Online Revealed

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about the 3rd annual ORC Conference this May in Calgary! Registration will open in the next couple of days, but in the meantime here is a preview of what’s to come.

We already have over 25 speakers and workshop leaders confirmed! ( Check back often to the website for updates) The workshops, which is what makes the ORC Conference different than any other travel conference ,has some exciting enhancements this year.

The 16 unique and hands on practical application workhops will be divided into learning levels for the first time. You can complete one track all the way through or mix and match based on your skill level and interest.

Beginning Track: Are you new to Online Marketing or just want to brush up on the basics? The beginning track is just the place to get started. If you complete all four workshops you will have a basic understanding of Search Engine Optimization, Making sure you have a search and consumer friendly website, understand how to get started in Pay per Click marketing, learn the basic elements of web 2.0 and participate in a site clinic.

Intermediate Track: Do you know just enough about online marketing to be dangerous? Then this is the track for you! The intermediate track will delve deeper into SEO including keyword research, teach you to create image and video ads for your search marketing campaigns, learn about animation, 360 and virtual tours for your website and begin to measure your efforts through an analytic workshop.

Advanced Track: If you have been involved with Online Marketing for a few years and wonder what’s coming next? Or if you are ready to bring your skill set up a level, join the Advanced Track workshops. Unravel the complicated web of syndicated and redistributed content, explore how to use social, local and mobile as an intricate part of your marketing plan, learn the steps of building an online community and see the latest and greatest offerings from the technology world!

Strategy Development: Have you been to numerous seminars and workshops for online marketing? Do you have major initiatives planned this year such as a site relaunch? Strategy Development brings all the pieces of the puzzle together for you. Beginning with the tasks and steps you need to work through to ensure a successful website management project, how to work with geeks and others you may need to outsource too, Integrating your offline and online marketing budget and most importantly, how do you benchmark the success of all your efforts?

So not only are workshops geared toward different learning levels, we have assembled the best of the best in online marketing companies across Canada to teach theses workshops. You will be able to learn from such companies as Venture Communications, Massive Technology , ISL Inc, Epiar, Point B Marketing and Alpha Search

These Companies are well known in Canada but are not your usual suspects at a travel conference. Thanks to our strategic marketing partner Yahoo! Canada and our DELS for making these introductions!

In addition we have assembled 4 keynote presentations which include presenters from both Yahoo! Canada and Travelocity. Our 3 panels include, a discussion with the major Canadian DMO’s, the differences and similarities between Canada and America and finally, The Big Three Search Engines will talk about search marketing in Canada.

We do have a few workshops still open if you are interested in teaching one and of course there are great sponsorship opportunites available. Please feel free to contact me pbrusha@acoupleofchicks.com with any questions you have or if you want more information regarding these opportunites!

BARBARA RAMSAY ORR

January 23, 2008

Alicia Whalen and Patricia Brusha (pictured left) comprise A Couple of Chicks, an Internet marketing firm that specializes in the travel industry. One of the company’s divisions is Chicks Away (http://www.chicksaway.com), a community for women who travel. “It’s like a Facebook for travelling females,” explains Whalen, “with social interaction, information sharing, tips, stories and resources. When business women travel, they have different personalities from their male counterparts,

and Chicks Away is a

forum where their perspectives are explored.”

How frequently do you travel?

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Brusha: We spend more time with each other than we do with our husbands. We do have a real office, but we are seldom there together, so we use our time onboard to confer and plan.

Do you travel business class?

Seldom. We are just a couple of chicks. The few times I have travelled first or business have been when I was travelling with clients, and I felt like Jack on the Titanic, as if I had accidentally crashed the first-class party.

What’s your take on luggage?

Whalen: We carry very colourful bags, and our travelling mascot is a rubber chicken called Henrietta. She squawks at unexpected moments. Because we will usually be doing a presentation, we need business attire, and there is often a cocktail party or formal dinner, so we need dress clothes. Then we need our workout clothes - we don’t travel light. Usually a minimum of four pairs of shoes, and every woman knows that shoes are the hardest thing to pack.

Favourite airline?

I live in Grimsby [Ont.] and like to fly out of either Buffalo or Hamilton - anything to avoid Pearson. But Trish lives in Toronto and prefers to fly out of Pearson. We like Air Canada and WestJet out of Pearson or Hamilton, or Jet Blue out of Buffalo. I love [Air Canada], especially when I have a presentation to finish. I can plug in my computer, there’s lots of room to work, and it has saved my life on several occasions.

Tell us your best travel

experience.

Brusha: Alicia is the tardy chick. On one occasion, it was raining, her cab was late and we missed our flight. There was a great guy at the WestJet check-in. He got us booked on another flight immediately. He even brought us our tickets personally - how did he know we would be in the bar? - and he got us upgraded to a better seat. We loved him! It made an inconvenient experience almost fun.

