This Week in Canadian Marketing – March 19, 2026
Coca-Cola gears up for the World Cup, Schulich tells leaders to claim their seat, a fintech gets emotional, Denny's goes coast to coast, and SocialNext Toronto expands its April lineup. Here's what happened this week.
Coca-Cola Turns Canada Into the Centre of the World Cup
With Canada hosting 13 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, the most ever held in the country, Coca-Cola is making one of its biggest Canadian marketing pushes in recent memory. The global creative reworks Van Halen's "Jump" as a fan anthem across three TV spots rolling out now through June, built by WPP's OpenX and The Ogilvy Group.
In Canada specifically: fan zones at Fort York in Toronto and Hastings Park in Vancouver, a national contest with 1,000+ prizes, and a Panini sticker collection hidden under 500ml bottle labels, a gamified retail mechanic built to sustain engagement all summer.
There's also a community layer: the Coca-Cola FC (Future Careers) Academy, built with The King's Trust Canada, offers free digital learning in sports marketing and leadership to Canadians 13+, targeting 6,000 participants before kickoff. Full-funnel World Cup activation, done properly.
Schulich ExecEd Urges Leaders to Take Their Seat
Schulich ExecEd has launched "Take Your Seat," its boldest brand campaign in recent years, developed with NP Digital and creative studio REBL House. The brief: call on Canadian professionals to lead with more courage in a moment of real disruption. The execution earns it.
Rather than spotlighting credentials or career outcomes, the campaign zeros in on the quiet moment before a big decision, the pause, the breath, the choice to move forward. Nine cinematic vignettes follow professionals at different career stages, anchored by a recurring visual of a branded Schulich chair as a symbol of commitment and decisiveness. It's emotionally resonant in a category that almost always leans on ROI. Backed by Schulich's largest media investment in recent years: a 30-second hero film, three 15-second spots, and nine 7.5-second animations across digital and social.
Neo Financial Makes Its First Big Brand Bet
Neo Financial has launched "Get What You've Earned," its first campaign under a new brand platform and a clear shift from product-led marketing to something more emotional. The premise is simple: Canadians are already doing the work to manage their money, and they deserve a financial partner that recognizes it. The tone is edgier and more human than you'd typically see from a fintech, deliberately so, in a category that tends toward sameness. Platform strategy from ONE23WEST, creative built in-house, rolling out nationally across online video and paid social.
Denny's Canada Takes the Slam Coast to Coast
Denny's Canada has launched the Great Canadian Slams, four regionally inspired breakfast plates that turn the country's culinary geography into a road trip on your plate. The Prairie Slam brings pierogies and smoked pork chop. The Central Slam goes spicy maple-glazed peameal bacon with molasses baked beans. The Maritime Slam stacks warm buttered lobster over eggs Hollandaise on sourdough. The West Coast Slam goes smoked salmon with dill cream cheese. All $18.99, except the Maritime at $23.99, probably the most affordable lobster Benedict in Canada.
The timing is smart. Denny's Canada has long positioned itself as distinct from its American parent, and a menu built entirely around Canadian regional identity lands well at a moment when Canadian pride is running unusually high. Less seasonal promotion, more cultural read.
SocialNext: Toronto Goes Bigger Than April 9
This year SocialNext: Toronto has expanded into a full two-day experience. The main conference is still April 9 at The Carlu, with Neil Patel on search everywhere optimization, Caley Dimmock on what's actually working in Meta ads, Fab Dolan making the case that your expertise is your most valuable AI-era asset, and Don Burns from Reddit on where the platform fits in an AI-driven search world.
New this year: a full day of optional programming on April 8 at the Storys Building. The morning’s 3-hour SocialNext Pre-Conference Workshop “Own Your Marketing” covers email strategy, brand messaging, and community-led marketing, all practitioner-led, all hands-on. In the afternoon, Full Circle: A CMO Experience brings together senior marketing leaders for a focused conversation on how AI is reshaping the whole function. Co-hosted with NP Digital, it's built for CMOs and founders who want real talk, not another panel.
Have news, a campaign launch, or a press release you'd like us to cover? Send it to news@socialnext.ca.
