CMA Connect

Canadian Marketing Association
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Welcome to CMA Connect - the voice of the Canadian marketing community. Join us for empowering discussions with industry leaders about the rapidly changing world of marketing.

  1. 6d ago

    EP70 - Follow Your Compass with Sandra Sanderson

    How do you build a career that spans CPG giants, Crown corporations, fashion retail and one of Canada's largest grocery empires? In this episode, host and former CMA President and CEO Alison Simpson sits down with Sandra Sanderson, CMO of Empire Company Limited and 2025 CMA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Sandra unpacks the career pivots, leadership lessons and the principle she calls confident humility that have defined one of Canadian marketing's most remarkable careers. 00:00:00.920 — 00:00:19.680 · Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, newly-retired CMA CEO, Alison Simpson.  00:00:24.200 — 00:02:58.890 · Alison A successful career in marketing requires embracing change, agility and reinvention. However, the most successful marketers go beyond this and really recognize emerging patterns, often before others even see them coming. My guest today is a terrific example. Sandra Sanderson has built her career on a deep understanding of consumers, very strong business acumen, strategic thinking and perhaps most importantly, the courage to act quickly and take measured risks. As the very deserving 2025 recipient of the Canadian Marketing Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, Sandra's career really demonstrates how marketing can transform organizations, and how measured risks can really open up amazing new career opportunities.  Early in her career, Sandra recognized the power that was shifting from CPG to retail and made quite an unconventional pivot to Canada Post, using it as a strategic investment to learn retail fundamentals through their retail network of 6000 post offices and B2B partnerships with major retailers. This is just one great example of many that led to tremendous success for the brands that Sandra has led. From starting her career with Procter and Gamble to transformational leadership roles at Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart Canada, White House Black Market, which is a leading U.S. fashion retailer, and now the Empire Company Limited, Sandra has consistently led marketing that creates competitive advantage and delivers significant business results. Sandra joined Empire in November of 2018 as their Senior Vice President of marketing, and was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer in July of 2023. Empire is the second largest grocery retailer in Canada, with brands like Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Thrifty Foods, Foodland and Fresh Co. In her time with Empire, Sandra has orchestrated complex transformations, including relaunching their long-standing approach to loyalty. She received the CMA's Marketer of the Year award in 2020. She has been recognized as Strategy's Marketer of the year twice, and most recently, Sandra was honoured with the Retail Council of Canada's Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Sandra has also been great about giving back to our profession. She served on the CMA Board for four years, including as Vice Chair, and Sandra currently serves as a Board Director for Special Olympics Canada and Scene Plus. Perhaps most remarkably, despite an enviable career track record of success, Sandra really does embody confident humility, leading change and reinvention across diverse industries while nurturing and building many future CMOs and a well-deserved legion of fans. Welcome, Sandra, I am really looking forward to our conversation today. 00:02:58.970 — 00:03:03.690 · Sandra Thank you so much, Alison. It's great to be here with you on CMA connect. 00:03:03.930 — 00:03:28.210 · Alison Sandra, congratulations again on your CMA Lifetime Achievement Award. And you knew very early in life that marketing was a career for you. In fact, you wrote about the ambition in your high school yearbook. That's pretty rare in our profession. So to say that you achieved your goal is definitely an understatement, as your many amazing contributions and awards really demonstrate. But what was it that attracted you at such a young age to marketing? 00:03:28.250 — 00:04:24.140 · Sandra Well, thinking back to high school, it's a bit surreal to think that early ambition has turned into a decades-long career journey. What drew me to marketing was a unique intersection of art and science. I was intrigued by the idea of using data to decode human behaviour and using creativity to build emotional connections, and that curiosity led me to business school. Once I started taking marketing courses at Ivey, there was no turning back. I knew that's what I wanted to pursue, and after graduating, I was fortunate enough to land a role at Procter and Gamble. I started out as at brand assistant on Ivory, along with 26 other new graduates. P&G was a very big on-campus recruiter that year, and it was great to be able to work on such an iconic brand right out of the gate. Looking back, that high school ambition really did set the stage for everything that followed. 00:04:24.220 — 00:04:34.660 · Alison Now, you have recently announced your retirement for the summer, so you've definitely been in marketing for a few decades. What has kept you so engaged in our profession throughout your career? 00:04:34.900 — 00:06:12.740 · Sandra I think what has kept me engaged for so many years is that marketing as a profession keeps evolving. It's in a constant state of reinvention, which has given me a never ending stream of challenges and opportunities to learn and grow. I've always been drawn to business transformations, but the most significant one by far has been my journey with Empire. My role today has fundamentally changed from what it was when I first joined the company, which was in 2018. I was actually working in the U.S. when I got a call about Empire, and at the time the company was in deep crisis. The Safeway acquisition had not gone as planned. The company had lost $4 billion in market cap, and investor confidence was at an all time low. Michael Medline had been hired the previous year as President and CEO, coming from Canadian Tire to lead this massive transformation of the business. And so I was intrigued. I flew to Toronto to have lunch with Michael, and at that lunch he was very transparent. He shared with me all the challenges on the business and the changes that would be required in marketing to achieve his vision, and he didn't sugarcoat a thing. And so at the end of the meal, I remember he looked at me and he said, you're either going to be very energized by a challenge this big, or you're going to walk away and we won't see each other again. Well, Alison, I didn't walk away. I was all in because it was clear that marketing would have an instrumental role to play in the transformation, and I was genuinely excited. 00:06:13.300 — 00:06:34.300 · Alison I love Michael's candour with you in the interview process. He clearly understood how important it was for the CMO, choosing to step into the role to really understand the unvarnished reality. His partner needed to be energized by the rare career opportunity to help lead a massive transformation. And you clearly were. So I'd love you to share some highlights of the transformation and what's kept you engaged. 00:06:34.620 — 00:09:04.230 · Sandra Looking back, what has kept me so deeply engaged is the sheer scale of the marketing transformation within a broader business transformation. We moved from having separate Quebec and English Canada marketing teams started to a unified national organization. That gave us the scale we needed to stand up a Centre of excellence in marketing, technology and digital, which modernized our entire marketing engine. A big turning point was the transformation of our loyalty program. For over 20 years we had been part of a coalition program, so the stakes were really high when we decided to pivot, and I had the privilege of serving as the executive lead on the loyalty transformation. We made a bold decision to become the co-owners of Scene Plus, together with two other iconic Canadian companies, Scotiabank and Cineplex. And today, we scale that program from 10 million to over 15 million members. And the level of personalization we can offer today is just light years ahead of where we were. And, you know, the Scene First party data also became the bedrock for another venture, which was Empire Media Plus, our new retail media business. It's an example of how transforming one part of the business creates the fuel for the next. And it was super exciting to have the opportunity to launch a new media start-up within a $32 billion grocery retailer. It's a completely different business model, and honestly, I have learned so much over the past year, which has been energizing. We also launched an in-house agency called Atelier, and having that creative engine embedded directly in our business and our culture allows us to move at the speed of the market.  In retail today, as you know, there's simply no room to stand still. And lastly, within all of these changes, there's one that's particularly rewarding for me personally, and that's the reinvention of our community investment strategy. We shifted from having over 200 fragmented partnerships where our impact was diffused to one focused national strategy, where we could truly make an impact. And since making that pivot, we've been able to raise and donate more than $130 million for our communities. It's a powerful reminder that at the end of the day, we're not just selling groceries. We're serving a greater purpose. And because of all of these opportunities to learn and grow, it's not at all difficult to remain engaged, and energized every single day. 00:09:04.350 — 00:10:00.080 · Alison That is a very impressive transformation. And you've accomplished an incredible amount in seven and

