Tuesday, October 1
8:00am |
Registration + networking breakfast (8:00am - 9:00am)Environics hosted VIP breakfast: How data collaboration can lead to better marketing ROI (8:00am - 8:50am)Loft 1/2 The marketing environment is intensely challenging. From signal loss and channel fragmentation to privacy concerns and pressure to “do more with less,” marketers are dealing with a lot. These new challenges require a new approach. That approach requires data collaboration. Join Environics Analytics’ Evan Wood as he discusses why data collaboration is being called today’s engine of growth and innovation. Space is limited: rsvp for this VIP breakfast session by emailing Neil Ewen newen@brunico.com Featuring: |
9:00am |
Opening remarks: The future is now (9:00am - 9:10am)COURT Tony Chapman will open the conference by exploring how AI will revolutionize marketing, and in record time. For CMOs, the stakes couldn't be higher. Just as the printing press, radio, television, and digital platforms once transformed the status quo, AI will eclipse these innovations by harnessing and harvesting intelligence on your consumer, and your competition. This intelligence will uncover insights, ideas, and strategies and tactics, at an unprecedented speed and scale. The future isn't coming—the future is now. Featuring: |
9:10am |
The face of tomorrow (9:10am - 9:40am)COURT The only constant is change. But we’ve never seen such accelerated change at a pace like this. Join Mastercard's Amanda Fraga as she explores three cultural and demographic shifts: the transfer of wealth to women, the broadening definition of families, and burgeoning economic diversity. This session will leave you with a framework for shaping and influencing the future of product design and consumer experiences. Featuring: |
9:40am |
Identifying the things that make a brand special (9:40am - 10:10am)COURT Every brand has something that makes them unique, but shockingly few seem to be able to translate those things into genuinely distinctive advertising. Maybe that's why consumers consider only 5% of brands as unique. By exploring which strategies to embrace and which to avoid, Nestlé's Tracey Cooke and Courage's Tom Kenny will demonstrate how they’ve helped distinguish KitKat, Nescafé and Turtles by unlocking what makes each brand special. Featuring: |
10:10am |
Tech in Action: Marketing in the age of Gen AI (10:10am - 10:45am)COURT In this panel discussion, Canadian startups 99Ravens and AgencyCoLab will share how marketers are adopting Gen AI tools into their day-to-day workflow. Moderated by Thinkingbox's Alex Panousis, the conversation will focus on real-world use cases and the ways AI can streamline marketing processes, from creating faster briefs to using data for better decision-making. Whether you're new to the tech or already using it, this session will offer practical insights for marketers to up their AI game. Moderating:Featuring: |
10:45am |
Networking break (10:45am - 11:00am) |
11:00am |
Globe Media upfront: How five trending topics are influencing content marketing (11:00am - 11:30am)Loft 1/2 The U.S. election. Data breaches. Artificial intelligence. The housing crisis. Climate change. Sean Stanleigh, a journalist and content marketer, bridges his two worlds with an informative look at how the fast-moving news cycle affects marketing, and the strategies brands should consider as they craft their own messaging. Featuring:DAC upfront: AI and the Future of Search: How Leading Brands Stay Ahead (11:00am - 11:30am)Loft 4/5 Discover how AI is reshaping the way search engines operate and how the most forward-thinking brands are adapting to thrive. In this session, you'll learn actionable strategies to stay ahead of evolving algorithms, optimize search presence, and dominate SERPs in a competitive, AI-powered world. Featuring: |
11:30am |
Building an inclusive sports marketing strategy (11:30am - 12:00pm)COURT The future of sports viewing is undergoing transformation, with streamers getting into the game and an explosion of women's sports leagues bringing more fans to stadiums and screens. The space is growing in scope as more marketers love sport and the fans that give love back to their brands. This session will explore how they're looking to the sports calendar to connect with Canada's diverse communities using inclusive marketing strategies. Moderating:Featuring:Kimberlee WelchHead of Partnership Marketing and Media Integration MLSE Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment |
12:00pm |
Lunch and Learn (12:00pm - 1:00pm)Gallery Meet the experts and dive further into their sessions. CMO Forum speakers will be available for discussions over the lunch break. Please see our staff at the registration desk to sign up for a Lunch and Learn roundtable. Lunch will be served in the Gallery.
