CANADIAN MUSEUM
MARKETING CONFERENCE
June 6, 2025
LOCATION: Canadian Canoe Museum, Peterborough, Ontario
Come to Peterborough in June and experience one of National Geographic’s Top 40 Cultural Spots for 2024. See the full story here.
DESIGNED FOR KEY MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVES, STAFF & SUPPORT TEAMS AT: Museums | Galleries | Historic Sites | Cultural Centres | Public & Private Attractions | Libraries | Heritage Buildings | Collectives & Local Support Societies | Parks & Trails | and any institution or organization which manages similar locations.
ATTEND AND YOU WILL: Upgrade Your Marketing, Engagement & Fundraising Skills | Network with Colleagues & Make New Connections | Add to your career experience | Discover New Vendor Partners | Collect New Research & Insights | See New Technology In Action | Confer With Select Exhibitors | Take home the Free 100+ Page Maximum Marketing Workbook | Tour one of the world’s newest & most-inspiring museums right here in Ontario | Get an opportunity to visit other local Kawartha and & Peterborough Museums and Tourist Destinations such as the Peterborough Lift Lock | and more.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE & THE ORGANIZER
This newly-minted Conference’s mission is to expand and enhance the ability of Canada’s museums, galleries, historic sites and cultural organizations and similar institutions to meet the marketing, communications, fundraising and technology challenges in today’s sector.
DM Magazine is Canada’s premier publication and media channel for masters of data-driven, insights-based marketing and we’re tapping into our readership and authors to bring top-flight speakers who can bring their experience and deep knowledge to delegates from all types and sizes of organizations. DM Magazine has also staged the annual Canadian National Fundraising Conference, the annual AI in Philanthropy SuperConference, the bi-annual Loyalty & Rewards Forum, and many other national and regional conferences and seminars. Your future and your organizations depend on leveraging these rapidly-changing strategies, tactics, experiences, technologies, platforms, programs and stories to help build, maintain, and expand organizational revenue streams.
If you attend, you will hear from the most impactful people in the sector. Ideas from leaders and teams at museums, heritage sites, galleries, libraries, historic buildings, settlements, exhibitions, and other institutions which welcome visitors and impact their communities, their regions and their business partners.
Discover powerful new ways to increase membership, multiply visitor numbers, offer more visual or digital and virtual exhibits, sign partnerships with local and regional sponsors and business partners, ramp up merchandise sales, get more brand exposure in press, social media, radio, TV, YouTube and more…be sure to bring your team to this Conference. Plus…we have special rates for team registrations and appropriate rates for both volunteer-run or skeleton-staffed facilities.
Plus a behind-the-scenes tour of the new museum. Delegates with a sense of adventure should also consider a special outdoor camping skills workshop with a Canadian Canoe Museum guide on June 7th. And much more. See below for more details including the free bonus.
Attend the Conference, Stay the Weekend, or Plan Your Route to Maximize Visits to Other Sites along the way. Be sure to bring your team and save on registrations.
PLUS FREE BONUS FOR ALL DELEGATES: A Copy of our 100+ page MAXIMUM MARKETING WORKBOOK, the Go-To Manual For Marketers who want to acquire and retain new members, more visitors and expand their revenue channels and tap into some of the best ideas, strategies and tactics to accomplish those goals. These ideas and insights work for any museum, gallery, institution or attraction. This is a true workbook with learning exercises, examples, challenges and added references.
