strategy SPRING 2023

Predicting the future is impossible, but imagining it is critical

SPRING 2023 VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2

19 32 10

What Comes Next

No one can predict the future, but you can sift through the signals to better understand the forces at play.

Creative Report Card

We talk to the people behind this year's top creative to understand what drives their best work – and what work they loved.

AToMiC Insights

What we gleaned from Canada's most shiftdisturbing ad ideas. AToMiC winners show how high the attention-earning bar is set.

4 Editorial Success leaves clues. It's up to us to follow them. • 6 Upfront Planning for 2023, the return of the discount king and speaking meaningfully to Indigenous audiences

• 40 New Establishment

The new (very talented) kids on the block

• 53 AI Are we even asking the right questions?

ON THE COVER: No one can really predict the future. We once gave twenty bucks to a woman at a carnival who said we would grow up to be rich and famous, but all evidence points to that not panning out. Such is life. But what you can do is examine the weak signals, human behaviours and other drivers that will shape how the future might unfold. From there, researchers and foresight strategists construct potential futures that might come to pass. We also asked them about winning lottery numbers, but then they hung up on us.

THE NEW COLLABORATORS

As brands evolve their go-to-market strategies, new skills are needed. Here's what's working now…

SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT 45 The content and media landscapes have never been more complex. It’s an idea that was true last year, became true-er in 2023, and will take on new layers of truth before the year is out. How can marketers keep up? In The New Collaborators, we look at the shops, content studios and tech partners that are helping clients win the content game today.

The many faces of success

One of my entrepreneurial pals has a saying I love: “Success leaves clues.”

In short, it means that with each achievement, it’s possible to reverse engineer the process to determine what worked, what didn’t and where improvements can be made. Sometimes those clues are glaringly obvious; other times, it takes intuition and sensitivity to find the signals.

This delicate balance is where this year’s Creative Report Card’s top contenders have found the formula that works. Their success is so often tied to tried-and-true, proven methods – such as holding steadfast to the agreed-upon vision or hitting the right audience at the right time.

But that’s just the start. What’s often more interesting is what happens after that. It’s the inspiration drawn from engaging in play or valuing hard work and ambition over what’s in a portfolio. These are the clues to greatness that can’t be taught or systemized. That human side of creativity is what sets the good work apart from the great; what catapults exceptional creative minds into a league of their own.

Similarly, you see so much of that as the driving force behind our New Establishment winners. This year’s crop of junior- to mid-level talents caught our attention because of the impressive work they do –but they kept it because of relentless changes for good they’re making to their industries. Maybe it’s efforts to support DE&I or sustainability initiatives, but the vigor with which they approach their missions, as well as their 9-to-5s, will change the way you think about the 24 hours we each have in a day.

Finally, in Next Big Thing, our panel of experts examines our need for certainty and simplicity in a world that is neither certain nor simple. We take a deep dive into the mystical ways of the algorithm, how repeated exposure trains our brains, the complexities of privacy and personalization, and plain-speak ways to bring your brand into the metaverse. While strategic foresight isn’t like looking into a crystal ball, interpreting the weak signals of human behaviour in an evidence-based approach can be a strong indicator as to what we can expect in the future.

Some aspects of success can be entered into your spreadsheet. They can be structured, calculated, strategized – returned to again and again to produce work that works. But creativity is an unknowable force that requires more than just data points. So look for inspiration everywhere, leap unafraid into risks that feel right, and scan vehemently for the clues that success has left you to lead the way.

spring 2023 volume 34, issue 2 strategyonline.ca

publisher | lisa faktor | lfaktor@brunico.com

content director, editor | jennifer horn | jhorn@brunico.com (leave)

interim editor | brendan christie

art director | tim davin | tdavin@brunico.com

associate editor | chelsea clarke | cclarke@brunico.com

associate publisher | neil ewen | newen@brunico.com

news editor | josh kolm | jkolm@brunico.com

senior reporter | justin crann | jcrann@brunico.com

senior reporter | chris lombardo | clombardo@brunico.com

contributers | mike connell, wendy kan, alex panousis, will novosedlik account manager | nupur purohit | npurohit@brunico.com

marketing co-ordinator | emily yuill | eyuill@brunico.com

CORPORATE

president & ceo | russell goldstein | rgoldstein@brunico.com

evp, canadian media brands & editorial director | mary maddever | mmaddever@brunico.com

director, finance & administration | michelle plaskon | mplaskon@brunico.com

creative services & dist. manager | adriana ortiz | aortiz@brunico.com

customer support supervisor | christine mcnalley | cmcnalley@brunico.com

how to reach us

Strategy, 366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 1R9

Tel: (416) 408-2300 or 1-888-BRUNICO (1-888-278-6426) Fax: (416) 408-0870 www.strategyonline.ca

customer care

To order a subscription, visit strategyonline.ca/subscribe. To make a change to an existing subscription, please contact us by email: strategycustomercare@brunico.com.

Tel: (416) 408-2448 Fax: (416) 408-0249. 8799 Highway 89, Alliston, ON L9R 1V1.

subscription rates

STRATEGY is published five times per year by Brunico Communications Ltd. In Canada: One year CA$80.00 Two years CA $144.00

(HST included. Registration #856051396 RT)

Single copy price in Canada is CA$6.95. Please allow four weeks for new subscriptions and address changes.

copyright and trademark

STRATEGY and the tagline “Bold vision brand new ideas” are trademarks of Brunico Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced from STRATEGY in whole or in part without written permission. Reprint requests should be sent to rgoldstein@brunico.com. © 2018 Brunico Communications Ltd.

postmaster notification

Canadian Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: Strategy, 8799 Highway 89, Alliston, ON L9R 1V1 strategycustomercare@brunico.com

U.S. Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: Strategy PO BOX 1103 Niagara Falls NY 14304 Printed in Canada. Canada Post Agreement No. 40050265. ISSN: 1187-4309.

Member of

IT’S THE INSPIRATION DRAWN FROM ENGAGING IN PLAY OR VALUING HARD WORK AND AMBITION OVER WHAT’S IN A PORTFOLIO. THESE ARE THE CLUES TO GREATNESS THAT CAN’T BE TAUGHT OR SYSTEMIZED.

WILL ZELLERS’ STORE-WITHIN-ASTORE PLAY WORK?

Zellers is coming back to Canada. As of spring 2023, 25 store-within-a-store experiences will open in select Hudson’s Bay locations, along with the value-conscious brand’s first e-commerce platform.

At first blush – and in the short term – the storewithin-a-store looks like an effective way to leverage HBC’s real estate, with each Zellers experience taking up approximately 8,000 to 10,000 square feet, depending on location. But, asks Joe

RETHINKING A CLASSIC FOR A NEW GENERATION

The Hockey Jersey has already sold thousands of copies since its January launch. (top)

What’s old is new again – so why not update it to make it even better? Inspired by The Hockey Sweater, the iconic children’s classic that promoted relations between Francophones and Anglophones, Scotiabank, in partnership with Rethink, wanted to amplify the message that hockey is for everyone.

As part of Scotiabank’s Hockey for All initiative, The Hockey Jersey was created to help more kids see themselves represented in Canada’s game. All proceeds from book sales go to Hockey 4 Youth, an org that fosters inclusion through the sport. Free digital downloads are also available.

The story follows Kareema, a first-timer unsure of what her first game will bring. But when she enters the locker room and is met by other children experiencing the same timidness, camaraderie reigns as each realizes they’re not alone in their fears.

Since its launch on January 17, Scotiabank has received positive feedback surrounding its initiative, according to CMO Laura Curtis Ferrera. “It has been especially moving to see the outpouring of support from teachers, librarians, and parents of young female hockey players of colour. The book is even being printed in Braille, furthering our mission of inclusivity,” she says.

The book was authored by Jael Richardson and illustrated by Chelsea Charles, and has received endorsements from prominent leaders in sports such as Sportsnet’s David Amber and hockey player and three-time Olympian Natalie Spooner. Scotiabank completed broadcast buys for TV, on social and digital and in NHL arenas and recreational centres across Canada.

At press time, over 1,300 books were sold at Indigo, and over 2,800 were downloaded. Within the first week, 400 schools and libraries requested a copy.

of Jackman, a business consultancy known for retail reinvention: “Can they carve out a meaningfully differentiated and ownable position in discount?”

Zellers owned discount for over 80 years, until the brand was forced to shut down in 2013. Ten years later, “judging by the buzz generated when they announced the move in the summer of last year,” he says, “there appears to be equity in the name and a fondness for the brand, at least with Canadians of a certain age.”

Why now? According to Jackman, “sales at discount

stores are growing at twice the rate of conventional stores, so timing is spot on, and they will have a consumer tailwind while they work to re-establish the brand.”

Lisa Hutcheson, retail strategist and managing partner at J.C. Williams Group, says that while there is a legacy to leverage, “millennials and Gen Z won’t necessarily know the brand,” so nailing down the “new” Zellers audience will be pivotal.

Overall, “based on the current economic challenges, I do think there is a market for value retailers and Zellers has that history already with the consumer,” she says, noting that there is potential added value for HBC overall. “I think it could drive traffic to the HBC stores that may not otherwise visit right now. In the short-term there will likely be those that want to see the offering.”

“People want value. They need value. They’re concerned about inflation and the impact it’s having on their households. It’s a beloved brand with a long and very strong history, so why not go for it?”

Adds Brown, “The pop-up stores and food trucks are an indication that this isn’t the old Zellers coming back. This is something new, fresh and a different way for Zellers to be what it once was for Canadians.”

If it’s that, she says, “then this could be very interesting.” But, to make that happen, she emphasizes that whatever Zellers does will have to go beyond brickand-mortar. “We all shop online now,” she says, both urban and rural, “and we’re all looking for that experience, so what will that look like for Zellers?”

the type of thing that HBC should be doing, Brown says. “In a recession, many marketers have a tendency to pull in their horns and focus on a narrower, more loyal core target audience. But this is exactly the wrong thing to do. If everyone is spending less, then smart marketers target more broadly.”

Ultimately, “Canada’s retail sector from a department store perspective is still fairly consolidated,” says Dana Toering, formerly VP of Walmart Connect Canada who is now consulting to the retail media industry. “Bringing back a competitive, cost-conscious brand like Zellers is a smart move, especially if their product assortment is large and diverse.”

He calls out apparel specifically, noting that Walmart isn’t as strong in certain categories, and Zellers could compete if the price is right. “If they can get product selection and prices right, combined with a unique experience and strong marketing effort, it could be interesting. I can see more and more retailers partnering around pop-uptype experiences,” he says, noting that the brand will likely be able to piggyback off of HBC’s retail media network to promote that offering.”

Zellers has been teasing its return on social (far left and above) to an overwhelmingly positive reception. But consultant Joe Jackman (left) wonders if the brand can carve out a differentiated enough position in discount.

In its efforts to build awareness around the brand’s return, and in response to significant social media buzz around what that will look like, Zellers announced that a fleet of food trucks will greet customers at some of its first location openings this spring, featuring “fan favourites” from the Zellers Family Restaurant.

“The moment is certainly right,” says Shelley Brown, CSO at FCB Canada.

As far as whether the strategy will be enough to revive the Zellers brand itself, Brown acknowledges that the store-withina-store concept is a proven one. But for Zellers? “My crystal ball is in the shop. To even hazard a guess, I would need a lot more information about the business and I’d want to do a good deal of research on the consumer side, too,” she says.

But, strategy-wise, this is exactly

But competition at the price/value end of the market is intense today, so digital is what could differentiate the brand, he says. Ultimately, Jackman says “differentiated discount” is a proven formula that’s worth pursuing. “Look no further than the multi-generational, multi-decade run of the beloved Honest Ed’s, the breakthrough launch of Old Navy in Canada, or, more recently, the muchlauded ‘Haulerverse’ advertising from No Frills. Discount needn’t be dull. If the folks at HBC are creative out of the gate and stay bold, focusing on building a true omnichannel brand with some chutzpah, they just might surprise the naysayers.”

SPEAKING MEANINGFULLY

WHAT FACTORS ARE TOP OF MIND

FOR MARKETERS?

There seems to be more upheaval and uncertainty than ever as we head into planning. How are ads on streaming services changing the offering? What about DEI efforts and sustainability? What impact will the recession have?

Marketing hits the mark when brands speak a customer’s language. But what if language is just the start? When it comes to cultural diversity and inclusion in marketing and branding, a newly released Canadian Media Fund report indicates that First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples collectively account for about 5% of our population – a significant audience that continues to be overlooked, underrepresented and underserved.

Shaun Vincent, owner of Vincent Design, a marketing agency and leader in Indigenous design out of Winnipeg, has identified a significant barrier in how brands connect with Indigenous peoples. “First Nations is mindblowing in terms of its diversity, languages, teachings and stories,” Vincent explains. “How do you incorporate everything into a symbol or purpose?”

The focus is often on language, he notes, “but language is on the back burner in terms of branding.

“It’s really about symbology and how the actual brand is going to resonate with that particular nation or nations. That’s what works. Making it relatable and having themselves be seen.”

Jennifer Tabak, president of Sudbury-based Design de Plume, a women-led, Indigenous-owned design firm, says the complexity of each community is “more than one person can handle.” Certain words and symbols mean different things to different cultures, so it only works when there is “an investment in using people who understand the nuances, or in running it by

that community,” to ensure the creative and messaging is captured in an authentic, meaningful way.

She emphasizes a top-down approach, noting that larger organizations need to lead the way: “How can they support [Indigenous inclusion and diversity] in bigger ways, like providing language services, mentoring opportunities or hiring? Who in their organization is actually an Indigenous person, or in the agency that’s helping to support the messaging?”

Vincent offers an illustrative example: he was asked to create the logo for the Pope’s visit to Canada in Summer 2022. He acknowledges that he had to come to terms with what role he should play in representing the Papal visit and the apology that came with it. It required consultation with elders, survivors and his family.

The result was a design consisting of caribou, eagles and salmon, all moving together in a blue circle. Eagles and painted turtles are prevalent symbols across Canada, Vincent says, but their meanings may vary, “but something as simple as a Saskatoon bush that resonates with everybody, or Crowberry, that represents the Inuit,” can be a respectful way of letting communities see themselves in the symbology.

