CMA Connect

Today's guest on 'CMA Connect' is Karen Zuccala, Head of Brand Strategy for Google. Our host John Wiltshire, and Karen, take an in-depth look at connected TV, and how it's impacting media investments.

• Why should marketers consider Connected TV?

"Connected TV enables brands to have the best of both worlds: The big screen impact of TV, but with the precision and control of digital. And YouTube really brings together the power of reach, relevance and the world's most connected ad ecosystem."

• The importance of meeting your audiences where they are.

For marketers, Karens says it comes down to really knowing where your audience is, and where they are spending their time. It doesn't have to be either YouTube or traditional broadcast. Brands need to consciously consider the right media mix that mirrors where their target audiences are engaging.

• How can marketers keep up to rapidly changing consumer experience expectations?

"It's fair to say that for over 60 years, nothing has really changed in the world of media. I love to think about the analogy of what's happened to the evolution of the phone. It started with the rotary phone, and then it moved to the cordless phone, and then came the cell phone, and now the smartphone that we use today. I think what we're going through right now in this revolution of the TV screen is really the same journey the phone once took."

• What metrics are relevant?

"The metrics we use to measure connected TV are actually very similar to what we use to measure any type of video campaign. Views, unique users reached, frequency, and brand lift. We know that ad over exposure and frequency is an issue on broadcast. With connected TV, we're able to effectively manage ad frequency across a brand's target audience, which brings in a whole new level of efficiency to advertising."

Tune into this episode of 'CMA Connect' for the full conversation between Karen Zuccala and John Wiltshire.

Today, on CMA Connect, we bring you Vice President of Walmart Connect Canada Dana Toering. Dana specializes in the world of data in marketing, having worked with brands like Adobe, AOL Canada, Accenture Interactive, and fun fact: Kanye West.

John and Dana dig into a case study of Walmart Connect, with some of the strategies and thinking behind the program.

"I always talk about this sort of virtuous flywheel of investment that retail media provides partners, in the sense that, we work with the vendors that sell products on the shelves at Walmart, they invest their dollars with us, and we try through our solutions and channels to leverage our first party data to drive great ROI"

• Partnership and collaboration channels in retail

"Since the mid 70s, retailers have been working with merchants, vendors and suppliers, to provide them opportunities to connect with customers, in their stores, in the form of advertising in the form of trade investment, and this (Walmart Connect) is a natural evolution of that for the age of connectivity."

• What's the quid pro quo for consumers to actually share their data with retailers?

"I think the key is how we use the mountain of purchase level data we have that is both ecommerce driven, as well as from retail locations. We understand what consumers are buying, when they're buying it, what their basket composition looks like. As we start to create a view of this customer our goal is not to hound them around the internet with ads; our goal is to make their experience better, and provide them offers on behalf of brands, in those moments."

• Retail trends - what Dana sees coming in the next few years that will bring together the online and offline world

"I think you're going to see a lot more digital signage in stores. Customers tend to wait a little bit, either they're waiting for the butcher to cut their meat, or their prescription. So there's an opportunity there to create a content experience, and then feather in ads."

For all of this and more about the opportunities and the obstacles that marketers face around the collection and use of consumer data, tune into this episode of CMA Connect.

Today, on CMA Connect, we bring you highlights from last year's CMAb2b panel. This roundtable was held one year into the pandemic. Almost exactly a year ago. Listen in on how businesses shifted their focus.

The panel includes our moderator and guest host for the day, Jeff Lancaster from LinkedIn. He is joined by Linda Hazzan, Director of Communications and CMO of the Toronto Public Library, and Andrew Au, President of Intercept Group, a digital marketing agency.

Here's some of what they dig into:

Constantly changing challenges offer massive disruption and non-traditional partnership opportunities (5:31)

"The Toronto Public Library is the biggest and busiest library in North America, with 100 branches that 75% of our staff work out of. One thing that's been an impact for us from a marketing and communications perspective is a narrowing of communication channels. We've shifted to completely digital and a lot of our customers aren't comfortable on digital channels. We did not have sufficient tools and mechanisms or even practices to be communicating with each other that way. The other is the development of several non traditional partnerships. We partnered with food banks and turned our closed branches into community food banks, with our staff providing support. We also developed partnerships to distribute internet connectivity kits." - Linda Hazzan

The rise of consumer-centric, marketing-led business (9:43)

"Intercept is a b2b agency. We focus on the global tech industry. One thing we observed is that improving customer experiences has been key. If you want to be customer centric, you've got to be marketing-led, and I think for the first time we saw marketing step up and really take charge." - Andrew Au

Finding standard organizational definitions for 'digitization' (15:07)

What does it mean for a whole organization to understand going fully 'digital'? Everybody has their own interpretation of what that means. Clear definitions and understanding are key for public organizations in particular, says Linda Hazzan.