YOUR SPEAKERS INCLUDE
Opening Keynote Speaker: Olivier Carré-Delisle, Vice-President, Digital, Public Affairs and Commercial Operations, Ingenium. Carré-Delisle joined Ingenium , Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, in March 2021 as Vice-President of Digital, Public Affairs and Commercial Operations. He is responsible for the strategy and execution of corporate communications and marketing activities, as well as the digital technology portfolio. He also leads the company’s commercial operations. He has over 20 years of professional experience in the public and private sectors. As a senior executive, he has led dozens of cross-functional teams in small and medium-sized national organizations across a variety of sectors, including federal policy, science and technology research and development, the aviation industry, and the heritage and tourism industry. Prior to joining Ingenium, Olivier was Director of Communications at NAV CANADA, held several senior management positions at the National Research Council of Canada and also worked at the Senate of Canada as an advisor and public information manager. Other speakers include…
Lois Tuffin, Principal, Tuff Ink. Session: Capitalizing on your museum’s magic (on a shoestring marketing budget). Translate your museum’s behind-the-scenes stories into magnets to draw more visitors. (It is less work – and more fun! – than you think). The trick isn’t to produce more content, as much as it is to tell the same stories in more ways and places to get more value out of them. Learn more about what today’s audiences want to know – before even thinking about coming to your site. By building a plan and working with partners, you can infuse new energy into your work.
Mila Dechef-Tweddle, Director, Nordicity. Mila is a skilled consultant and experienced project manager, working primarily with clients in the arts, culture and creative industries. She leads projects that range from policy analysis, evaluation, and development, to economic and social impact evaluation, to strategy development at the organizational and sector level. Mila’s work at Nordicity focuses largely on researching and analyzing sector trends, policy trends and stakeholder needs to help her clients proactively respond to key issues and opportunities. Past clients include the Edmonton Public Library, the Ottawa Cultural Alliance, the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, Groupe Média TFO, Music Canada and the National Gallery of Canada. Fluently bilingual in French and English, she has exceptional research, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, presentation, analysis and writing skills in both of Canada’s official languages.
Faisal Abid, CoFounder & Head of AI, 2Humans1AI. Beyond the Ask: How AI-Powered Storytelling Transforms Nonprofit Engagement. A practical blueprint for nonprofits looking to harness generative AI to deepen supporter connections and drive measurable giving. This talk moves beyond theory to provide actionable implementation strategies that organizations of any size can adopt. Discover how your nonprofit can leverage AI tools to: • Create personalized donor journeys that resonate with your unique audience • Craft compelling impact narratives that inspire greater generosity • Build scalable, authentic engagement without expanding your team. We’ll walk through the step-by-step process—from identifying the right AI applications for your mission to measuring success through tangible metrics like donation increases and supporter retention. Learn how these innovative approaches have consistently translated into both financial growth and strengthened “brand love” for the organizations we’ve guided through this transformation.
David Dossett, Owner, Martello Alley. A Kingston native, David is a visionary artist who is passionate about community. David has been the force behind recent public art projects such as Froid’Art and Jardin’Art. Seeking to unite art, artists, business and the public for the benefit of the entire community through art, these projects have been great successes for everyone involved! As we said, David is visionary and so he created Martello Alley. From the darkness of an old alley, David saw beauty and opportunity. He saw a unique place where art is shared. There is no exclusivity and everyone from the public who come in for a peek to the artists working on site, the Alley is relaxed and has a fun, friendly approachable feel to it. Again, art and the community connect. David’s work has a beautiful relaxed, impressionistic feel to it. Wonderfully painted, his work often reflects his love for simple childhood memories; whether the images are from his childhood or his children. Always thinking of new ways to get art into the community, David began experimenting with taking the outdoor art concept one step further and began creating wonderful images on window screens. Ready to be put in a garden or in a window, the work is fun and colourful and reflects David’s desire for art to be approachable. David is an energizer bunny here at Martello Alley. He always has a smile and an idea. Did we mention that he is visionary? Keep an eye on David, you never know what will come next!
