Dx3 2013 Returns to Toronto for Second Year

Toronto’s Dx3 conference is returning to the big stage for a second year and it’s going to be a busy two days at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, March 6 and 7.

This year’s show is boasting five free keynote sessions from some of North America’s top digital minds as well as a comprehensive education program featuring 40-plus sessions from Canada’s leading companies.

Event director Anthony Hull said the conference serves as a kind of live market place between brands, retailers and agencies who want to further themselves online by meeting the suppliers who are able to help them. The show has expanded in size by roughly 25% since last year and expects to draw over 5000 visitors and 100 exhibitors this year.

Among the keynote speakers will be David Labistour, CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op, talking about “The end of retail as we thought we knew it to be,” Michael MacMillan, CEO Blue Ant Media, discussing “Becoming a Niche Content Expert in a New Broadcast Era,” and Mike Volpe, CMO of HubSpot, telling the audience a tale called “Inbound Marketing, a Love Story.”

SEE ALSO: Dx3 Canada Announces Keynote Speakers for 2013 Event

Of interesting note to startups will be the Intertainment Media Incubation Zone, where ten new companies will compete for onlookers’ attention as they participate in a live pitch-off. An expert panel will judge the competition and award the winning startup with $25,000 of financial support from Intertainment Media.

Other attractions to keep visitors busy will be what Hull is anticipating to be a “fractious and hot-headed debate,” between AOL and the Globe and Mail over whether people should be subjected to pay walls and the monetization of online journalism in general. There’s also the Pay Pal futuristic shopping experience, several augmented reality applications ready for visitors to use and a show floor scavenger hunt.

With digital media becoming the all-encompassing beast it is over the last four to five years, Hull believes that Dx3 will grow alongside the industry’s expansion. Canada is such an incredibly digitally engaged country with a high level of saturation, he says, but at the same time there’s that well-broadcasted lag in e-commerce. “So that for us is a huge opportunity.”

“To see the change already in Canada in terms of what retailers and brands are doing to start selling their products and services online has been incredible and I think that there’s a real need there for one-to-one interaction between these brands, retailers and the agencies that serve them,” said Hull.

Presenting companies within the Dx3 Sessions include MasterCard, OgilvyOne, The Huffington Post, Facebook, Canada Post, Google, PayPal, and Shop.ca.