So, how do you figure it out? Ultimately, he says, “consultation with elders is fundamental. Consultation with communities is fundamental.” He says it’s all about looking towards the bigger picture, which is change: “Someone once told me that it takes a generation to change a generation. We’re in that process now. Today, we’re walking in both worlds, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. And we have to go forward together for things to change.”

So many questions... We wanted to better understand the priorities guiding their thinking and decisionmaking, so we asked Bob Park of GE Appliances Canada, Nicole German of Tangerine Bank and Julie Gelinas of Les producteurs de lait du Québec for their top marketing priorities.

BOB PARK, CHIEF BRAND OFFICER, GE APPLIANCES CANADA

Streaming services: We’ve been engaged in the evolution of streaming services as it pertains to our soccer sponsorships. Apple TV recently partnered with Major League Soccer to offer streaming and we’re working through what that looks like from an advertising perspective. I think it comes down to two simple components: The first is obviously providing the consumer with content in the way they want. The second is finding ways to integrate brands in nontraditional ways as streaming does away with the usual “30-second spot.”

DEI: The real emphasis isn’t on DEI campaign or promotion but rather change through action. Brands today must be more genuine in their involvement on any level. It’s much more than painting your logo rainbow during Pride week. I’d like us to get to a point where our brands represent true DEI in all of our communications and sponsorships, right down to our own corporate mandate.

Consumer centricity: High inflation and the looming recession have made it difficult for anyone to think about a kitchen renovation. So we’ve been laser-focused on a consumer-centric strategy. The age-old way to look at an appliance sale has been a standard “white-box CPG” approach. Today we’re pushing those boundaries, mapping the end to end consumer experience. Most recently we launched our GEappliances.ca website to sell direct to consumer.

NICOLE GERMAN, CHIEF MARKETING AND DIGITAL EXPERIENCE OFFICER, TANGERINE BANK

Consumer centricity: We need to ensure we are right beside Canadians in the changing landscape they are managing through – from inflation, layoffs, recession and volatile markets

Enhance self-service capabilities: In a world of increasing mobile adoption and digital natives, we are focused on empowering our customers and prospects to have the autonomy and control right from the mobile device in their hand – from acquiring a new product, to learning about financial wellness, to preventing scams, to investing, savings, borrowing and spending.

as well as saving for life events and the future, while balancing everyday life needs. We’re focused on presenting the best financial products and services coupled with tools and financial wellness advice.

Modernization and optimization: These are priorities in our marketing technology stack and data strategy to prepare for the cookieless future. We aim to ensure relevance for prospects and customers alike – the best message, in the best channel, at the best moment.

GELINAS, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING,

Marketing mix: Fragmentation of targets over multiple media channels and social platforms has forced PLQ to rethink its approach in order to obtain a complete picture of the impact of our marketing efforts. In this day and age, ads are increasingly ignored or avoided altogether.

Recently appointed PepsiCo Foods Canada’s CMO, Jess Spaulding arrived in Canada from the U.S. earlier this year to take her new role. Here, she lets us in on the media influencing her work.

LISTEN: After Hours

Hosted by Harvard Business School professors Youngme Moon, Mihir Desai and Felix Oberholzer-Gee, this podcast discusses culture and current events happening globally. When you work in advertising or marketing, you need to understand what’s happening not just in your market, but across the world, and the forces that are shaping our society.

READ: It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful by Jack Lowery

This book examines Grand Fury, an art collective that was born out of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) during the peak of the AIDS pandemic. As the author examines the group’s art and activism, you’ll learn a ton about their profound impact on the AIDS crisis and the kinds of activist tactics used in contemporary movements.

WATCH: The Defiant Ones

Serious about sustainability: Making more responsible decisions also means acknowledging the environmental footprint of our marketing strategies and working to reduce it. It’s critical that we listen to our consumers as we navigate an economic climate where the values of citizens and organizations take precedence. This is a top priority for 2023 and for many years to come. The challenge is to balance the needs of both stakeholders and consumers.

The Defiant Ones explores the friendship between Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre – two music legends I love. Both come from different worlds, but together defied norms and transformed contemporary culture with their work. The four-part documentary follows their life story with interviews from Lovine and Dr. Dre, and a variety of other amazing music icons.

PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IMAGINING IT IS CRITICAL.

REJECTING COMPLEXITY

Brands operate in a world of ever-increasing complexity. Like people, they gravitate towards simplification.

Marketing’s own obsession with simplicity, rooted in the religion of operational efficiency, has historically been aimed at reaching the greatest number of people with the same message so as to maximize sales and achieve the greatest ROMI. Brands are the tools business has used to train us to expect communications and ideas to be as simple as possible. Ergo, they’ve been busy dumbing us down for over a hundred years.

This obsession with operational efficiency has also diminished the quality of research. Market research has historically classified humans into clusters with similarly perceived needs, interests and behaviours, but only just enough perceived similarity as is necessary to achieve conversion at a scale large enough to justify the investment.

We live in extraordinary times. The ground beneath our feet is shifting. It feels like we’re between worlds – the one we used to know and the one we don’t yet understand.

On a macro scale, a complex cluster of overlapping forces – the global pandemic, rampant inflation, energy scarcity, war, migration, technological disruption and climate change – is working to destabilize and reshape the world we thought we knew. And, in times like these, we desperately yearn for certainty and simplicity.

The world of marketing is no exception. It has been profoundly destabilized by technological change. It’s in a broad transition from a one-sizefits-all, limbic form of mass communications to the hyper-personalized, algorithmic form of individuated experience. The question is: are we headed into the unknown with a toolkit that was designed for a world that no longer exists? If so, what tools do marketers need to navigate increasing instability, complexity and uncertainty?

To discuss that question, we’ve collaborated with experts in strategic insight and foresight, advertising and artificial intelligence. We’ll take a look at the world we’re in as marketers and what kinds of questions we should be asking now to be future-proofed later.

“Brands have depended on simplifying these clusters so that they’re easy to manage, which results in a kind of overgeneralization that immediately renders these clusters useless,” asserts Paul Hartley, anthropologist and co-founder of strategic foresight firm Human Futures Studio. “This kind of oversimplification is creating a

What comes

situation where businesses and brands react to artificial circumstances that reflect their own view of the world. That promotes weak strategy and poor engagement with customers. Avoiding these tendencies means doing the hard work of learning about the world as it is through an ethnographic lens and engaging it without blinders.”

Or… without algorithms.

THE RISE OF THE ALGORITHM

We all know that human online interactions are governed by an algorithm designed to make sure that platforms like Twitter can monetize their business models with predictive user data. “But this model is creating havoc in ways no one expected,” says Hartley. “The power of that business model is now manifesting itself through the way it filters information and interactions.”

“The poster boy for this transformation is Elon Musk,” sums Mat Lincez, foresight strategist and co-founder of Human Futures Studio. Musk has taken his new toy in a chaotic new direction, transforming the platform in unexpected ways. “How does that start to influence

where marketers place their dollars?”

Lincez asks. “Who’s the gatekeeper in terms of the experience you’re being offered or not? That’s why the story about TikTok being regulated or banned in the U.S. is becoming a legislative conversation. And these are big issues. Think of the billions of dollars that brands are pouring into TikTok.”

Then there’s Google. Says Hartley, “Google-as-gatekeeper has its own agenda with its customer base, and is trying to insert itself into that marketer/customer relationship wherever possible. Marketers don’t actually get to talk to everybody. They now have to understand that they’re only going to get in with the people that Google thinks is important to talk to, because it’s in Google’s interests to do so.”

We don’t know exactly what’s going on there because the platform keeps that data as leverage in negotiating for margin. They have total visibility as to where all the traffic’s going and coming from, and where to insert choke points. They take all that information and sell it to advertisers – and advertisers have to buy it to ensure they show up in the right place for customers to interact with their content. That erodes their margin.

“Here’s the threat: the algorithm is no longer just telling you about the way the world works; it’s changing the way the world works,” warns Hartley. “It has the power to do so – multiplied over the companies that are doing it (Google, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, etc.). The algorithm is actually picking and choosing how you get to learn and what messages you get to hear.”

The medium is no longer the message. The algorithm is.

THE DISAPPEARING BRAND

In 2017, marketing prof Scott Galloway proclaimed that it was the “end of the brand era because, online, people search by category far more than by brand.”

In a Harvard Business Review article from the same year, co-authored by Roger Martin, former dean of the Rotman School of Management, and A.G. Lafley, former CEO of P&G, entitled “Customer Loyalty Is Overrated: A Theory of Cumulative Advantage,” the authors suggest that sustained competitive advantage comes not from offering customers the perfect choice – but by offering them the easy one. Repeated exposure to your brand,

through messaging or experience or both, trains our lazy brains that you are the easiest choice.

So will we come to like the brands that bring us the brands more than the brands they bring us?

The idea of the disappearing brand is taken to an extreme in the documentary You’re Soaking in It, in which an exec at programmatic media outfit Varick Media speculated that, “In the future, we will probably not have advertising. You won’t need to be exposed to marketing anymore because you will start trusting computer recommendations.”

Currently, the business of advertising and media is scrambling to keep up with the rapidly evolving capability of algorithms to find, observe and collect data on every move we make as both people and consumers, and then to teach AI what to do with it.

“It’s becoming more important to provide an individuated experience to every customer and to provide it all at once to as many people as possible across the globe,” Hartley continues. “Media fragmentation has been underway for some time and it is continuing unabated. New platforms are emerging, growing, peaking and fading faster than ever before. But market fragmentation is happening, too. Increasingly optimized and personalized targeting leads to atomization of your target market.”

No one is ready for the cognitive and informational overload that precision brings at this new ultra-micro, ultrarefined level. “Designing for this new future is now more complicated because of this expectation of precision,” continues Hartley. “What if you don’t have two markets, or two target customers, but 50 or 100, all with very specific rules of engagement? No one can manage 100 markets, because the world is a lot more complicated and finely drawn than most research commonly assumes. You

Moving marketing upstream in response to business complexity

As business complexity continues to increase, so too does the opportunity for marketing. In particular, the foundations of marketing – rooted in a blend of creativity and strategy – is needed now more than ever to build connections between business and people.

Through our work we see greater alliances forming between marketing functions and business operators as marketers are welcomed back upstream to help set and enable the strategy and operations of an organization. The catch is that marketers must show up ready to connect cultural insight, analytics and market sentiment with business imperatives – expertly advising on strategic priorities that build organizational reputation, mobilize change management or restore the eroding relationship between organizations and their people.

Marketers will also have to spearhead perspectives on how to accurately communicate and engage in topics that are often lacking business maturity (i.e. ESG and DEI) as the backstory of products and services continues to play a role in how people build brand preference and make purchase decisions.

The simple answer around the future of marketing is undoubtedly caught up in the accelerated pace of evolving tech and its application – the importance of voice, AI, virtual worlds, social listening, first-party data and privacy. But as we look to the future, we encourage all marketers to not only revisit their toolkit, but to remember that where and how the tools of marketing are deployed can in and of itself generate meaningful progress and integrity for the industry.

fail: the mass rejection of tracking when Apple initiated their App Tracking Transparency protocols. If Meta does indeed lose $10B in revenue as a result… well, that should be a good clue to everyone else that the advertising stalking and creeping racket is over. People might want personalized experience but not at the expense of feeling creeped,” says Quao.

In a recent op-ed in The Drum, Google’s ads privacy lead Claire Norburn claimed that, despite its efforts to move away from cookies, Google does not believe contextual ads will be enough to “pay for the web that everyone wants.” Without personalized advertising, it’s been estimated that between $32 billion and $39 billion in revenues would be lost to advertisers, publishers and platforms.

For his fintech, Quao has taken a different approach by addressing connected groups of people rather than individuals. Says Quao, “What’s a connected group? That could be anything from the members of an extended family, to readers of a particular page of content on site. The small groups have some affinity or experience in common and that becomes the start of a semi-personalized engagement between us and an audience.”

AI expert Shane Saunderson’s view of the future of personalization echoes Quao’s, but looks at it through a different lens. “Harvard business professor Shoshana Zuboff, who coined the term ‘surveillance capitalism,’ describes it as this massive prediction and modification engine. But does it really work as such? It’s a good tool for granular segmentation, but most people don’t fall for this stuff. So it’s not like we’ve created this perfect system that can convince anyone to do or buy anything.”

have to scale your efforts to manage that. If you have a problem that necessitates understanding 100 markets, then you have to do the work (and spend the time) to study them all. This will take a very long time, but that’s what’s necessary. You can’t take short cuts and only study the world you want to study.”

But how to accomplish that at scale? And should we even try?

PERSONALIZATION OR SURVEILLANCE?

“I’m operating under the assumption that consumers will reject hyper-personalization,” says Sabaa Quao, chief creative officer of Cossette and co-founder at Wealthie Works Daily. “I can’t think of anyone who now doesn’t find it stalker-ish. How many of us have uttered words to the effect of ‘I swear my mobile phone is listening to me and then sending me ads?’

“Here’s the big example that hyper-personalization is about to

He goes on to say that the most effective thing that Big Tech has done with surveillance capitalism is boost its sales to marketers by making the behavioural data quantifiable. Big Tech has created an effective tool for something but, ironically, it hasn’t really created an effective tool for advertising: “If you blast 10 million people with a Dior ad, sure you’ll get a thousand of them that want to buy it. But it’s still very much a brute force technology that is layering the world with online advertisements we don’t even notice half the time. So the irony is, now you’re probably spending 99% of your budget ineffectively.”

“Even digital advertising is predicated on an historical ad model that always felt a bit sneaky and subversive... like people had to be subconsciously tricked into buying things,” he says. “What would happen if we flipped the model a bit and were transparent with people? What would an ad look like that, instead of forcing me to watch a random or ‘machine-learning predicted’ 15-second video, let me choose from a list of five things that I might be interested in. Or, better yet, gave me the option to complete a marketing survey in exchange for an ad-free digital experience for a day or a week?

“I think there is so much more that could be done with marketing and advertising if we stopped treating people like manipulable idiots and started respecting them by being transparent about what is going on and giving them agency.”

little like stunts now, the space is evolving quickly, with brands like Nike (bottom) using it to feed product lines in the real world.

is that they will be encountered only by specific people at specific times. Which means that, while there may be other people sharing the same virtual or augmented space, they won’t see the same narrowly targeted content; they will see content customized to their personal profiles.

