Digital Day Camp, produced by David U.K. and Rob Beeler, will be a day of sharing ideas to move digital advertising forward in Canada. We will discuss key topics not only at a strategic level but also at a practical level. You will leave the event with ideas on transforming the industry and your company's future.
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The agenda is focused on a collaboration between publishers, agencies, brands and ad tech partners to share ideas to move digital advertising forward in Canada and transform the industry and our future.
More sessions are coming as we finalize the agenda.
8:00 - 9:00
28th Floor Cafe & Bar
Registration & Breakfast
Welcome! Start your day with us by joining for registration and a light breakfast. Network, grab a coffee, and get ready for the inspiring day ahead.
9:00 - 9:10
Main Presentation Area
Land Acknowledgement and Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks
9:10 - 9:40
Main Presentation Area
The conversation around retail media has expanded from the science of conversion to the art of connection, transforming the full shopper journey into a dynamic storytelling canvas that builds durable brand equity. Join leaders from Danone and Loblaw Advance™ for a discussion on the strategic partnerships, technology, and measurement frameworks enabling this shift.
Retail Media As The New Brand Canvas
Sponsored by...
Ryan Webber
Vice President Sales & Client Success
Loblaw Advance
Gillian Fitzsimons
Director, Media & Integrated Communications Canada
Danone
9:40 - 10:10
Main Presentation Area
Everyone in programmatic knows better quality inventory exists. The problem: the cost premium still outpaces the trust premium, and the math keeps sending dollars back to the walled gardens. Andrew Butts (Cossette) and Marybeth McGaugh (Index Exchange) get into the real conversation, what agencies need to justify the shift, what sell-side decisioning actually changes about the economics, and what it takes to build a marketplace where quality wins on price, not just principle.
Rewriting the Economics of Quality Media
Sponsored by...
Marybeth McGaugh
Chief Customer Officer
Index Exchange
Andrew Butts
GM
Cossette Media
10:10 - 10:30
Networking & Session Transition
10:30 - 11:15
Main Presentation Area
As self-serve platforms gain traction, Canadian publishers are rethinking how they attract new demand, streamline operations, and compete with global platforms like Meta. Featuring real-world perspectives from Radio-Canada and The Score, this interactive session explores how self-serve is unlocking new advertiser segments, reducing operational friction, and returning more dollars directly to publishers. Expect candid learnings, practical insights, and an open dialogue on what it actually takes to make these platforms work in the Canadian market.
The Buyer You've Never Met: How Canadian Publishers Are Reclaiming Revenue & Control
Sponsored by...
Michael Gelb
Head of Account Management
DanAds
Emilie Gauthier-Messier
Senior Specialist Sales Operations
CBC & Radio-Canada
Alex Campbell
Sr. Director Ad Tech & Programmatic
The Score
10:30 - 11:15
Boardroom
COMING SOON
P
10:30 - 11:15
29th floor S/W Breakout
AI is reshaping how content and media strategy is developed and distributed as well as the monetization models across publishers, agencies, and brands. Kin-Man Lee (SJC) and Robin LeGassicke (Cairns Oneil) will explore how AI is separating ideation from execution, unlocking new efficiencies, and exposing structural challenges across the ecosystem — from workflows to client readiness.
​AI, Unbundled: Rewiring Content, Creative, and the Media Value Chain
Kin-Man Lee
President & COO
SJC Communications Group
Robin LeGassicke
Chief Transformation Officer
Cairns Oneil
10:30 - 11:15
30th floor S/W Waterfront
Agentic capabilities are evolving — but the real opportunity is collaboration. Geneviève Roy (La Presse) and Alexandre Simard (OMC) explore how publishers and agencies can work together to build agentic models that drive better insights, efficiency, and accuracy.
Grounded in work from the Quebec market, this session covers emerging business models, aligning tools, data, and skills, and the impact on workflows. We’ll also touch on risks and what’s next, including synthetic panels, MCP, and AdCP.
An interactive discussion with the room on what scalable collaboration could look like across Canadian media.
Agentic Media: Building Collaboration, Not Control
Geneviève Roy
Managing Director
La Presse
Alexandre Simard
Chief Media Officer
Touché!
11:15 - 11:30
Networking & Session Transition
11:30 - 12:15
Main Presentation Area
Artificial intelligence and changing consumer behaviours are existential threats we can’t ignore — but they also present transformative opportunities for media companies. Can editorial integrity foster stronger relationships with readers? Should success be measured by engagement rather than page views? Are traditional barriers between editorial and business teams breaking down, creating new ways to collaborate? Let’s explore what’s possible — and what we can do today.
AI, Audiences, and Alignment
Sponsored by...
Jay Downton
Co-Founder and CEO
The Nation Network
William Lou
Host, Hello and Welcome
The Nation Network (Better Collective)
Richard Letaw
Senior Sales Director
FatTail
11:30 - 12:15
Boardroom
COMING SOON
W
11:30 - 12:15
29th floor S/W Breakout
The resurgence of true planning discipline, increased scrutiny on social platforms, client pressure and questions, and the real challenges brands face when attempting to in-house without the proper tools and infrastructure.
The Craft & Art of Media Planning
Caroline Breton
Managing Director
Involved Media
​Stef Mallaci
Head of Brand Partnerships
Narcity
11:30 - 12:15
30th floor S/W Waterfront
Search isn’t a channel anymore—it’s everywhere. Consumers are having conversations, and AI is deciding what gets seen.
