Hello and welcome back to CMA Connect. In this episode, Erin Elofson, who heads up Pinterest's Canada and APAC region, joins John Wiltshire to discuss Pinterest's raison d'êtreand how positivity is built into the platform. Erin shares the difference between social media and personal media, and how brands can deliver ideas and inspiration to pinners who browse with intent. Listen up to find out why the platform should be part of every brand's media mix.

Here's a preview of what they talked about:

• How Pinterest started as a way for users to collect and be inspired by things they found on the internet (1:27) and, with 450 million users, whether the platform is growing locally and internationally (2:50).
• The difference between social media and personal media and where Pinterest lies on the scale (4:24).
• Built-in positivity (4:24) and some of the measures that Pinterest has taken to stay true to this, such as blocking anti-vaccination content back in 2017 (5:54), banning political ads and most recently, prohibiting weight loss advertising.
• How Pinterest's content differs from other social media platforms (6:40), coming mostly from brands who deliver ideas to people using the platform with commercial intent (8:28), often to plan for major milestones. And how this presents unique opportunities to reach an audience at the earliest stages of their journey.
• Why the positivity behind Pinterest (and their mission to create a positive environment for pinners) is a key reason to include Pinterest in any brand's media mix (11:12).
• The importance of trying out different roles and being a 'generalist' when you're starting out in marketing (18:15).

To find out more about Pinterest's social commerce push and why this could help your brand grow, 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect 🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in August of 2020

Welcome back to CMA Connect, where two special guests from CMA's Talent Council, Nardia Ali, Director of Talent Acquisition and Engagement at Ogilvy, and Medhi Rahman, Director of Global Learning and Development at Spin Master, join your host, John Wiltshire, to discuss how marketers must adapt to - and create - lasting change.

They share some of their plans and priorities to elevate marketing in Canada by developing thought leadership tools and best practices to foster talent and inspire creativity, while ensuring diversity.

They talk about:

• Adapting to change, whether its within the industry, technology or how we connect with our customers – and how this requires bold action along with the responsibility to build diversity, increase representation and create materials that are inclusive, diverse, and representative (3:46)
• The three issues of focus for the talent council (6:05):
• Addressing systemic discrimination
• Competency building to allow marketers to change and evolve
• Attracting and retaining the best talent
• The advantage of diversity within the Council (11:41), which includes members with different ethnic, academic, organizational and career backgrounds who have an openness to participate, contribute and learn from each other
• The benefits of rotating members from one topic to another every quarter to come up with concrete solutions (16:05)
• Why change can't be in the moment (19:48): The difference between using and consuming thought leadership tools and practices vs. actually internalizing them to make lasting changes (18:30)

To find out more,🎧 tune in to CMA Connect🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in October of 2020

Join John Wiltshire and Trinh Tham, CMO of Harry Rosen, to hear how this retail brand has remained true to their brand purpose, while continuously evolving and pivoting. Trinh believes that marketers have a vital role: to act as the voice of the customer. This means we need to be active listeners – asking what customers want from our brands, beyond product, service, and value.

They discuss:

• How Harry Rosen has always been consistent with their values, but these values needed to be refreshed and articulated (2:43) so they would resonate with their customers, both old and new (3:55). But, instead of rolling out a new strategy, they hit pause on their marketing (6:26) and started producing and donating designer face masks (7:53).
• The impact of Black Lives Matter and how it forced them as a brand to evaluate whether they were doing enough to help with systemic racism (12:40), both internally and externally.
• Adjusting Harry Rosen's merchandising and marketing strategy to provide customers what they want (15:42), for example, shifting from business wear to sportswear ("work from home wear").
• Increasing the company's digital spend, a focus on performance marketing and employee satisfaction (17:21) with an emphasis on customer relationships (19:09)
• Trinh's advice on setting your brand purpose, stopping, and checking in (with your team and customers), and the importance of authenticity and empathy (21:31)

To find out more about living your brand's purpose, during and after a pandemic,🎧 tune in to CMA Connect on Apple or Spotify 🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in July of 2020

Marketing is one of the leading applications for AI today, according to AI expert Erin Kelly. She joins CMA Connect to talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it can drive innovation through look-alike sampling. Erin Kelly is President and CEO of Advanced Symbolics Inc. (ASI), a company that uses AI to augment market research and prediction. ASI's patented AI, named Polly™, catapulted the company to fame after predicting BREXIT and the Trump election. Erin now works with major brands around the world to increase revenue and explore new ways of communicating. John and Erin talk about:

