Canadian Marketing Trends for 2026: Andrea Fernandes’ Strategic Outlook | JONES Collective
The Canadian Marketing Industry in 2026: What I Believe Smart Brands Must Prepare for Now
A Perspective from Andrea Fernandes, SVP Strategy & Client Services | JONES Collective
After almost two decades in Canadian media, marketing, and revenue strategy, I’ve learned something important: real industry shifts are rarely subtle when you know what to look for.
What we’re heading into for 2026 is not a minor evolution, it’s a structural reset across how marketing is planned, measured, and valued.
The conversations I’m having with brands, publishers, and agency partners are changing. Faster. More performance-driven. More data-responsible. More creator-led. And far more outcome-focused.
Here’s what I believe every Canadian marketing leader should be thinking about now.Canada Is No Longer a “Wait and See” Market
For years, Canada was treated as a downstream adopter of global marketing innovation. That’s no longer true.
Platform shifts, AI acceleration, creator commerce, and privacy reform are landing here at full speed. Canadian brands that move early can gain disproportionate advantage, especially in regulated, retail, and category-competitive sectors.
But that only happens if teams stop thinking in channels, and start thinking in connected systems.
AI Is Now Operational, Not Experimental
From where I sit, AI is no longer a pilot project, it’s becoming embedded into daily marketing operations.
The smartest teams are already using AI to:
Accelerate content and concept development
Improve media optimization
Model audiences and predict performance
Support influencer discovery and validation
Generate faster testing frameworks
Scale creative versioning
But here’s my firm view: AI without strategic oversight weakens brands.
The advantage is not AI alone, it’s AI directed by experienced marketers who understand brand voice, customer psychology, and commercial outcomes.
Human judgment is now more valuable, not less.
First-Party Data Is Becoming a Competitive Edge
I’m advising clients to treat first-party data as a core growth asset, not just a CRM function.
With privacy expectations and regulations tightening, rented audiences are becoming less reliable and more expensive.
Brands that invest now in:
Consent-driven data capture
Loyalty ecosystems
Value-exchange content
Verified audience partnerships
Retail and shopper data signals
Clean influencer audience validation
…will outperform brands still dependent on borrowed reach.
Trust is becoming measurable, and monetizable.
Performance Marketing Is Being Redefined
One of the biggest shifts I see: performance is growing up.
We’re moving beyond surface metrics toward business contribution metrics.
Leadership teams are asking better questions:
Not - Did it get clicks?
But - Did it create demand? Did it drive retail lift? Did it improve media efficiency?
Campaigns now must be designed with measurement in mind from the start, including:
Multi-touch contribution
Creator content reuse in paid media
Incrementality testing
Demand signal tracking
Retail and conversion alignment
Revenue-influence modeling
Marketing is being held closer to revenue outcomes, and that’s a good thing.
Creator & Influencer Marketing Has Entered Its Mature Phase
Influencer marketing is no longer experimental, it’s foundational.
But the model is changing fast.
I’m seeing a decisive shift from:
One-off posts → long-term creator partnerships
Reach buying → audience quality verification
Deliverables → performance assets
Sponsored content → co-created content
Awareness → conversion contribution
Micro and mid-tier creators with verified Canadian audiences are often delivering stronger performance than celebrity scale, especially when integrated into paid media and retail programs.
Creator strategy now belongs in the media plan, not on the sidelines.
Platform-Native Content Is Now Non-Negotiable
Repurposed creative is underperforming. Platform-native storytelling is outperforming.
Audiences are rewarding:
Vertical-first content
Creator-shot formats
Educational short-form
Interactive social units
Authentic voice over polished production
UGC-style brand storytelling
The brands that feel human are winning attention.
Customer Experience Is Now Brand Experience
I strongly believe marketing, CX, and community management are no longer separate disciplines.
They are now one connected growth engine.
The brands gaining ground are:
Responding in real time
Managing community conversations actively
Integrating social + CRM workflows
Personalizing without overstepping
Designing seamless digital-to-retail journeys
Customer experience is no longer support, it’s strategy.
Martech Is Consolidating - Finally
I’m seeing growing fatigue with bloated marketing stacks.
2026 will reward:
Integration over expansion
interconnectivity over novelty
Outcomes over features
Unified reporting over fragmented dashboards
The right stack is not the biggest stack, it’s the most connected one.
The Skills Gap Is Real, and Fixable
The highest-performing marketers I see today are hybrids.
They combine:
AI fluency
Data literacy
Performance thinking
Creator ecosystem knowledge
Strategic storytelling
Operational discipline
The future belongs to marketers who can connect creativity to commercial impact.
The Questions I Encourage Every Marketing Team to Ask Now
Are we building owned audience intelligence, or renting attention?
Can we prove marketing’s contribution to revenue and demand?
Is creator strategy integrated into media planning?
Is our data strategy privacy-ready?
Are we designing platform-native content?
Is our tech stack helping outcomes, or slowing them?
My Bottom Line
2026 will not reward louder marketing. It will reward smarter, more accountable, more connected marketing systems.
The brands that integrate AI acceleration, creator strategy, first-party data, and performance measurement, together, will lead.
That’s exactly where I’m focusing our work and innovation now.
— Andrea Fernandes
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