Dr. Rosenberg defines a VPP as a simulated product or experience that appears to the user as an integrated element of the ambient environment. He points out that, in unscrupulous hands, advertising in the metaverse “could become predatory, deceiving users into believing that specific products and services are popular in their community (virtual or augmented) when in fact they are observing a promotionally altered representation of their surroundings.”

Given the fact that the metaverse still feels very much like a gaming app, it’s no surprise that teens are a key target of advertising at this point. The problem here is, what constitutes “reality” if a teen spends eight hours in front of a screen every day? What is more authentic, the metaverse or their real, physical and psychological lives?

It was British social critic and art historian John Berger who said that our achievement of the future promised by marketing and advertising is endlessly deferred. This is because its truthfulness is “judged not by the real fulfillment of its promises, but by the relevance of its fantasies to those of the consumer.”

In the good old days of mass marketing, that fantasy took the form of a print ad or a 30-second spot. Ads flooded our minds with images of the ideal home, the ideal car, the ideal nuclear family. Those spots were prescriptive; we were passive recipients being shown how to live. But none of these old school forms could promise a world as immersive as the metaverse.

In the metaverse, we are not passive observers, but active participants, co-creating the fantasies in which we choose to engage with brands. Advertising in the metaverse is more than just a replication of

what happens in the “real” world. It’s not just about placing media in a virtual reality. That’s been going on in the gaming space since the 1970s.

According to an article by Dr. Louis Rosenberg for the Future of Marketing Institute, “The metaverse transforms the role of the user from an outsider to a co-located participant who engages in natural, personal and intuitive experiences.” He defines it as a large-scale societal shift from flat to immersive media, one so profound it will fundamentally transform the world of marketing, altering the core tactics used by the industry while also introducing new risks to consumers.

He suggests that, due to the natural, personal and intuitive nature of the medium, the two primary forms of advertising in virtual and augmented worlds will likely be “virtual product placements” (VPPs) and “virtual spokespeople” (VSPs). Nothing new about product placements or spokespersons, but the difference here

In a recent AdNews article, James Sawyer, ANZ managing director of kids-first digital engagement platform TotallyAwesome, shares the stats: the world’s big three gaming platforms, Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft have quadrupled in size since 2017. In Australia, 71% of teens are gaming and the sector was the fastest growing with teens in the 12 months prior to September 2021.

And brands are cashing in. Nike, Wendy’s, Samsung, Hyundai, Coca Cola, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Ferrari, to name a few, are all building their own metaverse experiences and environments aimed at kids and teens in hopes that they will buy the brand in the real world, when they have real money.

So, what makes for meaningful, responsible engagement when it comes to brands in the metaverse? We’ll look at that next...

Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality

The metaverse evolves advertising from mass to micro

BY WILL NOVOSEDLIK

Metaverse for the masses

So how can brands find a way in that makes sense for both their mission and their audience?

According to Fill, there are three ways brands can access the benefits of the metaverse. “There’s real-world products and the brand enhances them in some way using technology,” he says, using augmented reality (AR) as an example to see a product along with its price and material information, and be able to change its colour or see all sides of it.

Secondly, brands can create products for the digital world. “This means that for the people who are already playing Fortnite, the brand can create products for them within that world,” he says.

Finally, and what he’s most interested in, is the fully immersive experience. “It’s still early days, but that’s where haptics, motion tracking and biometric feedback come in,” he says.

To some marketers, “metaverse” is a four-letter word – one that’s tricky to define. While the concept of the metaverse is, so far, purely aspirational, what we can definitively say is that its components are very real: 3D-technology, real-time collaboration and blockchain based finance tools.

Once those components can communicate and interact with one another freely in the same space, then we’ve got the metaverse on our hands. “We’re a long way from that full immersion,” says Dan Fill, president of virtual production studio Dark Slope. He sums it up as more than just watching content: “As an observer, you’ll be a part of it. You’ve got agency in it.”

Some brands are playing in the metaverse in genius ways, while others appear to be fumbling their way through. Which isn’t surprising, according to Johanna Faigelman, CEO at Human Branding. There’s a lot of unknown territory to navigate here.

“There are negative connotations resulting from association with Meta/Facebook, ‘crypto-bros’ and gaming, which can be alienating for a lot of people who don’t feel like the metaverse is for them,” she says. “Brands are feeling pressured to be in the metaverse, and wondering whether they need to have a presence even if it isn’t bringing value or aligning with their values,” she says.

And she poses the ultimate question that’s on every marketer’s mind: What makes for good engagement in the metaverse, anyway?

In execution, the answer to entering the metaverse might be to keep it simple, according to Tommaso Sandretto, chief revenue and investment officer at Blockchain Creative Labs, Fox’s web3 and creative technology company. Blockchain Creative Labs has been bringing the metaverse to the masses, and making the transition almost invisible.

For instance, in partnership with Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon, the making of Krapopolis, set to be released later this year, marks the first-ever animated series curated on the blockchain. In this participatory world, fans mint NFTs which grant access to gated content, merchandise, giveaways and more.

In this way, the metaverse becomes a vehicle for viewers to become the ultimate fan with an all-access pass. Brilliant on its own, but what’s more brilliant is how Blockchain Creative Labs rolled it out to the average consumer who may not know the inner workings of complex tech.

For Krapopolis, it’s as easy as logging onto a website and moving through the usual purchasing process – this

BY CHELSEA CLARKE

OVERWHELMED BY THE THOUGHT OF ENTERING DIGITAL REALITIES? IT MIGHT BE SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK.

time, though, what you’re purchasing are NFTs. “We built on core infrastructure to create the most seamless experience. We don’t want people to be afraid of the technology – we wanted it to be a one-stop shop where purchasing assets is as easy as purchasing a t-shirt,” says Sandretto.

Sandretto notes that while education is an important component to understanding the metaverse, from the brand perspective, what’s more important is creating accessibility and ease of use. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how to create an app on my phone. But what I’m excited about is the fact that I can use it to order a pizza that’ll show up at my house without knowing exactly how everything works behind it,” he says. “That’s what we’re trying to do: balance education with a simple onboarding experience.

Another extension of seamlessly welcoming consumers into the metaverse comes in the form of

brand. That brand extension is really what they’re after.”

As with all good marketing, the task becomes to identify the problem and then solve it with the tools that are accessible. The metaverse should be considered just that: tools to solve a problem.

Which isn’t to say we’re not seeing brands produce larger-than-life examples of playing in the metaverse. But to these types of stunts, Laura Mingail, founder of Archetypes and Effects, raise some questions. “Perhaps we see a brand sponsor a virtual concert, for example. What was the actual impact to the brand?,” she wonders, questioning what recall and attendance results might show. “It’s not just about showing up in digital realities. It’s about understanding what your brand is about and how digital realities help to extend awareness or drive sales.”

The benefits don’t just stop at awareness or profits, though. “Lowe’s helped customers bring to life their

augmented and virtual realities. When you think about SnapChat filters, does this strike you as being “in the metaverse”? Probably not, because the process has become so easily integrated into consumers’ lives that it’s not something they even give a second thought. And that’s exactly the point.

Besides the ubiquity of social media filters, the fashion and beauty industries are benefitting wildly from AR capabilities. Suddenly testing cosmetics or trying on clothing in the comfort of a consumer’s home becomes a no-brainer – and removes barriers to purchase.

In the beauty and fashion realm, a new, unexpected demographic has revealed itself: avatars. “People are paying for high-end brands’ digital designs, like Louis Vuitton or Gucci, especially if they’re endorsed by their favourite celebrity or a brand that they’re affiliated with,” says Fill. “Brands that are clever are understanding this social side, and creating environments that consumers feel are related to the

design vision with Holoroom, where they could design their kitchen or bathroom and view it in VR using Oculus Rift in-stores, and take-home a free Google Cardboard viewer to enjoy their room design whenever and wherever they chose,” says Faigelman. Undoubtedly a memorable customer experience, but the brand can also gather intel on how consumers are placing items together, or how they’re moving through the store in a virtual world. These insights run much deeper than simply tracking interest on a website, and data collected from these technologies can further drive strategies.

As brands navigate new possibilities in the metaverse, the ones that are doing it well have one thing in common: it just makes sense. “A brand should think of the message it’s trying to get across to its audience and the experience it can match with a method, what the audience wants and what the audience has access to,” says Mingail. “That’s how to determine the best way into the digital realities space.”

CREATIVE REPORT CARD

Justice Potter Stewart made history when he said he didn’t know what pornography was, but he knew it when he saw it. That’s kind of like creativity. Creativity isn’t a thing. It’s a collection of things. It’s an idea fed by imagination, tested through a proven process and distilled by collective experience. It’s a humble seed that only grows when it’s mentored in patient hands and by remarkable teams. That’s what we celebrate in our Creative Report Card. • To come up with the lists that follow, we select a range of international, national and regional awards shows that incorporate a variety of media, and we assign every award a point value, weighted to recognize that global shows are bound to be tougher to win than local programs. • To see the full rankings, make sure to visit strategyonline.ca. But, for now, check out some of this year’s chart toppers. • Oh yeah. What’s with the photos…? In a report that’s all about creativity, the last thing we wanted to do was impose our ideas about what a good headshot looks like. So, we asked each winner to choose how they wanted to be represented – something that speaks to them personally. And we love the result.

RETHINK: ANYTHING BUT BORING

How important is it to take creative risks?

The riskiest thing a brand can do is come off as boring. Brands that have partnered with us did so because they already believed that creativity is good for business. But there’s a considerable difference between simply asking clients to “be brave” versus following a repeatable process that yields the kind of work that stands out and is highly effective.

At Rethink we’ll never tell our clients to take on crazy risks. Any time breakthrough work for a brand goes to market, people incorrectly assume substantial risks were taken by the brand team. Frankly, the Rethink process was designed and refined to take much of the risk out of getting to exciting ideas that deliver results.

What is the Rethink creative process?

Well Chris, Tom and Ian wrote an entire book on this – available on Amazon and major book stores – but here it is in a nutshell: After ideas have been conceived and peer reviewed under the lens of C.R.A.F.T.S. (clear, relevant, achievable, fresh, true, shareable), we share five to seven ideas with the brand team called “shallow holes.” At this stage our client partners suggest one or two shallow holes to dig deeper on. Eventually, there is a familiar “ta da” presentation with blown-out

work, but because the brand team is involved early in the creative process, there are never any surprises during that meeting.

As the agency’s creative leader, what’s the most important thing you can do to set your agency up to be successful?

Leaders are repeaters. Whether I’m meeting an intern, talking to our creative directors, having a coffee chat with future Rethinkers or talking to press outlets, I will repeat why I think this is a special place, highlighting our values and process until I’m basically blue in the face. Leaders are repeaters. Did I already say that?

Why so much consistent success in recent years?

We’re all singing from the same song sheet. Every office, every Rethinker, every role in the agency, including accounting. Frankly, I haven’t seen anything like it since I got into the business, and it’s the biggest reason for our success the last few years.

What creative work do you do in your own time?

I host a podcast called It’s Only Fucking Advertising where I chat with other creative leaders from around the world about their journey and provide advice for students, marketers and agency professionals. I love

AGENCIES

1. Rethink

2. Zulu Alpha Kilo

3. FCB Canada

4. Cossette

5. Bensimon Byrne / OneMethod / Narrative

6. Leo Burnett

7. lg2

8. Performance Art

9. No Fixed Address

10. Juniper Park\TBWA / Tam-Tam\TBWA

CCO s

1. Aaron Starkman, Rethink

2. Zak Mroueh, Zulu Alpha Kilo

3. Ian Mackenzie, Performance Art

4. Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, FCB Canada

5. Peter Ignazi, Diamond / Cossette

6. Steve Persico, Leo Burnett

7. Lisa Greenberg, Leo Burnett

8. Graham Lang, TAXI / VMLY&R

9. Amin Todai, OneMethod

10. Joseph Bonnici, Tadiem

having a different kind of creative challenge outside Rethink and IOFA satisfies that.

But! I don’t need it anymore. I don’t need to paint, create art installations, do poetry or anything else. In fact, in order to fully recharge for work, I run away from anything creative. I think it’s important to take true mental breaks. My preferred formula is beach, book and phone locked in hotel mini safe. After four days, I come back recharged, and laser focused on tackling written goals.

The biggest challenge you faced in the last year? Sorry to get real here, but my mom Eleanor unexpectedly passed away this year. It was personally challenging, for sure. During the weeks and months that followed I got closer with my sisters. One thing I didn’t expect to happen is that I also got closer with my partners at Rethink and so many other people here. Rethinkers had my back this year and I’ll never forget it. I know “work family” is over-used. But for me Rethink is family and I’m so grateful for it.

What work or project did you admire most from the previous year that neither you nor anyone else at your agency worked on?

Easiest question of all time. Apple’s detective spot.

INSPIRED CONTRARIAN

Where do you find your inspiration?

I’ve always been a bit of a contrarian. So, I’m constantly inspired by people who try to do things differently, who are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to change things for the better. I think that’s probably what drew me to Rethink.

How do you know when a project is finished?

Ultimately, timelines and deadlines decide when you’re finished. And that’s a good thing because there are always things you could tweak.

Everyone needs time out. What creative work do you do in your own time? Family, friends and a good walk spoiled.

Has the growth of the agency effected what you do, day to day?

We’ve had incredible growth the last year and managing that can be a challenge. But it’s also exciting. Our expansion globally has given us the chance to bring in world-class talent. We pair that with a strong belief in promoting from within, where we’ve seen phenomenal growth and emerging leaders in the agency.

What makes a creative director great?

My colleague Sean often says we have “strong opinions held loosely.” I love that. You need to be passionate and know what you want, but also humble enough to act on a better idea when you see it.

What work do you admire most from the last year?

I think the work we’ve seen from Liquid Death is certainly challenging the way a brand can behave in culture. They’re pushing things and I think that’s good for the industry.