    39 min

  2. May 26

    EP69: Stop Thinking Small with Meghan Nameth

    Marketing isn't a cost centre – it's your greatest growth engine. Drawing on three decades at brands including P&G, Mars, TD Bank, Hudson's Bay and Loblaw, CMA Board Chair and President and Owner of Pattern and Path Consulting, Meghan Nameth joins CMA President and CEO Alison Simpson to make the case. Discover how to tie marketing directly to business outcomes, why most teams have the 80/20 planning rule backwards and the mindset shift Canadian marketers need to compete on a global stage. CMAConnect-Ep69-MeghanNameth_FINAL.txt English (UK) 00:00:01.720 — 00:00:20.280 · Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO, Alison Simpson. 00:00:23.640 — 00:03:03.100 · Alison In a world where marketing can be wrongly treated as a cost centre instead of a growth engine, transforming that perception requires more than great marketing. It absolutely demands strong business acumen, strategic vision, a deep understanding of consumers and the evolving market realities, and really knowing how to speak the language of business. For today's episode, I'm absolutely delighted to welcome Meghan Nameth, the newly appointed Chair of the Canadian Marketing Association's Board of Directors and President and Owner of Pattern and Path Consulting. Over three decades, Meghan has built a diverse and very impressive marketing career, working in both Canada and the U.S. She started at Procter and Gamble, where she learned brand building fundamentals that have served her well throughout her career. After spending almost 11 years with P&G in progressively senior roles in Canada and at their U.S. head office, Meghan moved to Mars. She then expanded beyond CPG with roles in financial services as VP Marketing at TD Bank and Managing Director at PWC Canada. She was also CMO at Hudson's Bay and the SVP of Marketing at Loblaw. This diverse industry experience further strengthened her marketing and business acumen. Meghan's work has been very well recognized at the Cannes Lion Cassie's, of course, the CMA awards, Cleos, Effies and the Media Innovation Awards. In May 2025, she was appointed Vice Chair of the CMA board, where she led the search for a new President and CEO following my announcement of my retirement, a responsibility that speaks to the trust and respect she commands in the marketing community. Meghan has now stepped into Board Chair role, and I'm really excited to see how she builds on the CMA's strong momentum during her two year term. What makes Meghan's perspective particularly valuable is her conviction that Canadian marketers have untapped potential. We both share a belief that marketers must think bigger, drive more innovation, and really position themselves not as service providers seeking approval, but as strategic partners co-creating growth. Throughout her career, the CMA has been an anchor, providing the network's learning resources and advocacy platform that have really enabled her to elevate marketing's role in every organization she served. Welcome, Meghan, it is an absolute pleasure to have you on CMA connect, and I'm really looking forward to your conversation today and celebrating your appointment as Board Chair.  02:41 - Meghan Thank you. I'm thrilled to be here. I'm happy to talk about marketing anytime actually.  Alison So our third annual CMA Marketing Week wrapped a bit earlier this month. And I know that you, along with thousands of marketers across the country, took full advantage and really engaged with a number of our events, thought leadership sessions as well as the training sessions. So I'd love to start by having you share your three big takeaways from this year's CMA Marketing Week. 00:03:03.100 — 00:05:59.800 · Meghan It was an amazing week. I feel that these events are in some ways a bit of a reunion. I get to see so many people that I haven't connected with in so long and catch up and learn. And so it's really an amazing opportunity for networking and reconnection. And I think that's probably one of my biggest takeaways is that when I attend these events, I really feel the full value of what the CMA brings in connecting people across industries. I see people from financial services, from when I worked in retail, CPGs, that I haven't connected with in a long time. So it really is that power of connection and learning what people are doing. So I think that's the biggest takeaway I have, because you can get really heads down in your own day to day job and forget to sort of look up and look around. And that was kind of one of the biggest values that it brings. Secondly, though, there was a keynote speaker, Tucker Bryant, who talks a lot about how creativity and actually the creative process of poetry can bring value into innovation cycles. And from that, his message was do different things differently. That really resonated for me because, you know, we talk a lot about AI, and AI was very present throughout the week of how we leverage AI, what AI can do for us. But there is a risk that we go so fast with AI that we forget to really interrogate the ideas, to really think about what's creative, what's different, what's really driving growth for an organization. And I think his message was really about, you know, we can't all be the same. We should be different. We should be thinking about things differently. And so really thinking about a process to sort of do that inside your organization, I thought was really valuable. And then I think the third takeaway is the impact of marketing. So there was a study that the CMA did with Signal 49 that really demonstrated or proved, I guess, the value of marketing to the Canadian economy. And so there was some sort of shocking statistics that, you know, $130 billion in GDP, really, 1 in 25 jobs are marketing jobs. This, for me, underscored, I think, what I've known for a long time, which is marketing, has tremendous value to drive growth for organizations, and that's really critical. It also is the unlock for our productivity challenge in Canada that we can really demonstrate that these companies that we work in, we can help them to grow beyond our borders. And lastly, with the number of people in Canada involved in marketing, how critical the CMA is and our role to sort of really upskill and future proof that sort of function and people involved in the discipline. So I think that was my takeaway, is the power of connection, doing different things differently and then the impact that marketing can have on productivity. 00:05:59.920 — 00:06:45.120 · Alison Those are such great takeaways and the impact that marketing have now that we've been able to quantify it and really demonstrate that it is foundational, regardless of what sector or industry you're in, marketing is a driver of our economy. To your point, it's a key way that Canada can overcome our productivity issue. And building on the keynote from Tucker, we are the best served around the executive table to really drive innovation and doing different things differently. Now Meghan, before we dive into your vision for the role as our new Board Chair, can you share a bit about your story? I know you started your career in supply chain at Procter and Gamble, which isn't the typical path into marketing. So what drew you to this profession and how has that background really influenced your approach to marketing? 00:06:45.240 — 00:08:39.610 · Meghan It definitely is not the typical path forward, but I'm so grateful, actually, that I got a chance to start in supply chain. And and after that, I actually did a really very brief moment in sales as well before moving into brand at P&G. But supply chain really helped me understand the mechanics of an organization. Like, how does the product actually move from R&D into production and then onto customer shelves and all the challenges that can exist within that system? You know, especially in packaged goods, you can generate demand, but if there's no product on the shelves, it's really it's really sort of like, does a tree fall in the forest? Will anyone know because they can't buy the product? And so I think really understanding that a strategy or a demand generation plan is only as good as what you can operationalize has sort of really continued on through my whole career. And now as I sit in a more service provider role, what we're working with clients on is not just how do you generate insight, but it's how do you actually take that to a business strategy? How do you take that into your execution? And so I think that actually has been foundational for me. And how I approach marketing is more as a system. So it's marketing  is part of an organization's system for growth. And it's not the only part of the system. And so we have to work across all these different functions to pull them together, to really realize that demand generation and benefit that we create. I feel really lucky that that's where I started, because I think that was a huge benefit. And I think the other thing was that very early in my career, because of how supply chain organizations are structured, I had very early people management experience and that, you know, has really benefited me in leading teams and helping to like, learn how to unlock the power of the talent on your team. And I think that was a really great benefit as well. 00:08:40.169 — 00:09:09.060 · Alison That sounds like a great starting point when you think of it. The best marketers have a very deep understanding of all aspects of the business and from a credibility perspective as well, the fact that you know and have worked in the operational side of the business, the fact that you've worked in the sales side of the business, those are such ke

