SALT LAKE CITY, March 22, 2006 - Jeff Hilton, president and co- founder of Integrated Marketing Group (IMG), a marketing and branding agency servicing a national and international clientele, has been invited to direct a two-phase workshop series entitled, "Strategies for Effective Brand Building." Canada's British Columbia Functional Food and Nutraceutical Network (BCFN) and the British Columbia Food Processor's Association selected Hilton to lead sessions examining the branding process from both theroretical and practical perspectives.

The workshop series will be held in two locations: Vancouver on April
3 (Phase I) and May 24 (Phase II) at the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel; and in Kelowna on April 5 (Phase I) at the Ramada Inn and May 26 (Phase II) at the Okanagan Grand Kelowna.

The sessions will include a diverse range of delivery formats including lecture, interactive workshops, case studies and panel discussions. In Phase I sessions, Hilton will focus on branding theory and strategy, creative strategy development and target audience profiling. In Phase II sessions, Hilton will utilize national and international case studies to facilitate discussion on improved implementation of branding components such as package design, sales promotion, advertising, public relations and media selection.
 
"Influential member and stakeholder groups in Canada have identified an acute need for additional education surrounding brand building for supplements and functional foods," states Hilton. "This workshop series will offer Canadian industry members insight into the branding climate of their largest export market, the United States, as well as the opportunity to discuss and analyze real-life examples of marketing campaigns that have led to the development of successful regional and national brands within the natural products industry."

Hilton has 27 years of broad-based marketing and business experience, including 15 years spent within the natural products industry. He has been recognized by Advertising Age magazine as one of the nation's Top 100 Marketers and has guided the national brand-building efforts of numerous recognized consumer products. Through Hilton's leadership, IMG was the first agency in the United States to certify in the Federal Trade Commission Advertising Compliance Course for dietary supplements. Last year he was an invited speaker at BCFN's
US2005 Conference on advertising compliance and enforcement issues.

Integrated Marketing Group, www.imgbranding.com, is a marketing and brand consultancy created to optimize all aspects of marketing communications including: corporate identity, advertising, public relations, internet marketing, research, packaging, merchandising, sales promotion, educational programs, trade show presence and direct marketing. Its principals have created a marketing firm with a diverse background of creative development and strategic planning skills to serve the healthy lifestyles industry.

British Columbia Functional Food and Nutraceutical Network (BCFN) is a not-for-profit industry association serving Canada's functional food, nutraceutical and natural health product industries and the British Columbia Food Processor's Association is a not-for-profit organization representing all segments of Canada's food, beverage and nutraceutical processing industries. For more information on Hilton's "Strategies for Effective Brand Building" workshop, visit www.bcfn2.com or call 604-822-6920.
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