Marketing in 2022: Perspectives from CMA thought leaders

As we begin a new year, we asked Chairs of the CMA’s Councils and Committees: What is one piece of advice you would offer to marketers as we kick off 2022? Here are their insights:

Align decision-making with long-term brand strategy

Our marketing today may be clouded by the noise of crisis, the next urgent need or quarterly sales targets. Everything we do as marketers adds or detracts from our brands. It’s important to ensure that what we do today is in line with who we want our brands to be in the long term.
- Paul Lacap, Chair, Martech Council

Create value to stay ahead

With disruption being the new reality, it’s crucial to strategize how to stay ahead. Revisit your business model and closely examine key drivers to determine the potential for disruption. Agree on the strategic KPIs that your C-suite should focus on. Consider ever-changing customer behaviour and new capabilities created by technology. Today’s marketing leaders are disciplined enablers and activators who focus on how to create value, engineer the business and harness marketing systems.
- Geoff Linton, Chair, Martech Council

Prioritize privacy transparency

Year after year, surveys indicate that Canadians are concerned about their privacy. As Canadians increasingly spend more time online, there is growing pressure for organizations to disclose how they use customer data and provide meaningful choices around consent. Brand values around privacy, user choice and greater transparency are here to stay. Advertising and user privacy can coexist, so consider how to differentiate your brand through this lens. Privacy transparency is vital.
- Deborah Evans, Chair, Privacy and Data Committee

Focus on defining, developing and delivering on consumer expectations

At its core, recreational cannabis is a CPG business. As with any successful CPG brand, marketing a cannabis brand needs to focus on the inherent delight that a consumer can expect from the product. Brands need to focus first on defining, developing and delivering that joy.
- Rick Moscone, Chair, Cannabis Marketing Standards Committee

Keep in mind social acceptance impacts opportunity

The introduction of a competitive, regulated market in Ontario for iGaming provides an excellent opportunity in 2022. However, its success is dependent upon public confidence that gaming is, and is seen to be, a form of entertainment that is provided in a responsible manner by regulated operators. The long-term acceptance of iGaming, including sports wagering, needs the social acceptance of consumers – whether they participate in iGaming themselves or observe their family and friends doing so.
- Don Bourgeois, Chair, Internet Gaming Committee

Explore new ways of working

2022 will represent another significant year of innovation, opportunity and change. The marketplace will continue to evolve towards a "new normal," including new ways of working together and solving challenges for both consumers and marketers. Data privacy will remain a key topic, and measurement will evolve as new ways of measuring become available.
- Drew Weicker, Chair, Adtech Committee

Continue the forward momentum

During COVID-19, many brands quickly pivoted and focused on ramping up their digital ecosystem. This led to innovative customer experience solutions. As businesses "return to normal," we may have a desire, conscious or not, to pause on that transformative work. The innovative transitions that occurred and sustained brands through the pandemic were positive, and we need to continue driving that momentum forward with regards to digital transformation and innovation.
- Meghan Sherwin, Chair, CX Council

Invest in professional development

As we look to exit the effects of the pandemic, people should turn their focus to their own development. 2022 should be the year of the marketer. Marketers should continue to diversify their skills, experience and education. Robust skills and experience will help marketers grow and create leaders that can tackle global opportunities in 2022 and beyond. Now is the time to invest in you.
- Chris Brockbank, Chair, Brand Council