‘Digital Strategy’. We hear this phrase thrown around all too often in our industry, but if you were to ask 50 different marketers what a digital strategy is (and why it’s important) you’d likely end up with as many different answers. But where does this discrepancy come from? Why is there so little consensus on what a digital strategy is, why it’s important and how to build one? What does a good digital strategy even look like? In this session we’ll delve into each of these questions and unpack some practical and actionable steps you can take to be a champion of sound strategic thinking within your organization. You’ll also be armed with real-world examples of best-in-class digital strategies (from a wide array of industries), and how these strategies were brought to bear to solve significant business challenges.

1. Jordan Markowski
VP DIGITAL,
EDELMAN
TORONTO, ON ~ MAY 16 – 17, 2019 | DIGIMARCONCANADA.CA
#DigiMarConCanada
Digital Strategy
Master Class
MASTERCLASS

2. Digital Strategy
Masterclass

3. It’s 2013…
And Bud Light has a problem.

4. They want to pivot from this.

5. To this.

6. Their plan?
‘Hero’ Content.

7. Next, they tried to more
‘purpose’ driven content.

8. Nothing Worked.
Consumers didn’t care.
Creating, publishing & amplifying
the content wasn’t enough.
There was no reason for them to.
Unless Bud Light was to adopt a
significantly more strategic approach,
the fate of their important rebrand
looked grim.

9. Hi, I’m Jordan.
• I’ve built my career (so far) at the intersection
of brand, digital and creative strategy…
• I’m the VP of Digital at Edelman.
• Before that, I led digital strategy, innovation
and marketing efforts for brands like Nike,
The Toronto Maple Leafs and DX3 Canada.
• At Edelman, I lead an integrated team at the
forefront of data driven strategy and storytelling.
• We help brands like Dove, AXE, Knorr, Becel,
HP, Paypal, KFC and many more tell their stories
and drive their business goals through digital.

10. This Masterclass
1. Hear A Cautionary Tale
2. Get Acquainted
3. Define Strategy
4. Learn From Some Stories
• Bud Light Rebrand (cont’d)
• Nike Crown League
• Maple Leafs 2018 Post-Season
5. Cover Some Takeaways

11. It is a process of discovery, analysis and decision making
that is used to establish the right solution to make that leap.
STRATEGY is the path between where
your business is and where it needs to be.

12. It is a process of discovery, analysis and decision making
that is used to establish the right solution to make that leap.
STRATEGY is the path between where
your business is and where it needs to be.
Discovery
Defining your from  to statement. Asking critical questions
about your industry/business, audience and job to be done.

13. Discovery
Analysis
Using the answers to those questions to weigh the
pros and cons of various paths forward.
Defining your from  to statement. Asking critical questions
about your industry/business, audience and job to be done.
It is a process of discovery, analysis and decision making
that is used to establish the right solution to make that leap.
STRATEGY is the path between where
your business is and where it needs to be.

14. Discovery
Analysis
Decision Making
Defining your from  to statement. Asking critical questions
about your industry/business, audience and job to be done.
Using the answers to those questions to weigh the
pros and cons of various paths forward.
Making determinations about how success can best be
achieved and paving the way for tactical development.
It is a process of discovery, analysis and decision making
that is used to establish the right solution to make that leap.
STRATEGY is the path between where
your business is and where it needs to be.

15. Strategy is a process.
Analysis Decision MakingDiscovery
(Asking questions) (Weighing options) (Charting a clear path)
It’s thinking critically about a problem/opportunity.

16. AUDIENCE
Who are the key groups
that we need to
influence?
What do we know about
them?
What can data and
research tell us about
their hopes, fears,
obstacles and salient
tension points?
Devising a Strategy
Objective
The business outcome that needs to be achieved.
KEY
INSIGHTS
What is the underlying
truth that will help us
speak meaningfully to our
customer?
How can we break
through and tell a story
worth heeding, listening
to, and actually acting
upon?
USER
JOURNEY
Where will we intercept our
audiences with our story?
What channels will we
leverage and how will we
take them on a journey
from where they are to
where we need them to go?
TACTICS
& CONTENT
What methods will we
use to drive our desired
business outcome?
What messaging, visuals
and creative will we
deploy? And how?
MEASUREMENT
What will we do to monitor
and optimize our content
and tactics in real-time?
How will we measure
meaningful business impact
and results?

17. 8 | Digital | Strategy
No matter the brand.