CREATIVE DIRECTORS

1. Mike Dubrick, Rethink

2. Joel Holtby, Rethink/Courage

3. Zachary Bautista, Rethink

4. Leia Rogers, Rethink

5. Xavier Blais, Rethink

6. Morgan Tierney, Rethink

7. Maxime Sauté, Rethink

8. Hans Thiessen, Rethink

9. Zak Mroueh, Zulu Alpha Kilo

10. Nicolas Quintal, Rethink

10. Colin Craig, Performance Art

PLANNERS

1. Sean McDonald, Rethink

2. Julian Morgan, Rethink

3. Spencer MacEachern, Zulu Alpha Kilo

4. Shereen Ladha, Rethink

5. Shaunagh Farrelly, Zulu Alpha Kilo

6. Darren Yada, Rethink/To Live For

7. Pascal Routhier, Rethink

8. Shelley Brown, FCB

9. Aliz Tennant, Rethink/AntiSocial

10. Nicole Rajesky, Rethink

COPYWRITERS

1. Geoff Baillie, Rethink

2. Xavier Blais, Rethink

3. Dan Cummings, Zulu Alpha Kilo

4. Sean O’Connor, Rethink

5. London Choi, Leo Burnett

6. Paula Purdon, Performance Art

7. Marco Buchar, Zulu Alpha Kilo

8. Hemal Dhanjee, Courage

9. Jacquelyn Parent, Rethink

10. Tobi Adebowale, Performance Art

10. Jasmine Mans, Performance Art

ART DIRECTORS

1. Zachary Bautista, Rethink

2. Maxime Saute, Rethink

3. Vic Bath, Zulu Alpha Kilo

4. Rachel LeBlanc, Rethink

5. Ryan Cookish, Rethink

6. Danielle Zablocki, Leo Burnett

7. Jake Hope, Rethink

8. Dorota Pankowska, Rethink/Freelance

9. Michael Romaniuk, Zulu Alpha Kilo

10. Edouard Coune, air brussels

THE PLAYMAKER

Given the pace of change in markets and consumer behaviour, have you evolved your approach for identifying new solutions?

We’re always evolving how we do this. Rethink is a one word business model, so we’re always seeking a better way. The truth of the matter is that people often tout the power of data and stop there, missing the opportunity to find the stories behind the data. You can only get there by talking to people and learning from them. I think we do our best work by focusing on the stories behind the data and making them useful, actionable and inspiring.

When it comes to understanding consumers, what post-pandemic shifts are key to factor in now?

Before the pandemic, there was a lot of industry conversation around the overwhelm people face due to the amount of content they can and do consume. That continues to be true but, increasingly, people are learning there’s a lot to filter out based on credibility, trust or worth. Putting brands in a position to be relevant in that continues to be important. Being superficial won’t cut it.

What combo of training, skill set and background is the most successful when it comes to new planners? I think it’s important to reframe that question and take some of the pressure off the planner. I spend more time thinking about what environment I can help create to put people in a position to succeed so we can accommodate and help grow lots of people with diverse backgrounds and varying levels of experience. If we do that successfully, we can find people who want to grow by working collaboratively with other people. If that happens consistently, we can help grow the pool of talented planners in the industry. That’s the goal.

What makes a planner great?

I firmly believe that our job is to be the steward of the solutions we deliver, not the source of them. It’s not for you to know or develop the answer alone, and lots of people think it is. If you embrace being the steward you will inherently be more curious, more collaborative and less inclined to the bias we all carry with us.

What work or project did you admire most from the previous year that neither you nor anyone else at your agency worked on?

Broken Heart Love Affair did something I thought was really smart in their “Immortal” campaign for the ROM. They’ve created an “immortal” membership that can be handed down for generations. I thought that was a great representation of their overall idea for the brand, something worth talking about, and can also work as a fundraising opportunity. Really smart.

CREATIVE CULTURE HACKERS

Where do you find your inspiration?

Sometimes it’s art, sometimes it’s culture, mostly it’s deadlines.

What’s influencing the storytelling process the most right now, and how is it changing how you work? Lately, ads blend in with other types of content, so people tend to evaluate them the same way. They want ads to be clever or moving, not finger-pointy or hard-selly.

What work or project did you admire most from the previous year that neither you nor anyone else at your agency worked on?

MSCHF’s ATM leaderboard at Art Basel Miami. People put their debit cards in the ATM, then it took their photo and ranked them based on their balance. And people lined up for it, it was the most popular thing at Art Basel. It’s the sort of thing we strive for with ideas – insightful and funny with a bit of subtext there if you care to look for it.

Where do you get your inspiration?

My answer, as simple or unoriginal as it sounds, is culture. What’s Twitter talking about this week? What are my friends talking about? What’s making headlines in the news? What’s trending on TikTok? What are my nieces and nephews obsessing about today?

Everyone needs time out. What creative work do you do in your own time? Does daydreaming count as creative work?

What makes an art director great?

Great art directors work with great people. Early in my career, a mentor told me that the “director” part of our title is all about finding great people to bring your vision to life. Great ADs are collaborative from illustrators, editors, designers, colourists… it’s about building the right team for the job.

What was the thorniest challenge you faced in the last year and how did you crack it? Personally, last year’s biggest challenge was finding the right balance between WFH and returning to the office. Rethink has no mandatory return to the office planned. We’ve always embraced working remotely and we still find success.

What work or project did you admire most from the previous year that neither you nor anyone else at your agency worked on?

I always admire work that makes me laugh and nothing made me laugh more this year than Liquid Death’s Blind Taze Test.

ZAK: GUIDED BY PURPOSE

What’s the key when it comes to leading creatives?

As a leader, the key thing is to motivate your team to reach creative heights that they may not have believed were possible. To achieve that, you need to inspire them to believe in themselves. We need to lift people up, set clear expectations and define what great work is to our entire agency and clients.

To instil autonomy, you first need to instil accountability. The entire team needs to be empowered to speak up and have conviction in creative presentations. Otherwise, you’ll soon find the definition of a “good meeting” becomes less about creating category-defining work for your clients.

How have you changed the way you recruit, train and mentor?

As a fledgling CD, I used to recruit based on a portfolio. But over the past 20 years, I’ve discovered some amazing creatives who weren’t classically trained at an ad school. They had ambition, enthusiasm and an inherent creativity. It just hadn’t yet been harnessed in the form of a portfolio. Starting out in the ’80s, it was hard to get my foot in the door, especially since I didn’t have any personal connections into the

business. It’s one of the reasons I launched the 20Doors scholarship fund with a mission to train, mentor and give BIPOC talent that all important “in” to the industry. We’re always on the hunt for new talent with fearless creative spirits who aren’t afraid to the push the boundaries, because bravery is part of our founding DNA.

How important is it to take creative risks?

Taking smart, calculated risks is important. If we only deliver what’s expected, we’re not doing our job. Clients hire us to take their business to greater heights, but a lot of shops are structured to kill work before it ever gets to them. To make it easier for brands to get behind riskier ideas, we work closely with our clients to build mutual trust, which paves the way for braver concepts to flourish. For more “out there” ideas, I’ll challenge my team to conceive something that the brand would never buy. Sometimes this leads to a groundbreaking idea that the client actually loves.

How would you describe your own creative style?

Most creatives aim to think outside the box. Creatively, I like to think inside of it. The “box” or limitation may be the budget, timing or category restrictions. Whatever it may be, limitations force us to be truly creative. I don’t believe in imposing a particular style on a brand we work on. The brand should impose itself on us. We like to describe it as “inside the box” thinking. Or, as Orson Wells famously said, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.”

What makes an agency great?

It starts with your founding purpose as a company. When you know what you stand for and what you’re trying to achieve, it becomes much easier to achieve it. Many shops change their stripes every time a new client comes in. To be great, you must have well-entrenched values and stick to them, even if it means turning away business. At our agency, everyone knows why they’re here, why we exist, whether they’re in finance or creative. And every client knows what to expect. It’s about having a clear vision, articulating it, and repeating it. Like any successful campaign, you can’t just say it once. It’s something that must be consistently reinforced.

How do you avoid complacency – the expectation that accolades and greatness are the default setting for a successful agency?

You must always be moving forward. At the start of every year, we set our sights on what we want to achieve collectively. We reflect on the successes. They should be celebrated. And the failures should be learning opportunities. It’s important to never settle once you’ve achieved a milestone. Start dreaming of what you’ll do next.

IMAGINING WHAT’S POSSIBLE

Where do you get your inspiration?

I find my inspiration in those in-between moments when I’m performing a mundane task. I might be walking to a meeting when I see a unique slab serif typeface I’ve never seen before stamped onto a vintage mailbox. Or I’m boarding a streetcar and notice a new design feature making it more accessible for people with mobility issues and families with strollers. Then, as I tap my mobile through the open payment system, I experience how convenient someone’s made the riding experience on public transportation. Whether visual, sensorial, functional or experiential, these mini observations often find their way into future projects. It goes without saying, but I’m also inspired by all the amazing people I get to work with on the daily.

What’s influencing the design process now?

Design thinking is now more critical to brands than ever before. It’s viewed as a big part of business transformation. At its best, the most impactful design has the ability to show people and businesses what’s possible by leapfrogging past today and designing that better future we all want to live in – changing the way we see, think, feel, and even behave.

At ZAK, design is part of our initial strategy phase to help us reframe the real problem we need to solve. Because when your design solution is grounded in a true human insight, you have a clearer path for creating a game-changing idea that benefits the consumer and the business.

Google’s Real Tone is a brilliant example. The product was developed because there was a gap and a real human need. Historically, camera technology couldn’t accurately represent darker skin tones and, as a result, a simple everyday interaction like taking photos wasn’t an inclusive experience. To fill that gap, Google partnered with

a diverse community of image professionals for their expertise in the accurate imagery of people of colour. This resulted in Real Tone, which leverages technology in the Pixel camera and Google photos to highlight the nuances of all skin tones more accurately and beautifully.

What makes a designer great?

It sounds like a paradox, but the hallmark of a great designer is open mindedness with a strong point of view. The best designers have an ability at the beginning of every project to go wide and to explore all the different possibilities. Then, with a discerning eye, they can synthesize and craft that unique point of view into the most compelling communication, identity, product or experience.

What work or project did you admire most from the previous year that neither you nor anyone else at your agency worked on?

I loved Dole’s Piñatex work because it’s a real world-changing idea. Being one of the largest producers of pineapples in the world, they partnered with Ananas Anam to produce a vegan, cruelty-free and sustainable leather alternative made from the fibre of pineapple leaves that would typically go to waste. In this instance, the “design” is really about the process of upcycling the waste to create change beyond the food industry.

DESIGNERS

1. Stephanie Yung, Zulu Alpha Kilo

2. Jeff Watkins, Freelance

3. Alex Bakker, Rethink

4. Zoe Kim, Anomaly

5. Tulio Pinto, Rethink

6. Erin Struble, Whitman Emorson

7. Jaclyn McConnell, Rethink

8. Emily Plewes, Performance Art

9. Claudia Barberio, Rethink

10. Joe Szabo, Performance Art

10. Leon Mullings, Performance Art

Everyone needs time out. What creative work do you do in your own time?

My time out is less about creative work and more about creative play with my 4-year-old daughter. She keeps my imagination child-like by challenging me to think of new and inventive ways to keep her engaged. It usually ends up with me singing, getting drawn on with markers, or pretending to be frozen. With our children, things are always fun and unpredictable. We need to embrace that in our design approach. So, I try to guide my teams with this in mind. Unlike my early years as a creative leader, I’ve come to realize that the best ideas come from uninhibited, playful collaboration and tapping into life’s unexpected inspiration.

Hey Judy, Carlos, Dhaval, Lisa, Alexis, and Meet Faël, Sarah, Jay, Lina, Sophie,

Carlos, Nancy, Lisa, Sabaa, and Aaron. Sarah, Julian, Deji, Sophie, and Jose.

We’d like to introduce you to the first eight recipients of the 20Doors Scholarship for BIPOC creative talent.

Zulu Alpha Kilo founder and creative chairman Zak Mroueh created 20Doors with a mission to open doors for new voices in advertising. Over five years, we’re offering scholarships to twenty young creatives along with mentorship from Zak and our senior creative leaders. Some 20Doors recipients have landed jobs in the ad industry, others are still in school, but all of them could benefit from getting to know Canada’s top creative minds. If any of you would be interested in meeting or mentoring BIPOC creative talent, we’d love to hear from you at 20DoorsMentors@zulualphakilo.com.

FCB: CREATIVITY AS AN ECONOMIC MULTIPLIER

How have you evolved your approach in the last few years?

We’ve had to fundamentally change how we work and the way we think. It’s meant making deeper investments in research tools, data analytics, marketing automation and nimble production capabilities.

It’s also meant finding new solutions to extend budgets and reach customers. We’ve been very proactive in finding and creating partnerships between our clients and other trusted brands as a way to connect them with new audiences, find new avenues for growth or change behaviours. From partnering Lotto Max with Mr. Saturday and Creamery X to help them reach a younger player base, to partnering the Bank of Montreal with Twitch to connect gamers with financial advice, to partnering with Google and LinkedIn to fundamentally change the way these platforms work for people with Down syndrome.

To unlock all of this, we’ve had to foster a culture of innovation and experimentation, encouraging our teams to test new ideas and approaches that go outside the box of what a marketing solution can be.

How have you changed the way you mentor and recruit?

If there was one theme over the last few years around talent, it’s the

focus on DE&I. We’ve exponentially increased our rigour around it. We recognized that our traditional means of sourcing talent usually led to hiring people with the same experiences we had. Not a recipe for success around diversity of thinking. So, we’ve broadened our search to not only include people with transferable skills from outside our industry, but also actively source talent from underrepresented communities through long-term partnerships with organizations like POCAM and IMDOINGIT to bridge and expand our talent market.

What skills are you looking for and developing?

It’s pretty simple. People who are great at what they do and great humans, too. We have a strict “no wankers” rule. We have a strong culture and protect it fiercely. Beyond that, we are looking for people who are as passionate about proving that creativity is an economic multiplier as we are.

What makes an agency great?