The old paid vs. organic playbook is dead. Winning now means building a single, unified credibility signal across both.
This session unpacks what that looks like in practice—how discovery is shifting to zero-click and AI-mediated environments, why paid and organic must work together, and how to measure success when the click is no longer the signal.
Straightforward, candid, and built for action—expect a clear framework you can take back to your team immediately.
Found or Forgotten: The New Rules of Brand Discovery in an AI-First World
Basil Hatto
SVP Product
NP Digital
Amy Sturino
Head of Search
Omnicom Media Group
12:15 - 12:25
Networking & Session Transition
12:25 - 12:55
Main Presentation Area
The Next Wave of Opportunity: Scaling Programmatic Live CTV
Live events are the next wave of revenue for Connected TV, but they don’t play by the same rules as video on demand. To unlock this growth, broadcasters must bridge the gap between traditional TV reliability and the efficiency of digital automation. Hosted by Google Ad Manager, this conversation with BCG and CBC explores what it will take to move from direct-sold to programmatic in live environments — and how to confidently deliver personalized ads to millions of viewers at scale, without leaving revenue on the table.
Sponsored by...
Julie Spina
Head of Global Publisher Partnerships Canada
Google
Julie Kerr
Executive Director, Revenue Strategy & Foresight
CBC & Radio-Canada Media Solutions
Don Massoni
Managing Director and Partner
Boston Consulting Group
1:00 - 2:00
28th floor Cafe & Bar
Lunch
Join us on the 28th floor for a casual meal while connecting with fellow attendees. A perfect time to refuel, recharge, and build valuable connections before the afternoon sessions begin.
2:00 - 2:30
Main Presentation Area
Explore the partnership between WPP Media and Bell Media, highlighting its role in evolving the Canadian media landscape. Discover how WPP Media's investment, targeting 50% spend on Canadian platforms, is coupled with Bell Media's advanced data and ad tech infrastructure to deliver precise audience connections and business outcomes for clients. The session will highlight real-world impact, going beyond traditional metrics to deliver tangible results, foster innovation, and build a dynamic Canadian media ecosystem.
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From Attention to Outcomes: WPP Media and Bell Media's Blueprint for a Stronger Canadian Media Market
Urania Agas
Chief Operating Officer
WPP Media
Matt McGowan
SVP Business Solutions
Bell Media
2:30 - 2:50
Networking & Session Transition
2:50 - 3:30
Main Presentation Area
As AI reshapes planning, targeting, and optimization, systemic bias in data is influencing business outcomes in ways most teams don’t see. This conversation brings together leaders from across the ecosystem to unpack how bias impacts performance, where accountability sits, and how to build smarter, more inclusive growth strategies.
​Bias in the Machine: Rethinking Data, AI & Performance in Modern Media
Sponsored by...
Nikki Stone
Founder & Business Futures Architect
YQ
Gah-Yee Won
Head of Marketing & Interim Country Lead, Consumer Group Canada
Intuit
Alan Sifuentes
Chief Digital Officer
AdClub and Chameleon
2:50 - 3:30
Boardroom
We’ve spent years treating trust as something brands build through messaging. But today, trust is shaped long before a message is ever seen. In a fragmented, algorithm-driven ecosystem, media context has become the signal. Where a brand shows up, the environments it funds, and the companies it keeps now define how it’s perceived. From premium Canadian publishers to scaled network inventory, every decision carries meaning — commercially, and increasingly, socially. This agency–publisher conversation unpacks a fundamental shift: trust is no longer just a brand outcome, it’s a media outcome. At a leadership level, we’ll explore what this means for investment strategies, how trust translates into real commercial value, and whether the industry is truly aligning around it.
Trust Isn’t Bought. It’s Inherited.
​Jes Biagioni
Senior Vice President of Sales & Strategy
Ideon Media
​Beth Thomson
Head of Strategy
Hearts & Science
2:50 - 3:30
29th floor S/W Breakout
COMING SOON
A
2:50 - 3:30
30th floor S/W Waterfront
COMING SOON
I
3:30 - 3:45
Networking & Session Transition
3:45 - 4:25
Main Presentation Area
Ontario is challenging the perception of government advertising as cautious and rigid. In this session, the Government of Ontario and WPP Media share how one of Canada’s largest advertisers is building a faster, more responsive media model. With a clear commitment to supporting local Ontario and Canadian publishers while delivering performance at scale, this approach is designed for the pace and complexity of today’s media landscape. You will hear how campaigns are executed in step with the news cycle, powered by a deeply integrated partnership between the government’s internal digital team and its media agency.
The result is a model that is more agile, accountable, and aligned than most would expect from the public sector.
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Not Your Typical Government Advertiser
Sponsored by...
Jodi Peacock
President
EssenceMediacom
Ryan Ghaeli
Assistant Director - Media Buying, Performance & Optimization
Ontario Government
Jason Stein
Group Vice President
Zeta Global
4:25 - 4:40
Main Presentation Area
Wrap Up
Let's wrap this thing up.
4:40 - 6:10
28th floor Cafe & Bar
Reception
Join us for the end-of-day reception. Relax, network, and enjoy refreshments as we wrap up a great day of learning and connections.