Featuring:
Table host
Kimberlee WelchHead of Partnership Marketing and Media Integration MLSE Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Lunch (12:00pm - 1:15pm)COURT Lunch workshop: How to turbocharge future marketing teams (12:00pm - 1:00pm)STUDIO The pace of change in marketing is unprecedented with shifting consumer behaviours, emerging channels, and disruptive AI technologies reshaping the landscape. This workshop will enable CMOs to upskill marketing teams to better build their brands. Join Manoj Raheja and Debra Kavchak-Taylor from strategy and insights advisory firm Sklar Wilton & Associates as they share hands-on tips, tools and frameworks for marketers to transform ways of working and turbocharge their teams of tomorrow. Featuring: |
1:15pm |
Roku upfront: What TV streaming audiences want (1:15pm - 1:45pm)Loft 1/2 As Canadians favour the convenience and flexibility of streaming platforms, Roku's Ivan Pehar discusses how understanding addressable TV streaming audiences is pivotal to maximizing media planning and building effective ads that resonate with viewers during premium TV viewing experiences. In this session, Pehar will uncover the top emerging trends in the fifth edition of Roku's Video-on-Demand (VOD) Evolution – 2025 study of Canadian TV streamers and their viewing habits, with a focus on ad innovation and the opportunities that addressable TV offers. Featuring:The Trade Desk upfront: From bids to baskets: The rise of programmatic retail media (1:15pm - 1:45pm)Loft 4/5 As retail media cements its role in the marketing ecosystem, it is projected to grow by 25% annually in Canada, reaching $5 billion in annual media spend by 2027. Brands are recognizing the value of high-quality first-party data being captured by major retailers’ loyalty programs and in-store purchases. In a significant advancement for retail media capabilities in Canada, discover how a new partnership between Loblaw and The Trade Desk is enabling self-serve offsite targeting and measurement through UID2, allowing advertisers to connect digital campaigns across all channels. |
1:50pm |
Molson on the art of the pivot (1:50pm - 2:20pm)COURT In Canada, marketers are often faced with budget, scale and regulatory limitations that threaten to stifle creativity. However, Molson's Leslie Malcolm argues that brands can find power in problems. From mastering the new speed of marketing to developing a solutions-oriented mindset, the brand leader will share the guardrails her team uses to unlock creativity via constraints using case studies of recent Molson work. Featuring: |
2:20pm |
Navigating consumer eco needs (2:20pm - 2:55pm)COURT Sustainability is one the most critical areas affecting brands' future. Join Amarachi Chukwuma from Mintel Consulting, as she shares findings and strategies from the Global Outlook on Sustainability Consumer Study. This session will examine trended research at a global and market-by-market level, exploring shifting consumer sentiment regarding sustainability, the challenges and opportunities for brands, and recommendations on how to navigate them. Featuring: |
2:55pm |
Networking break (2:55pm - 3:10pm) |
3:10pm |
Rogers Sports & Media Upfront: Fueling a winning game plan in live sports streaming (3:10pm - 3:40pm)Loft 1/2 More Canadians than ever are streaming the biggest plays in live sports. Join Rogers Sports & Media's Ken Davie and Questrade's Chris Diakos as they share the inner workings of their partnership, which led to the wealth management firm becoming a leader in the live sports marketing space. During their rinkside chat, they will share results from Questrade's 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs campaign and some of the shared learnings from the partnership. Featuring:Pigeon upfront: Beyond buzzwords - crafting campaigns that truly connect (3:10pm - 3:40pm)Loft 4/5 For close to a decade, IKEA Canada and Pigeon Brands have collaborated on omnichannel marketing plans from flyers to campaigns. During this time, the retailer and agency have developed an approach for creating both authentic and impactful campaigns, which Jonelle Ricketts Head of Marketing at IKEA Canada and Elyse Boulet CEO & Managing at Partnerat Pigeon will share in this session. Learn from these leaders on how to navigate Canada’s evolving cultural landscape, and craft advertising that truly connects with diverse audiences who want to buy, love and recommend your brand. Featuring: |
3:40pm |
Nurturing next-gen talent amid disruption (3:40pm - 4:15pm)COURT It’s become more crucial to teach future leaders to think critically, and with curiosity, amid workplace advances. Years of missing out on human connections could be putting marketing teams at a disadvantage. And, as a tsunami of automation tools upends the way we work, next-gen marketers risk losing out on learning opportunities. This session will discuss how marketers are developing and moving their people towards their potential so that they can deliver on their brand’s ambition. Moderating:Featuring: |
4:15pm |
CMO Interview: A fireside chat with… (4:15pm - 4:50pm)COURT While no two marketers’ jobs are quite the same, there are challenges common to anyone trying to establish rapport with Canada’s increasingly complex consumers. This session aims to find solutions. A staple of the Forum, this year's CMO Interview will see two brand leaders confide in, and consult with, one another about what's keeping them – and their marketing peers – up at night. Featuring: |
4:50pm |
Closing remarks (4:50pm - 5:00pm)COURT |
5:00pm |
Cocktails (5:00pm - 6:00pm) |
6:00pm |
Strategy awards (6:00pm - 7:00pm)COURT |