Scott Dane

If you are in a non-marketing leadership role, it is worth understanding how share of voice works (especially during economic slowdowns). Essentially, if you keep your advertising budget consistent while your competitors cut back, your money will go further. - #shareofvoice #economics #leadership #marketing #ohcool

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Trade Desk is setting themselves apart as the go-to ad platform for the open internet, which is not only brilliant brand positioning, it's also a good reminder that there are valuable alternatives to Meta and Google for both audiences and marketers. A recent Trade Desk report reveals that 57% of Canadians' online time is spent on the open internet, encompassing activities like streaming, gaming, news consumption, and messaging. Surprisingly, only 19% of advertising dollars are allocated to the open internet compared to walled gardens. This data challenges us as marketers and communications professionals to delve deeper into audience behaviour across various online spaces. Our focus should not only be on identifying where audiences spend their time but also on recognizing the intentional spaces that drive active engagement from Canadians versus passive consumption. These spaces often exist within the open internet landscape.

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With recent discussions across the advertising community and increased focus on ad standards by entities like the IAB Canada, I felt it was timely to share some thoughts on the importance of these standards in podcast advertising. This ongoing conversation underscores the need for transparency and accountability, which are vital for building trust and ensuring the effectiveness of our campaigns. I hope this article contributes to the dialogue and offers some useful insights. Read the full article here:  https://lnkd.in/gyc7rUeE #PodcastAdvertising #IAB #MarketingStrategy #BrandEngagement #TPX #Podcasting

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This is massive news for our industry. “No other single ad tech provider has Google’s scale or reach across the ad tech stack, with over 200 billion Canadian web ad transactions flowing through Google’s ad tech tools in 2022," the bureau said. https://lnkd.in/gUNhYPZa

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The latest browser market share in Canada is 48% Chrome. A majority of the web is already cookieless. There is no time to waste. Advertisers need to push ahead even faster to futureproof digital strategies for a cookieless world. Push ahead as if the deadline hasn't changed and use this new window to test & learn different approaches. Refine and tweak your audience and measurement strategies as new learnings are uncovered. Waiting around for Privacy Sandbox to be perfect is a losing proposition.

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We need to talk about RFPs… Media RFPs, especially from large Canadian agencies, once made sense — back when most ad dollars weren’t going to Google or Meta. You could justify the time and effort to RFP multiple media companies to negotiate the best rates and efficiencies, especially with upfront ad buying. Today, agencies are still issuing RFPs for the majority of one-off campaigns under $1M, demanding custom strategies, content ideas, marketing plans, and more — yet they pour millions monthly into Google and Meta without expecting even a fraction of that effort or support 🫠 For publishers, creating these proposals can take anywhere between 25 and 100 hours, depending on complexity, utilizing resources and time from multiple departments — often with only 24 to 72 hours' notice! When you compound that with an average 25% win rate, you’re often left with some agencies actually costing us money... Why do agencies accept minimal support from tech giants but require exhaustive work from publishers for smaller deals? Local media is not a charity play. If you don't see the economic benefit of working with us, then don't. Don’t waste everyone’s time trying to make yourself look good in front of your client or the industry. If you’re serious about working with a media partner, take the time to build a relationship — understand their pricing, capabilities, and media properties. It’s not rocket science... The best media companies are transparent and upfront and will give you tons of support if you reciprocate and be straight up with us. It’s time to step up, build long-term partnerships with local media, and create effective, cost-efficient strategies that benefit your brands and accounts in the long run.