What makes an agency great is people working towards the same goal. For us, “great” means being the most innovative agency in Canada, so we’ve implemented habits to get us there. One of those habits is regular learning sessions at our weekly all-staffs where we share everything from emerging production solutions to new platforms and technologies, to what’s happening right now in culture. Every week, one of our staff also shares what creatively inspires them beyond advertising. This has proven to be an incredible way to open the aperture on creativity. One of our most successful habits is our annual Hackathon. Every year we identify priority creative briefs with our clients, then block two days for the entire creative and strategy department to “hack” them. This is our way of investing in one of our core goals – to do our best work across all our brands and teams. We want great campaigns coming from everywhere, across agency teams and clients. We call this getting lucky, which ironically, more often than not, has nothing to do with luck and more to do with being intentional about how we work.

What other work do you admire most from the previous year?

Well, I wouldn’t be true to everything I’ve talked about if I didn’t pick something that I thought was the perfect intersection of purpose, innovation, a killer partnership and just plain stupid fun. I wish I had come up with the Dominos “Stranger Things” partnership that put fans into Eleven’s shoes by creating a mind-ordering app that mimicked her telekinetic powers. It used a mix of facial and eye tracking technology to let customers order a pizza using only gestures. Pizza and watching TV are a very expected match, but they took something that could have been pedestrian and used creativity to establish a new benchmark for partnerships and what it takes to make them successful.

A WELL ARTICULATED VISION

How have you evolved your approach for identifying new solutions and insights?

The majority of the most interesting client challenges we’re seeing right now benefit from complex responses covering strategy, data, tech, media, creative, analytics and beyond – and not necessarily in that order.

A traditional agency might approach this by running through the list of functions as if they’re linear, flowing one-way like water over a cliff. But, of course, good problem solving isn’t linear. Sometimes it’s the creative department that cracks the strategy, and the strategy department that has the best media ideas, and so on.

We look to create upside by systematically passing the problem and solution back and forth across disciplines as we go, and investing in talent that has a special interest or training in cross-functionality.

An experience delivery lead is a good example of this, as they have accountabilities across strategy, creative and production. This approach is also more likely to unlock lesser-heard perspectives throughout the process and often delivers unexpected and innovative solutions that meet complexity with creativity. In other words, it’s a focus on cross-functionality.

What was one of the thorniest challenges you faced in the last year?

So many thorny challenges. But one I’m fond of involves using a convolutional neural network to analyze more than 10 million miles of the U.S. road network. We were looking for roads that matched the iconic shape of BMW’s rear window, the Hofmeister Kink. Our Group Director, Product Developer Arnaud Icard built the model from scratch, including developing synthetic training sets and running inference on them over multiple days of processing time on a Tesla V100 GPU –basically high-performance computing. We learned

so much. And were surprised at the difference between what a human thinks of as a good match and what a machine thinks is a good match.

Have you changed the way you hire, mentor and recruit new staff?

I’m always excited about people with strong core specializations. That could be a person who is good at generating and structuring ideas in an easily transmissible format, or someone who knows how to use After Effects to put design into motion, or someone who knows how to run a successful technical build. Then our job as an agency is to focus and surround that skill with the rest of the agency’s collective genius and capabilities. When that happens, there’s good growth for everyone, plus our clients get the value of true specialist talent on their brief. If you’re really good at something specific, and that thing is useful to what we’re making with our clients, chances are we’ll all prosper.

In addition to our organizational training and mentorship programs, we’re looking to support employees on their journeys to get sharper on

specializations that are interesting and motivating to them. As a bonus, deep specialization seems to enable more powerful cross-functionality.

What makes an agency great?

Vision. A powerful, well-articulated vision helps everyone know what mountain we’re trying to climb and why. It helps clients know what to expect from us. An agency is going to make millions of decisions in a year. A clear vision provides direction at all zoom levels, helping all those decisions add up to more than their parts.

What work did you admire most from the previous year that neither you nor anyone else at your agency worked on?

Jesse Wente’s memoir, Unreconciled – go check it out. In our world, I admire the idea and UX at the heart of Zulu’s “Micropedia of Microaggressions” and also how FCB NY put together the tech behind its “McEnroe vs McEnroe” activation for AB InBev. I also liked NFA’s Little Caesar’s “Naming Rights” project a lot. It just wins at doing what it set out to do.

BUILDING BETTER BRANDS

BRANDS

1. The Kraft Heinz Company

2. IKEA Canada

3. Pfaff Harley-Davidson

4. Over The Bridge

5. Molson Coors

6. Decathlon

7. Black and Abroad

8. The Royal Canadian Legion

9. Black Business and Professional Association

10. Good Fortune

10. SickKids Foundation

What difference has an obsession over even the smallest touchpoint made for our top brands this year? Strategy asked the highest ranking Creative Report Card finalists to find out.

What’s sparking creative change?

We’re in the midst of a pretty exciting transformation. Since 2019, Kraft Heinz has been driving an impressive turnaround story with creativity and marketing as a lynch pin to its success. In 2022, we rebuilt a powerhouse North American team from the ground up with a focus on creativity, connecting at the speed of culture, building engaging personalized experiences, and leveraging data to drive a more intimate relationship with our consumers.

How’s that turned into so many borderless, mega-creative ideas? We’ve transformed our marketing to be more consumer-obsessed by renovating legacy brands and leaning harder on creativity to grow love and relevancy – finding what makes our brands unique, identifying ownable brand and product truths that really resonate with consumers, and listening to what’s happening in culture with an eye to moments where all of that can be combined to get to an explosive idea. Unleashing

this kind of change has been possible with the creation of The Kitchen, a best-in-class in-house agency that listens, creates and moves at the speed of culture, but also in partnership with our incredible external agency teams, which have built enduring creative platforms that modernize our brands and ultimately drive the business.

And the ROI?

We’re making big strides against our creative ambition to be the indisputable creative leader in food and that progress is getting noticed. In the last 24 months, we were ranked number four on Ad Age’s Marketers of the Year list. In 2022, we had our biggest year at Cannes with 11 Lions and 28 shortlists, saw engagement grow +7% and earned +6% to record highs. The Kitchen North America has built 3,000-plus assets across social platforms like TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. This kind of agile content creation has delivered more than two billion impressions and grown ROI for the company’s marketing spend.

The bottom line?

It’s a great time to be a marketer at Kraft Heinz and we’re ready to keep building on this momentum.

IKEA is known for meatballs and much-loved (and envied) advertising. How do you top that?

Over the last year, we struck a healthy balance between IKEA Canada’s long-term brand building efforts and short-term tactical communication in favour of long-term so we could tell stories authentically – allowing IKEA to build brand affinity and reflect our core values of diversity, equality and sustainability. The recent launch of our new “Bring Home to Life” brand platform builds on our ambition to support the emotional value of our brand beyond our functional offering, not only with consumers but co-workers as well. Grounded in authentic, human stories, marketing led the initiative to infuse the new platform in every co-worker and customer touchpoint, from marketing campaigns to the in-store experience, from online at IKEA.ca to

METHODOLOGY

Strategy’s Creative Report

Card tallies the awards given to agencies, advertisers, creatives and strategists over the past year. We select a range of shows that incorporate a variety of media and assign every award a point value, weighted to recognize that international shows are bound to be tougher to win than regional ones. We build a database of wins for each advertiser, agency, CCO, CD, AD, CW, designer and planner, and tally them to determine a ranking in each category. (Note: this accounts for thousands of individual awards and relies on the credits published

by the shows. Therefore, there is room for error and/or omission.)

SCORING

Point values are highest for international awards, followed by national then regional. Best of Show and Grand Prix receive more points than Gold, which receives more than Silver, etc. We reserve the right to review and/or change the weight of awards each year based on their level of prestige and difficulty.

AGENCIES

The points for agency offices in

content on social media and within co-worker areas. This approach helped us build stronger moments of connection and energy with our co-workers and customers and increased overall awareness, connection to IKEA and pride to work at IKEA.

Have you been able to gauge the impact of all that work?

When efforts to highlight the unique IKEA store and web experience in a fun and twinkly way have resulted in more consumers visiting and purchasing in store and online (+123% store visits, +1.3% sales), we know we’re heading in the right direction.

What difference has “Tough Turban” made?

Pfaff HarleyDavidson is proud to champion an idea that celebrates the diversity of our ridership. We’re honoured to be part of an initiative that helped build awareness of a core issue and drive innovation to support our vast community of riders across Canada and around the world.

And the business impact?

“Tough Turban” was featured in mainstream media around the world and had a positive impact on how people feel about the Pfaff Harley-Davidson brand. This initiative contributed to last year being our biggest year ever.

multiple cities are combined. Distinct but affiliated agencies (with the same parent) are listed separately, unless considered a single entity by the agency. If two agencies are listed on a single campaign, each receives the same points.

INDIVIDUALS

Points are awarded to the individuals credited in the award show books. If a name isn’t listed, the individual receives no points. In some cases, agencies have provided corrections, which have been taken into account on a caseby-case basis.

ADVERTISERS

Points are awarded for the brands as listed in the awards annuals. Sub-brands or brand extensions are grouped together under main brand.

THE AWARDS THAT COUNT

Regional: ACE, Ad Rodeo, IDEA Awards

National: ADCC, Applied Arts, AToMIC, CMA, Marketing Awards, SIA Awards

International: Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, Communication Arts, D&AD, Epica, One Show

Every year, strategy looks to the AToMiC awards program to explore the alchemy behind the ideas and new thinking that disrupted the status quo. These new mash-ups of creativity, tech and content innovation push the boundaries (and some buttons) as they show the way forward. > We admire brands that went beyond fronting to truly throw their weight behind a worthy cause and fight injustice. We highlight creative partnerships with celebrities and influencers that challenge the expected. And we look to digital and tech executions that truly drove change. > The winners, chosen by a jury of digital, agency, marketing and media execs, offer examples of how to engage audiences on multiple screens and in new environments. > Read on for the insights that shaped this year's remarkable work. And, to see a full list of this year's winners, be sure to visit strategyonline.ca. > BY

Tech for good

How AI, targeted data sets and AR drive connection and societal change.

Although we will one day all serve our AI overlords (à la 2001: A Space Odyssey), for now the power of technology can still be used for good, to expand consumer knowledge and improve experiences.

A compelling example of how tech innovation can solve problems in entirely new ways is “The Black Elevation Map,” developed by Performance Art for Black & Abroad, a nicheaudience travel company best known for its international trips. When pandemic lockdowns coincided with a mainstream spotlight on racism, it provided an opportunity for the travelco to carve out a space as a domestic tourism brand and create a way for travellers to show allyship by supporting Black-owned businesses.

“Unwanted Film Festival” by No Fixed Address Gold AI; Silver Engagement

in website traffic and a 971% increase in event sales and site merchandise.

For its part, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection wanted to draw attention to the child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that is proliferating online at an alarming rate. In 2021, 85 million suspected pieces of CSAM were found online. In the past year, one film or image was uploaded every two seconds.

They decided to combat that by creating “The Unwanted Film Festival” and generating the amount of buzz that accompanies large film fests. With its provocative tagline “Playing online everywhere,” the idea was to generate awareness and spur change – with no paid media budget. The campaign, created by No Fixed Address, used AI to build an algorithm that generated 85 million “film posters” and translated the titles into the six most common languages spoken around the world. The campaign, launched online with a live immersive experience right alongside the Tribeca Festival in New York City, would be the largest film festival “hiding in plain sight.”

The hard-hitting effort garnered website visits from 166 countries, with over 50 million earned impressions. A petition (accessed through movie “tickets” featuring a QR code that called for action from the world’s governments and largest tech companies) surpassed the signature goal by 92%.

Black & Abroad

“The Black Elevation Map” by Performance Art Gold Design; Gold Diversity; Gold Brand Content; Gold Niche Targeting; Silver Tech; Silver Best Digital Engagement; Silver Digital Brand Experience; Bronze Idea

With various cultural data as its backbone, BlackElevationMap.com features 28,000 businesses and 6,500 cultural markers. The project drew inspiration from W.E.B. Du Bois’s data-driven, hand-drawn maps and Victor Hugo Green’s Green Book, the guide of safe spaces to eat, sleep and refuel –part of a historical trajectory of “counter-mapping” to challenge dominant power structures.

“We took old-school, practical approaches such as Du Bois’s maps and Green’s book and combined them,” says Eric Martin, co-founder and chief creative officer of Black & Abroad. “Who would ever think these classic solutions would be pertinent? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

The result was a 116% rise in brand lift, 45.4 million impressions across paid and earned channels, a 302% increase

Equally difficult was the conversation Walmart wanted to have about the unseen impact of incarceration. With equitable opportunity among the cornerstones of the brand’s mission, it sought to improve the outcomes for children of the two million people who are incarcerated in the U.S. by using literacy as the lever.

“Bedtime Stories,” created by FCB/SIX, connected incarcerated parents and their children through reading. Inmates recorded themselves reading a children’s book, which was then uploaded to the "Bedtime Stories" cloud server. When their children at home hovered the AR-enabled app over each page of the hard copy, image recognition allowed them to hear their parents reading the book.

The campaign launched at the second largest jail in the U.S., the Cook County Department of Corrections, with books curated by the Chicago Public Library. The platform was designed to be scalable to serve the over 3,000 prisons across America, with Walmart’s continued support. By building and reinforcing family bonds, the aim is to help reduce the likelihood of inmates returning to jail after release.

Connecting IRL

With the pandemic disappearing into their rear-view mirrors (er, hopefully) consumers ventured back out into the world. And that meant OOH could reclaim its traditional place in the marketing mix. Some brands took the opportunity to reimagine what that might look like, with hybrid programs fueled by all of their lockdown-honed social skills.

Case in point: Lactalis. The brand took full advantage of that mainstay of OOH executions – the billboard – and blended it with old-school call-in tactics and the current love for all things retro and collectible. The end result: “For Trade: One Cheestring”

The execution served as the tent pole of the “Keep It Cheesy” campaign. Created by Broken Heart Love Affair, it featured a giant billboard at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, depicting a memorable childhood moment for millennials: the cafeteria lunch trade. The unbranded billboard asked passersby what

they would trade for a single Cheestring, with a phone number to call with their offer. That unassuming billboard attracted more than 1,000 offers, including Shaquille O’Neal rookie cards, a yacht and even dinner with a caller’s mom. (An actor who fielded the calls good-naturedly refused all offers.)

