Looking to Canada for Unique Digital Marketing Initiatives

looking-to-canada-for-unique-digital-marketing-initiatives

[[p]]Canada isn&rsquo;t all maple glazed back bacon and moose hunting ice skaters. And surprisingly, [[a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-raptors-victory-parade-nba-1.5177551" target="_blank"]]&ldquo;We the North&rdquo;[[/a]] has a lot more to celebrate besides an impressive basketball team and over 6 million visible minorities.[[/p]]

[[p]]A list of unique digital marketing startups reigns from this melting pot of a country, all of which are setting themselves apart in their industries &ndash; not just because they&rsquo;re Canadian, but because they have developed a distinctive approach to digital marketing, supported by talented teams.[[/p]]

[[p]]Just take a look at [[a href="https://www.shopify.com/faq#what-is-shopify" target="_blank"]]Shopify[[/a]]. The once-trifling Ontario-based startup from 2008 now supports 800,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries as one of the most popular drop shipping companies in the world.[[/p]]

[[p]]In lieu of Canada Day - July 1, in case you didn&rsquo;t know - we&rsquo;re going to show you how digital marketing in the modern age is done...Canuck style.[[/p]]

[[p]]While Canada may not have a rich history to base their confederation anniversary story on, our beloved July 1st gives us a chance to celebrate The Great White North on the same day the [[a href="https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/medicare/medic-1c01e.html" target="_blank"]]British North America Act[[/a]] created Canada back in 1867.[[/p]]

[[p]]Today, we&rsquo;re focusing on Canada&rsquo;s leading startup brands, paving the way forward with standout digital marketing strategies and efforts.[[/p]]

[[p]]While you won&rsquo;t find any mentions of fine poutine-based cuisine or innovations on how to survive brutal winters, this list of Canadian all-star brands may give you some inspiration on how to harness digital marketing for the best results possible.[[/p]]

[[p]]As a foodservice iPad Point of Sale (POS) System, [[a href="http://www.touchbistro.com/" target="_blank"]]TouchBistro[[/a]] comes head to head with [[em]]a lot[[/em]] of competition.[[/p]]

[[p]]The truth is, similar services rise and fall in a heartbeat. However, this award-winning Canadian-based brand keeps climbing to the top.[[/p]]

[[p]]In fact, TouchBistro is the #1 iPad POS for restaurants in many countries and has [[a href="https://www.touchbistro.com/awards/" target="_blank"]]won a long list of awards[[/a]], all thanks to going[[em]] beyond[[/em]] the golden rule of knowing your audience in order to[[strong]][[em]] become [[/em]][[/strong]]your audience.[[/p]]

[[p]]They do this by focusing on two key ingredients in their marketing approach:[[/p]]

[[ol]]
	[[li]]A high-quality, audience-tailored product.[[/li]]
	[[li]]Masterful content distributed with multiple strategies.[[/li]]
[[/ol]]

[[p]]While this may seem standard, the essential factor that sets this Canadian brand apart is the amount of [[strong]]depth and care[[/strong]] they put into these ingredients.[[/p]]

[[p]]TouchBistro&rsquo;s powerful POS solutions are tailored to fit every need a restaurant owner may encounter.[[/p]]

[[p]]By knowing their audience on this deep level, TouchBistro&rsquo;s team is able to understand the trials, tribulations, and desires of restaurateurs, [[strong]]as if they were the audience themselves. [[/strong]][[/p]]

[[p]]This in-depth knowledge is then paired with must-have content for restaurant owners, geared towards making restaurateurs&rsquo; lives easier (cut the fluff!), then distributed by using the same amount of resources and effort as is used in the content creation process.[[/p]]

[[p]]Most B2B marketers use an average of [[a href="https://www.toprankblog.com/2014/05/b2b-content-marketing-statistics-2014/" target="_blank"]]13 content marketing tactics[[/a]], because the truth is, competition for B2B companies is no joke.[[/p]]

[[p]]From catchy [[a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTWQtkmG2PM" target="_blank"]]YouTube videos [[/a]]tailored to perfection for restaurant owners to must-have guides, disguised as articles, TouchBistro is leading the way for iPad Point of Sale (POS) Systems in 2019 and beyond.[[/p]]

[[p]]How&rsquo;s that for content marketing, eh?[[/p]]

[[p]][[a href="https://www.pivotsubscriptions.com/ca/en/" target="_blank"]]Pivot[[/a]] is an online platform, providing customers with on-demand furniture.[[/p]]

[[p]]Instead of unloading a large sum of money upfront on high-priced furniture items, thanks to this Winnipeg-based company customers can find high-quality furniture through a subscription, which includes delivery, assembly, and unlimited returns or swaps.[[/p]]

[[p]]As Pivot says, &ldquo;[we provide] premium home furnishings at incredibly low prices&rdquo;.[[/p]]