A greater understanding of advanced technologies within mainstream operations (21:21)

Jeff Lancaster talks about developments at LinkedIn, "We're building some products - like conversation ads, in which we're starting to introduce AI and chatbot technology to offer a better experience."

For the full conversation, listen to the episode.

Our guest today is Nicole Aysan. She's a Brand Strategist at Cisco, with a background in environmental science, marketing, and design. A supporter and advocate for climate justice and mental health, in her free time, Nicole designs and organizes environmental activism events and experiences. She also provides thought leadership on the value of creativity in the marketing industry as a member of the Canadian Marketing Association's Creativity Counsel.

Episode Highlights:

• Bringing the topic of sustainability to work (2:46): Nicole infuses sustainability in all areas of her life. "I am definitely an activist. I support a lot of climate justice initiatives across Canada, especially the ones that build community and resilience, as well as teach media literacy and how it impacts the climate movement. I also volunteer with the David Suzuki Foundation's Butterflway Project, which is this amazing national grassroots initiative to educate on the importance of pollinators like bees and monarch butterflies, and establish community-led native plant gardens all over the country."
• Understanding ESG from a marketing perspective (4:20): Environmental, social, and governance topics have become a major focus for business over the last decade. "I think it's probably one of the hottest topics in marketing right now. At Cisco. I'm working primarily on ESG topics, including sustainability, social justice, and then from a governance perspective, diversity, equity, and inclusion and hybrid work are areas we producing a lot of content marketing around."
• The role of brands and agencies in ESG communication (6:35): "A lot of what we do as a marketing industry doesn't really promote sustainability. It's actually the opposite. We're in the business of driving people to buy and consume more. We also need to avoid misleading messaging in marketing and communications. Greenwashing is rampant right now. That's the practice of making a brand appear more sustainable than they really are. A very big example is BP's (British Petroleum) award winning carbon footprint calculator from the early 2000s that puts the responsibility of climate change on the individual, not the 100 oil and gas companies responsible for 70% of the emissions."
• If you are considering a career in marketing as it relates to ESG, what should you think about? (15:07) "Having an understanding of business functions outside of marketing is critical, especially if you want to move into a leadership position. The more skills you can build and add to your toolbox, the more likely it is you're going to find a position that really aligns because ESG is such a multidisciplinary area. And there's a broad variety of knowledge and skill sets you will need in order to apply to roles within the space. If you're interested in this topic, there's no shortage of work to be done!"

For more insight into an exciting and growing area of marketing, in which we can hope to make some real, measurable impact 🎧 listen to Nicole Aysan's conversation with CMA's own John Wiltshire.

In today's episode, we will take you through the journey of a world-class entrepreneur, Hilary Borndahl. She is the founder and CEO of MIIX Analytics and has held leadership roles in market research for 20 years. Host John Wiltshire and Hilary talk about the importance of putting your own mental health first and how she recognized an opportunity to launch a new business at the height of the pandemic.

Episode Highlights:

• Need to Reach out for Support (5:10): Hilary shares her experience of taking a leave from work to focus on her mental health after being diagnosed with anxiety and depression related to pandemic stressors. Hilary talks about how as leaders, we often check in with our team members and encourage them to take time off when needed and to connect with resources but we don't give ourselves the same grace.
• Confidence to meet the challenge (7:39): Hilary says, " We're prepared as industries to go through periods of recession and periods of growth, but never to hit something like a global pandemic." Her work-personal-life balance during the pandemic took a heavy toll. During a break from her corporate role, she saw an opportunity and created her plan to create Miix.
• Identifying the road to success in business (12:16): Hilary talks about the importance of every new business having a vision, solid marketing/communications plan and full organization chart even before you start recruiting. She points out that the first decision anyone who is thinking about striking out on their own needs to make is what their business structure will be. Decide first whether you will be an independent consultant or team based business and if it's the latter, what roles you will need to be successful once fully staffed.
• Important advice to achieve business success (14:04): "It is important to set objectives and have strategies in place to achieve revenue targets. Businesses should continue to do what they do best and reach out to clients across different industries. Your business needs to have an agile approach to overcome hurdles."