“When you go to market with something that’s relevant and deeply rooted in culture, consumers will engage,” explains Enrique Larez, marketing director for cheese and tablespreads, Lactalis. “We wanted to be playful. When you put positivity out in the world, you get positive results back.”

Major outlets picked up the story and program hosts reminisced about eating cheese strings as kids. The billboard was the first in a campaign that also featured a TV spot, OLV, social and additional OOH.

For its street-level “Window Shopping” campaign, IKEA also turned public spaces into topics of conversation. The campaign

supported the launch of IKEA’s first store in Toronto’s downtown core, one that focused on small-space living.

In a twist on the traditional billboard approach, Rethink came up with the idea of converting actual downtown homes (featuring real people) into living streetlevel ads. The home interiors featured IKEA products while the exterior displayed IKEA branding, so passersby would get the experience of shopping in IKEA’s showrooms without ever having to leave their neighbourhood. The “living billboards” were featured in areas within a strategic radius of the new downtown location and showcased a variety of spaces that would reflect the diversity of Toronto life.

The billboards were a key part of a launch campaign that yielded more than 31 million impressions. Foot traffic for the new store was 41% higher than baseline.

Decathlon’s “Ability Signs” campaign, meanwhile, reimagined and redefined store signage and the international symbol of access, one of the most recognized signs in the world.

Decathlon is the largest sports retailer in the world, though it currently has a small

OOH achieved a whole new level of engagement post-pandemic.

footprint in Canada. When it opened its tenth store here, it wanted to amplify its mission of making sports accessible. Without the marketing budgets of established players, Rethink tapped into Decathlon’s culture of strong, cost-effective grassroots initiatives to generate buzz. The purpose of “Ability Signs” was to shift the focus from what people with disabilities couldn’t do, to what they could.

D2C: From coupon to

One side effect of the pandemic has been that more and more people have become dog owners. So, working off the premise that dogs love to chew things – homework, furniture legs, wallets – and knowing the angst and exasperation it causes to puppy parents, the "Chewpon" campaign gave dogs something better to chew on: Milk-Bone dog treats.

“[Leo Burnett] had the idea of turning something that was chewed up into part of the solution,” says Adam Zitney, VP of marketing, Smucker Foods of Canada. “I knew we were on to something when the idea was being discussed and it elicited crazy stories from my team and the agency team of what has been chewed up. It struck a chord in the room.”

Decathlon’s existing retail signage system was updated with 25 custom icons depicting the international symbol in an active rather than static position – playing a sport such as basketball, rugby or tennis. Parking space stencils were created, as was a website (AbilitySigns.ca) where people or brands who wanted to join the movement could download the icons for free.

While the initiative started in Canada, the symbols were adopted globally; several cities of Seine-Saint-Denis added accessible parking spots using "Ability Signs" ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympic games. The Decathlon headquarters, also located in France, incorporated "Ability Signs" in its parking lots and main office buildings.

The campaign earned 227 million organic impressions and reached 73 countries, making it the most shared social campaign in Decathlon’s history.

The campaign converted owner-uploaded images of items that dogs had chewed on into coupons for dog treats. To get one, dog owners DM’d photos – ranging from stuffed animals to passports – via social media. Milk-Bone responded (with help from partner WebSaver) with customized coupons for Milk-Bone treats.

The campaign included promoted video and print media that drove people to Milk-Bone’s social channels, leading to a 215% increase in Facebook visits and a 132% increase in Instagram followers. With a small but targeted $10,000 media budget, the campaign became Milk-Bone’s most talkedabout social media campaign.

THE WIN > Fondation Émergence

“The 54-Second Watch” by Havas

Making the invisible visible

> THE WIN Scarborough Health Network “Love, Scarborough”

THE WINS Black Business and Professional Association, Toronto Metropolitan University’s Diversity Institute, Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity, Pride at Work Canada

“The Micropedia of Microaggressions” by Zulu Alpha Kilo Gold Best Digital Engagement; Bronze Design; Bronze Diversity; Bronze Idea

much-needed boost to the little-known brand. In addition to significant jumps in website traffic and social media followers, the Mayor of Toronto designated January 13th “Love, Scarborough Day.” Local businesses stepped up with their own fundraising efforts and an apparel partnership was born with a local company – with all proceeds going to SHN. The campaign helped SHN reach its goal of $100 million in donations within the year, including one million dollars on launch day. Scarborough definitely felt the love.

That same in-your-face approach was paramount in “The 54-Second Watch,” created by Havas for Fondation Émergence to raise awareness of how abuse, discrimination and intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community can lead to suicides and murder, cutting short the lives of its members.

The watch was a physical representation of the reduced life expectancy. It was created by Swiss watchmaking engineer Melanie Guillaume and was customized to eliminate six seconds from each minute – each second representing a colour of the Pride flag –resulting in a lost decade over a lifetime.

Every year there are more pressing issues, worthy causes and deserving charities vying for awareness and support. As the stakes continue to rise, so does the degree of boldness required to make a mark on the cause landscape. The AToMiC campaigns we highlight exemplify the ballsy, no-holds-barred approaches needed now.

Consider the plight of the Scarborough Health Network (SHN). Armed with the knowledge that Scarborough accounts for 25% of Toronto’s population yet receives less than 1% of hospital donations, SHN launched “Love, Scarborough,” its biggest fundraising push to date, to help address the glaring discrepancy. But rather than humbly beseeching Torontonians to help the cause, they came out swinging. The campaign centred around a film that asked: “When will we all be treated equally?” It demanded that viewers examine their motivations – and check their bias.

The distinctive “Scarborough Sans” font was created from the handwriting of various people connected to SHN, and a website featured their stories and allowed visitors to submit their own.

“The campaign has grit, boldness and an underdog mentality; it’s authentically Scarborough,” says Jennifer Lee, director of marketing and communications for the SHN Foundation. “We’ve heard positive feedback from the Scarborough community, who felt heard and seen for the first time.”

The campaign generated an influx of donations while also providing a

Each of the 10 watches made were distributed to public figures to wear on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. A digital version of the watch was also made available for the public. While billboards, transit displays and posters were distributed across Montreal and Toronto, the campaign also had global reach, with translations into over 20 languages and broadcast by organizations dedicated to the protection of LGBTQ+ people around the world.

Quebec’s premier, François Legault, wore the watch, and the province’s National Assembly adopted a motion to make May 17 official. Members of the public signed a petition asking the U.N. to do the same.

Zulu Alpha Kilo, meanwhile, tapped into the changing zeitgeist and more general social awareness of inequality to help a coalition of Canada’s largest DE&I organizations create “The Micropedia of Microaggressions.” The coalition included the Black Business and Professional Association, Toronto Metropolitan University's Diversity Institute, Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity, and Pride at Work Canada.

The resource is divided into nine categories of common slights and insults, with each entry providing examples, impact and tips for action – no matter if a person is a witness or is giving or receiving the microaggression. And like other wikis, users can submit their own entries.

With no paid promotion, the initiative attracted interest from more than 125 countries and garnered press attention with eight million earned impressions. And its impact will be long-lasting: corporations and organizations around the world – including the Government of Canada –have adopted the Micropedia as a DEI resource.

Whether through tech innovation or clever positioning, cause campaigns are creating quite a stir.

The new consumer champions

It’s one thing to slap your logo on a cause and call it a day. It’s another thing entirely to take on consumer concerns and embrace them as your own. But, just beyond that, is a new realm of ally-ship and advocacy; calling out other brands (or your own) for being part of the problem.

That’s what BMO did for “Rainbow Deposits,” a campaign created by FCB. The work tackled the issue of “rainbow-washing” – the accusation levelled at companies that the rainbow logo they display leading up to and during Pride Month is meaningless without taking concrete action to effect change.

Let’s just take a moment to consider how ballsy it is for an established brand – let alone a bank – to call out other businesses. (That’s something you’d expect from a challenger brand or a cause, not someone holding your mortgage.)

The campaign allowed people across Canadian and U.S. markets to take photos of rainbows and “deposit” the pictures on their phone in the same way they would a cheque (all using a custom-developed web app). Any rainbow could essentially be “hijacked” and deposited as a one-dollar donation to BMO’s selected partner, Rainbow Railroad, an international non-profit organization that helps bring 2SLGBTQ+ community members facing persecution to safety.

“The campaign strengthened commitment to this notion that if you can give people a way to act, they’re going to find it more engaging, be more willing to share it and be more willing to participate,” says Catherine Roche, chief marketing officer with BMO, who cites the same thinking behind its “Wrap the Good” holiday campaign. “It lets people give back in a material way to the cause rather than just generate an elevation of attention.”

The call out to 2SLGBTQ+ community members and allies to capture and deposit all the rainbows they came across spanned branches, online video and social media; was shared with drag queens and influencers; and showcased across BMO's sports sponsorship properties. The campaign raised over $50,000, with an additional top-up donation of $10,000 coming from professional soccer partner and MLSE franchise TFC.

For its part, Kraft Peanut Butter took an unexpected tack with its latest campaign. The brand won praise in the Cause & Action category for “Protection for Peanuts,” work by Rethink that saw the legacy brand contributing a solution to a problem it’s a part of: peanut allergies.

The campaign allowed consumers to be reimbursed for the cost of their expensive life-saving EpiPens by uploading their receipts to its dedicated website. Kraft also partnered with NHL player Alexis Lafrenière (who has a peanut allergy) to help spread awareness and encouraged other peanut-based brands to join its mission.

“Protection for Peanuts” achieved 125.2 million earned impressions, surpassing its target by 626%. The story was picked up by top national news outlets, and the campaign earned the gratitude of consumers and support from Food Allergy Canada, a non-profit organization. Ultimately, it fulfilled $75,000 in reimbursements.

And, speaking of dealing head-on with problems you helped create: In print, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit made a splash with its “Pay for Change” campaign, its bid to upend consumer perception of what it stood for, transforming “from a magazine just for him, into a platform for her.”

The title’s long-running swimsuit edition is both loved and criticized for its objectification of women. To prioritize the brand’s new purpose, Edelman redefined the criteria for selling ad space. Brands that planned to advertise or partner with SI Swimsuit had to first commit to making progress for women in the form of internal policy changes, external causes, existing initiatives or new commitments. The campaign included an anthem film, organic social media, media appearances with its editor-in-chief and an open letter encouraging brands to join the movement.

SI saw a 47% increase in brand partnerships. The launch generated 2.8 billion impressions and 10.4 million in earned social impressions. It also saw a 122% increase in positive social sentiment from women.

Can brands become real heroes and stand up to fight injustice? (Cape and tights entirely optional.)

How to harness starpower

Ever since the day a certain soft-drink manufacturer accidentally set Michael Jackson on fire, all-star collaborations have been a little fraught. Sometimes you capture the magic; sometimes not so much. Adding to that challenge, audiences are no longer swayed by celebrity endorsements alone – it takes a lot more than star power in ads. But for the brands that dare to completely re-imagine the collab formula comes great rewards: the ability to spark new demo fandom.

When OLG’s Lotto Max wanted to age down a demo, they knew they needed to try something completely different to command attention. With only 14% of its players under the age of 35, Lotto Max and partners FCB and MediaCom took note that younger consumers like to spend their money on fashion and worthy causes. And that was the genesis of the AToMiC Grand Prix-winning “Dream Drop,” a partnership with Toronto fashion line Mr. Saturday – the first clothing line in history that doubled as a wearable lottery ticket. Each item in the collab fashion drop featured a scannable barcode good for a year’s worth of lottery tickets, encouraging those who wore them to play for a chance to win $70 million.

“Our purpose is to contribute to a better Ontario by being a proud supporter of local arts and entertainment,” says Rochelle Menezes, OLG’s marketing communication manager. “It was a natural fit to

partner with a rising star in the Ontario fashion community, who also happens to create clothing that our players already love.”

The campaign rolled out social posts, OLV, bumpers, banners, influencers, PR and a partnership with Toronto Raptor Gary Trent Jr. (who modelled the clothing), and with Mr. Saturday spreading the word on its own channels. Consumers could also crack a code on a giant vault to win apparel or a $1,000 gift card. After selling out, a digital vault launched, giving people a final chance to score a hoodie. OLG also teased future Dream Drops, and donated all proceeds to Black HXOUSE, a charity supporting Black creators.

The results? Hoodies sold out in 11 minutes. Ninety percent of the collection sold within 24 hours, and 100% of it sold out within a week. OLG experienced a 200% lift in ticket sales in the first three weeks, and the campaign led to a 194% increase in account registrations, an indicator of the intent to make future purchases.

And the Ontario-based lottery wasn’t the only one reacting to a demo crunch. Despite being a national institution and a ritual for many Canadians, Tim Hortons suffered from the same reputation as Lotto Max – it was for older people.

So (as one does in such situations) it turned to Justin Bieber, one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, to capitalize on his personal fondness for Tim Hortons – something clearly evident on his

social media feed. The partners collabed to develop three new flavours of Timbits and turn them into limited edition “Timbiebs.”

“It was a magical moment when we realized there is this amazing entertainer who is Canadian and who loves our brand – there’s authenticity working with that as the starting point,” says Solange Bernard, senior director of marketing communications for Tim Hortons. “The fact that Justin was personally invested in every step of the way –from the name and product creation, to the campaign and merchandise – was the strength of the campaign.”

after Atwood shared it with her two million Twitter followers, yielding organic social reach of over 3.5 billion impressions, with an advertising equivalent of $35 million in earned media. Quite the best-seller.

Also on the cause front, YWCA Metro Vancouver recruited key sports figures to help start a cultural conversation about gender inequity in sport. The campaign, also by Rethink, questioned why men’s sports default to just “sports” while women’s sports are referenced as “women’s sports.” This led to the “Add the M” campaign concept, a redesign of the most iconic men's sports league logos by simply… adding an “M.”

The campaign was designed to give the sports world a highly visual

THE WINS Tim Hortons

“Timbiebs” by Gut Advertising Gold Collaboration; Gold Transmedia

THE WINS

Created by GUT, the fully-integrated English and French campaign launched across TV, OOH, radio, social, in-store and digital. It included a contest to win signed merch and tickets to one of Bieber’s concerts, along with a full takeover of Yonge and Dundas Square during launch week. The campaign also included lifestyle products: a limited-edition toque, fanny pack and tote bag.

