Alison Osborne of Quill and Jacqueline Ryan of COC Named Top Winners at 2024 CMA Awards

On November 22nd, the 2024 Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) Awards gala brought together nearly a thousand marketers from across Canada to celebrate the nation’s brightest marketing talents, the most ground breaking campaigns, and outstanding contributions to the marketing industry. Top honours went to Jacqueline Ryan, chief brand and commercial officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee, named Marketer of the Year, and Mary DePaoli, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at RBC, receiving the CMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her remarkable career accomplishments.

“I’m deeply honoured to be recognised among Canada’s most talented marketers,” Jacqueline said. “The journey of elevating Team Canada’s brand alongside such dedicated partners is a testament to the incredible impact that creative vision and purpose-driven marketing can have on our national pride and community.”

“Working at RBC alongside so many talented professionals has been one of the greatest joys of my career,” Mary said. “To me this award is a special recognition of the mentors, peers, partners and friends that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Thank you to the Canadian Marketing Association for this honour.”

Winners of the premiere awards, in addition to Jacqueline and Mary, are:

• Best of the Best: Kraft Heinz in partnership with Rethink for the campaign, 'Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch'
• Top Cause: What No One Tells You When You’re Expecting by North York General Foundation and Courage Inc.
• Achievement in Marketing Award (AIM): Alison Osborne, vice-president of marketing, Quill Inc.

“Canada’s marketing profession is at the forefront of innovation and creativity and this year’s winners show the vital role marketing plays in building brands and business,” said Alison Simpson, president and CEO at CMA. “The campaigns and individuals recognized demonstrated exceptional strategic thinking and creativity while reflecting the vibrant mosaic of Canadian culture and delivering strong results. I am proud to see our industry continuing to push boundaries and embrace new technologies, all while connecting with Canadians and contributing to our economy.”

This year, the CMA introduced its inaugural Global Creative Award, honouring the best campaigns worldwide created by Canadian-based marketing teams and agencies. The award went to STAEDTLER for its 'The Brilliance of the Human Hand' campaign.

In total, 156 awards were presented across six disciplines (listed below). Notably, FCB claimed 19 awards, 12 of which were for BMO, making it the leading brand at the gala.

Awards categories and judging

Awards were presented across six disciplines: brand building, business/brand impact, customer experience and shopper marketing, engagement, innovative media and public relations. Within each discipline, entries competed in one of nine categories, including automotive, business, consumer products and services, financial, food and beverage, healthcare, retail/consumer businesses and social causes.

A record number of submissions were made for this year’s awards and were judged by industry experts from across Canada, following a rigorous two-round process:

• In round one of judging, entries in each discipline and category are evaluated on strategy, creativity and results.
• In round two, senior judges and multi-discipline judges evaluated the top entries in the disciplines and categories. The scores from the first two rounds are combined to determine gold, silver and bronze awards in each category.
• Top Cause and Best of the Best winners are chosen from the highest-ranking entries across their respective disciplines and categories.

The judging process was co-chaired by Mary MacIsaac, senior vice-president of marketing at Loblaw Companies Limited and Scott Pinkney, chief creative officer at Publicis Hawkeye Canada.

A full list of CMA Award winners can be found here.