Recently I took some time to reflect on the past year and the impact of the pandemic on our industry and lives. Some sectors such as radio and out-of-home have suffered greatly with the majority of us working from home and not venturing out of our local neighborhoods. The AdClub has also faced numerous challenges including canceling all of our in-person events and seeing our revenue streams evaporate.  The pandemic brought us a lot of panic and fear but it has also generated some positive changes. 

Difficult times always bring new innovation. The AdClub shifted from in-person events to virtual — and while it was new to us, the collective hard work of our board and committee members made the transition fairly smooth. What happened next we would have never expected; not only did our audience make the transition with us, but it grew! Unhindered by geographic location, this new format allowed a whole new group of people to enjoy AdClub events without ever having to book a flight or take time off of work.

Now the main reason for this success is our volunteers who do an exceptional job planning and producing our events. If you missed our recent Newspaper Day (featuring the mayor of Toronto John Tory as our moderator) or our fireside chat with Mediacom CEO Kevin Johnson, you should definitely set aside some time to watch the videos. There are links in the lower section of this newsletter. Both sessions provide engaging discussions and cover topics such as the importance of journalism, technology’s impact on advertising, and equality in the workplace.

I’m sure everyone reading this has gone through similar changes due to the pandemic. We’ve all had to ‘pivot’ in the ways we conduct our business and lives. While we are still waiting to see if the AdClub’s future events will be all in-person or if virtual events will remain a part of our lives, we stay hopeful and positive. Until then, we look back on this period as a time of growth and discovering the silver linings we otherwise would have never noticed.  

Chris Ramey

President – AdClub of Toronto