Mary Charleson

Mary Charleson

Vancouver, British Columbia
Keynote Speaker, Business Strategist, Marketing And Social Media Expert
Mary Charleson is a marketing speaker, educator and strategist who presents keynotes & workshops at conferences and any type of business or organization. Mary Charleson is the author of two books, Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile and Five-Minute Marketing, each featuring tips for the time-starved business leader.
  • Leadership
  • Mental Health
  • Peak Performance
  • Personal Growth
  • Business Growth
  • Business Management
  • Future Trends
  • Annual General Meetings
  • Campus & University Speakers
  • Certified Speakers
  • Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP)
  • Conference
  • Conferences & Summits
  • Consultant & Coach
  • Corporations & Businesses

MARY CHARLESON BIOGRAPHY

CSP business keynote speaker Mary Charleson delivers marketing and social media strategy insight to associations, corporate audiences, entrepreneur groups, and the education sector with actions to get attendees to achieve better results. Her unique combined experience as both a marketing strategist and a travel content creator makes her an excellent choice for a marketing focused keynote to a travel industry audience.

With marketing, social media and digital trends always custom applied for the client or industry, she delivers inspiring stories and examples, backed with proven methods, so audiences walk away with actionable take-home value. 

Her “Top 10 marketing and consumer trends for 2023” keynote are revised annually. It features research on why the trend is happening, and what actions attendees should take. There is an opportunity for industry examples to be customized specifically for client needs. Her “Social Media Content Marketing for the Travel Industry” is particularly popular with travel-based clients due to its highly customized examples and niche industry insights.

The “Think Like a Media Mogul” keynote helps people understand the importance of leveraging owned, rented, earned, embedded and paid media to represent their brand in a unified manner while maximizing exposure. Her “Customer service as marketing” presentation addresses how customers now control the digital narrative, but we control their experience – a critical piece of marketing as we emerge from the pandemic.

Mary Charleson “Five-Minute Marketing Tips & takeaways for the time-starved” address marketing challenges the client or industry is facing, with selected storytelling vignettes, offering actionable time saving strategies based on the latest trends. 

Mary Charleson programs centre around trends, insight and actions, so people walk away with usable strategies that they can implement immediately. Her presentations have been a great fit for conferences, annual general meetings, Franchisee events, association gatherings, university faculty/admin sessions, and sales team events.

Mary Charleson is the author of two books, Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile and Five-Minute Marketing. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and the Global Speakers Federation. Mary is one of fewer than 12% of speakers globally who hold the designation of CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), the international measure of excellence for professional competence and proven experience. 

Mary Charleson’s career spans over 25 years in media, advertising and education. She has been a popular marketing instructor at the City University of Seattle, NYIT (New York Institute of Technology), Capilano University, Acsenda School of Management, and a guest lecturer at UBC Sauder School of Business. Mary has worked with hundreds of businesses and organizations to improve their marketing efforts through consulting and speaking.

A contributor to Business in Vancouver since 2002 and a monthly marketing columnist for the Huffington Post, her work has also been published in the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star, the Vancouver Sun, Marketing Magazine, Strategy, Zoomer, Cottage and Outside magazine. She is a frequent guest on CBC TV news offering her opinion on marketing and business trends.

In 2018 Mary Charleson launched a new business venture called CarryOnQueen.com, a site focused on travel content creation. (She hasn’t checked a bag in 20 years!) An extension of her passion for writing and travel, she enthusiastically accepts speaking engagements from the travel sector – advising travel businesses, associations and content creators about best practices in marketing and media. 

Mary is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and the City University of Seattle where she did her MBA in marketing. 

Videos

Podcasts

Coming Soon!

Mary Charleson Topic Presentations

top 10 marketing & consumer trends for 2023

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • This presentation is updated annually to include the most important trends as they relate to consumers and marketing. Each trend is presented with insight into why it is happening, and what actions businesses should take to mitigate threats, and maximize opportunities. Highly customizable, content examples are drawn from the client’s industry to maximize insight and applicable recommended actions. It can be easily adapted for a travel industry, association or content creator audience. Available in face to face or virtual.

