Most Marketers Know This. Few Actually Do It.

The knowing-doing gap is costing Canadian marketers.

March 10, 2026

Hey friend,

Personalization is one of those things that makes your audience feel connected to your brand on a deeper level. And right now, the marketers pulling it off consistently have one thing in common. It's not the technology. It's the context they're working from.

Coming up

More Channels, More Content, Same Problem. Here's What's Missing.

93% of marketers agree that personalization improves leads and purchases. Yet only 13% actually execute it at scale.

The issue isn’t awareness. It’s execution.

And in a Canadian market where budget scrutiny is high and every lead needs to justify its cost, that execution gap becomes expensive.

That’s where many organizations struggle. Marketing generates demand, but sales reaches out without the full picture of what the buyer has already engaged with.

If your marketing and sales teams aren’t always working from the same customer context, HubSpot is hosting a free Demand to Deal Masterclass on March 19 to help close that gap.

You’ll hear from leaders on how teams are building a shared intelligence layer that makes personalization scalable and outreach more relevant, including how to:

  • Uncover what your best customers actually care about

  • Scale content across channels without losing your brand voice

  • Align marketing and sales around shared pipeline metrics

As personalization becomes central to modern marketing strategies, aligning marketing and sales is more important than ever.

HubSpot will donate $1 to Entrepreneurship for All for every registration, up to $1,000 USD. That’s a bit more in Canadian dollars. 😉 

Photo courtesy of Vistar Media

Across the Industry

Industry news, research, leadership perspectives, and campaign spotlights driving Canadian marketing forward.

  1. AI Is Getting Faster. The Judgment Still Has to Come From You — Martin Waxman has been thinking about AI in marketing longer than most. In a new conversation with MNC, the York-Schulich instructor makes a calm, clear case: the tools are accelerating, but curiosity, training, and human judgment are still what separate good marketing from fast marketing.

  2. Canada Is Hosting the World Cup. Here's What That Means for Marketers — Billions of eyes will be on Canada as Vancouver and Toronto play their part in hosting the world's largest soccer tournament. The fan experience is more fragmented than any previous tournament, and the planning window is already open. Vistar Media's Scott Mitchell shares how brands should be thinking about attention, hyperlocal strategy, and why showing up early is the whole game.

  3. Canadian Programmatic Just Got a Big Upgrade — Yahoo DSP and Datadesk have plugged Moneris transaction data directly into programmatic buying. Real purchase behaviour from 40% of Canadian retail transactions, not just browsing proxies. A meaningful shift for anyone doing performance-based media planning in Canada.

Watch & Learn

Upcoming live webinars, interviews and conversations in the SocialNext Marketing Alliance. Every Wednesday at 10 AM Mountain Time / 12 PM Eastern Time.

March 11: Reading the Room: How to Integrate Culture Awareness into Your Marketing Practice
June Findlay has spent 15 years helping brands navigate the nuance between campaigns that connect and ones that miss. This session gives you the practical tools to make culture awareness part of your everyday marketing practice.

March 18: The 2026 Marketing B2B Blueprint 
AI is reshaping B2B marketing faster than most teams are ready for. Miranda Furtado walks you through what's working, what's next, and how to build a B2B strategy that holds up in a year where nothing is standing still.

March 25: The Social Forecast: Q2 Trends Every Brand Should Watch 
The brands that stay ahead of the feed aren't reacting, they're watching for signals early. Kitty Lana Carr and Tanya Cruz from The Influence Agency break down what Q1 taught us and where Q2 is heading.

Nithya Ramachandran, President & CSO, T1 on stage at SocialNext: Ottawa 2025

Follow us on LinkedIn for job openings across every province and territory in Canada every Friday.

If you're a creative, strategist, or client leader ready to work on bold partnerships and experiences that actually stick, Toronto-based T1 is growing their leadership team (including Western expansion) and they're looking for people who care about doing it right.

  • Associate Creative Director, Copywriter — Toronto (Hybrid)

  • Account Director — Toronto (Hybrid)

  • Director, Partnerships — Toronto (Hybrid)

  • Account Supervisor — Alberta or Manitoba (Remote)

Thanks for reading. We’ll keep bringing you the stories, ideas, and context shaping Canadian marketing.

Marketing News Canada

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