    36 min

  3. May 19

    EP68 - Out-Thinking the Giants with Rachel MacAdam

    When you can't outspend the competition, you have to out-think them. In one of her final episodes as CMA President and CEO, Alison Simpson sits down with Rachel McAdam, Vice President of Marketing at Skip, to explore what it takes to build a Canadian challenger brand against global giants. The conversation covers the "Skip to the good part" rebrand, a partnership ecosystem built on Canadian passion points and a three-sided marketplace strategy. The standout? The cultural agility that turned a rap beef into a campaign so effective it shut down competitor apps. CMAConnect-Ep68-Rachel MacAdam v2.txt English (UK) 00:00:01.720 — 00:00:20.280 · Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO, Alison Simpson. 00:00:23.040 — 00:02:26.210 · Alison In a market dominated by global giants, how does a Canadian founded challenger brand like Skip not just survive, but thrive? The answer lies in doubling down on authenticity, building strategic partnerships and really recognizing that marketing is about much more than reaching consumers. It's also about driving growth across every stakeholder in your ecosystem. For today's episode, I'm pleased to welcome Rachel McAdam, Vice President of Marketing at Skip. Rachel is leading a Canadian founded and built business and one of our country's most recognized food delivery brands through a significant transformation, from Skip the Dishes to simply Skip expanding their delivery service beyond restaurants to retail, and also navigating intense competition in a market where deep-pocketed competitors can easily outspend smaller players. Rachel brings deep expertise and loyalty marketing to this challenge. Having spent significant time at Loyalty One, she played a key role in building Air Miles into one of Canada's largest brands. She really understands how to create emotional engagement and build lasting customer relationships. This expertise has proven invaluable at Skip as she navigates the loyalty wars in food delivery. Under Rachel's leadership, Skip has distinguished itself through a uniquely Canadian approach to partnerships. They're going beyond sponsorship deals to becoming strategic pillars that can really help reinforce Skip's Canadian roots, while also expanding reach in ways that transcend traditional marketing spend. From priority concert access through Live Nation, wide-ranging partnerships with the Toronto Blue Jays, Disney Plus, CIBC, and WestJet, Rachel has built what she calls an ecosystem approach to loyalty, tapping into Canadian passion points rather than competing purely on price. What makes marketing at Skip compelling is how the team understands and approaches managing the needs across a three-sided marketplace. Rachel has some great examples to share in how her team is delivering on this. Rachel is part of a leadership team, transforming Skip from a functional utility into something broader and much more meaningful. Rachel, welcome to CMA connect. It's a real pleasure to have you on the podcast today, and I'm looking forward to a great conversation.  00:02:26.210 — 00:02:27.450 · Rachel Thanks. Looking forward to it. 00:02:27.530 — 00:02:42.250 · Alison Now, Rachel, as I mentioned, you spent a lot of time at Loyalty One and really helped build Air Miles into one of Canada's largest loyalty brands. So coming off of that experience, what was it that attracted you to the Vice President of Marketing role at Skip, and what were some of your early priorities? 00:02:42.490 — 00:03:25.270 · Speaker 3 Yeah, you know, what was great about Skip is that it had a lot of the similarities of Air Miles from its early days. So, you know, it's a great Canadian brand. Um, it was rooted in really a three way marketplace, which was very similar to Air Miles. You know, Air Miles is about connecting consumers to retailers through the loyalty program, and Skip really is about connecting Canadians to their favourite restaurant or retailers through the delivery ecosystem. And so I really loved that about it. And I love a good challenging opportunity. And so to your point, the delivery category is, um, it's it's very fast paced, it's very competitive. And I really felt like there was a huge opportunity for marketing to play a key role in the transformation of the business. 00:03:25.470 — 00:03:44.870 · Alison We're like-minded when it comes to being attracted to big, hairy, challenging goals, and you're doing an amazing job with Skip. So one of the big things you did was evolve the brand from Skip the Dishes to simply Skip. And clearly there's a lot of strategic thinking behind dropping the dishes, so I'd love to hear more about that. And also, how does it reflect where you're taking the business? 00:03:45.110 — 00:05:34.640 · Rachel Yeah. So when we were looking at the transformation of the business, you know, what's interesting is Skip was a scrappy start-up. Covid hit, you know, exponential growth in delivery. But it really created a new expectation for consumers that it wasn't now just about delivering my favourite pizza on a Friday night, but now I'm looking for convenience and delivery much broader than that, And we really felt that our brand positioning of Skip the Dishes wasn't really reflecting this broader services that we were offering to Canadians, and it was really keeping us limited in the minds of Canadians. We also felt that we weren't tapping into a key point of differentiation, that we were the Canadian brand, you know, created in the prairie provinces. We run on Canadian technology, but we weren't really leveraging that. And we did research. And, you know what Canadians said was, that if all things were created equal, you need to be price competitive. You need to have my favourite restaurant, but I will choose a Canadian brand. And this was sort of before the the upswell of Canadiana came in. Even before that, that really was very much part of what Canadians were looking to support Canadian brands. And so between those two things, we really said we are missing an opportunity to set ourselves apart from these big global organizations or brands in the market. And so we took that research. We worked with Courage as our agency to understand what's the consumer insight? What's happening culturally? And where's that white space opportunity for Skip to really own and differentiate? And that's where dropping the dishes, bringing the maple leaf into the logo so that when you quickly look at your phone, you probably have multiple delivery apps on your phone. Let's make sure that we're reminding you that you do have a Canadian option, an opportunity there. And then we dropped the dishes really as we were launching into retail. So that really was the first signal to the Canadian consumer that I can actually get much more than just food delivered by Skip. 00:05:34.960 — 00:05:52.680 · Alison Now you're doing a great job of reinforcing Skip's Canadian roots. Also through your new spokesperson, the new campaign, and partnerships with really iconic Canadian brands. So why is this Canadian positioning such a crucial differentiator, and how do the partnerships in particular work together as an ecosystem? 00:05:52.720 — 00:08:45.630 · Rachel Yeah, I think we are in a very competitive category with two very large brands in particular that come with deep pockets. And if you're not going to outspend on media or in vouchering, how do you make sure that you set yourselves apart? And we really felt that the Canadian element of our brand, of our technology, the fact that we are feet on the streets in Canada was a key part of differentiating, but we couldn't do it alone. And that's really where partnerships came in. So we we introduced the new brand positioning. We leveraged actually a previous spokesperson with Jon Hamm because he came with actually great affinity to the Skip brand. There was very positive association. And the original campaign had sort of positioned Jon as wanting to be Canadian. So it was, well, he's not Canadian, it was actually reinforcing that he wanted to be Canadian aspect of it. And so we used that sort of as a nod to our past. But also we then had Jon tell the new story that it was Skip at the grocery store and at the pet store and sort of all the ways that you could Skip. And then partnerships launched shortly after. So we introduced the new brand in October, and then we quickly launched Skip Plus subscription. And so we felt that the brand promise of "Skip to the good part." We help you skip the hassles of every day. That was always foundational to what Skip was a part of. But now it wasn't just helping you skip dinner, but it was helping you skip the trip to the pharmacy, skip the trip to the liquor store. But we wanted to make sure there was a proof point, that it wasn't just a tagline, that it actually was a brand promise of helping you Skip to the good part, which is where partnerships came in. And so we launched subscription about six weeks following the brand relaunch, and that really became the proof point that said, we talked about helping you skip to the good part. Here's another proof point to say we can help you skip to the things that matter most to you, which really tapped into passion points. You know, we were we were third to market on subscription. You know, you could look at that as a disadvantage that we were last to market. We actually looked at it as an advantage that we had the opportunity to see what's in market, what are we competing against, and then how do we create that ownable, authentic aspect to Skip. And that really became our partnerships, that we are going to help you skip to the good part, not just on delivery, but that Canadia