18. No matter the objective.

19. No matter the approach.

20. Great strategies are
built on empathy.

21. This Masterclass
1. Hear A Cautionary Tale
2. Get Acquainted
3. Define Strategy
4. Learn From Some Stories
5. Cover Some Takeaways
• Bud Light Rebrand (cont’d)
• Nike Crown League
• Maple Leafs 2018 Post-Season

22. So how did Bud Light
land their rebrand?

24. The Answer
• Specifically designed with a key
objective in mind
• Rooted in audience insights & existing
user behaviours
• Not reliant upon paid media for
relevance or impact
• High propensity to break through in
a crowded marketplace of content
• Drove and incentivized actual social
conversation and behaviour (from <100
uses of #BudLightLiving to 10k+)
• Rewarded hundreds of Bud Light target
consumers for more than 3 years.

25. AUDIENCE
Our target lives on their
mobile devices and values
experiences more than
anything.
Our target is deluged
with countless pieces of
content a day.
Devising a Strategy
Objective
Change perceptions of Bud Light’s brand amongst a key demographic.
KEY
INSIGHTS
To truly break through
to our target, we need to
viscerally show them
what we stand for instead
of merely telling them.
USER
JOURNEY
We will reach them on
social, TV and where they
interact online and drive
them to engage with us
directly using our new app.
TACTICS
& CONTENT
We’ll use byte-sized
content highlighting the
app, and past winners, to
drive usership and
adoption.
MEASUREMENT
We will evaluate total unique
users, # uses, social
conversation, recall and
overall consideration.

26. It’s 2016…
And Crown League is back.

27. AUDIENCE
Our target lives on their
mobile devices.
They are used to moving
between digital channels
fluidly.
They are best reached in
small doses over a period
of time versus all at once.
Devising a Strategy
Objective
Drive awareness of, attendance to and engagement with Nike Crown League.
KEY
INSIGHTS
To effectively tell the
story of Crown League,
we need to make it easy
for them to follow along.
USER
JOURNEY
We will employ a full-court
offence to bring Crown
League to life across
platforms.
Driving viewership,
participation and
conversation on their device
of choice.
TACTICS
& CONTENT
We’ll use a before, during
& after line up of weekly
content to keep our
target engaged
throughout the full
course of the
tournament..
MEASUREMENT
We will evaluate total
attendance, total reach, video
views and total social
conversation..

28. Miami Ad School Toronto | Viscerality @ Scale | August 2018 | Jordan
Markowski

29. Canada’s kings. Toronto’s court.
#CrownLeague is where the warriors
of basketball battle.
Northern Kings
Claim
Redemption.
Pre-Tournament: Hero Trailer
Social Skins
Monday: 15s smash cut vids
Tuesday: Flipagram Registration Reminders
Wednesday: Photo Album Update
Friday: Live Streaming Driver Post
3x In-Game Tweets
Snapchat Filter
Post-Tournament: Championship Recap
TACTICS

30. Pre-Tournament: Hero Trailer
Social Skins
Monday: 15s smash cut vids
Tuesday: Flipagram Registration Reminders
Wednesday: Photo Album Update
Friday: Live Streaming Driver Post
3x In-Game Tweets
Snapchat Filter
Post-Tournament: Championship Recap
TACTICS

31. Pre-Tournament: Hero Trailer
Social Skins
Monday: 15s smash cut vids
Tuesday: Flipagram Registration Reminders
Wednesday: Photo Album Update
Friday: Live Streaming Driver Post
3x In-Game Tweets
Snapchat Filter
Post-Tournament: Championship Recap
TACTICS

32. Pre-Tournament: Hero Trailer
Social Skins
Monday: 15s smash cut vids
Tuesday: Flipagram Registration Reminders
Wednesday: Photo Album Update
Friday: Live Streaming Driver Post
3x In-Game Tweets
Snapchat Filter
Post-Tournament: Championship Recap
TACTICS

33. Pre-Tournament: Hero Trailer
Social Skins
Monday: 15s smash cut vids
Tuesday: Flipagram Registration Reminders
Wednesday: Photo Album Update
Friday: Live Streaming Driver Post
3x In-Game Tweets
Snapchat Filter
Post-Tournament: Championship Recap
TACTICS

35. AUDIENCE
Our target lives on their
mobile devices.
They are used to moving
between digital channels
fluidly.
They are best reached in
small doses over a period
of time versus all at once.
Devising a Strategy
Objective
Drive awareness of, attendance to and engagement with Nike Crown League.
KEY
INSIGHTS
To effectively tell the
story of Crown League,
we need to make it easy
for them to follow along.
USER
JOURNEY
We will employ a full-court
offence to bring Crown
League to life across
platforms.
Driving viewership,
participation and
conversation on their device
of choice.
TACTICS
& CONTENT
We’ll use a before, during
& after line up of weekly
content to keep our
target engaged
throughout the full
course of the
tournament..
MEASUREMENT
We will evaluate total
attendance, total reach, video
views and total social
conversation..