[[p]]At first glance, it&rsquo;s easy to see that this company will do well &ndash; and this isn&rsquo;t just because the team is led by the entrepreneurs who sold SkipTheDishes for 9-figures to [[a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/just-eat-acquires-hungryhouse-skipthedishes-266-million-2016-12" target="_blank"]]Just Eat in 2016[[/a]].[[/p]]

[[p]]Pivot is adding to the rise of subscription-based e-commerce, adding their name to the same list that holds up once-trivial startups like the [[a href="https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/" target="_blank"]]Dollar Shave Club[[/a]], which is now owned by Unilever, and Spotify, the [[a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/apple-music-vs-spotify/" target="_blank"]]undisputed king[[/a]] of on-demand online music streaming.[[/p]]

[[p]]So, what are the secret tools to Pivot&rsquo;s rise?[[/p]]

[[ol]]
	[[li]]Find a demand (everyday furniture rentals)[[/li]]
	[[li]]Choose how to disrupt the industry[[/li]]
	[[li]]Harness PR and media tactics[[/li]]
[[/ol]]

[[p]]While Pivot continues to finesse its model, they have chosen to use PR and media tactics as opposed to investing in more standard marketing efforts.[[/p]]

[[p]]And there&rsquo;s some brilliance in this.[[/p]]

[[p]]Over [[a href="https://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/KOS_2017_GCR_Final.pdf" target="_blank"]]88% of public relations professionals[[/a]] and 80% of marketers believe that digital storytelling is the way forward for communications.[[/p]]

[[p]]By crafting a compelling story and pushing it out for journalists or social channels to carry, business owners can build a solid foundation before your marketing strategies even begin.[[/p]]

[[p]][[a href="https://www.ecobee.com/" target="_blank"]]Ecobee[[/a]] combines cash-saving and earth-healing benefits for customers.[[/p]]

[[p]]This is done through their smart thermostats which enable commercial and residential energy conservation to help customers save money and reduce their carbon footprint.[[/p]]

[[p]]Ecobee&rsquo;s co-founder and CEO Stuart Lombard plans to build the &ldquo;helpful home.&rdquo;[[/p]]

[[p]]What does that look like?[[/p]]

[[p]]A home that listens, learns and responds to the homeowner&rsquo;s every need.[[/p]]

[[p]]Ecobee is the home&rsquo;s &ldquo;hive mind&rdquo; which is made of a smart thermostat, light switches, temperature sensors, and reams of data, all integrated with Apple&rsquo;s Home Kit and Amazon&rsquo;s Alexa&nbsp; &ndash; making it a true leader for smart thermostats.[[/p]]

[[p]]However, Ecobee&rsquo;s road to success isn&rsquo;t as sweet as it sounds.[[/p]]

[[p]]The Canadian company is competing against Google&rsquo;s Nest, a similar smart-home device.[[/p]]

[[p]]So, while Ecobee&rsquo;s revenue [[a href="https://www.cnet.com/reviews/ecobee4-smart-thermostat-review/" target="_blank"]]doubled last year[[/a]], they&rsquo;re still faced with the undeniably daunting task of out Google-ing Google.[[/p]]

[[p]]What&rsquo;s a small Canuck bee to do?[[/p]]

[[ol]]
	[[li]]Stick to your roots[[/li]]
	[[li]]Educate your audience[[/li]]
[[/ol]]

[[p]]Stuart Lombard created Ecobee for two reasons: to reduce his family&rsquo;s carbon footprint and to save money. As research shows, [[a href="https://www.adweek.com/digital/the-power-of-brand-authenticity-on-social-media-infographic/" target="_blank"]]63% of customers[[/a]] choose to buy from authentic brands, and [[a href="http://www.conecomm.com/research-blog/2017-csr-study" target="_blank"]]86% expect companies[[/a]] to act on social and environmental causes.[[/p]]

[[p]]Ecobee then pairs this authentic and socially-responsible foundation with educating their customers about the added functionality voice brings.[[/p]]

[[p]]And, [[a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2015/04/10/dont-market-to-your-customers-educate-them-instead/#4ce9dc791cfa" target="_blank"]]according to research[[/a]], this approach helps the customer become invested and more trusting in the brand&rsquo;s products.[[/p]]

[[p]]Despite our bitter winters, weird accents, and strange [[a href="https://www.thetravel.com/20-seriously-weird-things-that-only-happen-in-canada/" target="_blank"]]obsession with mac and cheese[[/a]], Canadian brands have some fire behind them. And, as a result, we&rsquo;ve seen how this fire has produced some of the best innovations known today[[/p]]

[[p]]So, what will you do to be a bit more Canadian this Canada Day?[[/p]]

[[p]](First published July 2019)[[/p]]

Looking to Canada for Unique Digital Marketing Initiatives

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