This Week in Canadian Marketing – March 27, 2026

TikTok reframes its pitch to advertisers, Plus Company goes all-in on agentic AI, adidas signs the Blue Jays and brings back the Trefoil, and IPREX wraps its first leadership program. Here's what happened this week.

TikTok for Business Reframes Itself as a Full-Funnel Platform

TikTok for Business has launched a new global positioning, Watch it. Love it. Want it., making the case that discovery, engagement, and conversion can now happen entirely within the platform. The positioning is backed by updated advertiser tools including AI-powered optimization and real-time measurement, and is a direct pitch to brands that have historically spread budget across multiple platforms to move consumers from awareness to purchase.

Plus Company Bets Big on Agentic AI with Google

Montreal-based agency network Plus Company has adopted Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise platform, making it one of the first Canadian organizations to do so. The move is central to the network's agentic AI strategy, with plans to rebuild internal workflows across agencies including Cossette, Cossette Media, and Mekanism, while helping clients design and deploy their own AI solutions. The partnership builds on existing co-innovation between the two organizations, including Smart Persona, a proprietary audience intelligence platform built with Google Cloud.

adidas Canada Partners with the Toronto Blue Jays

adidas Canada has signed a multi-year partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming an official partner of the club ahead of the 2026 season. The deal brings adidas' global You Got This campaign into the Blue Jays ecosystem through social content and player storytelling. As part of the partnership, adidas also becomes the official apparel partner of the Canadian Futures Showcase presented by Rogers, a national scouting showcase for high school baseball prospects.

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Courage Wins AToMiC Grand Prix for KFC's "Kyle F*cking Connor"

Toronto agency Courage has taken the Grand Prix at the 2026 AToMiC Awards for a KFC Canada campaign built around a piece of Winnipeg Jets playoff culture. The insight: Jets fans had been chanting "KFC" for star forward Kyle Connor for years, and only KFC could authentically claim it. The agency paired that with a second connection, Colonel Sanders' white suit and the Jets' Whiteout playoff tradition, to embed the brand into one of hockey's most passionate fan rituals. Activations included rebranding a Winnipeg KFC location and distributing co-branded buckets at the rink. The campaign delivered a 358% increase in brand affinity, $364M in earned media value, and a 22% lift in in-store sales.

IPREX Wraps Inaugural Leadership Conference on Cultural Intelligence

Global independent agency network IPREX has completed its first Leadership Development Conference, a five-day virtual program for emerging agency leaders focused on cultural intelligence, covering cross-cultural communication, self-awareness, and leading teams in complex environments. Canada was represented through IPREX member Curious Public. The network's Americas conference is set to be hosted in Ontario in 2027.

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