    28 min

  4. May 12

    EP67 - Confessions of a CMO with Jon Crowley and Krisi Packer

    The CMO role isn't dying – it's evolving. Based on anonymous interviews with marketing leaders worldwide, Confessions of a CMO reveals five distinct archetypes built to thrive under today's pressures. Join outgoing CMA President and CEO Alison Simpson, SVP, Partner and Head of Strategy at FUSE Create Jon Crowley, and Associate Creative Director, Verbal at Monigle, Krisi Packer, as they unpack the research, apply a distinctly Canadian lens and help you discover which archetype you are. 00:00:00:12 - 00:00:14:18 Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect Live. Confessions of a CMO. With your host Alison Simpson and special guests Jon Crowley and Krisi Packer. 00:00:14:20 - 00:00:43:04 Alison I'm Alison Simpson, and welcome to our third ever live CMA connect podcast. We've had the pleasure of kicking off CMA marketing week since it was created, and it's wonderful to be back here again to do the same thing. Love sharing the energy in this room with all of you. And also a huge thank you to the hundreds of marketers who have joined us from across the country, especially our friends on the West Coast who are getting up extra early to be part of our CMA marketing week kick off. 00:00:43:06 - 00:01:11:11 Alison For years, we've been hearing that the CMO role is dying. We're seeing shorter tenures. We're seeing shifting titles. We're seeing shrinking budgets, fractured influence. The headlines right themselves. The death of the CMO has become far too common rallying cry on conference stages and in LinkedIn, thought pieces. But as Mark Twain very famously said, the reports of our death are greatly exaggerated. 00:01:11:13 - 00:01:45:05 Alison And that's exactly what our data shows. When CMO's lead customer centric growth company's see 1.4 times higher performance. When that leadership is fully integrated across the organization, growth doubles again. And here in Canada, our own Kantar research tells the same story. Top Canadian brands grew 10% last year, which is significantly outperforming Canada's GDP growth over the same period of 1.3%. 00:01:45:07 - 00:02:14:19 Alison So marketing leadership absolutely is not dying. It is evolving. The species survives because we adapt, and that's what we're here to explore today. Today's conversation is based on exclusive research that asks CMOs to confess what really happens behind closed doors. It's not the polished LinkedIn version of leadership. It's the unfiltered truth, the failure of forced adaptation, and the strategies that really helped ensure survival. 00:02:14:21 - 00:02:39:09 Alison What emerges from those candid conversations is a new taxonomy of marketing leadership. We have seven distinct species picking up on the evolutionary theme that dazzle shared with us, and each of the species has evolved to thrive under very different corporate pressures. Joining me today are two people uniquely positioned to unpack these insights. Krisi Packer is the co author of confessions of a CMO. 00:02:39:11 - 00:03:08:04 Alison She's also associate creative director of Verbal at Monocle. Monocle conducted dozens of anonymous interviews with CMOs around the world, from CPG to tech, from Europe to Asia Pacific, and of course, Canada. And they really captured the honest moments when leaders could finally speak freely about what it really takes to survive in the C-suite today. Jon Crowley is a partner, senior vice president and head of strategy at Fuze Create. 00:03:08:06 - 00:03:31:07 Alison Jon works directly with Canadian CMO and marketing leaders every day, and really helps them navigate the exact pressures that this research helped unveil. He's bringing the Canadian perspective to a global conversation. Well, Krisi and Jon are going to share what they discovered, including which CMO space that they identify with. And here's what makes the research really, really powerful. 00:03:31:09 - 00:03:53:22 Alison It isn't prescriptive. It doesn't tell you which species you should become. Instead, it helps us hold up a mirror and says, here's what's working. Here's how leaders like you are thriving and adapting today. So Krisi and Jon, please join me on stage. I'm looking forward to an insightful and very fun conversation. So, Krisi, let's start by giving our audience a quick field guide. 00:03:54:00 - 00:04:03:05 Alison Can you walk us through the five dominant species and their defining traits? And we'll treat this as a bit of a nature documentary. How do we spot each species out in the wild? 00:04:03:07 - 00:04:13:20 Krisi Fun fact that this field guide does have very nature documentary style intros for all these. Just great. I'm going to spare you my David Attenborough oppression though. Jon, I think you have him right? Yes. 00:04:13:22 - 00:04:14:15 Krisi So let's first 00:04:14:15 - 00:04:33:06 Krisi start with, our chief beauty officer. So I'm going to go through these really quickly. The report is incredibly in-depth. So just know that I'm going to just hit the high notes here. So that way we can you know what your appetite. So the chief Mutiny officer this is our strategic war breaker or our disruptive mutation of the chief marketing officer. 00:04:33:07 - 00:04:53:17 Krisi And really, their job is to kind of enter a place of organizations and release, you know, controlled doses of rebellion. That can look like a lot of different things. But one of the things I love to, give an example for is they will, do anything and, take action even before alignment exists. Right? And they'll use results as proof that they were right, that they should have watched it. 00:04:53:19 - 00:05:12:06 Krisi I know a lot of you might be thinking, hell, yeah, like mutiny. Burn it down. That sounds amazing. That is so reckless. But the truth is, mutiny officers are not reckless. They are highly calculated and precise about when and where to break the rules. And I think what I love about them the most is they, don't wait for that change. 00:05:12:06 - 00:05:16:00 Krisi They provoke it. And, Alison, I know your type is Mutiny Officer. 00:05:16:02 - 00:05:35:16 Alison Yeah. So thank you for describing us as not reckless. When I did the quiz, which everyone will have an opportunity to do as well, I did identify as a Chief Mutiny Officer. And what was interesting was when we've reached out to other Canadians to get a sense for the different profiles that are emerging. Chief Mutiny Officer was one of the lowest to emerge in Canada. 00:05:35:16 - 00:05:46:21 Alison So I know a little bit later Jon will talk about why that is. Is that just us polite, humble Canadians is a political pressure. But we will dig into a little bit more of how we don't have more Chief Mutiny Officers. 00:05:46:23 - 00:06:12:11 Krisi Absolutely. All right, so next we have our Chief Missing Officer. This is our invisible operator or a master of camouflage. And I think this one has the most misleading name. When you hear missing, you probably think I'm absent. Like, do they come to meetings like, what's actually going on? But they are far from absent. They're actually just stealth. I think if the apex, Chief Marketing Officer, if you will, was sort of a show boater. They're a credit share, right? 00:06:12:13 - 00:06:34:11 Krisi They are aligning leaders before a big meeting. They are embedding marketing priorities and other business functions. And, you know, they might not be in the meeting, but their fingerprints are on every single decision. And this is something that, I typed as, as well. Next, we have our Mood Officer. This is our stabilizer. They are the people that are always thinking about the tone in the room. 00:06:34:13 - 00:07:02:11 Krisi It's very vibes coded. It's very, you know, understanding that the decisions that are made are just as important as the environment that it's in. You might spot them in the wild when they're, you know, cutting well-timed jokes to cut the tension or, you know, they're absorbing all that negativity that's in the room just to move the idea forward. So very, very vibes coded. And, honestly, one of the people that really sets the tone for, the environment for ideas to be made in. 00:07:02:15 - 00:07:31:00 Krisi Next we have our Chief Meeting Officer. This is our translator. And I think this is most, closely aligned to a marketer's traditional skill set. They are really connecting the organization through narratives, right? They're bringing together, you know, finance, customer experience, all these different things and really understanding how to talk to them about marketing. And a lot of times in really convoluted situations, too, they're just stating the obvious, which I think is a very important tactic. And something beautiful about the narratives that they create. 00:07:31:00 - 00:07:37:15 Krisi They really bring people back to the human part of the organization and the mission.  And, Jon, I know you tie Disney off the right? 00:07:37:17 - 00:07:54:13 Jon Which is maybe the most stereotypical thing for an advertising strategist to type out as sort of the list of options. It's, the concept of, you know, Narrator's Translation, this idea of bringing everyone along on the story. It's kind of like when you read a horoscope and you're like, oh, yeah, I do do that a lot. Maybe I am stubborn as a Taurus. 00:07:54:15 - 00:08:14:18 Krisi All right. And finally we have our momentum officer. So this is our propeller. That's always driving progress. They were born, into the depths of red tape, and they've evolved to know how to cut through it, which I think is really interesting. They move too quickly to fall into those bureaucratic traps, and they really trade theory for action, right? 00:08:14:20 - 00:08:35:09 Krisi You won't catch them, you know, debating something. They're going to be, you know, launching not one campaign, but ten campaigns. They are, moving faster than the speed of debate, which I think is very interesting. And it's