36. It’s 2018…
And The Maple Leafs
are heading to the playoffs.

37. Miami Ad School Toronto | Viscerality @ Scale | August 2018 | Jordan
Markowski
When the Leafs make the playoffs, the vast
majority of fans never make it into the arena to
watch their team play.
While some get close by attending free tailgate
viewings within Maple Leafs Square… even
that experience can accommodate only a few
thousand people each game.
So the question becomes, how do you help
millions of fans who can only experience an event
remotely still feel part of the action?
CONTEXT

38. AUDIENCE
The majority of fans will
not get to attend a
playoff game live.
There is a perception of
‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
amongst Leafs fandom.
Fans are eager for ways to
feel connected to the
team they love.
Devising a Strategy
Objective
Drive fan engagement and data capture around the 2018 Leafs playoffs.
KEY
INSIGHTS
Digital is our best tool to
bring our millions of fans
closer to the team than
ever before, and to help
them feel a part of the
post-season push.
USER
JOURNEY
Our digital ecosystem will
be designed to bring down
a funnel toward
membership, rewards and
exclusive perks.
TACTICS
& CONTENT MEASUREMENT
We will evaluate total
attendance, total reach, video
views and total social
conversation..
We will excite and engage
our fans on social, but invite
them to build a relationship
with us (via data) through
Leafs Nation.

40. Miami Ad School Toronto | Viscerality @ Scale | August 2018 | Jordan
Markowski

42. Miami Ad School Toronto | Viscerality @ Scale | August 2018 | Jordan
Markowski

45. Miami Ad School Toronto | Viscerality @ Scale | August 2018 | Jordan
Markowski

46. Miami Ad School Toronto | Viscerality @ Scale | August 2018 | Jordan
Markowski

47. AUDIENCE
The majority of fans will
not get to attend a
playoff game live.
There is a perception of
‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
amongst Leafs fandom.
Fans are eager for ways to
feel connected to the
team they love.
Devising a Strategy
Objective
Drive fan engagement and data capture around the 2018 Leafs playoffs.
KEY
INSIGHTS
Digital is our best tool to
bring our millions of fans
closer to the team than
ever before, and to help
them feel a part of the
post-season push.
USER
JOURNEY
Our digital ecosystem will
be designed to bring down
a funnel toward
membership, rewards and
exclusive perks.
TACTICS
& CONTENT MEASUREMENT
We will evaluate total
attendance, total reach, video
views and total social
conversation..
We will excite and engage
our fans on social, but invite
them to build a relationship
with us (via data) through
Leafs Nation.

48. This Masterclass
1. Hear A Cautionary Tale
2. Get Acquainted
3. Define Strategy
4. Learn From Some Stories
5. Cover Some Takeaways
• Bud Light Rebrand (cont’d)
• Nike Crown League
• Maple Leafs 2018 Post-Season

49. KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Distill your objective down to its purest form.
If your objective mentions tactics (social, paid media etc) or goals that aren’t tied to your core business (awareness, engagement etc.), it needs work.
2. Unless strategy comes before tactical selection, your odds of success are low.
If you don’t factor in the nature of your objectives, audience timing, budget, and the pros and cons of various approaches, you run the risk of choosing suboptimal solutions.
3. To pick the right channels/tools for the job, you need to understand how they work.
Defining the optimal elements of your strategy (such as channels) depends on understanding (and having experience with) their respective pros, cons and characteristics..
4. Strategic thinking also means making decisions about what not to do.
There are many paths to get to the same result. Being decisive, data-driven and ultimately able to commit to a path forward is crucial.
5. Strategy is not one-size-fits-all.
Because individual asks and opportunities each have their nuances and variables, your problem solving process matters as much as your solutions themselves.
6. The strongest strategies are channel agnostic.
The channels, tactics and executional ideas you land on should be the tailored to the business challenge, the data/research you’ve collected and through
evaluating your hypothesis’ through analysis.

50. Thank You