Jay Chaney, Partner, Founder, Broken Heart Love Affair & LLC. As a Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Broken Heart Love Affair, Jay brings close to 25 years of advertising experience having been the lead strategist on some of Canada’s most celebrated work and recently launching one of Canada’s most exciting new ad agencies designed to change the economics and approach of creative agencies. He was Canada’s top planner in 2018 & 2019 on the Strategy Report Card and was in the Top 4 Planners in the world according to Adage. His early career began in the pureplay digital space with Blast Radius, Critical Mass, and Tribal DDB. But, his offering and abilities expanded beyond as he saw an opportunity to fuse digital philosophy into what is often coined traditional advertising at agencies such as DDB, lg2, and Cossette where he was the CSO. The result was breakthrough and globally awarded work in McDonald’s ‘Our Food, Your Questions’, SickKids ‘VS’ (bringing home Canada’s only Black Lion from Cannes), HoneyNut Cheerios ‘Bring Back the Bees’ and the experimental KOHO Financial Campaign ‘Dream Thieves’. Now he has created an agency centred on this philosophical underpinning at Broken Heart Love Affair, which has brought us Kruger’s highly lauded ‘Unapologetically Human’, MadeGood’s ‘Un-wreck The Future’, and Internova Travel’s ‘Book Human’. Broken Heart Love Affair has since gone on to be recognized globally with a Silver in the Newcomer Small Agency by Adage Magazine. Jay has contributed to both the ad industry and the strategic practice within advertising by regularly judging award shows locally and internationally, speaking at high profile events, and by teaching and mentoring young students whenever the opportunity presents at Miami Ad School, Schulich School of Business and Ivey Business School.
Dr. Simge Erdogan-O’Connor, Museum Director, Museum of Health Care. Simge is a Research Associate at the North American Cultural Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI). She is also the Director of the Museum of Health Care at Kingston and Course Director at the Ontario Museum Association. She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Queen’s University and an MA in Museum Studies from University College London. Her research interests include critical museology, global studies, cultural diplomacy, and social justice studies. As a museum professional with over 13 years of experience, she spearheads initiatives focused on community engagement, cultural access, and accessibility. Throughout her professional career, Simge has led projects in the areas of accessibility, audience engagement, exhibit development, communication, and marketing. She previously worked as a Curator at the Istanbul Museum of Science and Industry and as an Education Coordinator at the Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art. Her collaborative projects with the University of Western Ontario, Queen’s University, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, UCL Institute of Archaeology, and the Science Museum London are just a few examples of the international academic work she has undertaken in the areas of museums, cultural relations, and heritage since 2011.
Jeremy Neal Blowers, Executive Director, Canadian Tank Museum. Jeremy is the Executive Director of The Canadian Tank Museum, The Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum, and the Oshawa Aeronautical, Military and Industrial Museum. Having worked as a volunteer administrator in many museum organizations over the years, he brings a great deal of experience and new direction to the organization. Jeremy’s involvement with military museums began during his Canadian History studies at Trent University when he volunteered for two years at the Oshawa Camp X Museum. His involvement with the Ontario Regiment began in 1995when he joined the 1913 Ontario Regiment RCAC Cadet Corps and on returning from his formal education he has been involved with the Regimental Museum and Regimental activities ever since. In addition to working for the Museum he has provided social media, promotional and organizational services for many local heritage organizations including the City of Oshawa Remembers WWI committee, the 420 WING RCAFA, and the Ontario Regiment 150thAnniversary committee. Also serving on the editorial and book launch committee for the Regiments new 2016 History: Fidelis EtParatus – A History of the Ontario Regiment RCAC. More recently Blowers and his organization successfully hosted the OMMC Organization of Military Museums of Canada conference in Oshawa which showcased our local military history to all CAF museums across the country. In 2017 Jeremy was asked to serve on the City of Oshawa’s Cultural Leadership Council where he is working to protect and promote Oshawa’s military heritage and ensure its inclusion in the City’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Action Plan. Blowers was elected to the Board of Directors of the OMMC (Organization of Military Museums of Canada) in 2021, and has been working as the chair of the OMMC Communications Committee. In 2020 Blowers was also asked to be a special media advisor and technology consultant for the RCACA ( Royal Canadian Armored Corps Association ). Outside of his duties as Executive Director he has worked as a volunteer in various positions in the organization including serving on the Board of Directors. Two years as Secretary of the Ferret Club(Vehicle Section), and several years as Ferret Club President.
