Ian S. Cruickshank

Personalization is powerful. AI is enabling brands to stretch the assets they already have into creative that actually fits the moment, the market, and the channel. Trade shows, regional pushes, spokespersons that scale without losing credibility. This is what practical AI looks like in marketing. 👇 Worth a watch from JKBUILD.

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If your tech strategy isn’t delivering productivity gains, it might be time to rethink how decisions are made, how quickly teams can act, and whether your operating model truly supports innovation. Here’s what Canadian organizations can do starting this quarter: -Run a fast, focused tech maturity check. -Optimize your active project portfolio. -Instill a culture of effectiveness and follow through. -Start by fixing one legacy bottleneck. -Train managers to spot (and implement) automation opportunities. -Create a “fast lane” for high-impact ideas. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gA8VXQZ2 https://lnkd.in/g54kQ56u

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CANADIAN CONSUMERS, BRANDS & CX: Many thanks to our talented speakers for making our last Canadian Marketing Association event of 2025 insight-rich and engaging. Here are a few of my many great takeaways... 📢 A brand is a company's most valuable asset. Scott Megginson quantified this with the 2025 Kantar BrandZ study. Canada's 30 top brands grew their value by 10% vs. GDP growth of 1.5% this year 💡 75% of brand impact comes from CX and experiences, compared to 25% from paid media (Kantar) 💡 Brands with strong CX grow 2.5 times faster (Kantar research) Cheryl Mitchell brought the power of a strong CX to life by sharing Rogers Communications evolution. 📢 Fenton Jagdeo, Jr. 🍞shared that Canadians are entering 2026 cautious and for good reason. Growth is sluggish. Wage gains are not keeping up with where people feel prices are. A lot of households are feeling resistance. Here are three of the seven shifts he anticipates for 2026... #1. Care Commerce: Automation is being used to avoid casual connections. As the once organic social glue of human exchange erodes, brands face a pivotal choice: nurture human connection, or embrace efficiency at all costs. Brands that help facilitate human connections will win. #2. Made-In-Canada Silverlining: Driven by the trade war with the US, the appetite for ‘Made in Canada’ retail has never been higher and extends to almost every sector. #3. Return to the Comfort Zone & Nostalgia​: Personal comfort is a central component of holistic wellbeing. Nostalgia as a marketing tactic positions brands to form meaningful connections with consumers. ​ Our terrific panelists Kelly Hardy, Sapna Noel, Kelley Tessier and Andrea Laurin, CM brought this to life with their examples. 💡 AI is becoming increasingly important to retail, with 50% of Canadians using AI for their shopping (Peter Farfaras Numeris nLogic) 💡 Trust is crucial and there's a gap between how CEOs think consumers view their brands and reality. 90% of CEOs think their brands are trusted versus only 30% of consumers (Jonathan (Jon) Moran SAS) 💡 There are key differences in what Canadians and newcomers value. Convenience and accessibility are one example, with 31% of newcomers valuing it compared to 9% of Canadians (CanadaVisa). 💡 Newcomers are also more optimistic than Canadians -- 85% vs 66% (Riley Cohen CanadaVisa) Edward Morawski and Jackie Leung brought the newcomer opportunity for brands to life. 📢 Andrea Cook from JAM CRM shared three powerful predictions: #1 – Empathetic Enterprise​: Emotional intelligence will be a system requirement built into every piece of enterprise technology #2 – The Post Channel Era​: Brand experiences as algorithms:​ Technology fades into the background, and connection moves to the foreground #3 – Predictive Relationships: Anticipatory empathy engines that understand ​ and respond to context, care, and consequence #CMAevent #CanadianConsumers #CanadianResearch #CX #CustomerExperience #marketing

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Your competitor just hired a "fractional CMO" who promises AI will "revolutionize your industrial marketing." Here's what they won't tell you: 88% of Canadian manufacturers who adopted AI marketing tools in 2024 saw zero measurable ROI in the first 6 months. The real story from BC's industrial sector: A Burnaby-based precision engineering firm spent $47K on an AI content platform last year. The AI wrote 200+ blog posts about "innovative manufacturing solutions" and "cutting-edge precision engineering." Result? 14 qualified leads. Their plant manager writing one monthly case study about solving a specific vibration problem for a Vancouver high-rise? 31 leads. At $0 cost. Why AI fails in industrial marketing: Your buyers aren't searching "optimize supply chain efficiency." They're Googling "how to prevent concrete spalling in coastal climates" at 11pm because a Squamish project just failed inspection. AI doesn't know that BC Building Code changed moisture barrier requirements in 2023. AI doesn't understand why Port of Vancouver congestion affects your lead times differently than Toronto's. AI can't explain why your solution works better in Richmond's soil conditions. What actually works: Your engineer who solved that problem at the Vancouver Convention Center expansion? Get them on video. 3 minutes. iPhone quality is fine. That spec sheet you created for the Pattullo Bridge replacement project? Turn it into a case study with real numbers. The lunch-and-learn you did for Ledcor's team? Repurpose it into LinkedIn content. The uncomfortable truth: Industrial buyers don't want AI-generated thought leadership. They want proof you've solved their exact problem in their exact geography with their exact constraints. We're working with a Surrey environmental services company right now. Their "boring" photos of actual remediation work in Delta outperform their AI-designed infographics 7:1 on engagement. And engagement from actual decision-makers, not marketing coordinators. Use AI for what it's good at: scheduling posts, resizing images, first-draft editing. Not for understanding why a Kelowna winery needs different wastewater solutions than a Richmond food processor. Your 30-year project manager has more valuable marketing insights than any AI tool. The question is: are you actually capturing that knowledge? What's your experience with AI in industrial marketing? Seeing real results or just real invoices? #IndustrialMarketing #BCBusiness #ManufacturingCanada #B2BMarketing #VancouverBusiness