Sales exceeded forecast and contributed to stronger than expected Q4 results. And, in an unexpected twist, the campaign inspired singer Michael Bublé and actress Shay Mitchell to jokingly publicly ask for their own partnerships. The campaign yielded over 2.1 billion earned impressions, became number three on Global trending Twitter and number one on Canada.

If those sorts of results were possible for two of Canada’s most iconic institutions, could they also be possible for the doyenne of drama? Yes. Yes, they could.

YWCA Metro Vancouver

“Add the M” by Rethink Gold Public Service Idea; Silver Public Service Social; Bronze Public Service Best Digital Engagement

THE WINS Penguin Random House

“The Unburnable Book” by Rethink Gold Design; Gold Idea; Gold Cause & Action; Silver IP; Silver ROI; Silver Global

When it set out to make a bold statement against censorship, Penguin Random House turned to iconic author Margaret Atwood and The Handmaid’s Tale, one of the most banned books of all time, to drive home its message.

The publisher and agency Rethink created a one-of-a-kind fireproof edition of The Handmaid’s Tale to serve as a physical metaphor: powerful ideas can’t be extinguished. “The Unburnable Book” expressed the urgency and importance of freedom of expression at a politically-fraught time, when book-banning in U.S. libraries and schools over themes of racism, gender and sexual orientation reached unprecedented levels.

The launch video featured the powerful image of Atwood using a flamethrower to test a prototype. A single copy of the book was produced to sell at auction, with the USD$130,000 proceeds going to PEN America, an organization dedicated to freedom of expression. Both the book and video launched on the same day: on social media in Canada and at the PEN America Literary Gala in New York. The video went viral

way to engage and champion the issue. Early support from figures who have been vocal about gender equity – including legendary soccer player Christine Sinclair and sports media personalities Blake Murphy, Jennifer Hedger, Tara Slone and Donovan Bennett – lent the campaign credibility and helped expand social media reach.

The effort was launched across YWCA social channels along with a series of videos, and included real-world sweaters and stickers, as well as free downloadable badges and digital “M” stickers that allowed people to hack logos on Instagram, all tied together with the hashtag #addtheM.

It made headlines in over 170 publications around the world, achieving a reach of over 102 million impressions. Without any paid media, it achieved an earned media value of over 46,000% above its investment and it inspired people around the world to “add the M” to other league logos, as the Women’s Football Fan Collective did to the English Premier League.

We really hate to bring up the pandemic (again) but the fact of the matter is, it inspired a lot of employees’ get-up-and-go to get up and leave. At the time, it was enough to navigate how the way we worked was changing, and decidedly, being a force for change in a chosen industry felt like a very tall order. But as we emerge and embrace the changes this global shift handed us, we begin to again watch leaders rise up in the form of budding talent. This year’s New Establishment made us do a double-take. These junior- to mid-level staff lead thought-provoking creative in their workplaces, but their strategies for success don’t end there. These change-makers identified issues and altered the system from the inside out, with momentum, tenacity and fearlessness aplenty. Each is on an unrelenting mission to make their industry a better place.

NEWESTABLISHMENT MEDIA• BRAND •AGENC Y 2

For Sydney Kirkland, the recipe for effecting change can be found where marketing meets purpose. Initially drawn to the creative industry based on her knack for storytelling that had a direct conversion to meaningful change, Kirkland entered media as a way to make an impact. “The magic is in the connection points between the audience and the story – whether through social channels, activation, a movie, or even a 1:1 conversation – influence happens because how we delivered the information resonated with people,” she says.

After she joined Havas Media, Kirkland realized the doubleedged sword that is taking on new business – at once, new business drives creativity, camaraderie and growth, but it can also take a toll on burnout levels and team morale. “I had one goal taking on this role at Havas Media: to make new business fun,” says Kirkland. “While goals are good for setting direction, systems are best for making progress.”

So she set out to create those systems. From pipeline management to productizing Havas Media’s offerings, she crafted a framework from where the team could begin, such as collaboration with operations and strategy departments, creating product decks that highlight core offerings and innovations, and harnessing a strong voice and presence in the

market. “This way, we can immediately start doing the fun part: digging into the client and their business problem, then understanding how Havas Media can unlock media as a direct driver of business growth,” she says. “Because this framework is in place, it encourages our team to think creatively and start collaborating outside their discipline.”

And the results have been encouraging. Havas Media was invited to 40% of the top pitches in H1, up from 12% at the same time last year, with wins such as Red Bull, AstraZeneca and Wolverine. Even more encouraging, more people are raising their hands to get involved with the initiative.

For Kirkland, sustainability is a core value. She defines it as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” This mission statement drives purpose for her both personally and professionally.

She’s identified two ways that the industry can be a contributor to climate change: through greenwashing and spreading dis or misinformation, and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions through online and offline campaigns. Kirkland believes that, with the right steps, the industry can be a powerhouse for change.

To take those steps, last year, Kirkland focused on advocating for change. She was appointed Havas Media’s Canada Media Directors Council Youth Ambassador, a program that was designed to inspire the next generation to advance its thinking, where she and Shannon Lewis, CMDC president, created the Sustainability Champion of the Year Award. It recognizes individuals who positively impact social and environmental factors through their media practice. Additionally, Havas Media launched a Social Impact Marketplace that enables clients to invest in ethical and responsible advertising to reach audiences that are interested in improving their carbon footprints. “This past year, we established a baseline carbon footprint for a client in the CPG category by analyzing their historical campaign activity through our carbon measurement partner. We were able to reduce CO2 emissions by 36% per impression, leveraging our bespoke marketplace of publishers and vendors that align to our sustainability criteria,” she says.

Kirkland’s sustainability goals drive her plans this year as she forges on, championing change within Havas Media and its clients through the CMDC YA program. “Our industry is poised for change – clients, employees and communities are demanding change, and we can be the ones to lead it. The potential impact our industry can have energizes me.”

Sydney Kirkland puts new business and sustainability at the top of her priorities

When Emma Ruthnum found herself on the set of a television commercial shortly after graduating from her journalism program, she knew she was destined for a different path. “The energy and creativity were what I had been seeking,” she says of the world of production. Armed with determination, soon she was working on big-budget campaigns with world-class agency teams and directors.

In 2021, she accepted an agency position and learned the ropes as an agency producer under the talents of a strong head of production. A year later, she joined Rethink, struck by its team of supportive leaders.

“I’m proud of the high-stakes projects I’ve navigated,” she says of her work last year, noting a particularly challenging long cross-Canada shoot that hurtled endless obstacles her way. But through collaboration, the team pulled it off.

“Like any producer, I thrive on challenge,” says Ruthnum. Those challenges aren’t limited to set time, and Ruthnum faces them head-on. When she started at Rethink, she saw the opportunity for the direct impact an agency can have on the production industry – and how that affects IBPOC individuals.

“Some of the initiatives out there put extra pressure on our already stretched vendors to find and hire IBPOC individuals,” she says. “While this should be top of mind for us all, we wanted to hold ourselves accountable for this hiring by starting a program where we could leverage our large North American network to both call for submissions, and place interested candidates in a variety of roles.”

To drive change, along with the DE&I committee, Ruthnum created the IBPOC internship, an initiative that includes ongoing calls for IBPOC applicants, helping to place candidates in short-term placements and longer, more traditional internships with Rethink’s post and editorial teams.

“The commercial production industry is very small and extremely fast paced. It’s comfortable to hire who you know again and again,” she says. “If we can open a door for underrepresented folks, we can provide networking opportunities through paid internships. The hope is for people to be hired again, and that we’re eventually all going to be working in (and benefiting from) a more diverse and inclusive film and advertising industry.”

While still in its infancy, the IBPOC internship has been receiving support from clients and networks across Canada. “We hope to continue to connect with organizations across North America to see how we can combine our efforts to hire as many underrepresented people as possible,” says Ruthnum.

Ruthnum is also working on a director bid initiative to drive change when it comes to hiring top tier IBPOC and underrepresented directors – of which the industry is plentiful, she says. “As producers, we can make a point to put as many reels in front of our creative teams as possible and we can also push our vendors to submit directors from underrepresented groups,” she says.

Ruthnum wants to continue activating change the best way she knows how – through connection, support and creativity. “I want to do everything I can to create meaningful experiences for people,” she says. “And being at an independent agency, we have the power to create change quickly.”

Emma Ruthnum believes diverse environments are built from the ground up

Fatma Othman brings something she knows well to McDonald’s social media accounts: herself. “We’re unserious, silly and willing to make a spelling error because that’s just how I personally type, too,” she says, noting that Canadians know they can visit the brand’s page for a laugh. “There’s a trend on social over the last few years to humanize corporate accounts and show up on the platform as a user instead of a brand. It’s made a job in social much more fun and challenging to figure out the right balance.”

But Othman makes the balance look effortless, and it’s not just consumers who are taking notice (although, the community commented “best social media manager ever” on a recent post, and Othman won’t pretend she doesn’t appreciate the compliment). In 2022, McDonald’s was recognized in Mintel’s “Marketing to Gen Z in Canada” report on the relatability of its brand voice on social media – Othman credits a collaborative effort in cultivating that relationship with its audience.

“There is a culture of trust at McDonald’s and with my social team at Cossette. How we talk to our community

and show up for them, to me, is the crux of what makes our social strategy great,” she says.

For Othman, the aspects of a career in communications came naturally. “I’ve always had an affinity for all things culture, entertainment, storytelling and community –and trying the newest in the internet,” she says. After an internship led her to Weber Shandwick in 2016, she became immersed in the integrated media team and worked across many different projects, flexing her skills in media relations strategies, crisis and influencing.

McDonald’s was a consistent client for her during that time, and in 2020, she joined the brand permanently. Recently, she moved into the Brand portfolio and works across 360-degree campaigns and initiatives in the food and brand category, as well as overall impact work.

But the impact Othman has had on the brand reaches far beyond its bottom line. “I joined McDonald’s at a time where brands and employers were being called upon to be more intentional and assertive with what they stand for,” she says. In response, Othman became the communications co-lead for the BIPOC Employee Business Network. “As a person of many identities – Muslim, immigrant and Arab woman, there’s so much of my experience and where I am in my career that empowers me to keep pushing for change,” she says.

From hosting information sessions to co-leading book club talks, Othman creates spaces that may feel initially uncomfortable, but inspire examination that can impact attendees’ lives. “The community that the BIPOC Network has built has allowed for staff who identify as BIPOC or as an ally to have a safe space to talk, ask questions and be present for one another,” she says.

For her work, Othman was recognized with the Shining Light award for inclusion – a global accolade awarded to 250 people across McDonald’s – as well as its Leadership award, a title given to 25 Canadian staff each year. She knows the power her day-to-day choices can have on the industry too. “When we cast talent or decide what content creator to work with, ensuring adequate representation from across communities is important to me.”

Othman’s captivation with challenges keeps her striving for more, whether that’s building consistent TikTok engagement or campaign strategies. But passing this knowledge onto incoming talent is the real driving force behind her plans. “I’m planning to be more active in the mentoring space so I can be present for those in the industry who are just starting up,” she says.

Fatma Othman leads with authenticity while taking a stand on inclusion

The content and media landscapes have never been more complex. It’s an idea that was true last year, became true-er in 2023, and will take on new layers of truth before the year is out. How can marketers keep up? In The New Collaborators, we look at the shops, content studios and tech partners that are helping clients win the content game today.

Harnessing tech to drive performance

TORONTO-BASED SALT XC IS PART FULL-SERVICE agency and part tech company, ready to create bespoke solutions that help clients achieve their objectives through a combination of media, creator, content, experiential, sponsorship or shopper solutions. But while it attends to the full funnel, Salt is hyper-focused on performance.

The Salt mantra is: “Experiential Commerce.” It looks for ways to use first-party data, digital media and memorable moments that drive valuable transactions for brands. And, that message is resonating.

With offices in Toronto, Montreal, Chicago and L.A., Salt has doubled in size in each of the past two years. It now has over 200 employees, with revenue climbing to about 150% year over year.

Salt president Jeff Rogers partly attributes that growth to the world reopening. Clients are coming out of the pandemic with big ambitions, and Salt believes it is perfectly positioned to help bring those to life. After only three years in business, Salt has focused on building out capabilities across the entire marketing/sales spectrum. In the last year, it bought pop-up retail company Brika, and joined forces with former Studio 71 EVP of Canada Jordan Bortolotti to launch media services and technology company Nectar First. Nectar builds in-house solutions that empower partners to take control of their digital media, social buying and first-party data strategies. Salt also added Outpoint to the family with its automated media mix modeling platform that empowers brands to grow revenue and reduce wasted spend.

New Canadian clients include Kraft Heinz’ shopper business, Bell, The Bay, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Hershey, Airbnb, Bumble, and Ancestry. In the US, Salt added Kraft Heinz, Xbox, Anheuser-Busch, and Sonos. It also significantly grew its roster of creator/influencer and media clients.

The agency has continued to mature its internal offerings, including production talent collective Media Mob, and smart social-boosting tool Frontrunner, both of which Rogers highlights as important for brands heading into tougher

Helping brands earn more attention – and deliver results – guides Salt XC’s expanding capabilities

economic times. He notes that marketers using Media Mob can produce content 30% to 40% cheaper than the market average.

“You have to be more efficient with the dollars you have in a world of shrinking budgets,” he explains. Recognizing that need, Salt looks to push harder into the US in coming months, as the Canadian-based team can bring cost savings to advertisers down south.

And the agency will soon be busy in the US with Bud Light, having been brought on for strategy, creative and experiential –encompassing headline events including the Super Bowl and music festivals Governor’s Ball and Coachella.

But plenty of the agency’s recent projects have earned significant buzz and attention at home, too.

Budweiser Zero signed retired footballer Sebastian Giovinco for #ForzaCanada, a campaign designed by Salt to get local football fans to support team Canada during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In a social media post, Giovinco and CF Montréal right-back Alistair Johnston introduced the Budweiser “Team Zero” roster and encouraged fans to attend an event in Toronto’s Little Italy. The effort drove brand relevancy while gaining 42 million PR impressions and 9.3 million social impressions.