Zainub Verjee, Executive Director, Galeries Ontario/Ontario Galleries (GOG). Zainub Verjee, currently the Executive Director of Ontario Association of Art Galleries, Toronto, is an accomplished leader in the art and culture sector and over four decades has shaped culture policy at all levels of governments and contributed to building of cultural institutions and organizations in Canada and internationally. Newly politicized at Simon Fraser University in the mid-70s, fully engaged with Feminist Labour history as well as Artists-run-centres, the setback of the Applebaum-Hébert Cultural Review Committee Report (1982) and second wave of feminism was seized upon by Zainub to put the agenda of women and race on the table. The following two decades saw major cultural policy work in Canada, and it is appropriate to mention Zainub’s central role in making the case of racial equity right at the centre of this development. She further connected these issues with trade through her work with the International Network for Cultural Diversity included promulgating the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted in 2005. Going beyond her call of duty, she selflessly enabled forming alliances, articulating new aesthetics and embedding issue of racial equity firmly into the evolving discourse. She defies an easy classification: a community organizer; artist and critic; prolific writer and speaker; institution builder; reformer and change agent; educator and mentor; and, public policy and legislation developer. A trailblazer, she was directly instrumental in the founding of these cultural institutions (In Visible Colours; B.C.Arts Council; Vancouver Asian Heritage Month; Racial Equity Office in Canada Council for the Arts) and developed policy initiatives, advanced vital interests of artists, and created spaces and access for artists across different disciplines in Canada. Zainub has served as a public servant over decades of an effective role on all sides of the table. At City of Mississauga, her work as the inaugural Director led to setting up of its Culture Division and the first Culture Master Plan. A decade prior to this, she was engaged by Gordon Campbell, Canadian diplomat and the 35th Mayor of Vancouver on his landmark Vancouver Arts Initiative as part of Cultural Planning for Vancouver. As Senior Policy Advisor, Department of Canadian Heritage and Program Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts, she served on cross-sectoral portfolios. Almost for a decade, she was the Executive Director of Western Front. Prior to that she Co-Directed/Founded InVisible Colours, a widely and critically recognized and impactful International film and video festival of its kind in Vancouver and in Canada. Zainub is an accomplished writer, critic, curator, contemporary artist and public intellectual. At the forefront of the two decades of cultural politics of the 1980s and 1990s in Canada, Zainub was the co-founder and Festival director of the critically acclaimed In Visible Colours: An International Film/Video Festival & Symposium for Third World Women and Women of Colour (1988-90). She was co-guest editor of The Capilano Review and has published in numerous academic, cultural and critical fora including, Leonardo Journal (MIT), Kinesis, Parallelogram, Fuse, Horizon, Canadian Art Magazine, Journal of Art and the Public Sphere etc. She is invited to speak nationally and internationally, on cultural policy, contemporary art and cultural diplomacy.
Jamie, McKenzie-Naish, Managing Director, Kingston & Area Association of Museums, Art Galleries + Historic Sites. Jamie joined KAM in May 2019. Having grown up in Kingston, she spent many of her formative years visiting and even working in several Kingston museums, and experienced first hand KAM’s positive impact on the local cultural heritage sector. Her professional and academic backgrounds are eclectic and interdisciplinary. With over 15 years’ experience in culture, heritage and education, she has worked in a variety of formal and informal learning environments, with a variety of audiences, and a variety of museum collections, both in Canada and the United Kingdom. She is a passionate community advocate for culture and heritage. KAM is a not-for-profit professional network and collaborative resource hub supporting the Kingston and area cultural heritage sector – which is a vibrant mixture of galleries, libraries,, archives and historic sites, and museums – also known as GLAMs. The City of Kingston alone boasts over 24 museums & historic sites, as well as 3 art galleries – earning the moniker “Canada’s museum capital.” The Kingston & Area Association of Museums, Art Galleries and Historic Sites, otherwise known as KAM, first emerged in 1980 as a grass-roots organization and formally incorporated as a non-profit in 2009. Our membership includes virtually all local cultural heritage sites within the municipality of Kingston, and continues to grow within neighboring counties and townships – such as Loyalist, Lennox & Addington, Leeds & Grenville, and Frontenac. We also fulfill the role of regional museum network hub on behalf of the Ontario Museum Association, representing and connecting our members at both provincial and federal levels.