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Most marketing problems aren’t actually marketing problems. They’re prioritization problems. When organizations grow, their digital infrastructure often evolves unevenly. One area improves, while another falls behind. We see this frequently with growing businesses across Ontario. The challenge usually comes down to one of four things: • Lead generation isn't consistent • The website no longer reflects the company’s scale • Marketing content appears irregularly • SEO visibility stalls Each one affects revenue differently, but identifying the real constraint is the first step. Which area is currently the biggest challenge for your organization? Lead generation? Website performance? Content consistency? SEO visibility? Comment below. Companies that treat marketing as ongoing infrastructure rather than occasional projects tend to see more consistent growth. If you'd like a quick outside perspective, feel free to connect or message us for a short digital review.

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The Canadian SME AI Reality: 71% Are Already There. Have you taken the LEAP? Recent data from Innovation Canada reveals what I've been seeing in my day to day interactions: Canadian SMEs aren't behind on AI, they're leading. The Numbers That Matter: • 71% of Canadian SMEs actively use AI and generative AI tools [1] • 70% report increased productivity as direct result [2] • $925.6 million federal investment in domestic AI compute capacity [3] The Local Impact: While platforms extract value, Canadian SMEs are using AI to amplify human capability and not replace it. Red Deer manufacturers using AI for predictive maintenance. Kingston retailers optimizing inventory with local data. Charlottetown service businesses automating admin tasks. The Reality: After 23 years in this space, here's what I'm seeing: Canadian entrepreneurs aren't waiting for permission, they're adapting. They're using AI to handle the ten hats they wear daily, freeing up time for what matters: serving customers and building communities. The L.E.A.P. Framework: L: Local data for decisions: Keeping insights community-based. E: Efficiency through productivity: Handling the repetitive tasks. A: Amplified human capability: Using AI to wear the "ten hats" better. P: People focus for relationships: Using tech to free up time for what matters. The G7 Recognition: Canada's SME AI Adoption Blueprint is being recognized globally—not because we're following, but because we're solving real problems with practical solutions. Sources: [1] CanadianSME - AI Adoption Study 2025 - https://lnkd.in/ehMjG7mC [2] Innovation Canada - SME AI Impact Report 2025 - https://lnkd.in/e9RYsf86 [3] G7 Canada - AI Investment Details 2025 - https://lnkd.in/ekNhNsRR What's one task you'd love AI to handle so you can focus on what matters?

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What’s the secret to marketing that actually works? Explore how Canadian agencies are driving real results—using real data. At #SocialWest2025, Paul Tedesco of ICA - Institute of Canadian Agencies unveils insights from the 2024 Effie competition, showing how campaign inputs like media spend, strategy, and clear objectives fuel outcomes like brand growth and customer acquisition. 📊 Walk away with actionable, data-backed tactics to boost your own marketing effectiveness. 🎟 SocialWest.ca

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The first panel discussion at the Canadian Digital Marketing Summit, ‘Content to Conversions,’ was moderated by Kathryn Pascuzzo, founder of Swank Creative. Below are a few standout takeaways from this lively discussion: 📌 YouTube is underrated and underutilized (especially short videos) 📌 Make an emotional connection with your audience 📌 Get into your audience's heads, consume the content they follow 📌 Look for vertically aligned audiences

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Learn how Canadian B2B teams can integrate digital marketing with pre-event build, on-site capture, and post-event nurture for measurable pipeline growth.