    38 min

  5. Apr 28

    EP66 - A New Era for Canadian Marketing with Esther Benzie

    In this episode of CMA Connect, Alison Simpson, outgoing President and CEO of the CMA, sits down with Esther Benzie, the newly appointed President and CEO of the CMA, to discuss the leadership transition and the future of Canada's marketing profession. Esther shares insights from her 30-year career at P&G, CIBC and the Association of Canadian Advertisers and reveals why the opportunity to help marketing "regain its swagger" made accepting this role a resounding yes. The discussion covers groundbreaking data from the CMA Marketing Impact Study, which proves marketing's $130.9 billion economic contribution, and previews the third annual CMA Marketing Week, expanding nationally from Toronto and Vancouver to Montreal. 00:00:01.720 — 00:00:20.280 · Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO, Alison Simpson. 00:00:23.640 — 00:02:43.890 · Alison Leadership transitions are really rare moments that can reveal what an organization truly values. Today's episode is one of those amazing moments. So after announcing my retirement plans last September, the CMA Board of Directors launched a very thoughtful search to find the leader who could really build on our association's strong momentum. That search, I'm happy to say, led them to Esther Benzie, and I absolutely could not be more excited about what that means for Canadian marketers. Over the past few years, the CMA team has accomplished a lot together. We've got a lot to be proud of. Our membership has grown to over 460 organizations, we have welcomed more than 100 new members since 2023, and the number of chartered marketers has more than doubled. We also launched the CMA Marketing Week, which has become a national gathering drawing thousands of marketers and earned best in class satisfaction ratings last year, and through the Digital Marketing Skills Canada program, we have upscaled more than 2100 marketers from underrepresented groups across the country and supported 700 SMEs with top marketing talent. Those are just a few examples. So clearly the foundation is very strong and now it's about building on that great momentum. That's why Esther was the right choice. She brings over 30 years of marketing leadership, starting with Procter and Gamble, where she built her expertise in brand building and consumer insights. She then went on to lead transformational work as Vice President of Brand and Advertising at CIBC, leading the relaunch of their CIBC brand and the Ambitions Made Real platform. Esther also brings association experience from her time as Acting President and CEO of the Association of Canadian Advertisers, which gives her a really practical understanding of what it takes to serve a membership organization. Esther officially started on March 9th and has absolutely hit the ground running. In her first few weeks, she unveiled her groundbreaking research that quantifies, for the first time ever, the massive economic impact marketing has on Canada. The numbers are staggering and give every marketer in this country the data they need to really further prove our strategic value. I'm supporting Esther through the end of May to ensure a seamless transition, so this conversation feels particularly special. We'll talk about why she wanted the role, what she's learned in her first 60 days, the powerful findings from the CMA Marketing Impact study, and what's ahead as we head into the third annual CMA Marketing Week next week. Esther, welcome to CMA Connect. I'm really looking forward to this conversation. 00:02:44.050 — 00:02:55.610 · Esther Thank you so much, Alison. Transitioning alongside you these past weeks has been amazing, and it's great to see the incredible position that you're leaving the CMA in. 00:02:55.730 — 00:03:21.070 · Alison Well thank you. It's absolutely been a team effort with everyone at the CMA and our absolutely incredible Membership and Board. Esther, in my intro, I shared a bit about the incredible career that you've had, leading marketing for some of the world's most recognized brands and also working on the service provider side of our profession. So I know our listeners will want to learn what attracted you to the CMA and why does leading Canada's largest marketing association feel like the right next chapter for you? 00:03:21.110 — 00:06:13.220 · Esther When I first saw this opportunity, everything just clicked. As I said in one of my interviews on the announcement, it just felt like a really easy "yes" for me. This job brought together my 30 years of building brands, of understanding consumers, of leading teams through transformation. At my P&G experience, I did learn the discipline of brand building. There, it was all about getting to know the consumer and understanding them, the power of strategy, making really good choices and understanding what you were trying to communicate, as well as the importance of execution and really being thoughtful on what you were executing in the market. And we described it as "the who, the what and the how" in some ways. But it was an important legacy for me. And I took that experience to CIBC. As you mentioned in the intro, a big project I had there was modernizing the brand through the restage that touched all 55,000 employees and 8 million clients globally. So I believe that the experiences I've had in those big brands, as well as through my consulting, brought together my love of all aspects of marketing and delivering on consumer needs, driving business growth. So when I heard about this job, there were actually a couple of signs that made this the right next chapter, which I don't even know if I've told you all of them. Alison. The first was last summer. I was speaking to a colleague and I was telling her that my daughter had a summer job in advertising at an ad agency, and she was a VP of Marketing herself, and she said, "Wow, do you really want her to get into marketing?" Like, and she said it like it was something that we shouldn't be encouraging our, our young people to get into. And it made me realize that our profession had an opportunity to regain its swagger. And, you know, at the same time, I was hearing consulting clients and reading about marketing and hearing about all the challenges that they were facing and how they wanted to have a greater impact in the C-suite, and how to think about AI and how to do more with less. And, you know, you wrap that with all the news that was coming about the tariffs and political uncertainty and the need for Canada to be more productive and more innovative, and all that led me to say, wow, you know, we need to get that credibility back, that pride back. And it felt like our profession had been in a bit of a fight for its seat at the table. And so when I saw the CMA opportunity, that this was so much of the belief of the CMA, it just really felt like the right place to be to be able to have an impact on all those areas. 00:06:13.260 — 00:07:07.640 · Alison You hadn't shared the story about your daughter's experience before. It's great that she was excited about advertising. It's disappointing that your friend in the profession wasn't advocating on our behalf. And you're so right that getting our swagger back, being more proud and not being the typical humble Canadians. Being much more proud about what we as a profession deliver to our country's ability to innovate, to businesses and brands' ability to grow. We make tangible, mission critical changes and impacts to our country's GDP, to business growth, brand growth, and certainly to social enterprises as well. And a little bit later in the episode, we'll get into the marketing impact study, but that provides some really important fuel for everyone in our profession to walk a little taller and to really be able to advocate on how mission critical marketing is in Canada. 00:07:07.720 — 00:07:26.680 · Esther Yeah, to be honest, I think my friend's comment was as much a reflection of just a bit of jadedness that people are feeling because a lot of marketers are being asked to do so much more than they were before. And so I think it was a little bit of that. And the fun fact is, her daughter is now going to work in an ad agency this summer too. So maybe I convinced her. 00:07:27.200 — 00:07:27.960 · Alison Well done. 00:07:27.960 — 00:07:47.760 · Esther But, you know, it was just a bit surprising at first. We think of ourselves as being such big advocates. You and I have both had long careers in marketing and have really loved it. And, you know, I wish that for the future generation as well, to have that kind of passion for what we do. Because in my mind, it's such an interesting career. 00:07:48.000 — 00:08:27.790 · Alison I couldn't agree more and I am going to encourage you and our listeners for the interactions I have with younger marketers in our profession. We have an Aim Advisory board that brings together 15 junior marketers across our profession and our member network, and they are so talented. They are so committed. They are absolutely passionate about their role in the importance of marketing. So I do think the future is bright, and maybe some of us older will become a little bit more jaded. Thankfully, the younger generations have not.  00:08:19 - Esther That's great, I agree.  Alison We've shared a bit about this, but how else has your experience shaped your thinking about what the CMA should be doing for its members? 00:08:27.830 — 00:11:17.450 · Esther Well, my experience in previous roles was in companies that really reflect our member base. So I had client side experience at a multinational and a Canadian-based company. As you mentioned, I worked at an association a