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Omnichannel campaigns that are easy to plan, execute & measure coming soon. 👆 All part of the latest updates from Canada's largest retail media network with 4 million weekly digitally active members. I had the pleasure of attending Advance powered by Loblaw Upfront yesterday. My key takeaways: Hard discount is their largest growth potential and they are both converting stores but more importantly opening more smaller footprint locations. These are for both urban and rural areas where they can offer a wide assortment of products (although limited number of brands/options) at an everyday low price. Pet, HABA and games/arts - all areas expected to see growth AND will have their areas in-store see updates coming soon. Another growth market are New Canadians and LCL is paying attention, such as including global holidays in their seasonal programs and recognizing this market over indexes on using digital. Everything they do is OMNICHANNEL. Their example was the Lunchables Launch (Kraft Heinz) who used online video/social, e-comm banner & sponsored search, digital flyer, in-store screens and in-store aisle blades & bunkers. 53% of Loblaw Companies Limited shoppers start their journey online, many of whom buy a product in-store within a week of seeing it on an LCL digital platform. This requires targeting.... Advance is adding to their 200+ audiences with 12 new automotive audience segments via Esso. Also teamed up with Corus Entertainment to allow brands to align shopper profiles and viewer profiles through MediaAisle. Advance is also improving several existing programs: 1) Sampling: Coming in 2025, it features an improved consumer and brand experience. 2) Product price in creative: the ability to have prices in programmatic display & in-store screen media coming in beta soon 3) Digital aisle: SDM now has sponsored search while biddable shoppable display is coming to PC Express 4) Personalized members only pricing coming in 2025 If it seems like there's a lot to manage - it's because there is! And they've got a solution: LOOP: Loblaw Omnichannel Optimization Platform Coming in Q4, it's designed to make omnichannel campaigns easy with objective based campaigns using AI to optimize budget allocation and provide suggestions based on performance. It also provides omnichannel measurement with shopper and cart analytic reports coming soon. All very impressive! Couple areas I thought I'd see more development: 1) Digital shelf LCL still using printed pages for at-shelf signage while Walmart has announced digital tags and video shelf edges over the last few weeks. 2) Reviews Lots of discussion about discovery online but no mention of reviews. Other retailers, like Home Hardware Stores Limited, are actively adding these to elevate the consumer experience. Excited to see the features as they are released through the year! #retailmedianetworks #grocery #retailmarketing #CPG #shoppermarketing

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I’m curious— 🤔 A lot of marketing and creative firms we work with are struggling in Canada. We are seeing the marketing industry change as a whole, for example, bigger firms like; BBDO, DDB, and TBWA coming together to form Omnicom Advertising Group. You top this with the radical advancements of A.I., and its current disruption on the culture and the value of ideas, creativity, and marketing as a whole. Oh, there's also a massive level of uncertainty and confidence with our economy. My question is for my creative brothers and sisters. The Founders, Experts, and Leaders within the trade: What pain are you feeling today? And, how are you overcoming that pain by evolving your business model? The game is changing and the more we can do to share and support one another I think the better. What are you finding success with? #marketing #advertising #creatives #marketers #branding

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We (Stephen Brown and I) had a nice chat with Campaign Canada on pitching new business and some of the pain points. It was a fun time to share some "war stories" (see link below 👇). https://lnkd.in/gy5CfqMb We've (at FUSE Create) had a successful run of new business this year, but that's come from a lot of learning from good pitches, bad pitches, lost pitches, terribly pitched pitches, and spending the time to figure out what we want as an agency. I share my grievances in the article, but some learnings from those grievances are: 1. We know our our non-negotiables as an agency, and stick to them (i.e. spec creative for us) 2. We make sure it leans into our strengths - do we have the right case studies? do we know the category? do we care about the product? does it match our strategic growth objectives? 3. We always do a vibe check. A discovery call / meeting with the clients we're pitching is now essential to our process. It's a two way partnership, we want to make sure it works for both of us. We know there are lots of convo's on the "power dynamics" of pitching. That said, as we've built our brand we've aligned our new business strategy to our values and tried very hard to limit our investment to the stuff we a) really care about and b) think we can win. Finally, the best part of running an indie... it's ok to sometimes (or in our case quite often) say no if it doesn't feel like it's a fit. Our current client roster always comes first. #newbusiness #pitching #advertising #rfps #marketing

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"Perhaps often said, but creativity can’t live in the creative department. The best companies have it infused throughout, so it touches every department." Jordan Doucette, Dentsu Creative Canada's CCO and newly appointed President, speaks to LBBonline - Little Black Book about the complementary skill sets of creativity and business, and why she has a raging case of optimism for the future! 🔗 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dEMBRYhE

