Nikki Stone
Business Futures Architect
GroupM
The Big Topics Shaping Canada’s Digital Future
The conversations we started earlier this year moved the needle, but the real work begins now. Canadian digital media is evolving at lightning speed, and the questions we face are sharper, tougher, and more urgent than ever. October 22 will bring the ideas, debates, and strategies that will define what comes next because the work isn’t done, and neither are we.
Here are just a few of the topics you can expect to see discussed this fall:
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Tailoring the Future: Beyond Brick and Mortar
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Beyond the Pitch: How Dragons’ Den Fuels Canadian Innovation
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Canadian Media: What We Say versus What We Do
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Retail Media's Promise
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Selling Canada in a Streaming World
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Signals, Streams, and Strategy: Evolving Media Collaboration
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Plugged In: The Future of Canadian Music in a Digital World
April 2025 Partners
THE BIG QUESTIONS SHAPING CANADA’S DIGITAL FUTURE
We’re still finalizing the agenda, but one thing is certain—Canada’s digital media leaders have work to do. The challenges are real, but the opportunities are also massive. Below are the conversations that need to happen, the problems that need solving, and the decisions that will shape the industry’s next chapter.
And check back often—we’ll be announcing speakers and sessions soon!
Why are linear and CTV still being bought and sold separately?
Media buyers and sellers are still treating these as two different worlds—how do we fix that disconnect and bring them together?
How do we break the silos between agencies and publishers?
Even with the best of intentions, publishers and agencies build their solutions in a vacuum—how do we finally bridge the gap?
How do we ensure quality in the programmatic supply chain?
Made-for-advertising sites, ad fraud, and inconsistent reporting plague the ecosystem. How do we clean it up?
Is Canadian measurement finally catching up?
With a new unified measurement source launching, will we finally see consistency across TV, CTV, and digital? Or are we just adding more fragmentation?
What does true collaboration between brands, agencies, and media companies look like? Are we still operating in a world where agencies are gatekeepers, or is there a better way forward?
DEI in media—are we making real progress?
Canada’s media landscape is changing, but leadership still looks the same. What’s actually working, and what’s just talk?
How do we make sure Canadian publishers don’t fall even further behind?
With Meta pulling out, ad dollars shifting, and competition heating up, what’s the real path forward for publishers—and who’s actually making it work?
AI in media—game-changer or just
more noise?
AI is everywhere, but is it actually improving content, ad targeting, and workflow—or just making everything more complicated?
October 2025 Speakers
Raven Opatovsky
Global VP Media and Measurement Science
Canada Goose
Ian Rosen
President
Harry Rosen
Gigi Lui Forth
Executive Director, Sales
CBC/RC Media Solutions
Brad Jeffrey
Agency Partnerships Lead
Google
Matt McGowan
SVP Business Solutions
Bell Media
William Soraine
VP Investment
WPP Media
Mike Sharma
Founder
Society, etc.
Brian Byrne
Musician
I Mother Earth &
The Duo Two
Jeff Woods
Author
Radio and Podcast Host
AHI
Musician
Cristie Schultz
Video Partner Lead
Google
Arlene Dickinson
CBC TV Dragons' Den
Marilyn Sherman
President
twenty6two International
Mark Harrison
Founder
MH3 Collective
Deb Gurofsky
SVP & Managing Director
MediaPulse
Anson Wong
CEO
Sing Tao Media Group Canada
Lucy Baumgartner
Managing Director, Commerce & Retail
Omnicom Media Group
Patrick Viau
Chief Revenue Officer
Optable
Lindsay Wilson
Vice President, Sports + Entertainment
​WPP Media
Leonard Asper
President & CEO
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc
Molly Middleton
Executive Producer
CBC TV Dragons' Den
Jason Maghanoy
Group Publisher
SJC Media
David Jackman
Vice President
Canadian Tire - Triangle Retail Media
Brett Chang
Co-Founder and CEO
The Peak
Marissa Cristiano
Associate Vice President
Cossette Media
Nikki Stone
Business Futures Architect
On Behalf of iDream
Justin Senior
Executive Director
iDREAM
David Kines
President Hollywood Suite & GameTV
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc.
Fil Lourenco
SVP, Digital
Dentsu Media
Grant Ellis
Executive Editor
Toronto Star
Geoffrey Bernard
Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Data Officer
La Presse
Laura Boodram
VP, Commercial Delivery
FatTail, Inc.
Anthony Berrena
President
Playwire
Boris Cho
Co-Chair and
Board Member
NABS
Alex Gardner
Chief Revenue Officer
Index Exchange
Christy MacLeod
Chief Data & Solutions Officer
Kinesso
Christopher Sopher
Co-Founder & CEO
Letterhead
Mike Rumble
Founder & Chief Strategy Officer
Epitaph
Chris Sisco
Founder
Digital Sisco
Kevin Bartus
CEO and Founder
Ideon Media
Dustin Titus
CRO
Zoomer
Who Needs Another Water Bottle...
Together, we raised $12,830 for NABS, the National Advertising Benevolent Society. This registered Canadian charity provides financial aid, career coaching, and wellness support for professionals in media, marketing, and communications—100% funded by the generosity of our industry.
For the third year in a row, Digital Day Camp and our sponsors raised more for NABS in a single day than any other for-profit conference to date.