For the Royal Canadian Legion, the agency pitched and produced Poppy Stories, which allowed Canadians to scan Remembrance Day poppies with their phone to get the story of a fallen soldier. The campaign earned roughly $10 million in free media (including about 20 million PR media impressions), and resulted in over 34,000 poppy scans in just the first two weeks.

Salt has also recently been tasked with launching the PointsBet gambling brand in Canada, managing strategy, creative design, media buying, social, experiential and web.

Rogers says the growth comes from the agency living up to its purpose: “Earn the world’s attention.”

“It comes down to the fact we want to help brands sell more,” he says. “That’s Salt at its core. We have a strong bias towards lowerfunnel performance-based solutions that drive action. And we’ll continue to add and build new service capabilities that solve our client’s pain points.”

BELOW: Budweiser Zero recruited footballer Sebastian Giovinco to inspire Canadians via social media to rally behind the 2022 FIFA World Cup men’s national team, celebrating Canada’s first World Cup appearance in 36 years. Salt XC led strategy, creative, the connections plan and overall execution.

ABOVE: To launch Coca-Cola with Coffee, Salt XC created a multi-sensory activation to recharge consumers by immersing them in a consumption experience combining the ice-cold beverage with customized audio, scent diffusers, and synched chromotherapy lighting and visuals.

LEFT: Salt XC helped lead creative, strategy and production oversight of the annual Xbox FanFest in Canada and the US, assembling content creators, media and FanFest members to once again experience the Xbox world via on-stage programming and immersive environments.

Uniting creative and media to learn which ads work

effectiveness

EVERY CREATIVE CAMPAIGN INVOLVES AN ELEMENT of guesswork. Market research, past campaign performance and a marketer’s experience can only take a brand so far. Eventually, a lot of resources must be poured into a single big idea that is typically built on assumptions – with no guarantee of success.

Automated Creative (AC), a creative services consultancy founded in the UK, hopes to put an end to that guesswork. By leveraging automation and machine learning, AC can create hundreds of iterations of a digital ad, then test them to improve campaign results and media efficiency, while giving clients insight into why certain ad concepts work better than others.

“Many agencies will tell you which things work,” says Dan Moseley, AC’s managing director for North America. “What we’re trying to do is tell you why.”

After servicing North American clients from the UK for the last few years, AC made its official foray into North America in February. Its two full-time staff in Toronto mentor clients on its in-house Creator tool and lean on the global team in London as well as freelancers across Canada and the U.S. for large or multi-market campaigns.

Creator brings ad testing and creation into one platform. After AC’s designers establish a dynamic creative template to test – a unit containing rules around branding, images and copy – the platform can quickly build hundreds of variations of an ad concept in any size for any platform. Once the ads are deployed, Creator measures their performance to identify the ones that resonate most, and enables the client to incorporate what’s learned from that process into the next phase or “sprint” of a campaign.

AC strategically tags each iteration of an ad and measures its in-market performance using machine learning to gather insights at scale, Moseley explains. So, if one hundred variations of an ad are created using different colours, backgrounds, images and copy lines, Creator can measure the performance of each iteration and return insights on details such as the kinds of designs and tones of voice that deliver the best results.

The findings are fed into the next phase of testing and optimization. “We don't just set and forget campaigns,” Moseley says. “We constantly act and iterate on our data.”

That ongoing process helps eliminate the speculation of campaign development and sometimes destroys long-held category assumptions.

For instance, working with AC, Diageo’s Talisker Whisky tested ads based on the occasions most closely associated with the category, such as birthdays and life milestones. But during a creative

and why

How Automated Creative combines AI and machine learning to boost campaign

BELOW: AC’s Creator tool identified an opportunity for Talisker Whisky to break category norms with messages saying “sorry” – specifically that apologies go down easier when sharing a bottle.

sprint, it noticed consumers responded more frequently to content that says “sorry.” Performance was driven by ads that suggested apologies go down easy when sharing a bottle of Talisker, opening a new avenue of creative messaging for the brand.

Similarly, work with Durex unveiled that messages of empathy and consent drove the greatest performance with a Gen Z audience in APAC markets. Creative that reflected the emotional considerations of sex drove four times more leads than expected and reduced lead cost by 286%.

And with Nivea skincare, the use of real people in ads outperformed studio-edited imagery with models every time, resulting in a fourfold improvement on add to basket and a drop of 60% in the cost per quality visit to the brand’s site.

“We can move brands from knowing which ads work to knowing why those ads work,” says Moseley. It’s important for brands to have access to these insights in a country where demographics are constantly evolving and diversifying, he adds.

Clients can license Creator to run and optimize their own campaigns. But Moseley – whose resume includes stints at We Are Social, Leo Burnett and Publicis – believes his shop’s potential is best achieved when its tech is combined with the expertise of its staff, most of whom have creative agency backgrounds.

“We have a guided service where we add a strategic layer into everything and build the test with the client,” he says. “We help to educate them around dynamic technology and digital marketing more broadly, and act as brand consultants that help bring the media and creative disciplines together.”

A member of the AC team can sit with clients and work out assumptions about their product or brand that can be looked at through an unbiased, data-driven lens, he says. “The sooner we’re involved, the sooner we can drive better performance and deliver improved creative.”

Content collabs powered by top media platforms and talent

Why the timing is right for Bell Media Brand Partnerships’ integrated social opps

LEFT: MuchMusic

VJs Georgia Kolev and Teddy Tong are wearing Roots Much Love t-shirts. The collection was created for Roots in fall 2021. The limited release features customdesigned artwork by MuchMusic VJs Sadé Powell and

where people would watch games and live-tweet about them, but the pandemic helped it explode across all social platforms.” It’s also helpful that Bell Media has access to Bell Mobility’s first-party data, so it can target socialmedia-first branded content executions at the most engaged users.

A great example is the recent partnership between TSN and Coca-Cola for the FIFA World Cup. Rotstein says, “For every team Canada game, talent would broadcast their commentary in real time on YouTube. So you could watch the game on TSN, and then stream the commentary from our network of [social media] channels centered on a younger demographic.” The commentary included talent from both Bell Media youth-centered brands BarDown and MuchMusic. The segments were shot in a Coca-Cola-branded space, giving the brand up to three hours of exposure.

To pull off a campaign like this, Bell Media puts together a media plan encompassing everything from broadcast media to digital placement on all its dot-coms, as well as out-of-home and radio.

WHY TRY TO CAPTURE ATTENTION FROM THE SIDELINES when you can be in the game?

From linear TV to SVOD and AVOD, digital, social, radio and out-of-home, there are few players that can bring a portfolio to the table like Bell Media Brand Partnerships which is why brands such as Coca-Cola, Roots, and RBC are working directly with the content studio to create and deliver 360° integrated campaigns across influential media assets including TSN, the Gen Z- and millennialfocused BarDown platform, BNN Bloomberg, and MuchMusic.

Amanda Rotstein, Bell Media’s head of social strategy, brand partnerships, explains how the division began. “Our mandate is to offer clients innovation and integration in the social media space,” she says. “We always thought of our brands as being influencers themselves, so we thought about how we could leverage that for our clients and partners.”

Bell Media staffed up just before the pandemic, which turned out to be excellent timing. “We saw a huge rise in people sitting with their phones and consuming social media from our channels alongside watching our content,” Rotstein says. “The behaviour had been there in sports,

For business brands such as banks, BNN Bloomberg collaborates on “nested content” executions. The Bell Media team writes the co-branded content and builds a microsite that will live within the BNN Bloomberg website, supported by a social media amplification campaign.

To grow its Gen Z and millennial audience, Bell Media has been leveraging MuchMusic and BarDown as well as partnerships with TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. Reach is significant, as MuchMusic has 2.7 million TikTok followers, eclipsing the likes of BuzzFeed, Wired and Rolling Stone

While the MuchMusic TV channel rebranded as simply Much in 2013, the MuchMusic brand was revived in 2021 in partnership with TikTok. Early clients have included the RBCxMusic platform created to promote young artists and musicians, and Roots Canada, with which Bell Media partnered to create a custom clothing line co-branded with MuchMusic and Roots. The collection sold out in one day.

The Roots example speaks to Bell Media’s unique platform capabilities: optimization and results. “In social media amplification, we work with the client to come up with the KPIs and the key target demo, and then we build the audience,” Rotstein says. “As we’re going along we might see that one audience, piece of content or platform is performing better than the others. So we’ll shift efforts and money throughout the entire campaign.”

Metrics matter, Rotstein says, “But we don’t get out of bed just to see how many impressions we made. We dig into creative and what pieces of creative performed best. We want clients to have actionable insights into their key demo.”

A great example is RBC Training Ground, a program that incubates athletes into Olympians. Bell Media works with RBC to create content with the mandate to get as many kids signed up as possible. Bell Media learned there’s success targeting parents, so it adjusted content to encourage parents to help their kids join.

"Vanity metrics are generally how branded social media campaigns are benchmarked," says Rotstein. "But with Bell First Party Data and a mix of our brands, our content, and client brand-sell, we can offer attribution and conversion more clearly."

Is the marketing industry asking AI the right questions?

AI, it’s complicated.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should... is perhaps one of the greatest lessons of the last 20 years when it comes to technology advancement.

Digital technology has provided connectivity, democratized access and created new opportunities that have literally changed the world. But, for all the wonderful things tech enabled, we’ve learned many lessons – including that nothing in life is free and few things come without consequence.

Now the buzz is all about Artificial Intelligence. AI is not inherently ethical or unethical. It’s the way in which it’s used that determines its ethical value.

And it’s complicated.

AI combines computer science and data sets to enable problem-solving, using algorithms to predict behaviour based on provided information. It’s been around for decades but, in late 2022, OpenAI’s public beta launch of ChatGPT (a generative AI application), sparked a lot of activity and controversy.

The initial question for AI was “Can machines think?” (Thank you, Alan Turing.) Today we’re asking: “Can machines create?” And, if so, what are the implications?

The advent of AI, and generative AI specifically, brings a host of opportunities and challenges. It enables computers to create new content from the elements of previously created content, such as text,

audio, video images and code. Generative AI (GAI) uses machine learning to create new forms of augmented and synthetic media and has the potential to revolutionize industries and society.

But, as we navigate these new territories, there are more questions than answers: How will our industry judge or value human creation vs. machine creativity? Who will be responsible for setting ethical boundaries? How will public policy govern the use and development of AI?

Today, there are both practical and

been banned in certain school districts, its application is being sued for copyright infringement, and its outputs are being hotly debated.

As we navigate these uncharted waters, it’s crucial to establish what is responsible use of AI. Industry, government and academia must come together to shape public policy around AI. The ethical implications must be considered, as experts question how far AI should be allowed to go and how to distinguish between human and machine-generated creations.

The genie is out of the bottle and there’s no turning back. It’s essential that companies evaluate the risks, impacts and side effects that new technologies may have on their business and stakeholders. Our ability to create things is one of our strongest traits, but thanks to generative AI, almost every field that once required humans to create original content is being reinvented, whether it be social media, gaming, advertising or beyond.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai referred to AI as the most important thing humanity

There are more questions than answers: How will our industry judge or value human creation vs. machine creativity? Who will be responsible for setting ethical boundaries?

experimental uses for GAI. GPT Boss can create a virtual workforce. Platforms like Cala are using AI to create original clothing designs. The revenue generated by AI software is expected to exceed $120 billion by 2025. This is big business.

As we enter this new era, it’s important to consider the potential consequences of these developments. The safety, privacy and freedom of expression of individuals are at risk, and these concerns will only be intensified with the evolution of AI. The use of generative AI raises questions about the disruption of labor markets, the legitimacy of data sources, ownership of intellectual property rights and copyright, plagiarism and the potential for bias and misinformation. Recently, ChatGPT has

has ever worked on, a “game changer” more profound than electricity or fire. The progress of AI and GAI is moving fast, and quantum computing will be the next wave. It’s important we focus on wide-spread learning testing and experimentation, while also engaging in open and meaningful debate and policy making.

The future of AI is uncertain, but it’s here to stay. The marketing industry should embrace its potential, but also critically evaluate the ethical implications of AI usage. We should question if AI is solving more problems than it’s creating. Only time will reveal that answer.

(This article was edited by my personal AI intern.)

2. Nice. Can you give us a new AI buzzword we can use to impress clients?

Neural-Niche Advertising.

1. Hi! Could you write us a fun social caption to help promote this interview?

Interview ChatGPT An with

6. Wanna sing us out with a catchy radio jingle for old times sake?

(Upbeat, retro-sounding music begins to play)

Verse 1:

Back in the day, when machines were slow

We never dreamed we’d have AI on the go

But now it’s here, and it’s here to stay Bringing the future to us today

Chorus: It’s AI, it’s AI

Making our lives so bright It’s AI, it’s AI Making everything just right

Verse 2:

From chatbots to self-driving cars

AI is taking us to the stars

Making things easier, faster, and more fun

AI is the future, it’s second to none

Chorus Repeats Outro:

So let’s embrace the power of AI

And see what the future holds

It’s a new world, a new day And AI is in control.

(Upbeat music fades out)

After finally getting our turn to access it, we sat down for an exclusive interview with the most polarizing and most talked about personality in the advertising world today.

3. Ooh, good one. How do you cope with burnout?

As an AI language model, I don’t have personal experiences or feelings, so the concept of burnout doesn’t apply to me. I am a machine that processes text-based input and generates text-based output.

5. Please tell us everything is going to be okay.

It’s difficult to make a definitive statement about the future, as it is uncertain and constantly changing. However, it’s important to remember that throughout history, technological advancements have led to new opportunities and improvements.

While there may be challenges and adjustments as AI becomes more prevalent, it’s also possible that it will lead to greater efficiency, productivity, and even the creation of new jobs.

4. How will AI help disrupt the ad industry?

One potential disruption is through the use of AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants, which can interact with customers and gather data on their preferences and behaviour.

This data can then be used to tailor advertising campaigns to specific segments of the population. Another potential disruption is the use of AI to automate the creation of ads. AI-powered tools can analyze data on consumer behaviour and use that information to generate ad copy, design, and targeting. This could lead to a more efficient and cost-effective ad creation process.