Gavin Barrett

What a Decade of Industry Leadership Taught Me It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade at the helm of IAB Canada—and it’s been anything but ordinary. The role demands grit, diplomacy, and a willingness to pick yourself up daily and keep going. It’s been challenging, humbling, and deeply meaningful. If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: the work only matters if it’s rooted in something bigger. As Einstein said, “Love is the answer.” Some key lessons…. Big moves come at a short-term price. Long-term vision requires short-term sacrifices. If you believe in what you're building, you need to be unflinchingly “plan-broke” to see returns. The best decisions often feel the hardest in the moment. Get to the finish line. Developing products and solutions is tough—if it weren’t, we wouldn’t be so busy building them. Detractors will try to distract, derail, and even sabotage. Keep your head down. Do the work. Finish. If you were wrong, nothing was wasted—you’ve still built something, learned something, and moved forward. There’s no glory in opaqueness. Transparency is everything—in products, services, and leadership. The best business decisions aren’t just about quick wins; they’re about laying solid, transparent foundations that will hold up over time. Stay true to the mandate. It’s easy to get distracted by corporate dopamine—projects that bring social accolades but don’t serve the real goal. The path of least resistance? Doing the work that directly supports your mandate. That’s where real impact happens. Love is the answer. Gossip, cliques, backchannel meddling—workplace toxicity shows up in many forms. Don’t get pulled into it. More importantly, look out for those who might be quietly bearing the brunt of it. A little support goes a long way. We’re all navigating life at our own pace, often with unseen challenges. Over the past ten years, I’ve faced my own. It’s made me deeply aware that showing up with empathy isn’t just kind—it’s necessary. Own your mistakes. Learn. Keep moving. I’ve made plenty (and will make more), but that’s part of growth. The best lessons come from the stumbles. I’m grateful for every colleague who’s been there as I broke things and figured them out, and I’ve been honoured to witness so many peers build their own paths as well. I’ve never held a role more challenging—or more invigorating. It’s an honour to serve an industry I owe so much to, and a privilege to help sustain it for those building their livelihoods in digital media. It hasn’t been without its bumps, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy building a network of good people doing good things for the industry. To my fellow peers, I see you and quietly toast to the commonalities we share. And to all the great individuals who made and continue to make IAB Canada what it is today, thank you. #Leadership #CareerLessons #WomenInLeadership #Transparency #TenYearsStrong

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FREE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! First in a series: At the Front Line: How AI Is Giving Clinicians Time Back Connected Care in Action: Real Progress, Real Stories, Real Impact https://lnkd.in/gHnJEZQT Healthcare in Canada is being reimagined — not in theory, but in practice. Across clinics, communities, and systems, people are rethinking how care is delivered, how information is shared, and how technology can help close gaps instead of widening them. And at the heart of this transformation? Innovation. Not as a buzzword, but as an accelerant. It’s what turns bold ideas into better outcomes. From AI tools that ease clinical workload, to Indigenous-led digital solutions, to platforms that put health information directly in patients’ hands, innovation is pushing progress forward in real time. But change doesn’t happen by chance. It’s built through partnerships, lived experience, and a shared commitment to doing things differently. Connected Care in Action is a five-part national webinar series hosted by Longwoods and Canada Health Infoway. It’s about what’s working, what we’re learning, and how we move forward, together. Each session explores a key piece of Canada’s Connected Care journey, spotlighting the real-world innovations –and the people behind them– that are reshaping the system. These aren’t theoretical discussions. They’re grounded in practice, focused on outcomes, and rooted in the belief that smart, inclusive innovation is the right way to scale better, more Connected Care for everyone.

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Red Dream Studios was honoured to have been selected to work with Kimberly Begley to bring the Genome Library project to life! The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), funded the development of a Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL) aimed at the management and sharing of human genomic data. Led out of McGill University, the team is composed of experts from 6 Canadian provinces, and includes patient partners, Early Career Researchers, individuals with established relationships with Indigenous other underrepresented communities. https://genomelibrary.ca/ #Wordpress #Website #WebsiteLaunch #WordpressDeveloper #MontrealWebsiteDesigner #WebsiteDesign #MedicalWebsite #ResearchWebsite #GraphicDesign

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I'm at #SocialNext today. The Toronto event has exploded in popularity. Over 3x the attendance as last year. The new venue's plenary room is packed (at the Carlu). Digesting the message from only two sessions and projecting forward, five takeaways. 1. A judicious marketing mix is a company's friend for growth. That challenge isn't going away. 2. Wishful thinking remains a thing. People in this world would love to cling to whatever organic scraps they can find, as opposed to being all in with paid media. Who can blame them? 3. Mental availability in consumers is a valid KPI for this effort overall, and stands astride sharper performance metrics. But nailing that's going to cost you. Negating 2 above, of course. 4. You can mitigate the cost by reducing the number of channels. Take it easy with the proliferation of effort! 5. Data shows that the longest-tenured agency relationships produce higher returns (campaign effectiveness). This effect rises throughout the cycle all the way from 0-5 years to 20+ years. Fascinating! Consistent investments pay off. As always, avoid silly dead ends and abject waste. Change is a constant. The appropriate mix needs to be re-evaluated every year.