    35 min

  6. Apr 14

    EP65 - Loyalty, Adaptability, and Growth with Lindsay Chase

    What have you learned that has allowed you to adapt and evolve in your marketing career? In today's episode of CMA Connect, Alison Simpson, sits down virtually with Lindsay Chase, Senior Strategist at Elemental, to explore her nine year journey at Elemental. They dive into her progression from Account Executive to Senior Strategist, her loyalty to her craft, her adaptability, and her pursuit of what truly matters.  00:00:01.720 — 00:00:20.280 · Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO, Alison Simpson. 00:00:23.520 — 00:02:20.140 · Alison For today's episode, I am thrilled to welcome Lindsay Chase, Senior Strategist at Elemental and our 2025 CMA AIM Award winner. The AIM Award celebrates achievement of marketing by a rising star in our profession, who is absolutely destined for great leadership roles. Lindsay's speech at the CMA Awards show was equal parts inspiring, entertaining and compelling, and I know that our conversation will be that as well. Lindsay's journey into marketing began with a background in English literature. She was drawn by what she describes as the fascinating blend of creativity meeting science that defines modern marketing. She's passionate about delivering strong business results through compelling storytelling, creating human narratives that really resonate in meaningful ways. Lindsay describes her nine year tenure at Elemental as making her a bit of a unicorn in today's agency world, and I absolutely agree for a much longer tenure in one agency than is typically the case, since most people switch about every two years instead of taking that approach. Lindsay has built her career elemental, progressing from account executive to senior strategist. Her insights into how her generation is learning and developing skills offers a really fascinating window into the future of marketing careers. Like all of us, Lindsay is experiencing firsthand how AI has begun reshaping marketing practices, making them more uniform, scalable, and streamlined, while also raising critical questions about skill development and strategic thinking. Her perspective on the importance of mentorship in a rapidly changing landscape, as well as how to maintain strategic thinking in an increasingly automated world, makes this conversation as essential listening for anyone interested in marketing's future. And I can also share with our listeners that when you listen to Lindsay, by the end of this conversation, like me, you will feel very, very positive and optimistic about how bright our future marketing is with talented marketers like Lindsay rising through the ranks. So welcome, Lindsay. It is absolutely wonderful to have you join us on CMA Connect. 00:02:20.180 — 00:02:25.140 · Lindsay Thank you Alison, it's wonderful to be here. And I'm looking very forward to our conversation today. 00:02:25.260 — 00:02:36.020 · Alison Let's start with your story. I'd love to hear what drew you to marketing, and how did you see this as an opportunity to really transform your English literature degree and love of stories into a career? 00:02:36.180 — 00:03:22.820 · Lindsay Yeah, it's a great question. You know, I tend to start with saying I didn't choose marketing because I loved ads. I feel very few people maybe do make that choice for that reason. I actually chose it because I've always loved stories. And marketing is where stories can really change outcomes in English Lit. I learned how to read between the lines subtext. Motivation. Character tension. the gap between what people say and what they mean. So that to me was basically consumer insight in a lot of ways. And marketing gave me a way to take that skill and kind of apply it to real people, real decisions and real businesses. It's effectively storytelling with consequences. So all of that to say, what definitely drew me in is a mix of that empathy and structure, and you can really feel something and prove it in marketing. 00:03:22.860 — 00:03:48.260 · Alison I absolutely love your definition of storytelling with consequences and beyond consequences, it's storytelling with an ability to have such a significant and important impact on brands and businesses, our economy, and ultimately our communities. So I love that definition. Thank you. I'm also curious, when you were graduating, was marketing and agency roles in particular a career that many of your fellow graduates were thinking of pursuing? 00:03:48.380 — 00:04:35.790 · Lindsay Another great question. Certainly a few, but admittedly, many of my peers went into, you know, the worlds of tech, finance, law adjacent paths and so on. I found that in discussions with them, agency life wasn't necessarily the obvious route. Marketing can definitely feel like a less defined path, and that ambiguity can be intimidating when you're graduating and everyone's asking, what are you going to do? And you want to have that very kind of clear answer ideally. I also think a lot of people don't realize that marketing is a training ground. You get exposure to categories, audiences, channels, leadership styles and real business problems very quickly. So it's certainly an area that, you know, though sometimes maybe discounted is one very much worth its salt. And I hope that more, more folks explore when they are looking at that graduation period in their life. 00:04:35.830 — 00:04:40.990 · Alison Now, I'd also love to hear what it meant to you to be recognized with the CMA AIM Award. 00:04:41.030 — 00:05:44.880 · Lindsay Yeah, that was a great honour and even better evening and congrats to the CMA for making it such a fun and impactful evening. But to me, I'd say the CMA Award was never just an individual recognition in reference to the speech I gave. If no one's sick of hearing it at this point, you know, I referenced the idea that if I've seen further, it's because I've stood on the shoulders of giants and that's genuinely how I view it. Any progress I've made has been shaped by the people around me, and that goes multifold. For the mentors who pushed my thinking, the teammates who challenged my ideas and the clients that trusted the process. And that's really what the industry is at its best, is that collective effort to make something better than any one person could on their own. So in reflection of the award, it certainly felt like that, you know, not just the work, but the environment that makes the work possible. And the CMA, to me represents that spirit of creativity, collaboration and a shared standard of excellence. So it was a great honour and great excitement for myself and all those that I got to celebrate with. 00:05:45.120 — 00:06:24.840 · Alison It was definitely a good celebration and certainly a well deserved celebration. Now, Lindsay, you mentioned that marketing wasn't the most popular choice among your peers, in large part because it really can be pretty overwhelming for students to understand what marketing roles are, given the breadth and certainly complexity of our profession. Obviously, from a CMA perspective, from a professional perspective, we do want to be a desired destination for students in the months and years ahead. So what do you think we can do to help the next generation better understand and navigate this complexity and make more competitive and desirable on par with tech and finance when it comes to talent? 00:06:25.120 — 00:07:29.450 · Lindsay I think we have to stop explaining marketing like it's a list of job titles. You know, it's more of a system overall. And the best way to maybe demystify it is to teach some of those fundamentals - human behaviour, business strategy, creative problem solving, and the measurement of all those things. Once you can get a grasp on those four pillars, every specialization becomes less overwhelming, especially to those who maybe don't have the full visibility or insight. And when it comes to tech and finance, you know, specifically, I find that they can sell certainty, you know. Clear ladders, clear compensation narratives, prestige signals. You know, all the things that go into that. And I think where marketing can expand is by selling its impact. You know, you get to shape culture and build brands that people live with and drive real business outcomes, just like tech and finance can. So if we want that talent and future marketers to walk through our doors, I think we need to show that marketing is certainly anything but fluff and a great opportunity to build a career and life around. 00:07:29.530 — 00:07:56.770 · Alison That was so well said, and it's also incredibly timely. We have recently launched the CMA Marketing Impact Study that does exactly that. It quantifies the mission critical role that marketing plays in building Canadian businesses, increasing our country's ability to innovate, and dramatically contributing to our economy and GDP. So that will give us some very valuable tools to really entice the next generation of talent to. 00:07:56.810 — 00:08:20.940 · Lindsay Yeah, it's a great effort, and I think the other piece is being willing and ready to have some fun with it. You know, I think of all the ads and jingles and brands that stick in my head as some of my favourites, and it's not just a moment in time. It really does stay with us as we move through our lives, and it's something that everyone hopefully will get more and more clarity around and be interested in. 00:08:21.260 — 00:08:36.780 · Alison Absolutely. Now, you've been at Elemental for nine years and you started as an account exec, moved to Senior Strategy and calling yourself a bit of a unicorn for how long you've been with one agency. So what's kept

