A version of this article appears in the January/February 2017 issue of strategy.
This month, our readers are picking up the first issue of the newly combined Marketing and strategy. And yes, it looks exactly like the old strategy; however, post Brunico’s acquisition of Marketing, we’re now infused with the things that you’ve identified as the best of both brands.
Strategy’s Marketer of the Year and annual survey remain the core of the issue, but you’ll also see new things (that we used to covet from the Marketing lineup) like the Programmatic Landscape poster in this issue and the Agency Tree coming up in the next. We’re also the new home of the CMDC Media Digest.
On the news front, you’ll now have some extra time to focus each morning (or squander on more coffee) as we’ve merged the strategy and Marketing dailies. Daily news lives on the strategy site, and the Marketing site will be both an archive and a curation of great Canadian advertising.
Two of the weekly Marketing Filters are back: Marketing Tech and Marketing C-Suite. The other filter topics will either be part of the broader remit of strategydaily or tackled elsewhere: media in Media in Canada (obviously), with stimulant providing Marketing TV’s creative curation, and Consumer Insights becoming a bigger focus in the Shopper Marketing Report.
Championing the merging of mandates and cultures, Marketing’s managing editor Jeromy Lloyd takes on a new role as strategy’s digital editor, heading up all the daily news teams and personally helming the new CMO-focused weekly. If you check out the masthead, you’ll see Jennifer Horn is now managing editor of the magazine and Mark Burgess is the new associate editor. Harmeet Singh has taken on a broader role as strategydaily editor, with Josh Kolm stepping up as news editor and the new Marketing Tech editor.
The CARDonline/National List team of Lee Johnston, Darlene Mooney and Serina Dingeldein has also joined us and is working with Media In Canada editor Val Maloney on transitioning and evolving those products.
And on the awards and conference program front, Marketing’s events editor Kate Wilkinson is getting ready to launch the first edition of the Marketing Awards helmed with strategy, as well as the annual Ad Tech event.
So, lots of change. We’re slowly learning to say “we” instead of “us” and “them”.
As we migrate pronouns, and merge products and teams, we want to hear from you. Consolidation and reinvention are rampant in this industry, so as we go through some of that ourselves, be in touch with me or associate publisher Lisa Faktor and let us know what new areas of content and resources would help you prep for the change ahead.
On that note, check out the Marketers of the Year features as well as the “Start! Stop! Change!”-focused CMO roundtable cover story. The span of priorities – and how Canada’s top marketers are tackling them – make a pretty good checklist for 2017 resolutions.