    For 2023 the five consumer trends are 

    1. From WE to ME
    2. Fatigue and rebellion
    3. Craving re-connection
    4. Segmented and divided in new ways
    5. Live for the moment

    The Five marketing trends are:

    1. Digital media regulation 
    2. Changing nature of social media 
    3. AI omnipresent 
    4. Customer service void 
    5. Hidden communities

    Learning outcomes:

    • Gain an understanding of changes in consumer behavior –important post pandemic
    • Utilize top consumer trends to find opportunities for your business or industry
    • Understand how to adapt new best practices in marketing, particularly for online digital and social media 
    • Explore new ways to communicate your message post pandemic utilizing digital platforms

social media content marketing for the travel industry: secrets to increased engagement, sharing & organic reach

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • This presentation illustrates the power of leveraging word of mouth and customer delight as part of a social media content strategy, while uniquely positioning a business as an indispensable travel resource – be it as a travel agent, industry supplier, or destination marketing organization.

    Participants learn how to leverage organic reach across platforms, utilize user generated content and leverage free marketing through publicity. Best practices for social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok are presented along with user profiles to align with a company’s target audience. 

    The pandemic ravaged the tourism industry, and fundamentally altered consumer behavior forever. Utilizing user generated content, peak moments, experiential marketing, influencers, and reviews/ratings/comments as part of your content plan, this presentation helps travel industry clients build back and leverage their message.

    Learning outcomes:

    • Learn how to approach social media with an informed strategy that saves you time and effort
    • Learn how to select social media platforms well aligned with your target audience
    • Learn how to leverage word of mouth and storytelling through increased engagement and sharing
    • Gain insights to maximize your free publicity

think like a media mogul - how to leverage your brand in multiple media channels

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • This presentation helps attendees think like a media company in their approach to marketing by using owned, rented, earned, embedded and paid media. The session focuses on the use of owned media – the stuff you control and produce content for such as e-newsletters and blogs, and explores the use of rented media – social media that you use to broadcast and engage, but are ultimately at the mercy of a landlord. Content explores in detail the use of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn as tools for broadcast and engagement in this capacity.

    Attendees also learn about earned media – how to get free publicity, and embedded media – how to become a published or broadcast authority using the reach of an established media player like the Huffington Post, CBC or the Wall Street Journal. The session is rounded out with a strategic direction on utilizing paid media. Participants learn how to punch far above their weight and budget using content marketing, and leveraging all media platforms.

    This presentation can be customized with examples drawn from a client’s industry to really make the content meaningful and actionable for your team. Available as a keynote, or adapted for break out or workshop format, this presentation is available in the virtual format as well.

    Learning outcomes:

    • Learn how to approach social media with a strategy that achieves your goals and doesn’t waste time.
    • Learn how to leverage word of mouth and storytelling in your media efforts.
    • Gain insights to maximize your free publicity.
    • Learn how to use various media and marketing efforts to create a community with your customers.

5-minute marketing - tips, trends and takeaways for the time-starved

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • Mary Charleson inspires business leaders to understand trends and generate new ideas to make marketing more effective. Pithy, often irreverent, but never short on actionable insights, information is presented in a compelling and memorable way; through storytelling, research, and short 5-minute segments on a variety of marketing topics. After gaining insights into the challenges that a business or industry is facing, Mary selects a series of 5-minute marketing insights to meet the client’s specific needs, while considering current market trends and opportunities.

    Tired of other speakers losing your audience after the first 5 minutes? The unique 5-Minute segment structure of Mary’s approach keeps even the most attention-deficit challenged audiences alert and ready to put insight into action.

    Constantly updated with insights from Mary Chareleson’s marketing presentations can stand alone as a keynote, or be modified for a breakout session or workshop. For smaller groups Mary uses a gamification approach, allowing participants to select the material and order that it is presented in a fun and memorable way.

digital transformation trends - finding marketing opportunity during the pandemic

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • The pandemic has caused considerable shifts in consumer behaviour and demanded a digital transformation for many businesses. This presentation will consider the top 10 consumer trends that will continue to have an impact post-pandemic. We’ll explore specific tactics to re-evaluate the customer journey in 2021, with an emphasis on finding opportunities in the gaps while leveraging digital tools and social media, to adapt and thrive.

    We’ll address digital marketing best practices, as they continue to evolve with shifting consumer values and behaviour in the Covid-19 environment. This presentation can be done as a keynote with interactivity and Q&A at the end, or it can be adapted for break-out sessions and discussion in a longer workshop format. Each presentation is customized to be relevant to your industry, so examples and actionable concepts are meaningful for your attendees.

customer service as marketing

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • Customer service is now a major part of marketing because customers increasingly own our message and share it with others through word of mouth – both online and off. This means that online and in-person interactions matter more than ever.

