Rob Cottingham

Current

President at Social Signal

Past

Director of New Media at NOW Communications Group Inc.
Communications consultant (Self-employed)
Communications Advisor at Office of the Ontario Finance Minister

Caucus Writer at Ontario NDP Caucus
Coordinator, Strategic Planning Unit at Office of the NDP Leader, House of Commons
Writer/Researcher at Operation Dismantle/Foundation for Global Peace

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Education

Carleton University

Recommended

5 people have recommended Rob

Connections

340 connections

Industry

Public Relations and Communications

Websites

Rob Cottingham’s Summary

Rob has more than a decade of experience helping organizations make the most of digital technologies to achieve their goals, and integrate new communications technologies with traditional communication and organizing strategies.

That integration comes naturally, because he's also a seasoned communications strategist, working at senior strategic levels of government, labour and advocacy organizations for two decades. An accomplished speechwriter, Rob helps civic and business leaders deliver compelling, engaging messages that move audiences and make headlines. As Director of New Media with NOW Communications, he has helped labour unions and political parties turn online technologies into powerful tools of organization and persuasion.

An online pioneer, Rob built one of the first party leadership candidate websites in Canada, launched the country's first online political game, and oversaw the creation of an ambitious anti-tobacco website targeted to youth years before similar efforts became ubiquitous. More recently, he has:

* designed election web sites for the New Democratic Party,
* directed a province-wide web campaign for a provincial labour union reaching out to stakeholders, and
* charted an online development roadmap for a Canadian non-profit organization wanting to take its web presence to the next level.

Rob believes strongly in sharing his knowledge, teaching subjects from basic Internet skills to online advocacy, and from public relations fundamentals to speechwriting. Rob provides training and facilitiation to government departments, labour communications specialists and political parties. He has been an invited speaker at events ranging from the Northern Voice blogging convention to the Ragan Speechwriters' Conference in Washington, DC.

Rob maintains a long-running blog on technology and public affairs, has been a regular freelance contributor to CBC Radio and writes SpeechList, a free e-mail newsletter on speechwriting.

Rob Cottingham’s Specialties:

Online strategy, speechwriting, communications strategy, training, speech coaching, speechwriter coaching, seminars, workshops, non-profits, advocacy, politics

Rob Cottingham’s Experience

President

Social Signal

(Partnership; 1-10 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

December 2005 — Present (3 years 8 months)
Director of New Media

NOW Communications Group Inc.

(Public Relations and Communications industry)

April 1997 — December 2005 (8 years 9 months)
Communications consultant

Self-employed

(Self-Employed; Myself Only; Public Relations and Communications industry)

August 1995 — December 2005 (10 years 5 months)

I worked with national and local organizations and leaders in politics, labour, business, human relations and community advocacy. I prepared executive speeches, communications plans, advertising concepts and more, in contexts ranging from long-term strategies to the tight deadlines of a national election campaign. In addition, I maintained a thriving online practice, with a focus on helping organizations use the power of networked communications to amplify their communications and advocacy efforts. That practice ultimately merged with Alexandra Samuel's to become Social Signal.
Communications Advisor

Office of the Ontario Finance Minister

(Government Agency; 11-50 employees; Executive Office industry)

May 1994 — June 1995 (1 year 2 months)
Caucus Writer

Ontario NDP Caucus

(Public Relations and Communications industry)

1994 — 1994 (less than a year)
Coordinator, Strategic Planning Unit

Office of the NDP Leader, House of Commons

(Public Relations and Communications industry)

1992 — 1993 (1 year)
Writer/Researcher

Operation Dismantle/Foundation for Global Peace

(Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Political Organization industry)

September 1988 — May 1989 (9 months)

Operation Dismantle advocated nuclear disarmament and a positive global role for Canada; the Foundation for Global Peace conducted research and education in that field. I wrote a syndicated column on the Foundation's behalf, carried in more than 40 community newspapers across Canada. I wrote and edited op-ed articles carried in the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star, and debated the former Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces on CBC TV.

Rob Cottingham’s Education

Carleton University

BA , Political Science, Journalism , 1982 — 1987

Activities and Societies:

The Charlatan, student government, New Democratic Youth, debating society