Marla Tremblay admits that it’s hard to pinpoint in a few words what she “does” — she laughs that even her family doesn’t quite know. Her background is originally in tourism, though Tremblay’s career has taken her through a number of related fields including marketing, event planning, community development, and economic development.
As it turns out, that distinct skill set is in high demand — and her results speak for themselves. Tremblay left her position as economic development officer for the City of North Bay in June of 2012 to launch Markey Consulting, providing bilingual services to help businesses, communities, and even regions in Northern Ontario develop successful marketing and economic development strategies.
“The economic development projects that I work on are varied and can be quite complex,” Tremblay said.
Some of the many projects she’s worked on include feasibility studies for industrial parks, a business plan for a First Nation business park, regional business retention and expansion programs, and tourism development strategies and studies for partnering municipalities. The complexity and the different needs of each client and project keep it interesting, she said.
“I’m involved in a lot of different types of programs and projects.”
One of the highly successful projects that she is involved in is the Northern Ontario Mining Supply Showcase, a pavilion within the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention. Several northeastern Ontario communities partnered together to launch the showcase with funding from FedNor. Tremblay was called in as a consultant fairly late in the process, but her help made all the difference.
The first official showcase was held across the street from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre at Steam Whistle Brewing in 2014. Tremblay helped bring together 36 mining supply companies to exhibit at a one-day event during PDAC and enticed over 1,000 convention-goers across the street to see them.
After the first year’s success, the team had the opportunity to move into (fittingly) the North Hall of the convention centre. Now entering its fourth year, the Northern Showcase, as it has become known informally, attracts those looking specifically for what Northern Ontario businesses have to offer.
“The traffic is substantial given we’re in an out-of-the-way spot… you have to choose to come,” Tremblay said. “There are companies that have been in both areas of the convention and have given up their space (in the main area) because they find the quality of the traffic in the Northern Showcase better. People are intentionally seeking out Northern companies when they come to us.”
Through Tremblay’s efforts, the Showcase has become a brand, which is at least partly why vendor interest has grown over the years.
“It’s set up more like a cohesive pavilion rather than rows of booths. It’s inviting,” Tremblay said. “We made sure that the whole conference floor in our area was consistent and that everybody’s pod was the same, and that the area was designed so that we have quality across the board. It helps make us all look more professional.”
Tremblay said that the Northern Ontario Mining Showcase is helping companies connect with customers from around the world in ways they couldn’t do before.
“We have all this awesome capacity up north. But they don’t necessarily have marketing expertise or business acumen — many are not traditionally business people. They have these great, innovative concepts and solutions that can benefit people all over the world. They just don’t always know how to get it in front of them. We’re providing them with a mechanism to help them to do that.”
In a way, that sums up what Tremblay and Markey Consulting “does” quite nicely. As another example of her success, she is currently working with a team of consultants to help the Northeast Community Network in their efforts to develop the area into a world-class snowmobiling destination. Ultimately, Tremblay’s passion is for helping businesses and organizations become successful at what they do, providing her knowledge and expertise to make it happen.
“We have a lot of assets — we have a lot opportunity,” Tremblay said. It’s part of the reason why she chose to stay in Northern Ontario. “I love where I live, and I love being in the North.”