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The Canadian Marketing Association is launching a new industry body to guide creator and influencer marketing in Canada. The Social Content and Commerce Committee will provide best practices and act as an authoritative voice on social content, commerce platforms, and emerging trends in the creator economy. Sara Clodman, CMA’s chief public affairs and governance officer, notes the initiative responds to shifts in consumer behaviour and platform features. Committee co-chair Adrian Capobianco said the committee will help marketers seize growing opportunities in social media and creator partnerships, while establishing clear industry standards. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gXKNkBDj

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Shoppable television with Bell Media is coming to Quebec. 📺💰 The expansion of the partnership with Shopsense AI brings the content-to-commerce platform to more programming formats and the Quebec market for the first time. Shoppable content options will become available in Quebec through programs including Nuls en Chef and Occupation Double, as well as sports programming on RDS. It’s a reminder that shoppable TV is not just here to stay - it’s only going to ramp-up. For so long, TV advertising was seen as a one-way, passive action. This is reinforcement that Connected TV is fast becoming more than just a top-of-funnel awareness play - it’s evolving into a performance marketing powerhouse. Television is no longer a ‘watching’ experience only. And as technology - especially AI - advances, there’ll be more opportunities for brands to reach and engage with viewers on the biggest screen in the house. #CTV #ConnectedTV #DigitalMarketing

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4 places to study great strategy work: 1. Strategy Awards Canada Great strategy papers that you can read -  https://lnkd.in/gzX__hgt  2. D&AD  Art Director awards but do have good case studies - https://lnkd.in/grAzqNGB  3. Strategy Tips Youtube  My Youtube Channel has a lot of case studies https://lnkd.in/gpmujwtp  4. 50 Years Of Effies  Iconic case studies with Mark Ritson - https://lnkd.in/gQFZzP_n  👉I’ll teach you how to write your own Strategy On A Page at a free workshop - sign up here! https://lnkd.in/gcTPg34x

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There are few things more uncomfortable than watching yourself on video… but the conversation made it worth it. Great discussion with Jeff Melanson and Emily Madden from the Magnet team on Canada’s innovation potential and what it will take to accelerate AI adoption.

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🚀 Is your small to medium-sized business in Canada ready to kick your marketing strategy up a notch? Multi-channel marketing might just be your secret weapon! Here are some key takeaways that could transform your approach: 1️⃣ **Know Your Audience**: Not every channel is right for every business. Dig into who your target market is and where they hang out online. Use that intel to optimize your channels. 2️⃣ **Mobile Matters**: With Canadians increasingly browsing on mobile, if your content isn't optimized for smartphones or tablets, you might as well be shouting into a void. 📱 3️⃣ **Personalization is Key**: Canadians love tailored experiences. Utilize data to craft messages that speak directly to individual needs and interests—because who doesn’t love feeling special? 🎯 4️⃣ **Measurement is Everything**: How do you know if your multi-channel approach is working? Track those click-through and conversion rates! If you’re not measuring, you’re not marketing effectively. 5️⃣ **Embrace the Right Tools**: Marketing automation and CRM systems can help you streamline your efforts, making your life easier while boosting customer engagement. Multi-channel marketing could be the game changer you've been waiting for! Want to dive deeper into these strategies? Check out the full article here: [Is Multi-Channel Marketing in Canada Effective for You?](https://lnkd.in/gAYAS7bx) #MarketingStrategy #MultiChannelMarketing #DigitalMarketing #BusinessGrowth #CustomerEngagement #Canada #MarketingTrends #Personalization

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Event opportunities and sitting with brand marketers helps capture demand for your brand. 👀 Matt Morris of Lightspeed Commerce drops more insightful knowledge in Episode 3 of the SIGHTLINE LIVE. To hear more, check out the full episode now in comments! #ExperientialMarketing #LiveMarketing #BrandMarketing #EventMarketing

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Most trade show lead capture feels transactional, but it shouldn’t. At the Toronto Auto Show, AutoTrader aimed for an experience that generated qualified leads while enhancing their booth presence. We introduced the Prize Vault. This seamless, fully branded journey included: - QR scan - Quick data capture - Instant unique code - Live attempt to unlock the Vault - If it opens, you win The impact was significant: - Crowds forming organically - Clean, measurable lead capture - A booth that people talked about This is what happens when gamification meets intentional brand design. For agency partners looking to move beyond passive lead forms and create real interaction, let’s build something memorable. #ExperientialMarketing #TradeShowStrategy #BrandExperience #LeadGeneration

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Discover how expertly crafted promotional videos are transforming brand perception for small businesses across Ottawa. In today’s competitive landscape, leveraging high-quality video content is no longer optional—it’s essential for enhancing brand visibility and establishing trust within your local community. This post explores the direct impact of video storytelling, from boosting customer engagement to differentiating your business in a crowded market. If you’re looking to elevate your marketing strategy and connect with your audience on a deeper level, understanding the power of promotional videos is the first step toward lasting growth. If you would like to know more on this I would suggest clicking this link https://lnkd.in/dRGfYDP7

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