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Check out the latest holiday consumer insights to ensure you are showing up to capture consumer demand from Google's Head of Retail Eric Morris. Give it a listen here! 🚀 #consumerinsights #google #RCC #holidayseason

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Weird move TikTok will be required to close its offices in Toronto and Vancouver as a result of the government order to ban the company but not the app. Michael Geist: There may well be good reasons to ban the app if it poses security and privacy risks that differ from those of other platforms, but banning the company rather than the app may actually make matters worse since the risks associated with the app will remain but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened. https://lnkd.in/dx7pMfWj

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A huge thank you to IAB Canada 🇨🇦 who worked with Team Snap Inc. (h/t Tonya!) to clearly explain the updates we have rolled out to Snapchat's advertising products 🙏 From innovations in Direct Response and Lead Gen to new bidding capabilities specifically designed for Mobile Gaming and eCommerce, to Demand Gen and Augmented Reality [AR], the IAB did a great job explaining it all, including our ML and GenAI improvements, in a clear and easy to read format. Learn more and let us know what you think: https://lnkd.in/gi7pJdaw The results are already in and its clear we moved the needle significantly: "69% reduction in cost-per-lead (CPL), a 62% increase in lead form submission rate, and a 21% increase in click-through-rate (CTR)" "Test results show positive outcomes with a 38% increase in average purchase size and a 4.4x increase in ROAS." "Landing Page View optimization also improved CPM efficiency and drove 3.8x increase in conversion." "First Lens Unlimited helps marketers make a strong first impression by literally taking over the first impression of the day, resulting in a 25%-45% increase in incremental impressions." "Extensions to create compelling brand experiences that are proven to generate 1.6x Ad Awareness lift." #Snapchat #Advertising #GenZ #Millennials Snap for Business | Snap AR

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Excited about this initiative. It's a move towards truly identifying the skills gaps from on-the-ground so that we can address them head on - in our discussions, programming, training and outputs. Can't wait to see our collective score! #learning #skills #upskilling #digitaladvertising #advertising

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🎧 Driving growth through data democratization is a hot topic for marketers. I had the pleasure of hosting Scott Megginson, President of Kantar on our Canadian Marketing Association podcast to discuss how businesses can unlock growth in the face of change. 🔍 Listen to learn: 👉 How marketers can navigate seismic shifts in consumer behaviour and the research industry to drive meaningful growth. 👉 What do frustrated Canadians really want - and how can marketers step up to inspire them? 👉 The surprising factor that sets high-performing companies apart. 👉 Why Kantar is giving away its most valuable asset to marketers for free. 👉 Will you thrive or be left behind? The AI revolution in research and insights is here. Kantar is also offering free access to their BrandZ study, which provides robust global and Canadian research on a vast selection of brands. It's a powerful resource for marketers. Tune in now for actionable tips to future-proof your marketing strategy: https://lnkd.in/g2FmSmhY #Marketing #Insights #CX #Innovation #Podcast #MarketingPodcast #AI

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Gen Z & Millennials Crave Authentic, Eye-Catching Out-of-Home Ads! Younger Canadians are reshaping the advertising landscape. These digital natives find OOH ads highly effective, with 51% saying OOH helps them discover new products and services faster. Although many Gen Z consumers skip online ads (63% use ad blockers), 55% view OOH ads positively. Gen Z is selective when engaging with ads, and OOH’s seamless integration into the environment makes these ads an enjoyable part of everyday life. What I find most interesting about Gen Z consumers is that they respond best to funny, eye-catching ads and value authenticity. Check out this ad for Cheestrings that capitalizes on humour, and happens to be one of my favourite ads of all time. Ready to speak to Gen Z and Millennials? Let’s talk about your next OOH campaign! 🚀 #OOH #DOOH #GenZ #Millennials #Advertising #Insight #Research #Marketing #AudienceInsights #ConsumerTrends #FunnyAds #EyeCatching COMMB OAAA DPAA Vistar Media https://lnkd.in/gFQQwUN3

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