Worst?

Whalen: I always like the window seat. Once we got seated with a Chinese tour group and I was on the inside, beside a very tired gentleman who slept on my shoulder - and drooled. Worst of all, he couldn’t understand English very well, so he used me as his translator for everything,

from a glass of water to his meal order.

Any online travel tips?

Brusha: We find it extremely time-consuming and confusing to try to find the best rates and convenient times [on the Internet]. We have a great agent downtown and he finds the bargains for us. The travel agent isn’t dead! Between trying to book travel and run a business, an agent is the best choice for us.

How do you get prepared to hit the ground running, ready to do a professional presentation?

Whalen: As often as we can, we fly in a day early. You can’t depend on the weather.

Brusha: Or your partner!

What are the benefits of business travel?

Whalen: One of our favourite things to do is to pick up live lobsters at the Halifax airport. We believe that you should take advantage of the opportunities that travel offers. We always try to do a little shopping in the airport to get special things to bring back to our families. Their support is important.

We are hitting the road again with the Online Revealed regional educational exchanges - this time landing in Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 24th. With 3 great shows in Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary in 2007, we are gearing up for 2008 with regional shows in Halifax, then to Toronto, and finally to Vancouver before the annual Online Revealed Canada Conference, which will be held this year in Calgary, Alberta.

The regional roadshows have really helped us to reach out to the industry both small and large to understand the issues that are of most concern as it relates to online marketing success. The regional workshops have been a place for us to gather a smaller group and provide a more interactive learning environmnent with topics like; social media marketing, search engine optimization, web strategy and new media applications addressed.

The Halifax show will feature local “talent” including Rob Swick of Alpha Search, Savior Joseph of Colour.ca an interactive Advertising agency based in Halifax, and Malcome Fraser, President and Founder of ISL, a well know web marketing, design and development firm based in Halifax, as well as Martin Byrne, Director of Search Marketing for Yahoo! Canada and the Chicks of course!

I will re-cap some sound bites from the day next week - I am interested to see how the discussions differ from the other Canadian markets we have been speaking in. Stay tuned!

Toronto, ON - January 10, 2007 - Yahoo! Canada announced today that Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) has solidified and extended its relationship with three of Canada’s leading small and medium business organizations, SOHO Business Group, Massive Events and Online Revealed.

“We are excited to continue our business relationship with these leading companies,” said Maor Daniel, National Marketing Manager with Yahoo! Search Marketing. “These three organizations are proof that small & medium businesses are the true engines of Canada’s economic growth. With Canadians spending more than 40 hours a month online and searching more than 33 millions terms a day it is crucial for Canadian businesses to understand how to grow and profit from their online presence.”

More about These Organizations

SOHO Business Group is for Businesses on the Grow! Founded by Moe Somani in 1996, SOHO is a national marketing company focused on connecting Canadian businesses with tools, benefits, savings, resources and special events. Its primary business activities include, online marketing, relationship marketing, lead generation, and event planning. SOHO customers range from thousands of small and medium-sized businesses across Canada to many of Canada’s leading corporate service providers such as Yahoo! Canada, TD Canada Trust, Rogers Communications and Grand & Toy.

Massive Events Co. is the producer of Canada’s largest business-to-business technology show. The Massive Technology Show is a three-part interactive forum that showcases technology to the general business community, and connects tech-industry leaders with business decision-makers from various sectors including education, film, professional services and retail. Building on the success of its Vancouver show, Massive expanded across Canada in 2007 and 2008 with new shows in Edmonton and Toronto. Massive Events Co. founder and CEO Lindsay Smith is one of Canada’s top emerging entrepreneurs and the National President of the Wired Woman Society.

Online Revealed Canada’s conference and seminars offer a unique approach to providing information and insight in the ever changing online market place and how Canadian tourism operators can most effectively leverage the online opportunities. The vision of Online Revealed Canada is to facilitate hands on education seminars within the travel industry. The sessions and workshops are geared towards educating small and medium tourism owners and operators about online opportunities. The annual conference is held each May with additional regional educational exchanges held across Canada throughout the year.

About Yahoo! Canada
Yahoo! Canada Co. is a leading Internet destination that provides online products and services to meet the needs of Canadians and offers a range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users. Yahoo! Canada services Canadians in both English and in French through its sites, www.yahoo.ca and http://qc.yahoo.ca. Yahoo! Canada is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

For More Information

Clive Hobson
Yahoo! Canada
416 848-6184
chobson@yahoo-inc.com

Thanks to everyone for your support this past year! Hope you enjoy this video of our adventures, journey’s, friends and team in 2007!