• The difference between artificial and alien intelligence (3:00), and how AI (such as Google Maps) is already being used daily to help people (5:45).
• How Covid-19 has unleashed the power of AI, especially in marketing (7:27) where it can be used to create look-alike sampling or audiences to capture consumer sentiment through representative social media behaviours. This allows marketers to see what tactics have been tried successfully – under many different conditions with audiences who behave very similarly – and get a leg up on the competition.
• Market research on steroids – how the Government of Canada was able to get people interested in the environment and sustainable development back in 2019 (9:59) and how AI was able to prove these ads were successful
• The importance of topic discovery and how it can help companies create aspirational audiences to drive new sales (15:20) – using the manufacturer of electric automobiles as an example of AI driving innovation
• Change point analysis (18:22) and how it helps companies find out whether their ad or communication has created change, for example, when your audience adopts the behaviour you want them to adopt
• How AI helps companies measure the efficiency of their spend (23:32) and how easy it is for marketers to learn and implement AI solutions (25:32)

To find out more about how AI is changing the scope of marketing, 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect on Apple of Spotify 🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in December of 2020

This episode of CMA Connect features Stephen Brown, CEO of successful Canadian-based creative agency FUSE Create. The winner of CMA's 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award, Stephen describes the role that agencies play in today's marketing landscape. He shares how agencies can build back better in 2021 and beyond , as well as what young emerging marketers can do to get into the industry.

Here's some of what John Wiltshire and Stephen talk about on the show:

• Stephen's trajectory into the marketing and advertising industry (3:15) to become CEO of FUSE Create
• What the pandemic has taught Stephen about over communicating (7:43) and the importance of a positive workplace culture (10:08). As well as why you need to provide a path for your team to connect, engage and build, instead of just focusing on financials (10:08)
• Whether brands need agencies – and finding the right balance (12:11). Plus, some insights on why outsourcing to an independent agency can help keep the product and connection with the consumer honest (13:58)
• If creativity can be quantified (15:00) and whether it should become all-encompassing
• The key to effective leadership – showing up and being present as well as listening to find the true issue instead of rushing to fix the problem (17:42)
• What's important for an emerging marketer, from building a personal brand and forming relationships through networking to letting your personality shine, being curious and passionate (22:22) and the ability to see opportunity (22:34).

To find out more about the role of agencies in today's marketing landscape, 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in May of 2021

In this episode of CMA Connect, John Wiltshire chats with Kevin Edwards, Chief Executive Officer at SkipTheDishes, Canada's largest and most trusted food delivery app about the increased demand for take-out and how they've responded to ensure growth for all three of their stakeholders (restaurants, contractors, and customers) (6:07). They also discuss the ever-evolving and growing role that marketing plays in an organization – and how it was key to Skip's overall strategy and success.

You'll learn from Kevin's experience as a lifelong marketer and how this contributed to his role as CEO, taking the brand from preference to relevance.

Here's a sneak peek into what was discussed:

• Every executive owns brand because everyone executes in a way that affects the brand. This is why every member of an organization needs to understand the mission, strategy and importance of the brand. Their buy-in is crucial to ensure alignment with the brand promise, and to nurture customer relationships (7:02).
• The acceleration of food delivery during the pandemic (11:56) and how Skip leaned into this to meet the needs of restaurants, contractors, and customers, bringing new restaurant brands to the community and helping them succeed.
• The story behind the organization's creative approach and why this resonated with Canadian customers (8:59)
• Kevin's experience of stepping back as a marketer (14:36) to become a CEO who embraced every part of the business (and why this is so important when leading, influencing, and challenging at different organizational levels)
• Why marketers should embrace the ROI discussion (18:17) to change the conversation from the cost of marketing to how their work translates into KPIs
• His advice for young marketers on what constitutes a great hire (22:27)

To find out more about the critical role of marketing in any organization, 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect 🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myC MA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in May of 2021

Hello and welcome back to CMA Connect. In this episode, your host John Wiltshire talks about the power of agile marketing with Analia Lapichino, Senior Director Value Proposition Strategy at Rogers Communication. They speak about the benefits of agile marketing's scrum framework and how Analia uses this method with her team to get things done.

Tune in to learn the difference between agile marketing and agile development (2:14) and how agile marketing (3:54) allows you to accelerate the pace at which you reach a customer. Here's a quick preview of the discussion around the five principles of agile marketing:

1) Focus on analysis vs opinion (7:20)

From breaking a decision into small (bearable chunks) with less risk to recognizing that leadership ideas don't have a higher success rate, learn how to focus on analysis rather than opinion.

2) Take a customer-centric approach (8:39)

Analia believes that companies need to think through every customer experience for every marketing campaign or tactic.

3) Be fast and fail fast (10:41)

If failure is a given, how can you embrace and learn from failure so you don't fail the same way twice?

4. Be collaborative and avoid hierarchy (12:22)

You can empower your squad and transform their leadership journey by embracing servant leadership.

5. Be efficient in your leadership support (17:37)

Set the vision and the guardrails you need to get there. When you eliminate the passing of the baton, you're on the right path.

Last, but not least, find out why you need specialists to bridge beyond the area of competency, along with a (non-hierarchical) environment that makes ordinary people extraordinary (19:48).