    During the pandemic, we witnessed dramatic shifts in consumer behaviour, and many of those changes have now become permanent. Managing the customer experience in this new environment has been challenging, particularly with staffing shortages and supply chain issues post-pandemic. This presentation explores the fundamentals of exceptional customer service in this new environment, as one of the best marketing practices you can implement right now.

    We consider how the customer journey has shifted, and ways to validate pinch points in customer interactions, with an eye on finding opportunities in the new gaps. We also explore ways to maximize the positive impacts of customer interactions, as well as leveraging online platforms to support staff efforts. Customer “touch points” before, during and after purchase are framed from the in-person perspective and virtual online lens. And we drill down into industry segments to find customer service opportunities that not only maximize retention efforts but ensure existing and new potential customers continue to be strong brand ambassadors for you in their communities.

    Expect a presentation that includes current marketing trends related to customer service and best practices, and some creative inspiration from both inside and outside your industry, to challenge your thinking.

    This keynote can be delivered with a Q&A at the end, or as an extended time workshop where attendees can roll up their sleeves and participate in group exercises to generate ideas that will put best practices to work for your business or industry. This presentation is available in face to face or virtual format.

    Learning outcomes:

    • Explore each step in the customer journey with a post-pandemic lens, to ensure exceptional customer service
    • Re-evaluate your communication channels to ensure you are where your customers are
    • Learn new ways to leverage customer experience and brand story, so customers do your marketing for you
    • Understand how to adapt new best practices for social media as part of your customer interaction efforts

Testimonials

Mary Charleson has presented a keynote to our community, The Grand Connection, three years in a row for our year end theme on Marketing Trends. Each unique live virtual presentation has been engaging, informative, and thoroughly researched. Mary’s talks on micro and macro trends are inspiring, insightful and extremely relevant to our community. She presents examples in a way that is accessible and actionable for our members. Mary Charleson’s insights have been an invaluable part of our members’ planning for the New Year, and we are so grateful to have had her as a resource. We have the opportunity to extend the concepts presented by diving deeper into our mastermind breakouts....

S.J

Co-founder
Grand Connection

I can’t thank Mary Charleson enough for being a keynote speaker for WPN Bellingham. Our group of professional women was thrilled with her presentation. Not only did she customize it specifically for us, but she also delivered excellent, usable information that we could apply to our businesses that same day. Mary is a media and marketing expert and she was savvy enough to leave the jargon at home and really speak to us in layman’s terms. We’ve already had requests to have her back.

Jessica Renner

Speaker Chair
Women's Professional Network Bellingham

Mary Charleson has great knowledge of marketing and media that she shares in a compelling way with business audiences. Her message resonates well with entrepreneurs who are looking to leverage their efforts for maximum impact with minimum expenditures. 

The Connected Woman

Many thanks for the excellent presentation on how to leverage our media for marketing. Judging by the note-takers during the presentation there was some keen interest.

Henry Walthert

Executive Director
Wood Preservation Canada

Mary Charleson’s presentation got everyone thinking about how the power of word-of-mouth is amplified by word of mouse and mobile in the digital age. Rich with compelling, real-life examples, Mary’s presentation reflects her highly attuned perspective on how an organization’s reputation is built or broken by the way stakeholders interact with its brand.

Victoria Miles

Conference Chair
Canadian Association of Communicators in Education

The presentation on Marketing to Women was excellent. Mary Charleson conveyed an important message and honored both men and women, which is sometimes hard to do.

CenterPoint Conflct & Collaboration

Articles & Media

Coming Soon!

Books

Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile
Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile
Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile
How to book Mary Charleson for an event?

Mary Charleson keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Mary Charleson delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Mary Charleson from Vancouver, British Columbia for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Mary Charleson for an event?

Are you looking to hire Mary Charleson for your event? Mary Charleson Vancouver, British Columbia is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Mary Charleson is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Mary Charleson is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Mary Charleson from Speakers Canada’s roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Mary Charleson to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Mary Charleson creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like Mary Charleson from Vancouver, British Columbia offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Mary Charleson is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Mary Charleson focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Mary Charleson will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Mary Charleson’s presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Mary Charleson speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Mary Charleson for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Mary Charleson is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada’s talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Mary Charleson speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Mary Charleson to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Mary Charleson for your event. As Mary Charleson's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization’s behalf to try to help you get in touch with Mary Charleson and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Mary Charleson Disclaimer
Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Mary Charleson for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Mary Charleson, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada’s top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Mary Charleson we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization’s event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Mary Charleson about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker’s fees. If you are looking to hire Mary Charleson, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.

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