For more insight from a successful entrepreneur 🎧 listen to Hilary Borndalh's conversation with CMA's own John Wiltshire.

Today's guest is Mitch Joel, author of "Ctrl Alt Delete" and host of "Six pixels of separation". Mitch is past chair of the Canadian Marketing Association, a lifetime member, and self-confessed 'biggest fan of the CMA'.

John Wiltshire talks to Mitch about key trends that will unfurl in 2022. Here's some of what they touch on:

• Omni-channel transcends retail (2:23)

"I think retail provides a very good analogy for all businesses. If you went to something like an Apple Store, suddenly it wasn't experiential, it was very transactional. They were taking my temperature, giving me a mask of their own, not letting me touch things; things were hermetically sealed in saran wrap. And what these retailers realized is they needed to create better experiences online. Omni-channel really means seamless - it's the ability to move from digital to physical, seamlessly, where it feels very connected. And I believe through this pandemic, which I call an era of forced innovation, that every size retailer really figured out how to be truly omni-channel by default. And it transcended retail to hit every industry, whether banking, telco, or agency services."

• Trend toward 'brand services'. (10:42)

Why people buy experiences, not things and services are the new experience. During the pandemic, many people got a pet and Walmart experienced a massive uptick in people buying pet food, toys, and accessories. They used this information to expand their services.

• Relationship between 'skepticism' and 'influencers' (14:28)

This idea that an influencer is the new publisher and the new gateway to media can be a dangerous place to go. We need to look no further than the Joe Rogan story for a current example.

• Balance of decentralization and regulation in the next version of the internet (20:03)

The parallels between being one of the earliest agencies who were all about social media and democratization of content when it was a safe thing for brands to buy another TV spot - and where we are now with web3 and the NFT world. Mitch's take is we're dealing with complex technology that's going to take some time to mature, to a level of sophistication and credibility that's needed for mainstream adoption in marketing and beyond, and that won't happen in 2022.

• Yes - mobile is still first! (26:04)

With everyone online via tablets and phones post pandemic, marketers really need to develop a mobile first mentality. Mitch encourages brands to look in the mirror and ask, "Are we mobile first? Because the customer is, and right now, the vast majority of us are not."

For more on decoding NFTs, how to look back at your first 2 months post-pandemic as a roadmap for business, and what the great compression really is 🎧 take a listen to Mitch Joel's conversation with CMA's own John Wiltshire.

In this episode John Wiltshire hosts Jani Yates, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ad Standards, to discuss ad content regulations, impact, and consumer trust.In order to provide context around pandemic references, please note this conversation took place in October of 2020.

Here are some interview highlights:

• Need for Ad Standards (1:52): The ad standards industry has been in place for 63 years, with a primary focus of building consumer trust. It also highlights the need for self-regulation. Self-regulation bodies are non-profit and non government funded organizations that handle different areas of consumer complaints on behalf of the industry.
• Advertisement-Related Consumer Complaint System (3:23): There is an online complaint system and a consumer panel that reviews customer complaints. The concern is taken to the advertiser and provides them with opportunities to respond. It's essential for the consumer panel to ensure advertisers amend the ads in question to resolve customer concerns.
• Advertisement Violation Code Categories (5:01): There are 14 different clauses that highlight the importance of the code. These are based on the International Chamber of Commerce's advertising code. The top 3 include clarity and price issues, safety, and inappropriate depictions and misrepresentations.
• Importance of Taglines (7:12): The initial tagline for Ad Standards 4 years ago was 'truth in advertising matters'. After careful review of language and communication, the tagline was changed to 'truthful, fair and accurate'. These are the best representation of what Ad Standards do.
• Government Involvement (8:16): All countries who are part of the International Chamber of Commerce are self-regulating organizations. There is also a European group for self-regulatory organizations. One important thing we follow in Canada is pre-clearance: a concept that is not in practice in many other countries.

For more about advertising laws, trends, and consumer issues 🎧 please listen to Jani Yates' conversation with CMA's own John Wiltshire.

