Sudbury marketing expert comes home to share ideas

Morning North7:01Terry O'Reilly of CBC's Under The Influence in Sudbury

With Terry O'Reilly, the host of the CBC's Under The Influence program coming to Sudbury for a speaking engagement, we thought it was a perfect time to reach to the advertising guru to see if he'd speak to us. And he did...

CBC host Terry O'Reilly is in Sudbury to share his ideas with students at Cambrian College, and also took time to address the business community at the Sudbury Regional Business Centre conference.

O'Reilly, who is originally from Sudbury, hosts the program Under the Influence, a show that gives the listener a backstage pass to the world of advertising. New episodes will start to air on CBC Radio in January.

As for addressing a business audience in Sudbury, O'Reilly said his message was how to get big results with a small budget. He said it comes down to having a great idea and fresh eyes to see opportunity.

He said he gave an example of someone unpacking in a hotel, and noticing a small white card sticking out under their bed.

"So they bent down and pulled this card out from under their bed and it said 'Yes, we clean under here too'," he said. "I thought that was such a great idea because it said so much about the hotel and it creates word of mouth."

O'Reilly said his interest in marketing and advertising started at a young age in northern Ontario. When he was a child, he was on the television program Romper Room, being taped at CKSO in Sudbury. The director asked O'Reilly's mother if he could appear in a commercial and she agreed.

"It was a commercial for Cecuitti's Bakery," he said. "So at four years old I was in my first commercial which I say has probably led me to a career in advertising."