This fireside chat will focus on the significant changes shaping the Canadian advertising industry leading up to 2027. The session will combine macro perspectives and data-driven insights to provide a comprehensive look at how industry shifts and economic forces will fundamentally alter the advertising landscape a year from now.

Three Big Topics

1. AI's practical impact on the ad industry, beyond the hype
By Jan. 1 2027…  Will AI be replacing human creativity, accelerating workflows and raising the standard for advertising, putting pressure on agencies to offer more strategic, high-level services.

2. The impact of macroeconomic shifts on Canadian ad spending
By Jan. 1 2027… What will  advertisers’ increasing demand for efficiency and measurable ROI from every ad dollar mean. What will it mean for creative agencies, and how will it  benefit data-driven digital channels while putting long-term pressure on traditional media formats.   

3. The aftermath of Omnicom's IPG acquisition
By Jan. 1, 2027… Will there be four holding companies? More? Less? What are the implications for pricing? Will independents benefit from instability or fall behind because they lack scale?  Will the AI arms race  reset the fee structures and pricing models?  

What happens when artificial intelligence stops being a test case and becomes the backbone of business? In 2026 and beyond, the “new normal” won’t just be faster workflows—it will be new business models, smarter strategies, sharper creative, and more impactful ways to reach audiences. This panel brings together three leading AI voices with deep roots across technology, advertising and commercial creativity to discuss where the power shifts next and how marketers and agencies can harness these shifts to thrive in a rapidly evolving, AI‑powered marketplace.

Two seismic forces could collide to reshape advertising as we know it in the months ahead. The time for experimentation is over, and AI will be hardwired into the very operating systems of adland, reinventing how agencies think, buy, and create. At the same time, the IPG–Omnicom merger isn’t just about consolidation—it’s a seismic change that will reverberate throughout the industry. For marketers and their brands, these shifts will directly impact how they reach audiences, allocate budgets, and measure success. Everyone in Canadian advertising will be rethinking and redefining their place or risk irrelevance in the next 12 months. This panel brings top voices together to explore how Canadian advertising will look—and compete—by this time next year.

Moderator: Daniel Shearer, CMO, Maple

In a time of misinformation, audience fragmentation, and brand safety concerns, The Globe and Mail and Stagwell’s Future of News research shows why trusted news platforms drive both protection and performance. We’ll also share exclusive audience insights on the lifestyle, culture, and service journalism Canadians are turning to for relief and connection – and how marketers can leverage these findings to build stronger campaigns in 2026.

Every Screen Counts: The New Attention Game for Brands

The attention economy will become more and more about video, but less and less about TV—as we once knew it. It’s all connected, all the time.

As we move through 2026 and toward 2027, the battle for audience attention is entering a new phase. Connected TV has matured into the centrepiece of brand storytelling, while shoppable and interactive video are transforming how consumers move from inspiration to action. The result? Every screen now plays a role in generating awareness, creating emotion, and driving conversion—often within the same moment.

This session brings together a CTV expert alongside leading brand and creative strategists, to explore what comes next for marketers. Together, they’ll discuss how viewing behaviors are evolving, how budgets should adapt, and how creativity can bridge entertainment and commerce.

Marketing is entering a chaotic period. Attention is scattered. Channels blend. People expect instant answers that fit their needs. At the same time, AI is changing how customers find, interpret and filter brand messages. In this new reality, the winning brands are the ones that can understand and respond to each person in real time.

This session explains why CRM is becoming the strategic centre of modern marketing. We’ll introduce CRM 3.0: a shift from broad personalisation to true individualisation. Every interaction reflects context, behaviour and intent in the moment. We’ll also show how AI speeds up this change by helping teams predict customer needs earlier and deliver messages that feel made for each person. Along the way, we’ll look at the cultural and technological forces shaping expectations, and how real-time, adaptive CRM supported by AI is setting a new standard for trusted customer relationships.

The takeaway is simple: as people expect “solutions made for me, right now,” CRM becomes more than another channel. It becomes the most important space for building meaningful, trusted and lasting customer relationships in an AI-mediated world.

2026 is set to be a watershed year for Canadian media and therefore marketing itself. Building on the morning’s discourse about AI and mega-mergers, this session dives deeper into how these forces—combined with a little economic uncertainty— could fundamentally rewire the media landscape by 2027.

Moderated by a Campaign editor in search of real answers to big questions, this panel will probe how or if the Omnicom acquisition signals a new era of scale and perhaps further consolidation; the ways AI will revolutionize media planning, optimization, and measurement, and how Canada’s unique market dynamics (like a strong indie scene) could impact all of it. Are mergers and machines the true future, or can independent agencies shape the next big wave in Canadian media?

Expect  a candid, future-focused conversation on what’s driving transformative change, where budgets and talent are flowing, and how every agency—from the biggest global player to the boldest indie—can create value in a year unlike any before.