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Every year, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD), Design Professionals of Canada (DesCan) and Société des designers graphiques du Québec get together to review our joint Code of Ethics. This document provides a framework for practicing design as ethically as possible. It's a wide reaching document that covers everything from working with clients, to our responsibilities to society and the environment, competitions and fees, intellectual property and so more. This year, when we sat down to review the document, there was only one word on our lips: AI. (Yeah, yeah it's technically an acronym, I know.) This AI-related update offers guidance for designers on the incorporation of AI into their work. These changes reflect AI's growing impact on the industry and the need to address concerns about transparency, data ethics and fair compensation for creators. We've purposefully kept the rules and best practices vague in an attempt to keep them relevant as the technology continues to evolve. Because we all know it's going to continue evolving, fast. https://lnkd.in/gmKVgz8v

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Why do so many designers cringe at self-promotion? It's a feeling we see often in our Future of Design class at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). But today, our fireside chat with Carrie M. helped our students reframe the idea of "selling yourself." Carrie shared her incredible journey through fintech, gaming, and her work with IBM and a sustainability B-Corp. But the most powerful moment came when she described self-promotion not as pitching a persona, but as simply telling the truth about the problems you’ve solved and why they mattered. Her advice on transitioning from UX/UI to product design, staying grounded in delightful experiences, and using storytelling to create opportunities was invaluable. Three simple but powerful takeaways from our conversation: - Lead with facts and outcomes, not just your role. - Hold onto your values, because the right teams and clients will find you. - A career is a marathon, not a sprint. Protect your energy and never stop learning. Thank you, Carrie Mah, for generously sharing your time and wisdom with our students. We run these sessions to bring real-world experience into the classroom. If you were there, what’s one line from your portfolio that best tells the truth about your work? #hereatsait #interactivedesign #UXUI #Graphicdesign #webdev #Gamedevelopment #SADT #SAIT #Designcareers #Portfoliotips #UXDesign

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🎬🍿 Cineplex set out to deliver blockbuster moments for every moviegoer and made personalization the star of the show. By pairing Adobe Journey Optimizer with Movable Ink, the team scaled dynamic creative across channels, reimagined their loyalty program, and cut campaign build times by 87.5%. CineClub members received tailored year-in-review emails, real-time loyalty updates, and seamless ticketing journeys that drove engagement and conversions at scale. 👏 Congrats to Gianni Santin, Ryan Reynolds, and Diogo Santos for leading this transformation. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gTPypjpW

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Hugh Stephens in the National Post: "In most cases, copyrighted content is the kind of curated, high value work that AI developers need but until now, have preferred to appropriate without permission rather than pay for through licensing. In effect they have decided to ask for forgiveness after rather than permission beforehand...the surest way to kill a nascent licensing market is to give the tech industry a “get out of jail free” card by introducing a broad TDM exception. Australia has just rejected that option. Canada and others considering introducing new, or broadening existing, TDM loopholes should do the same."

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"You want it to go this way, but it goes that way. A mistake can lead you to something beyond intellect." This is a quote by the Canadian/Japanese artist Naoko Matsubara. Last year Simple Revolution ran a workshop for a client in Toronto. I know - how lucky are we! But I saw those lines at a tiny print exhibition at the Art gallery of Toronto. They’ve stayed with me ever since. I work in the medical world, a space where mistakes are taboo. Where a slip-up can mean a life lost. But when I train doctors to present their science, I often tell them to leave something to chance. I want their performance to be less than seamless. Why? Because in communication perfection is a wall. It’s "mute." If you want to build trust, you have to be vulnerable enough to invite people in. Make them feel something. You have to be human. And humans have flaws. Sometimes I help specialists make the tough transition into leadership. To succeed, they have to change their communicative priorities. They need to move away from their specialist role and into a leadership role. It's a good idea to get your story down on paper. Tell a story that nails why and how you create value for your company and your team. It’s not a list of credentials; it’s a narrative about why you do what you do and why we should care. About your ambitions. About your vision as a leader. To set it off I often ask my clients to think of a socalled origin story. This is a moment when they got it wrong, or a moment they were moved. A story that explains how they got to where they are now. These stories make you "less than perfect," but they make you someone your audience or stakeholders can actually identify with. It helps to set the mood. You make them feel something. It's human. People will forget your data. They will forget all the brillant things you've outlined in your CV. But they will never forget how you made them feel. #Leadership #Storytelling #Communications #HumanBusiness #Resonance

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