Calgary is building a world-class marketing community, not by copying standards set in Toronto or New York, but because the brilliant voices in our home deserve to be heard. Shortly aft er starting as the CMA President in April 2024, I began sharing our vision: “Make Calgary a world-class marketing city.” The glazed eyes told me our problem wasn’t the vision but connecting it to something that mattered.
As Calgarians, we have a proud legacy in building things that matter at world class standards. In the Blue Sky City, entrepreneurial grit isn’t a slogan, it’s muscle memory.
For a long time though, Calgary’s marketing community was less visible. Locally, we lived in the shadow of our resource industries. Nationally, the spotlight belonged to cities like Toronto and Montreal, shaped by advertising heavy sectors like financial services, Consumer Packaged Goods and telcos.
The Challenger Brand Advantage
Calgary’s marketing community is, effectively, a challenger brand. We’re not the market leader. As a challenger, the Calgary Marketing Association can’t compete by size, budget or bench marking features. Instead, we’re playing to win using the rigorous strategic framework championed by business strategist Roger Martin. We do this through our own rules, inventiveness, strategic clarity and creativity.
Marc is the founder of Quatical, a fractional marketing leadership practice specializing in evidence-based strategy and AI-augmented execution. He also serves as President of the Calgary Marketing Association and contributes regularly to WARC, the global authority on marketing effectiveness. Marc also co-hosts The Sleeping Barber Marketing Podcast, where he explores evidence-based marketing with the world’s leading business thinkers and marketing practitioners.
