The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) has brought on a familiar face to lead its marketing, hiring Roy Levine as EVP of brand marketing and communications.

In the role, Levine will lead the CCS’ national marketing team, overseeing planning and strategy for all campaigns, in addition to branding, advertising, reputation management and all communications.

Levine is joining the CCS in a permanent capacity after consulting over the last 18 months through Purpose, a marketing consultancy focused on non-profits he founded in 2012. Prior to that, Levine had been president at digital agency, The Collective, COO at Partners + Edell and co-founder of Groundzero Marketing (the latter two agencies counted CCS as a client, something Levine says is part of what inspired him to focus on the non-profit sector in 2012).

He takes over marketing duties most recently held by Paula Roberts.

Things have been busy at the CCS. It finalized its amalgamation with Prostate Cancer Canada at the beginning of 2020, aimed at reducing fundraising expenses and growing the funding it can devote to research, something CCS had previously seen following its 2017 merger with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which impacted fundraising revenue across the charitable sector, including at CCS. While the organization says it has adapted and innovated to meet these challenges, CEO Andrea Seale says its priorities in the future include galvanizing community support, competing for attention and reaching people in meaningful ways.

“There has never been a greater opportunity for transformation in this industry than now as we rethink every aspect of our organization because of the impact the pandemic has had on donor revenue and service delivery,” adds Levine. “Together, we will leverage that strength to expand our community of donors, supporters and volunteers, maximizing our impact for Canadians affected by cancer.”