In this episode, John Wiltshire joins Vice President of Public Affairs and Thought Leadership for the CMA, Sara Clodman to discuss the Association's efforts to advocate for the modernization of Canada's privacy law and explore the art of government relations and its impact on the topics of most relevance to the marketing community.

Conversation highlights:

• Privacy law reform (1:20): A new privacy law will ensure that consumers have modernized protections and Canadian businesses can spur innovation and compete successfully within Canada and on a global scale.
• Understanding the legislative timetable (4:40): Passing legislation takes time and is complex. It's important to understand the points where you can have an impact on the direction that government takes. By the time a bill gets introduced in Parliament, you are already far down the road.
• The role of interest groups (9:34): It's important for government to hear the views of organizations like the CMA and to avoid unintended consequences. The earlier we get involved the better. We have worked on privacy law reform for several years.
• Working with government (14:06): There are basic principles to follow in government relations. If you are asking for something that is relevant to the government's agenda, then it will be more of a priority. For example, updated privacy law is important to support the government's priority to stimulate the economy. Also, it is vital to provide accurate information and evidence to government, to help them avoid any untended consequences.
• CMA's GR activities (15.49): Bringing public attention to an issue helps get the attention of MPs because there are so many issues for them to consider spending time on. Marketers should watch the CMA social feeds and help raise awareness of important public policy issues.

To learn more about the Association's government relations activities and Canadian marketing rules 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.

Ushering a brand and a team from chaos to composure (C2C) and back to chaos again while the world's economy is unstable doesn't require a new entrant to the marketing tech stack. It needs leadership. C2C leadership. In this episode, John Wiltshire joins purpose-driven leadership expert and best-selling author Ron Tite, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Church+State, to discuss how to seize opportunities in chaos and gain the momentum to come out stronger.

Here's a snapshot of what they cover:

• The definition of leadership (5:25): taking specific actions to improve the lives of the people around you (starting with yourself) and being open to changing your opinion as your data changes.
• A parable for leadership: How races are won in the corners (7:54): Just like racing drivers, a leader will accelerate in the middle of the curve. The earlier you accelerate (whether it's through investment, increased attention and focus or the willingness to change your business to help your customers) the bigger and greater your momentum will be.
• Purpose equals sacrifice – and what this has to do with Lady Gaga (10:48): Leadership is bound by purpose defined by action and adopted by others through communication. Ron believes purpose allows us to broaden and diversify a portfolio of products (much like Lady Gaga did when she couldn't perform live) and still be held by a consistent belief.
• The importance of communication (from stand-up to leadership) 17:15: Whether you're a leader or a stand-up comedian, you have to communicate well, be authentic and transparent. But you can't ignore the reality of the room, you need to address it. Not only do you need to pivot on the spot, you need to go all in – and that's where the gold comes from.
• Why you shouldn't cover up your roots (27:18): With virtual meetings, you share parts of your life (whether intentionally or unintentionally) like your family, pets, artwork – your roots. This gives each party a better sense of each other, which will help build trust and increase collaboration.

To learn more about C2C leadership and how to put your business on the right track for success🎧 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 2020

On today's episode of CMA Connect, John Wilshire joins Jan Kestle, President & CEO of Environics Analytics for a discussion about using data to make public spaces safer. She talks about how data and analytics can help organizations understand their customers and get better ROI, how analytics informs marketing strategy, and what marketers can do to prepare for a data-driven future.

Key highlights:

• Data and analytics help organizations connect with their customers through the right messaging, using the preferred medium, at the right time. Data mining and analytics can show how effective this messaging is, which allows marketers to improve their interaction with consumers at many stages of hte relationship. (2:01)
• Analytics informs strategy – how Environics Analytics helps businesses and government organizations align their analytics and business strategy to ensure data-driven marketing spend creates ROI. (4:51)
• Using Mobile movement data to ensure public spaces are safe – How location data can be used to demonstrate how many Canadians are leaving their homes, and whether this is privacy compliant. This helps government, marketers, and other organizations know what trade-offs are being made between a consumer's personal desires, the economy and safety, so that they can determine policy (and what this means for store hours, product offerings and ultimately, marketing spend.) (6:40)
• Marketing to your potential, and untapped potential, instead of just marketing to your customer base. (18:25)
• What marketers can do right now to prepare for the future and help Canada recover. (25:11)

To learn more about data-driven marketing, privacy, and how data can make public spaces safer as we move towards recovery, 🎧 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.