    24 min

  7. Mar 25

    EP64 - Deceptive Marketing Exposed with Josephine Palumbo

    In this episode of CMA Connect, Alison Simpson, CEO of the CMA, sits down with Josephine Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner for the Deceptive Marketing Practices Directorate at the Competition Bureau of Canada, to decode Canadian origin claims and emerging fraud threats. Josephine explains the critical distinctions between "Made in Canada" and "Product of Canada," how tariffs impact threshold calculations, and practical guidance for avoiding maple washing. The conversation expands to the Bureau's Fraud Prevention Month focus, including the alarming rise of AI-generated scams using deep fakes to impersonate government officials. 00:00:01.720 — 00:00:20.280 · Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO Alison Simpson. 00:00:22.880 — 00:02:16.740 · Alison In an era of renewed Canadian patriotism and heightened awareness of global supply chains, consumers are absolutely paying closer attention than ever to where their products are coming from. With ongoing tariff discussions, a growing desire to support domestic industries, Made in Canada and Product of Canada claims have become more than just marketing messages. They are promises that Canadians absolutely expect businesses to keep. For this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Josephine Palumbo, Deputy Commissioner for the Deceptive Marketing Practices Directorate at the Competition Bureau of Canada. In her pivotal role, Josephine leads efforts to detect, investigate, and deter false or misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices across Canada. With over 25 years of experience at the Department of Justice and Competition Bureau, including significant work as Deputy Executive Director and Senior Litigation Counsel. Josephine has been at the forefront of major enforcement actions involving companies like Amazon, Ticketmaster and Volkswagen. Josephine expertise extends globally. She served as president of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network in 2020, representing Canada among over 65 protection agencies worldwide. Her directorate's mandate includes enforcement under the Competition Act, Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act, the Precious Metals Marketing Act, and Textile Labeling Act, which gives her comprehensive oversight of marketing claims that matter the most to Canadian consumers. So as we navigate an increasingly complex marketplace where maple washing and misleading origin claims can absolutely undermine consumer trust. Josephine's insights into what constitutes truthful advertising, along with the real world consequences of getting it wrong, have never been more relevant for Canadian marketers, so I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Josephine. It is a pleasure to host you on CMA Connect, and I'm really looking forward to our conversation. 00:02:16.780 — 00:02:20.780 · Josephine I'm so glad to be here, Alison. I'm looking forward to our talk. 00:02:20.940 — 00:02:44.220 · Alison We're going to cover a lot of hot topics that are crucial and important to marketers in Canada and also Canadians, so I know we will have a rapt audience. So, Josephine, let's start with why Made in Canada and Product of Canada claims matter so much to both consumers and businesses. Obviously, with renewed Canadian patriotism at the forefront of everyone's mind, how does today's environment compare to what you've seen historically? 00:02:44.260 — 00:03:53.790 · Josephine Well, let me start by saying that in the past, country of origin claims may not have been top of mind for most consumers, but today, Alison, Canadians are far more focused on transparency, on authenticity and knowing where their products truly come from. There are many factors driving this trend today, and I can list some of them, including national pride and that desire to support Canadian made goods. The commitment to support the Canadian job market and local industry's concerns about the economy and environmental impacts of purchasing decisions, and the belief that Canadian made products are held to higher standards of quality for businesses. I would say honesty and clearly representing product origin builds consumer trust and helps them steer clear of legal complications, which is always a good thing. On the other hand, misleading claims risk harming consumers, their fair competitors and the wider market and could result in enforcement under the Competition Act and the other relevant legislation when representations are false or misleading. 00:03:53.830 — 00:04:31.240 · Alison  That's very helpful, and it's really rewarding in many ways to hear that Canadians, and we've seen this in other research too, Canadians through the tariffs, through the challenging political and economic times, are really embracing Made in Canada and wanting to give back to the local businesses and brands and support our local economy as well. So there's lots of encouraging reasons for the renewed patriotism that's hopefully having a positive impact on Canada's GDP as well.  Josephine: Absolutely.  Alison: Now, many people don't realize that there's quite a significant distinction between a Made in Canada claim and a Product of Canada claim. Can you explain the difference and what businesses need to know? 00:04:31.280 — 00:06:27.660 · Josephine Sure. I would say that the distinctions are significant, and they're clearly laid out in the Competition Bureau's guidelines that have been updated in March of 2025, so last year. So let me start. And it's a little technical. So Product of Canada is what I refer to as the gold standard. It means virtually all, at least 98% of the direct production costs, including input or materials and labor, are from Canada. This threshold exists to protect consumers from being misled by claims that imply total Canadian origin. On the other side, we have Made in Canada, which indicates that the majority or 51% or more of the direct costs were Canadian, and this type of claim should be accompanied by a qualifying statement, such as Made in Canada from domestic and imported parts to accurately inform consumers. I should say that both Product of Canada and Made in Canada representations, the product's last substantial transformation occurs in Canada, and that is the product comes into being in Canada. It isn't merely assembled or labeled or packaged here, it is made into something meaningfully new. And here, Alison, let me just say, for businesses, it's essential to review the cost breakdowns regularly to ensure compliance with these thresholds, especially if sourcing changes are occurring. We at the Competition Bureau, we evaluate these claims based not only on the literal meaning of marketing materials, but also on how consumers might interpret such claims. So we would be looking at everything like the words,  mix of words, images, illustrations, or even the overall layout. And this is what we call the general impression. So again, it's very important. Clarity and honesty are paramount. 00:06:28.220 — 00:06:39.900 · Alison One of the newer claims I've seen emerging with renewed Canadian patriotism over the last year and a bit is Packaged in Canada. So when might those claims be considered misleading to consumers? 00:06:39.900 — 00:08:17.840 · Josephine So Packaged in Canada for us means like a product arrived mostly finished from another country and only its packaging was added locally. This claim, we would say, could be misleading to consumers if not clearly explained. So the Bureau again encourages the use of qualified claims where the information provided is accurate, relevant and useful. Let me say that the Bureau again, it looks at not only the words, but the whole concept, the general impression created. Sometimes businesses don't realize or understand this and think that as long as they are truthful, that should be good enough and that is not always the case. Again, the general impression has to be taken into consideration. For example, one case that we litigated, well, we didn't litigate, but we settled this case, and that was in 2016. So the Bureau investigated Moose Knuckles for concerns relating to advertising and labeling of some of its parkas as Made in Canada. And here, Alison, the Bureau found some Moose Knuckle parkas were marketed as Canadian- made, despite being mostly manufactured elsewhere, only with the finishing touches to the jackets being made here in Canada, like adding the trim or the zipper and the snaps, those were done in Canada.  And with the Competition Bureau, we resolve the matter with the company, who agreed to donate 750,000 over a five year period to Canadian charities, including those providing winter coats to children in need. The company also committed to clearly labeling and advertising, making it explicit when products are made with both Canadian and imported parts. 00:08:17.920 — 00:08:52.770 · Alison That's a great example that speaks to the importance of being fair and truthful to Canadians and how we're marketing, but also the important consequences that businesses will and should pay when they don't follow the letter of the law. Now, for our listeners, we also have an article that we've written around all of the different Made in Canada, Product of Canada claims that elaborates on some of what Josephine has shared. So we will add it into our listener notes for anyone that's listening and wants to read more. We'll have the link in our notes. So, Josephine, what are some of the common mistakes you've seen businesses make when they've made origin claims? 00:08:52.770 — 00:09:46.010 · Josephine So businesses often make mistakes by failing to provide, for example, appropriate qualifying statements using ambiguous

    24 min

  8. Mar 4

    EP63 - IBM's blueprint for scaling AI in marketing with Alexis Zamkow and Miglena Nikolova