Amy Hetherington, PhD, Managing Director, Surface Impression Ltd. Amy Hetherington holds a PhD in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester in the UK (as well as an MA). Her PhD research looked at understanding digital literacy assumptions museum professionals make and how the field of digital humanities and related studies impacts how real museums design their digital offerings. She was appointed Canadian Director of Surface Impression, a digital design company, in 2017, and has been working to help museums develop best practices in digital engagement and user-centered online design. As a museum consultant, specializing in visitor evaluation, social media policy and practice, volunteer management and exhibition practices for several years. As Managing Director and project manager at digital innovation and design company Surface Impression Canada, Toronto, she works with arts, cultural and non-profit organizations in North America to develop digital media projects. We service small to medium sized museums in Canada who are interested in increasing their online social media presence, marketing to a new visitor based, discovering what makes their visitors tick (and how to get more people interested), and who want to design for the visitor experience. I specialize in individual projects as a consultant, researcher, and on the ground project manager. She has worked on the Transforming Thresholds project, investigating threshold spaces in museum places and visitor engagement.
OTHER SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY…
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP AND/OR EXHIBITING (may include a speaking slot).
DOWNLOAD OUR SPONSORSHIP DETAILS
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Registration Opens 7:45 a.m.
Breakfast and Networking 8:00 am to 8:45 am
Vendor/Sponsor Exhibits Open 8:00 am to 5:30 pm
Welcome Address 8:45 am
Opening Keynote 9:00 am
Morning Sessions from 9:45 am to 12:15 pm
Lunch 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm | Luncheon Keynote 1:00 pm to 1:35 pm
Afternoon Sessions 1:45 pm to 4:00 pm
Closing Keynote 4:00 pm to 4:40 pm
Cocktail Reception | Networking | 4:40 pm to 5:30 pm
Optional (Free) Behind the Scenes Canadian Canoe Museum Tour 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm
Ways to Save on Your Delegate Fees Include…
> Special Rates for Volunteer-Run Facilities
> Special Rates for Dual and Group Registrations
> Low rates for Full Team Delegations
> Opportunity to Sponsor and Exhibit in the Presentation Hall
PLUS all registrations include: Full Pass to the Conference; Free tickets to tour the Canadian Canoe Museum; a full luncheon, with patio seats overlooking the lake and walking trail; a post-event cocktail reception on the Museum Balcony; and more.
We also recommend you consider attending a special event on Saturday June 7th run by the Museum, which would be fun for the whole family if you plan to visit for the weekend. How To Be a Happy Camper with Kevin Callan, (a.k.a. The Happy Camper) instructor and author of The Happy Camper: The Essential Guide to Life Outdoors will be hosting a canoe tripping workshop touching on everything from first-time outings, more moderate excursions, and advanced multiple-day trips. Learn More.
ACCOMMODATION: For all delegates, we have arranged for low rates at the Best Western Plus Otonabee Inn (left) which sits on part of Little Lake in the middle of Peterborough. You can walk to the Canoe Museum from here through a park and trail in only 10 minutes. Book your Hotel Room(s) with the Code CMMC and Save. Rates as low as $149.00 per night. Ask for details when you register to attend the conference. Other hotels in the area include the Holiday Inn and Quality Inn.
FEES & REGISTRATION
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Volunteer-Run Facilities: $150.00 PP
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Small Institutions (2 or fewer full-time staff)
$295.00 | $495.00 (2 delegates) | $695 (3 delegates)
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Regular Rates (All Others)
$595.00 | $875.00 (2 delegates) | $875.00 (3 delegates + one additional free)
Questions?
Email Steve Lloyd, Conference Chair
steve@dmn.ca
or call 905-201-6600
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