Canadian Ad Insider

Who are you? What problem do you solve? What is your super power?

Sarah - I’m a wife, mama, lesbian, marketer, friend, problem-solver, advocate, a doodler, a lapsed drummer, a Swiftie, a Madonna fan, and a film, book, music consumer. I don’t think there is an order to these things but I do believe they all say a bit about me in some way. My superpower is problem-solving and seeing my way through clutter to find a path forward. I also have integrity and stay true to my word (thanks mom and dad).

What made you choose a career in advertising?

Sarah - I wanted to be a journalist but I have a brother that did that better than I ever could. I then went into PR and have been in the skills acquisition business ever since. I feel like I didn’t want to date marketing in the beginning then slowly started to see that my love of exploring human behaviour and culture could really serve me. So we went from dating to big love. 

What is the most exciting thing about working in advertising?

Sarah - What I love is the complexity of it all and trying to find a path forward. We connect to people to persuade them and there are more and more intermediaries between a brand and a consumer and that feels overly complicated now. 

What is the most challenging thing about working in advertising?

Sarah - The most challenging thing about marketing is that we have eroded our foundation with both a seat at the business table and control of the brand from what we say to the experience. And in between brands and people are so many platforms that make it hard to see the truth. Transparency, quality (both creative and the media environments) and eliminating waste (time, lost dollars and energy) are so important in our industry.  Reverence for marketing needs to make a comeback. I want CMOs and marketing leads to have longer tenures. 

You and I have something in common - we’re both beautiful people!  But seriously, you are an outspoken person. Many struggle to tell their truth, how did you find your voice?

Sarah - I claimed my voice but never raised it.  The desire to be informed and to learn and evolve helped give me confidence for sure.  Along my journey, there were decisions on where the little influence and power of that voice can benefit others - like our 2LGBTQ+ community, Canadian media and generally advocating for our industry.  It also gives space to others to have a voice.  I believe you cannot talk without listening and looking. I paid attention to the very best colleagues and peers and the very worst behaviours. I wanted a stage for Canadian media partners to come and speak again. Sometimes having a voice is also about handing the mic to someone else to speak up.

How did you get into this industry?

Sarah - I started as an administrative assistant in the technology practice at National Public Relations. I interviewed three people to get that role. And I took advantage of every sliver of an opportunity that came my way.  I was hungry (literally because I used to feed the other admin assistants with post-meeting leftovers). 

What are 2 of the biggest impacts on advertising in the last 10 years?

Sarah - The forces against doing great work in advertising. I think we are just starting to understand fraud in advertising and what that has done to lead to the demise of local media publishers, and an under-informed public but also having brands advertise next to trusted content.  The dynamics of agency and client. The struggles of lost time failed structures and processes. We celebrate so much of the great work, but we don’t share the reasons this can be so hard and how collectively we have great ideas to solve this - if we speak up. 

People. And the fact that Canada has changed so much as a country, and we need to get to know every town and community again and be exceptionally curious to be great at advertising. This was always true, but our population has shifted around the country and it is harder to reach people if you don’t understand how they live. We can say it is AI that is going to change us, as much as we can say it is all the platforms that have changed us.  But in truth, what is always changing in advertising is people and how well we understand them and reach them. The journey is never the same twice. 

Running an agency of that size is no easy task, looking back, what would you say are the biggest accomplishments?

Sarah - The team. It is never, ever about one person’s contribution but the collective energy of what a group of people who have psychological safety, trust and honesty can accomplish together. There have been a few moments in my career when I have had all the right ingredients of people together with the right energy and consideration of each other and their perspectives. That is the magic of our industry when that happens. The spark that makes anything a success is that you as a leader is that you set the stage for people to speak up, feel safe and that there is no interpersonal fear. Ideas can then just flow and possibility happens.

Knowing what you know about the media landscape today, if you could go back to Day 1 of Year 2 at Dentsu?

Sarah - At any moment in a career milestone, you reflect on what you could or should do differently. But we all know we cannot go backwards. I carry some new lessons into the next phase for sure, as much as I will carry the heartfelt best wishes for all the amazing people I got to work beside. And my advocacy for Canadian media is not going to waiver.

We have seen several new people enter the industry over the last 4 years, any advice for them?

Sarah - Find the places where they will make space for you. It is like those childhood moments when you step into a hand-holding circle. Do people part and give you space? Do they hold your hand? Do they let you hold your space? 

What is next?

Sarah -  we pulled together a film screening with Cineplex and a great panel to celebrate Pride.  

Write a book. Speak. Teach. Draw. Advocate. Explore the endless possibilities of this question.  In fact, I did a session with Alessia Grosso, from Havas, for the CMDC and I think this little poem I wrote summarizes this answer best…

"What if I asked a so what, then I could ask a how might we or a what if and explore the deep rabbit holes of it all that I get into the why of everything…"