Cultural Signals
24 posts
Who Cares!!?
Ads. News. Social media posts. More ads. Emails. Notifications. Even more ads. Every day, we’re bombarded with a constant cacophony of information. In...
Creativity Trumps Tariffs
When tariffs go up, creativity goes on sale. When U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods hit 25%, most brands braced for impact. Bob’s Your Uncle decided to t...
Tariffs Are Coming—So What Are You Going to Do About It?
Tariffs Are Coming—So What Are You Going to Do About It? The proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, set to take effect on February 1, are about to ...
When The Going Gets Bitter...We Get Sweeter
🍁🥞Trade policies can divide nations. Pancakes bring people together.H ere’s a novel approach to a trade dispute: Instead of fighting tariffs, let’s...
We Can't Call it Bourbon...But You Can
Creativity Trumps Tariffs: 'We Can't Call it Bourbon, But You Can' In the world of international trade agreements, labels matter. Under the United ...
Visibility Isn’t About Noise. It’s About Conviction.
Visibility Isn’t About Noise. It’s About Conviction. Most brands don’t lose because their competitors are better. They lose because they disappear. ...
Brand Disconnect: A Lesson from Wendy's and Kellogg's Missteps
Brand Disconnect: A Lesson from Wendy's and Kellogg's Missteps Recent events have spotlighted a growing issue: brands losing touch with consumer reali...
From Playgrounds to Pixels – A Dad’s Quest for Connection
From Playgrounds to Pixels – A Dad’s Quest for Connection In a world where the ping of notifications often drowns out the sound of laughter, I find my...
A Tale of Two Bags
Key Takeaway: Knockoff products can actually strengthen a strong brand by reinforcing its status as the aspirational original. The Hermès Birkin vs. W...
Getting Personal in the Kitchen
It’s an age-old truth in marketing that consumers gravitate towards the elements that save them time, money or stress. Combine those needs with new dev...
"Be the Show, Not the Commercial": Wisdom from Shawn P. Walchef of Cali BBQ
"Be the Show, Not the Commercial": Wisdom from Shawn P. Walchef of Cali BBQ When I reached out to Shawn P. Walchef, I expected insights into his thriv...
Putting Your Brand to the Ultimate Authenticity Test: Talia Pizza's Bold Move
Putting Your Brand to the Ultimate Authenticity Test: Talia Pizza's Bold Move Imagine the audacity of serving a frozen pizza at the premier pizza chef...
The Butcher's Wisdom
The Butcher's Wisdom In a world where convenience often overshadows quality, I recently had an enlightening encounter with a self-taught butcher that ...
The Generation Gap
Some early inspiration to start the year - this ad completely nails the 'big three' things that will make people care about your brand - emotion, relev...
The Not-So-Obvious (but Lasting) Impact COVID Made on Canadian Food Consumption
There’s a reason you’re reading and hearing about COVID 19 at every turn; simply put, it currently affects almost every decision we make, and that incl...
The Power of Three in Creativity: Where Snoop's Campaign Missed the Mark
The Power of Three in Creativity: Where Snoop's Campaign Missed the Mark When it comes to crafting a successful creative campaign, there's a trifecta ...
Walmart’s “RomCommerce” and the Future of Shoppable Stories
Walmart’s “RomCommerce” and the Future of Shoppable Stories When your holiday rom-com is really a Walmart cart. Walmart’s 23-episode shoppable series...
Canadian Brands Beyond the Label
Why “Made in Canada” isn’t a story – it’s a starting point. In the middle of a Leafs–Panthers game, Bob Froese noticed something: every rink board was...
5 Canadian Food YouTubers We Love to Watch
The creators we return to — and why they last The internet is flooded with food content. From 15-second TikTok hacks to cinematic masterpieces, there’...
8 Canadian Food Influencers Shaping the Industry
The Ingredients of True Influence In a digital landscape saturated with food content, true influence is a rare commodity. But influence — the kind th...
7-stop-worthy-canadian-tik-tok-creators
For marketers and creative agencies, TikTok isn't just a platform for viral dances—it's a real-time case study in personal branding, audience engagemen...
Economic Empathy: Avoiding Tone-Deaf Marketing
Economic empathy is a marketing approach where brands acknowledge and respect the financial realities of their consumers without exploiting their hards...
Category Storytelling and Strategic Narrative Design
Most brands “tell stories.” Very few tell stories that reshape the category. That takes narrative design—built on tension, cultural truth, and a spine ...
Restaurant Social Menu Architecture
Restaurant Social Menu Architecture & Content Engineering If your menu is the product, your social should act like a menu discovery machine. Most res...