Marketing News Canada: AfterPay, Thinkingbox, and more!

Today we feature a round-up of some big events and recent industry happenings.

• Thinkingbox Appoints a New Creative Director
• Afterpay Taps a New General Manager of Canada
• Facebook: Changing how advertisers can reach young people
• Polar Ice Vodka Announces Multi-Year Partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays

Read more below!

Thinkingbox Appoints Ryan Booth as Creative Director Joining Toronto Team

Global creative collective Thinkingbox has announced that it has appointed Ryan Booth as Creative Director. He joins the team in Toronto, and is tasked with expanding the creative team and its reach across the Canadian market.

Previously, Ryan was Director of Design for Hudson’s Bay Company and Creative Director of Design for Zulu Alpha Kilo, named 2018 Design Agency of the Year. Ryan is excited to join the team at Thinkingbox and help create award-winning, culturally relevant work. His work spans across brand, design, packaging, experiential, digital and interior design.

“Ryan Booth brings a high level of branding and design expertise to the team with experience as both an instructor at Miami Ad School and a long ensure at Zulu Alpha Kilo. It’s going to be really exciting to bring his discerning eye and vision to helping us and grow and build the Toronto market,” said Michael Kern, CCO, Thinkingbox.

“I am really excited to be joining the Thinkingbox team, and look forward to driving the creation of award-winning, culturally relevant work for the clients of an already innovative company,” said Booth.

Ryan also works as a Branding Instructor at Miami Ad School in Toronto, and has participated as a juror for coveted design awards such as the 2020 Clio Design as part of the Craft Jury. He was named in the top 10 for the Canadian Graphic Designer Creative Report Card in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Afterpay Taps Amazon Exec as new General Manager of Canada

Afterpay, the leader in “Buy Now, Pay Later” payments, announced that it has appointed Ryann Carruthers as General Manager of Canada.

Ryann will help accelerate Afterpay’s growth in the market by driving key business functions - including sales, client relationships and partnerships. She joins Afterpay as the company celebrates its first anniversary in Canada. Ryann comes to Afterpay after more than 20 years of experience, primarily in sales and account management. Most recently, Ryann was responsible for recruiting and leading Canada’s first national field sales team at Amazon.

Prior to Amazon, Ryann held a variety of sales and leadership roles at Samsung. Her early career was spent at various telecommunications and consumer electronic companies, including Virgin Mobile, XM Satellite Radio, and Rogers Communications in Canada. Despite Afterpay’s relatively recent entry into Canada, it has quickly grown to become the most used and visited Buy Now, Pay Later service in the region.

Afterpay partners with a wide network of brands consumers love in Canada, including Urban Outfitters, Lululemon, Pandora, NARS and Shiseido, among others. On a monthly basis, Afterpay sends approximately 31 million leads on average to its merchant partners from its Shop Directory.

Facebook: Changing how advertisers can reach young people

Facebook is announcing a series of changes to create a safer and more private experience for young people on Instagram, including how advertisers can reach young people with ads.
They started by giving people ways to share that they would rather not see ads based on their interests or on their activities on other websites and apps, through controls within their ad settings. But they’ve heard from youth advocates that young people may not be well equipped to make these decisions.

In order to take a more precautionary approach, Facebook will now only allow advertisers to target ads to people under 18 (or older in certain countries) based on their age, gender and location. This means that previously available targeting options, like those based on interests or on their activity on other apps and websites, will no longer be available to advertisers. These changes will be global and apply to Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. When young people turn 18, Facebook will notify them about targeting options that advertisers can now use to reach them and the tools we provide to them to control their ad experience.

Polar Ice Vodka Announces Multi-Year Partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays have been away from home for almost two seasons, and now the wait is finally over. As Canadians excitedly welcome the team home, Polar Ice Vodka is thrilled to announce its new multi-year partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays.

As the Official Canadian Vodka of the Toronto Blue Jays, Polar Ice wants to help fans make up for lost time and lead things off by introducing a new game day ritual featuring its new signature cocktail: The Polar Leadoff.

For fans tuning in from homes across the country, the Polar Leadoff is a brand-new way for Canadians to start their game-day activities, delivering an unforgettable drinking experience worthy of their starting lineup. Inspired by iconic baseball flavours, the cocktail bleeds blue for the Jays, and brings the familiar tastes and smells of Rogers Centre to life through every sip.

“We are thrilled to kick off our partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays and celebrate the team’s return home with this unique signature cocktail,” says Aoife O’Reilly, Senior Brand Manager, Polar Ice Vodka. “By introducing a new game day drinking ritual, we want to show fans that there is a place for vodka in baseball and encourage a sea of blue to span across the country in support of our team.”

To celebrate the partnership announcement, Polar Ice is releasing a limited-edition bottle to mark this moment in history - and it’s perfect for mixing into the Polar Leadoff cocktail. The Polar Ice Limited Edition Bottle will be available to consumers across Canada from the end of July 2021, while supplies last.