    Are you prepared to future-proof your brand with AI? Alison Simpson, CEO of the CMA, sits down with IBM's AI experts Alexis Zamkow, Global Offering Leader for Intelligent Marketing at IBM Consulting, and Miglena Nikolova, Senior Portfolio Advisory Marketing Lead at IBM Canada, to explore how marketers can move from AI experimentation to real business impact. With 70% of creative work being busy work, IBM has used AI to slash legal approval cycles from 6 weeks to 6 days. As ChatGPT challenges Google's search dominance, marketers need to learn how to 'market to machines' that are making decisions for consumers. 00:00:01:18 - 00:00:25:15 Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO Alison Simpson. 00:00:25:17 - 00:00:51:01 Alison In today's episode, we explore a topic that is top of mind for all marketers - how to future-proof ourselves, our teams and our businesses, especially when it comes to Gen AI. Our CMA research found that future-proofing is a top priority for 97% of Canadian marketers. This includes understanding how technologies like AI are impacting marketing, as well as changing consumer behaviours and best practices. 00:00:51:03 - 00:01:24:14 Alison The good news is that 74% of CMA members are using Gen AI tools for work at least weekly. This actually exceeds the average of 62% among Canadian knowledge workers that include academics, physicians, engineers, and scientists. So we're certainly off to a good start, but there is absolutely a lot more to do since AI is playing an increased role in brands and a more important part in day to day life in Canada. Today, I'm happy to be joined by two marketing leaders from IBM who are living this transformation from both the creative and the technical sides. 00:01:24:15 - 00:01:48:08 Alison Today's conversation is not about the latest AI tool or the newest capability. It's about the practical, sometimes messy work of incorporating and leveraging AI and marketing in business and helping future-proof your brand. Alexis Zamkow is the Global Offering Leader for Intelligent Marketing within IBM Consulting, where she's at the forefront of helping CMOs navigate the generative AI transformation. 00:01:48:10 - 00:02:23:00 Alison Alexis specializes in translating complex AI capabilities into practical marketing solutions, helping organizations move from proof of concept to skilled implementation while addressing the critical challenges of cost management, change management, and governance. Miglena Nikolova brings over 20 years of marketing and communications expertise. She currently serves as Senior Portfolio Advisory Marketing Lead for IBM Canada. At IBM, she's exploring how Gen AI is reshaping creativity and authenticity in their marketing and also leveraging AI tools to enhance productivity and innovation. 00:02:23:02 - 00:02:26:01 Alison Welcome, Alexis and Miglena. It's great to have you with me today. 00:02:26:03 - 00:02:28:07 Alexis It's great to be here. Thanks for having us. 00:02:28:09 - 00:02:48:22 Miglena Thank you, Alison, for this warm welcome and introduction. And I would also like to add that Alexis and I are very active in the Canadian marketing community. I sit on the CMA Creativity Council and Alexis is part of the Artificial Intelligence Committee. So in this podcast, we would also be representing the work that we do as part of these rewarding assignments. 00:02:49:00 - 00:03:07:16 Alison Well thank you for being among our highly engaged CMA members who are helping provide a lot of great thought leadership and a lot of great discussion and debate around hot topics that are important to everyone in our profession. I would love to start with your personal AI journeys. So how are you each using AI both personally and professionally? 00:03:07:21 - 00:03:09:12 Alison Miglena, do you want to kick things off? 00:03:09:14 - 00:03:38:14 Miglena Absolutely. Alison, thank you for this question. Because, you know, scaling AI is very much about how we, on a personal level are adopting the new ways of working. And personally, I use it for research, note-taking, often for fun things and projects I'm exploring outside of work. One of the questions I'm pondering on the personal side is what it will mean to write a book in the future, because there are just so many challenges and opportunities in this space. 00:03:38:18 - 00:04:05:23 Miglena And on the professional side, for marketing, I use predominantly our Consulting Advantage app, which has so many features and applications that literally the sky is the limit in what we can accomplish. We have access to assistants, agents that can help make tasks much faster and more comprehensive than perhaps we ever thought possible, so we can leverage our agents to help us with image recognition, notes and files analysis, 00:04:05:23 - 00:04:35:23 Miglena PowerPoint generators, summarization. I can give you an example. At a recent marketing event, we hosted over ten separate round tables, each one with notes for the discussion. And then we loaded all the notes in our Executive Summarizer and asked, what were the common themes, what were the unique points, etc. and in minutes, literally, we were able to to generate and share a much more comprehensive and enriching summary of the learnings. 00:04:36:00 - 00:04:48:09 Miglena So I also routinely leverage AI for writing marketing emails, blogs, graphs, social posts from the perspective of our subject matter experts. And really, that saves a lot of time. 00:04:48:11 - 00:05:10:11 Alexis So similar to Miglena, our organization is absolutely committed to ensuring that we use generative AI in all aspects of our business. Now I'm in the offering space, so I help to build new offerings for our customers. And so research is important for us. Synthetic research using different personas, different industry groups. We can run ideas for our offerings 00:05:10:11 - 00:05:37:02 Alexis and value proposition is against those synthetic personas and get some early ideas around, you know, how do we reposition some of our messaging? How do we change some of our offerings to address some of the, the big concerns, that maybe some of our customers have so we are really focusing in on how to solve for those concerns. And how to make sure that our brand is true to the essence of how we're positioning ourselves. 00:05:37:04 - 00:05:58:04 Alexis So on an offering perspective, you know, there's a lot of great ways that generative AI can support a marketer. Idea generation, we're trying to apply the gen AI to come up with, you know, what's the next great ideas that our clients are really going to take a hold of. So ideation is definitely an area of interest. 00:05:58:04 - 00:06:17:07 Alexis And then a lot of the pragmatic things that Miglena mentioned. So when we're writing copy, if I want to get it really personal to an industry or to a specific influencer, we leverage personas to be able to make sure that our messages are bang on as to what that individual's needs are and, to make it really highly personalized. 00:06:17:09 - 00:06:41:20 Alexis So it is embedded within the entire offering area. But at the same time, I work with clients on how they're embedding it in their own operations, so across the entire end-to-end marketing content, supply chain and campaign development, we're coming up with great ways that agents can work simultaneously with humans to improve productivity, also to drive revenue. 00:06:41:22 - 00:07:05:06 Alexis We're moving very rapidly from a situation of testing, trialing, piloting to scaling. Scaling does require different capabilities to be addressed, and we're working with our clients to help them to do that. IBM, as you guys know, is committed to AI for a very long time. We go back to Jeopardy and Watson. We are steeped in the AI space. 00:07:05:08 - 00:07:50:19 Alexis And so as things have evolved over the last, you know, probably five years as ten AI has really come to the forefront, our organization has also moved into that space. And our own marketing teams have embraced gen AI really from the beginning. To be able to create a process and a workflow that has agents supporting the entire content supply chain from insights development, being able to scan our product information and make recommendations on how to best position products, the content creator, which then allows you to take, pre-configured templates and be able to assign - here's the target market, here's the product that I'm interested in, here's the key messages and gives you different options 00:07:50:19 - 00:08:20:12 Alexis around how can you position this. And it isn't about completing it. It's about the start, the starting of the process to allow the creativity to accelerate. And then once that that creative has gone through the process of initial approvals, validation was always a big challenge for us. And we knew that that cycle had to be shortened. So we built agents to be able to take our legals, our brand standards and be able to apply that to the content that we were creating 00:08:20:14 - 00:08:43:00 Alexis to be able to really shorten up that cycle. Didn't eliminate it. And for most of our clients, you know, elimination isn't the game right now, but to be able to reduce the number of iterations required to go through the legal process was able to allow us to move from something that would normally take six weeks to be able to create, say, a campaign for a social media engagement, six weeks to six days. 00:08:43:02 - 00:09:01:01 Alexis And I didn't say six minutes, but eventually we might get to six minutes. But right now it is about those iterative improvements that you start automating tasks that you

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Welcome to CMA Connect - the voice of the Canadian marketing community. Join us for empowering discussions with industry leaders about the rapidly changing world of marketing.

Information

  • Creator
    Canadian Marketing Association
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    102
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    CMA Connect