To learn more about how you can achieve success through agile marketing, 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect 🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myC MA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in November of 2020

Hello and welcome back to CMA Connect. In this episode, Sabrina Geremia, VP and Country Manager for Google Canada, joins the show to discuss how digital transformation is influencing marketing. Sabrina shares how technology can help marketers meet evolving consumer expectations and achieve digital excellence. Together with John Wiltshire, she discusses how Canadian businesses have pivoted online to meet a volatile market. They also touch on what both young professionals and seasoned marketers should be doing to improve their skills.

Here's some of what was discussed:

• How Sabrina defines good marketing (1:06), whether expectations of marketing have changed (2:10), and the contribution of online tests and iterations to measurement of business outcomes
• Whether Canadian companies have adapted and pivoted towards digital solutions (8:43), from retailers developing digital storefronts, car makers enabling online bookings or virtual showrooms, or restaurants allowing curbside pickups
• What businesses can do to accelerate growth, including anchoring strategy to business outcomes (11:17), learning through tools like AdWords or Analytics or pivoting on their product or distribution lines (15:00)
• The importance of analyzing your marketing to see whether it reflects the diversity of your users – and if it doesn't, how you can think about approaching it differently (16:56)
• What smart businesses are doing right now (18:22), from longer-range planning with built-in variances to using three growth curves instead of one. And how they are building resilience by becoming agile and setting up marketing strategies to drive business growth
• The importance of creating an amazing digital presence (20:00), and why digital should be at the core of your strategy
• Her advice for young marketers (22:05), like utilizing platforms such as CMA NXT to Grow with Google. As well as why every marketer should continuously build their skills, talk to others, and soak up knowledge.

To find out more about the digitization of consumer demand and how to tap into it 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect 🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in October of 2020

Does your organization feel like a Ferrari stuck in first gear, especially when it comes to the martech tools you use? Intercept President and Co-chair of the B2B Council, Andrew Au, joins CMA Connect to discuss the need for B2B marketers to not only adopt marketing tech and automation tools, but to realize their full potential.

On the show, he shares some of his journey to becoming an expert in B2B marketing, along with why martech tools are essential to reach and engage customers in a changing world. Tune in to learn how utilizing martech to deliver personal and connected experiences will help you be successful, post-Covid and beyond.

Some key takeaways include:

1. The importance of mapping your customer stakeholders (6:53)

Organizations must understand the different ideas, criteria, and expectations (7:55) of up to 15 decision-makers in B2B purchasing. Individual-based marketing is key to becoming more personalized and relevant – building persona profiles can help marketers understand every stakeholder's role in the buying journey and use these insights to create customer journeys (8:10).

2. Why marketers need to understand the data (9:05)

We're collecting way more data than we've ever had before, in multiple ways and formats for multiple parties, most of which is never used. Sit down with your IT department to decide what data needs to be processed and connected (9:35) to create client profiles that provide actionable insights.

3. How to embrace hyper personalization (11:59)

To be hyper personalized to your clients' needs, you need to talk to the person or team that's closest to the end consumer, which is sales. According to Andrew, the future of marketing automation lies in blending sales and marketing to create cross functional pods or teams (13:58) who design customer journeys that drive impact and secure investment.

4. Why more (great) content is the fuel for customer journeys (15:51)

Evaluate how personalized your content is and whether it provides actual value. Your customers are swimming in a sea of information – help them make sense of it. And if they're not responding, branch off and create sub journeys using marketing automation.

To hear more from Andrew on the potential of martech tools and how the citizen developer movement is making it easier to be innovative (20:27), 🎧 tune in to CMA Connect🎧.

Stay connected and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends by visiting thecma.ca and signing up for a myCMA account.

Reproduced from a conversation originally recorded in October of 2020

Welcome to the pilot episode of CMA Connect, our new podcast hosted by John Wiltshire, CEO and President of the Canadian Marketing Association. We'll be sharing the latest tips and insights from industry thought leaders to help you connect the marketing dots. For a fantastic discussion about diversity and inclusion and its impact on today's marketer, you need to listen to our very first episode.

On the show to share their personal experiences and insights as BIPOC professionals are Gopal Bansal, Vice-President of Diversity and Inclusion at RBC and Sartaj Sarkaria, the Chief Diversity Officer and VP of Corporate Services at CMA.

We discuss:

• The CMA's research on DEI and some intriguing findings from over 400 organizations (2:30) including widely varying experiences, notably the exclusion felt by minority groups (3:49) and how most non-minorities aren't even aware of this!
• Whether women are heard in marketing, the double bind of being both female and BIPOC – and how to turn this into a double bonus (6:07)
• The dynamics of diversity and inclusion (8:20) and how a simple 'Pink Elephant' exercise can reveal different experiences and perspectives (15:28).
• What leaders can do better, including 2-way mentoring and the creation of diverse and inclusive environments from the get-go. And why fresh thinking and new perspectives can help create an inclusive culture (26:23).

🎧 Listen to the first CMA Connect podcast for more.🎧

To stay connected to us and receive the latest marketing news and industry trends, visit thecma.ca and sign up for a myCMA account.