Marketing News Roundup: October 19, 2022

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

• Citizen Relations Announces Growth and Leadership Changes
• CESAR (R) Canine Cuisine & Pinterest Launch Category-First Carting Campaign
• Google Canada Shares Holiday Shopping Insights

Read more below!

Citizen Relations Announces Growth and Leadership Changes

Global communications agency, Citizen Relations, announces refreshed brand design in conjunction with the significant growth the agency has seen over the past two years. This rebrand reflects the evolution of Citizen Relations, having completely transformed its operating model to grow a team of experts who build, protect and drive reputation and results through innovative communications strategies.

“The rebrand does a wonderful job of representing both the agency we are today and the agency we want to be in the future,” says Nick Cowling, CEO.

Under Cowling’s leadership, Citizen has seen incredible performance over the last two years, having adjusted to the realities of new ways of working with the onset of the pandemic across their eight global offices (New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, London, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City). Citizen Relations emerged from this period with over 20% growth in 2021, and projects to grow another 20+% this year. “By focusing on our mission and living our values, we’ve been able to improve in every area of our business - our talented people, our client satisfaction and success, our work and our growth,” says Cowling.

To maintain Citizen’s momentum there has been a number of recent promotions across the leadership team:

• Laura Bremer has been named President, U.S. With Citizen since 2010, Bremer has driven significant growth by pushing the boundaries of earned and influencer marketing. In her new role, Bremer will continue to lead with a people-centric philosophy to drive further expansion and global integration.
• David Brodie has been named Global Vice President, Innovation and Growth. Brodie has led award-winning campaigns with Citizen Relations for the past 17 years and is now responsible for the development of new and enhanced service offerings in addition to new business development worldwide.
• Jenn Duggan has been named the President, Ontario and West at Citizen. With Citizen since 2018, Duggan has led multiple award-winning programs and will now oversee the offices in Toronto and Vancouver, building on the exceptional regional expertise and fueling strong national collaboration.
• Erin Georgieff has been named Managing Partner, U.S. Growth & West Coast Operations. Georgieff has been with Citizen for over 20 years, leading the strategy for some of the agency's leading brand partners. Georgieff will oversee day-to-day operations of the West Coast offices with a focus on US growth.
• Sue Jackman joins Citizen Relations as the Senior Vice President of Marketing, leading the brand marketing and communications for Citizen Relations globally. She joins Citizen from Intact Financial where she served as the Director of Marketing and Communications.
• Heidi Mamer has been named Senior Vice President, Global Operations. Over the past 6 years, Mamer has been a key consultant for clients and internal teams across the spectrum of the integrated marketing mix and will now focus on streamlining global business operations across offices and centralized teams for continued growth.

Citizen’s new identity reflects the agency’s global mission to make every conversation count, anchored in the values of the ‘modern citizen’ - to champion equity, set the standard and do what’s right. To learn more about Citizen Relations, please visit www.citizenrelations.com

CESAR (R) Canine Cuisine & Pinterest Launch Category-First Carting Campaign

Our fur babies are family and for those with pets, they always treat them to nothing but the best.

On Pinterest, 62% of Pinners have a dog or a cat and they’re always looking for inspiration to give them their best life by offering the best pet care and nutrition. Pinners are turning to Pinterest to find inspiration to create the best “dog room”, with searches up 43%. They’re also looking for ways to get more content about their favourite furry pets with searches for “cute pets” up 92% and “puppy aesthetic” up 67%.

That’s why CESAR®, a Mars Pet Nutrition brand, is teaming up with Pinterest to connect with the next generation of pet parents searching for inspiration and helping them plan for moments of togetherness with their furry best friends. This collaboration with Pinterest is a category-first campaign to support in driving awareness and trial for two new wet dog food innovation launches. The CESAR ® brand is running Digital Carting pins on Pinterest providing consumers with a fully digital shoppable experience through the platform to encourage real-time purchases. Once Pinners see an ad, they can click through and directly purchase the dog food from a retailer of their preference. View the landing page here.

“We are excited to be embarking on this innovative partnership with Pinterest to be leaders in the category to launch a digital carting campaign this fall,” says Minay Martinez, Senior Brand Manager, Mars Pet Nutrition Canada. “The CESAR ® brand wants to transform mealtime into moments of shared joy by providing irresistible taste and unparalleled variety all dogs love. Pinterest has always been a platform where pet parents go to find inspiration to create joyful moments with their pets. That’s why we’re excited to be collaborating with Pinterest to help pet parents plan for more moments of togetherness with their furry best friends.”

The first-in-category takeover is fueled by Pinterest insights and Pinner intention to make purchases. In fact, 9 out of 10 people on Pinterest use it to make purchase decisions.

Google Canada Shares Holiday Shopping Insights

As we head into the holiday season, Canadians are looking forward to a more ‘normal’ holiday season, but many holiday shoppers are concerned about the rising cost of goods. Google Canada is releasing new research on some of the changing consumer habits we can expect to see from shoppers this holiday season.

Swathi Sadagopan, Strategic Insights Lead of Google Canada Retail speaks to how Canadian shoppers have adapted their spending habits, and whether digital or in-store shopping will win the holiday season.

Highlights from this year’s research include:

• Digital is here to stay and is now the gateway to all commerce: As a result of the pandemic, Canadian retail has changed forever, but the rise in ecommerce has been durable and permanent. While we expect to see a return in-store shopping this holiday season, shoppers will use digital to inform, inspire and enable their purchases. 86% of shoppers discover brands/products while browsing online and 89% of holiday shoppers searched online first before a store visit.
• Holiday shoppers are price-conscious about their spending this season: 72% of surveyed Canadian holiday shoppers say they are concerned about the rising cost of items they need or want to buy, while 60% of holiday shoppers say they plan to buy less because of the impact of inflation on their finances. Search interest for price sensitive terms have increased this year, with ‘discount code’ increasing 2x and ‘price match’ up 7x. The top behaviours holiday shoppers say they’ll do more this season includes deal seeking and researching, 85% of Canadian holiday shoppers say they will shop at store with discounts, and 73% said they will shop with stores that offer free shipping. 41 per cent of holiday shoppers said they are comparing prices and price matching.
• Holiday shoppers are being strategic, making fewer impulsive purchases: 1 in 4 holiday shoppers say they are shopping for things now that they don't need until later because they’re worried items will go out of stock while nearly half of Canadian holiday shoppers say they’re taking inventory of what they have to determine what they need
• Convenience is key to winning over holiday shoppers: While we anticipate a return to in-store shopping, shoppers will use digital to make those trips purposeful and efficient. Shoppers will research online for both store availability and price before making a purchase. More than half (54%) of holiday shoppers said they will confirm an item is in stock before going to buy it. Searches for curbside pickup isn’t slowing down either, with search interest for ‘curbside pickup near me’ increasing 250% year-over-year.
• Online video plays an increasingly important role in the shopping journey: 70% of consumers say they bought a brand because they saw it on YouTube with over 2 in 3 (67%) holiday shoppers having watched a video on YouTube before a store visit.

Read the full story here.

Compiled by Emma Whiten, Editor of Marketing News Canada