap on how to get there.

Presenter: Matt Skallerud, President, Pink Banana Media

Social Media: Are you Market Ready?

The power of social media is undisputed. But how does your strategy change for an LGBT perspective? Learn how social media has impacted what companies do within the LGBT market, from crisis management to successful integrated campaigns.

Moderator: Patricia Bruscha, Co-Founder, A Couple of Chicks

Panelists: Tanya Churchmuch, Assistant Director International Relations, Tourism Montreal; Joel Peters, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Tourism Toronto; Yves Rannou, Director e-commerce, Air Canada Vacations

Travel Agent Session - FRENCH

Travel Agents: How To Succeed In The LGBT Market

Speaker: Charlie Rounds

From small adventure groups to large full-ship charters, from rock-climbing for women to boutique riverboats through Europe's historic villages, there are unlimited LGBT-focused vacation experiences to offer your customers, and most are commissionable to travel agents! Join industry expert Charlie Rounds as he talks about his 25 years of experience in the gay travel business, and how the LGBT market is expanding and evolving to create more opportunities for you as a travel agent. Charlie will inspire you with his favorite travel agent success stories and his best advice for entering the LGBT market... and winning people over!

2A: Creating Connections: the Importance of Authentic LGBT advertising
You’ve done the research, you know your target and you’re ready to start advertising. But where do you start? This informative workshop will look at everything you need to know when advertising to the LGBT market. You’ll learn what resonates with the consumer, see examples of the approach other companies have taken, the crucial role imagery plays and how to snap those perfect shots, and even how you can integrate your LGBT strategy into your overall marketing and advertising mix.

Moderator: Neil Hacioglu, Promotions Director, Proud FM

Panelists: Janet Kimber, Photographer; Scott Marquardt, Account Manager, Chester+Company; Nelson Tome, Director of Marketing, Mint Media

2B: Straight to Gay: Making the Transition
Deciding to target the LGBT traveler isn’t always an easy one. There are several considerations a company must make when choosing to add this market into their mix. Learn how some leading companies made this move.

Moderator: Patrick O’Reilly, Principal, Padraig Consulting

Presenter: Bill Kendrick, Owner, Briarcliffe B&B; Jenny Nodelman, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic; Colin Sines, OUTVisions Magazine

Travel Agent Session - ENGLISH

Travel Agents: How To Succeed In The LGBT Market

Speaker: Charlie Rounds

From small adventure groups to large full-ship charters, from rock-climbing for women to boutique riverboats through Europe's historic villages, there are unlimited LGBT-focused vacation experiences to offer your customers, and most are commissionable to travel agents! Join industry expert Charlie Rounds as he talks about his 25 years of experience in the gay travel business, and how the LGBT market is expanding and evolving to create more opportunities for you as a travel agent. Charlie will inspire you with his favorite travel agent success stories and his best advice for entering the LGBT market... and winning people over!

Cause Marketing: Reaching the LGBT Market With a Unique Approach

Cooperative efforts around social causes can play an important role as influencer and decision maker. The key for companies trying to reach the LGBT consumer is to find something that resonates with them. Learn what some leading companies have done from a cause marketing perspective specifically for the LGBT market, how they leverage and promote those activities, and the success from those efforts.

Moderator: Loren Christie, Group Sales Leader, Starwood Hotels

Panelists: Jennifer Jones, Barefoot Wines; Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, General Counsel and Secretary, VIA Rail Canada; Charlie Rounds, Forward Motion Travel

Attract, Keep, and Engage More Customers – Part 2
How to use Customer Experience Innovation to drive radical growth in your business

In this highly interactive and hands on session you will have the opportunity to combine the formula from Toni’s morning keynote with the valuable information that you have acquired during the day.

By attending this session you will learn how to:

• Identify and prioritize the top 10 LGBT Touchpoint Opportunities in your business;
• Transform those Touchpoint Opportunities into Unexpected Encounters™ - Innovative Customer Experiences that are strategically crafted to help you attract, keep and engage more LGBT customers more often so that you can grow your business.
• Develop a Touchpoint Strategy that you can implement over the next 12 months.

Presenter: Toni Newman, Professional Catalyst