[In Person] The Case For Canada, Toronto, presented by Dentsu

Can You Really Buy Canadian?, Kantar Canada
In many ways, last year's resurgent national solidarity under the Elbows Up banner is holding the line, but it's running up against a powerful truth: Canadians just aren't convinced that it's practical – or even possible – to buy what they need while sticking to Made in Canada principles. Canadians need a truly powerful motivator to break free of a price-first mindset, and in the context of sustained financial pressure and complex feelings for their country, Canadians from all walks of life are asking the same question: how realistic is it, really, to buy Canadian?

Scott Megginson , President, Kantar Canada
Scott, a veteran with over 30 years in Market Research, has held significant roles at The Angus Reid Group, Warner Lambert Canada, PepsiCo Canada, and has led Kantar Canada for the past 15 years. Some of his impact has been recognized with The Chairman’s Award at PepsiCo and WPP Leaders & Partners Award at Kantar. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and academic institutions, past Chair of Queen’s University Dean’s Council for Arts & Science, Board Member of the former PMRS, founding President of the Canadian Advisory Council for the Insights Association, and Board Member of the Canadian Research Insights Council.

Hannah Sokolov , Senior Consultant, Kantar
Hannah Sokolov is a senior consultant on Kantar's MONITOR team, as well as the associate head of the Canada MONITOR product. Since 2020, she's been a leading voice in MONITOR's product development, delivering empathetic, data-driven insights into both where consumers across Canada are, and where they’ll be in the coming years. She plays a key role in shaping MONITOR’s studies across a wide range of topics, from generational analysis, to diverse consumer audiences, to the evolving technological landscape, to the ever-shifting nuances of Canadian culture.

Hannah also serves as the MONITOR team’s LGBTQ+ subject matter expert, and spearheaded the development of a unique, next-generation LGBTQ+ research methodology that captures respondents in an around the LGBTQ+ community in ways that truly reflect their identities. In her spare time, she’s also an activist and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, providing mentorship to transgender people newly in the process of discovering themselves.

Hannah holds a BA in English literature, specializing in experimental interactive theater, from Harvard University. She currently lives with her wife in New York City, where the two of them enjoy arthouse films, tabletop role-playing games, and river kayaking.

Video consumption in Canada has never been more abundant—or more complex. With traditional television, streaming platforms, broadcaster apps, YouTube, and social video all competing for attention across multiple screens, understanding how Canadians engage with video can feel increasingly fragmented.

But the reality is far more cohesive.

In this session, Numeris will present the latest insights on the Canadian Video Consumer, combining comprehensive cross-platform viewing data with new Echo Intelligence to reveal not just what Canadians are watching—but who they are, how they live, and why they watch the way they do.

By moving beyond platforms and into people, this session will help marketers better understand how to connect with Canadian audiences in a truly converged video ecosystem—where success depends on aligning content, context, and consumer behaviour.

Peter Farfaras, Vice President, Commercial Development & Partnerships, Numeris and NLogic
Peter is Vice President, Commercial Development at Numeris and NLogic. He brings deep expertise from global roles at Microsoft and across media, tech sectors. Peter leads initiatives that expand platforms and data adoption to deliver innovative, client-focused solutions.

Today's world is full of conflict, and many assume that global instability and economic pressures have pushed environmental priorities out of the minds of Canadians. Based on the newest audience research from CBC, this is not accurate.

As part of CBC's ongoing commitment to environmental leadership, this panel brings together data analysts, media strategists, and sustainability pioneers to dismantle the myth of climate fatigue. We will also unveil CarbonIQ, Canada's only carbon calculator designed to track and reduce Scope 3 emissions specifically across the advertising delivery chain.

Lisa Clarkson, Executive Director, Business & Rights and Production Sustainability, CBC

Jemima Freudmann, Senior Analyst, Custom Research, CBC

Mark Mandato, Senior Manager of Key Growth Initiatives, CBC

Ian Buck and Yotam Dor, Co-Founders of BaD Mktg, share the story behind their unconventional agency-of-record partnership that is challenging traditional ideas of how agency teams are built, scaled and operated.

Through a candid case study focused on their collaboration with Jamieson Wellness Inc., this session explores how AI-powered workflows, senior-led teams and flexible operating models are reshaping the future of marketing and modern Canadian business.

As brands face increasing pressure to move faster, do more with leaner teams and deliver measurable impact, Ian and Yotam will unpack how a modern agency model works in practice, from campaign execution and content production to strategic counsel and scalable support.

The session will also examine how this approach aligns with broader themes shaping Canadian business today, including innovation, efficiency, adaptability and trust.

Attendees will learn:

• How AI is transforming agency operating models and client partnerships
• Why smaller senior-led teams can drive outsized impact
• What brands should prioritize in modern agency relationships
• How flexible talent models can improve speed, efficiency and scalability
• What the future of agency-client collaboration may look like in Canada
  

Ian Buck and Yotam Dor are the Co-Founders of BaD Mktg, a senior-led creative company redefining how modern marketing teams operate. With decades of experience across advertising, marketing, PR, social, influencer, events and film production, they specialize in blending big-idea thinking with practical, scalable execution. They combine brand strategy and content production into one agile engine. No retainers. No junior hand-offs. Just direct access to seasoned experts in strategy, creative, design, and production.

Canada has no shortage of marketing ambition across AI, personalization, and purpose — but the organizations that turn that ambition into growth are the ones that align Marketing and Finance to fund, measure, and scale it effectively. In this session, Deloitte shares new research, co-created with the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) and FEI Canada, exploring what differentiates high‑performing CMO–CFO partnerships. We’ll bring these insights to life through a panel with leading CMOs, discussing how they navigate investment decisions, measurement challenges, and long‑term value creation in practice.

Amanda McCusker, Manager, Customer Strategy, Deloitte Digital

Amanda McCusker is a Manager in Customer Strategy at Deloitte Digital. She comes from a strategic design background and works with senior leaders across organizations to make sense of complex, cross‑functional challenges. Amanda was the research lead on Deloitte’s CMO–CFO collaboration study, shaping the insights through a qualitative, design‑led lens to surface how marketing and finance leaders align, where friction emerges, and what enables stronger partnership in practice.