IABC Ottawa Senior Communicators: AMA about Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend

The International Association of Business Communicators Ottawa (IABC Ottawa) presents Senior Communicators: Ask Me Anything About the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend Communications. Featuring:  Susan Marsh, Marketing Director, Ottawa Run and Annie Boucher, Fuse Communications and Public Affairs On November 13th, we will sit down to talk about communication for a nationally recognized annual event that has close to 50,000 participants. How does one prepare for such a significant event and all of the possible scenarios? Hear from both sides what this client-agency team responsible for the event marketing and communication has to say about the planning, the challenges, the media, and the rewards of working on this event’s communication. The Ask Me Anything format is designed for participants to learn from one another in a small group over a three-course dinner. We limit the number of seats for these events so that everyone can participate and be heard. Come join us! We look forward to the conversation. Purchase ticketsAbout the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend The Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend has become Canada's largest multi-race event with close to 48,000 participating in 2014. While the event is held in Ottawa each spring, its reach is international with elite runners coming from as far as Japan, and recreational runners coming from the United States and Europe. About Susan Marsh Susan Marsh has been working in the marketing field since 1995. She started her career at McMillan + Associates where she managed the Interactive Web Studio. Following this, Susan joined Perley Robertson Hill + McDougall LLP where she was the marketing manager for 8 years. In 2008, Susan joined the Run Ottawa organization as the Marketing Director. As one of five full-time staff in the organization, Susan is responsible for managing all marketing + media activities, execution of Live Event Broadcast for both TV and web and oversees a team of dedicated advertising, web, media relations, writers and broadcast (radio + online) consultants. Since joining the organization, Susan has helped grow the organization's flagship event - the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend - from 32,970 to 50,000 participants. The event also draws more than 25,000 visitors from outside of Ottawa each spring. Susan is a graduate from Algonquin College with diplomas in Recreation, Events Management, Tradeshow Management, and Fitness & Nutrition. She also has National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level 3 - Competition Development. About Annie Boucher Since 2009, Annie Boucher has been the lead consultant on media relations and social media for the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. In this role, Annie has supported the marketing efforts through local and international media relations, and has helped grow the event’s online community from 2,000 Twitter/Facebook followers to close to 7,000 fans/followers. In her role as the media relations lead, Annie is responsible for developing the media relations plan, as well as crafting all announcements leading up to and during the event, managing the accreditation process, acting as the French spokesperson for the organization, maintaining the online media room, coordinating news conferences and special media events, supporting close to 80 accredited media as they cover the two-day event, and tracking/monitoring media coverage. In her role as the social community manager, Annie populates and monitors the Twitter feed, supports the engagement on Facebook, creates contests and promotions, and engages with runners in the months and days leading up to the event. Since co-founding Fuse Communications in 2001, Annie has been helping non-profit, government and private sector clients achieve their business objectives.