What You Missed in Canadian Marketing: September 2026
Our team spent a big part of September focused on hosting SocialPacific, SocialNext's annual marketing conference in Vancouver, but that doesn't mean we weren't paying attention. Between new data on how Canadians are using AI at work and a run of campaigns built for colder weather, there was plenty to keep up with. Here's what stood out from last month, plus two dates to know for October.
Measurement and media
MiQ brings Numeris cross-media data into its platform
Cross-media measurement got a Canadian upgrade. MiQ announced a partnership with Numeris on September 21 that brings Numeris' cross-media measurement solution, built on AudienceProject and Numeris TV data, into MiQ's offering. The promise for advertisers is a single view of reach, frequency and channel performance across fragmented media, aimed at two problems most planners know well: fragmentation and showing the same people the same ad too many times.
Small businesses get an AI video builder from Bell Media
Bell Media launched AI Video Builder, a new tool added to Bell Ads for Business, its self-serve ad platform for Canadian small and medium-sized businesses. Powered by Waymark, it pulls from what a business already has online to put together a video ad in minutes. Advertisers can adjust the script and voiceover before the ad runs across Bell Media properties and its digital partner network.
AI at work
Leger's AI Index finds a training gap
Canadians are using AI at work far more than they're being trained on it, according to Leger's new AI Index. In a survey of 3,031 workers and 1,050 AI decision-makers, 68% of employees said they use AI in their day-to-day work, but 61% have had no AI training at work. Among organizations using AI, 46% report no measurable gains and 3% report meaningful gains tied to revenue or ROI. Marketing and communications teams scored 52 out of 100 on Leger's AI maturity scale, behind IT, data and AI teams at 56 and HR at 54.
Campaigns
Enercare gets cozy with "Comfort Days"
Enercare wants Canadians thinking about their furnace before the first cold snap. “Comfort Days," from agency of record GALE, uses claymation-style animation inspired by classic holiday TV. The hero :15 spot follows a woman and her dog who feel the season's first chill and book a service visit. It's live nationally across social and out-of-home, with animation by Bent Image Lab. GALE managing director Jason McCann said the team skipped the chore and sold the payoff instead: a warm house when winter arrives.
Ontario Tech makes trust the message
“Tech with a Conscience," Ontario Tech University's new brand campaign developed with BT/A, is anchored by four images (an iris, a neuron, a thumbprint and a heart) that connect technology to the people it serves. It's running at physical locations across the GTA and in digital channels. The campaign lands as 46% of Canadians say AI makes information less trustworthy, according to the 2026 CanTrust Index from Proof Strategies, which is also the university's PR agency.
Endy launches a cooler mattress and its first outlet
Endy spent September moving further from its online-only roots. The Canadian sleep brand launched Elevate, a mattress engineered for cooler sleep, with a two-day ice cream truck pop-up in Toronto with Ruru Baked, built around Endy's own survey finding that 53% of Canadians wake up too warm at least weekly. On October 1, it also opened its first outlet, at Vaughan Mills. It runs through October 31, selling overstock and floor models, and every mattress on the floor can be tried before buying.
Industry and research
The cost of chasing every objective
Senior marketers say focus pays off, but few act on it. In a study Ipsos conducted with Bensimon Byrne, 91% of the 212 marketing decision-makers surveyed across Canada and the U.S. said fewer priorities drive stronger returns. Only 21% put 80% or more of their budget behind them.
Coming up in October
Who takes home an Effie
The Effie Awards Canada wrap up this month. This year, 85 entries across 46 brands made the finalist round. Cossette leads all agencies with 13, across work for McDonald's, Google Pixel, Bonjour Québec and Can-Am, and McDonald's Canada is the most-listed advertiser with nine nods for work by Cossette and Wieden+Kennedy Toronto. The top honours will be announced at the gala on October 23, during the Canadian Marketing Effectiveness Summit at The Gathering in Banff.
Montréal hosts the C-Suite Marketing Summit
The fourth C-Suite Marketing Summit takes place in Montréal on October 28. Presented by m&h and DAC with the ACA, it includes a CMO panel with leaders from BDC, La Maison Simons and Desjardins.
That's September. The Effie winners will be announced in Banff on October 23, and we'll have more on several of these stories as they develop.
Have something from September we should know about? Send it to news@socialnext.ca.
