The annual tech conference that brings hundreds of representatives from global companies like Google and Twitter flocking to the district in April, won’t be Squamish owned and operated anymore.
Christian Thomson of Marwick Marketing, a local agency, has run the Canadian Internet Marketing Conference since its inception, privately sold it this year to Agency Media, based in Surrey.
“It got to the point where we realized [the conference] became such a big entity that we were now in the business of events,” Thomson said. “And that’s not what we set out to do.”
It grew rapidly, he added, from 200 attendees the first year to 900 last year. In fact, the conference became a business itself. The options were to stop it or sell it, so Thomson is very happy to see it continue rather than “letting it die.”
“As much as we wanted to keep doing it, it was too big of a thing as a side project and needed a dedicated team,” he said, noting Marwick Agency specializes in marketing, not putting on events.
Now, there’s more of a team in place to do event management, he told The Chief.
“The venue is gorgeous and it’s been amazing to make all this happen. It would be nice for that reason to stay in Squamish,” Thomson said, noting the privately-funded conference brought economic development to the district.
Though they toyed with the idea of moving it, Thomson said attendee response suggested a split view — with some appreciating the immersive experience and others wishing it were in the city.
Last year, the name became Change in the Making, but the new owners plan to revert back to the original title, CIMC.
Adam Beese, the president of Agency Media, said they’re staying in Squamish at the same venue, West Coast Railway Heritage Park, this year.
The agency specializes in video and social media and is owned by the Westlund Group. Other companies under the group’s umbrella include Sky Helicopters, Fluid Day Spa and Vinyl Labs to name a few. Andrew Westlund, the owner, was born in Squamish and took the opportunity to purchase the conference in his hometown, Beese explained.
“We’re really trying to make it a conference that any individual, marketing team, small or medium-sized business can attend to get the practical knowledge they can use the next day,” Beese said, noting the goal is to streamline Canadian business hence the shift back to the original name.
Many conferences feature large corporations talking about what they’re doing and it doesn’t necessarily resonate with somebody on a small team or small business owner like a craft brewery, Beese added.
“We want to diversify the conference enough that you will get value wherever you work,” he added. That way, small businesses can compete internationally with the “bigger boys or girls”.
The itinerary and speaker list are yet to be confirmed for next year. The current website is also not yet updated with new changes. The plan is to bring in more speakers for TED-style talks to create digestible content.
“You will see the same high-profile keynote speakers,” he said. “But we also want to have micro talks where you can get a small business owner who is doing well to share his story.” He suggested Brandy Willmot from the Watershed Grill speaking about how she’s been able to do well in slower months would make a great talk.
Beese said they are in the final stages of planning the conference, with the goal of announcing a formal list by early January. The conference takes place at the Westcoast Railway Heritage Park on April 5 and 6, 2018.
