Media Evolution 2026 - Sponsored by Loblaw Advance™

Steve Levy
Early in his career Steve spent time in Sales at Xerox and Marketing at Mars foods in the UK.  Since the late 80’s Steve worked with several research organizations in Asia and Canada before merging with Ipsos where he has had several leading roles both domestic and internationally.  He is the author of (among other things) the Most Influential Brand Study (Globally). He is a Canadian Marketing Association lifetime achievement award recipient, a Fellow of CRIC (Canadian Research and Insights Council), a Young Lions Jury member and a frequent public speaker/commentator.  Steve is also a very active member board member of the Earth Rangers charity and the St, Mikes Foundation.  Passionate about the world of public speaking he frequently runs workshops on the subject for a broad range of organizations. His bio would not be complete without saying that he takes his eyewear very seriously.

Marketing and finance often speak different languages when it comes to media budgets. In this session, we’ll pinpoint the drivers of this gap and explore a modern ads measurement approach to bridge the divide with data both sides can trust. The outcome: a strategic partnership that views media as a growth investment, not a cost centre.

Jonny Leung
Head of Data and Measurement Strategy, Google Canada

As Head of Measurement and Data Strategy at Google Canada, Jonny leads a specialized team that empowers Canada's largest brands to quantify ROI, optimize performance with AI innovation and fuel growth through data-driven decisions. His diverse career across brand design, web development, SEO, martech and analytics provides a holistic marketing perspective.

Named Strategy Magazine's Marketer of the Year in 2023, Lithwick served on the board of the Canadian Marketing Association and the Toronto International Film Festival. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she is an alumna of the Rotman School of Management's Judy Project and the International Women's Forum Fellows Program with Harvard Business School and INSEAD.

Creator marketing is growing rapidly, but many brands still struggle to answer a fundamental question: is it actually working?

As investment continues to shift toward creators, marketers are being asked to demonstrate business value beyond likes, views, shares and other platform-reported metrics. The challenge is that engagement alone often provides an incomplete picture of effectiveness and can lead to overconfidence in content that isn't driving meaningful brand outcomes.

In this session, Brandon Kirk, VP Media and Creative at Kantar Canada, draws on Kantar's global creator effectiveness research to explore what makes creator content work. He will examine the relationship between engagement and brand impact, highlight the characteristics associated with stronger-performing creator content and discuss how marketers can apply a more effective measurement lens to creator investments. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for evaluating creator marketing through the lens of brand growth and business results.

Brandon Kirk
VP Media and Creative, Kantar Canada

Brandon Kirk is VP Media and Creative at Kantar Canada, where he works with advertizers, agencies, publishers and media partners to better understand the relationship between media investment, creative effectiveness and business outcomes.

Over the course of his career, Brandon has worked across Canada's evolving media landscape, spanning traditional and digital advertising, streaming, social media, DOOH, audio, connected TV and emerging marketing channels. At Kantar, he helps organizations navigate a rapidly changing marketing environment through measurement, analytics and effectiveness-focused research.

His work is focused on helping marketers move beyond surface-level metrics and make more informed decisions about how media and creative investments contribute to brand growth.

The mid-funnel on TikTok is a lot like that first spark, where watching turns into wanting, curiosity flirts with consideration and interest grows into affection. Discover how your brand can win the Heart of the Funnel on TikTok, turning discovery into connection, consideration and action.

Zack Grossman
Vertical Director, Global Business Solutions, TikTok Canada;

Marketers have never had more data and less clarity. Too often, measurement rewards whoever is grading their own homework, while real growth happens where that scorecard can't see. Retail media is a clear example: on track to reach 1 in 5 Canadian digital ad dollars by 2029, yet spend remains concentrated with a handful of players even as most consumer spending happens elsewhere.

The opportunity isn't more measurement. It's better measurement, one that's open, objective and capable of connecting brands, agencies, retailers and publishers across Canada's interconnected ecosystem.

Join JJ Dobrovolski, Senior Director, Business Development at The Trade Desk, as he unpacks the measurement opportunity ahead, including a first look at the partnerships expanding it further.

JJ Dobrovolski
Senior Director, Business Development, The Trade Desk

JJ Dobrovolski is the Senior Director of Business Development at The Trade Desk Canada, where he oversees strategic partnerships with key clients to help deliver insightful and impactful advertising solutions. With expertise spanning high-growth startups and Fortune 500 companies, JJ drives results across diverse industries including advertising, technology, consumer packaged goods, retail, finance and market research.

Before joining The Trade Desk, JJ held leadership roles including Head of Beauty and Health at Amazon Ads Canada. He has also played pivotal roles at Kraft Heinz and Nielsen. A graduate of the University of Toronto, JJ combines strategic vision with hands-on expertise, empowering brands to build meaningful connections with their audiences.

Join Meaghan Brophy, Head of Sales at Walmart Connect Canada and Otaiba Ahsan, Customer eCommerce Manager at Nestlé Canada, as they share how a strong retailer-brand partnership can turn customer insights, media, measurement and commerce into meaningful business growth. Drawing on successful programs including F1, Ciao and Kit Kat Mixups, this session will explore the strategies, collaboration and learnings behind some of Canada's most innovative retail media activations.

This keynote explores the evolving creator landscape as “Made with AI” content proliferates and why X is uniquely positioned to help brands grow authentic influence at scale. This session will detail how X has evolved its platform for an AI-native world by embedding safety by design, open transparency and creator compliance and incentives into the product core. Hear highlights of X’s unprecedented innovation across user safety and brand safety, showing how these capabilities enable high-trust partnerships between brands and real creators in a rapidly changing media environment.

Yale Cohen
Head of Brand Safety and Ad Solutions, X Corp

Yale Cohen is the Head of Brand Safety and Ad Solutions at X, where he leads efforts to ensure a safe and effective advertising ecosystem for brands and users on the platform.

With over 20 years of experience in digital advertising, Yale previously held executive roles at Publicis Media, including EVP of Global Digital Standards and EVP of Digital Investment and Standards, overseeing media quality, safety, suitability and brand integrity for major clients.

Yale is a recognized industry leader, who was the chair of the 4A’s Advertizer Protection Bureau for 8 years and an honoree on Adweek’s Young Influentials list. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of work, Yale is a dedicated father of 3 and was an alternate for the U.S. fencing team for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.