CMA Connect

What could you accomplish if an entire country was cheering for you? Building on Team Canada's 27-medal Paris success, Alison Simpson, President and CEO of the Canadian Marketing Association, speaks with Jacqueline Ryan, Chief Brand and Commercial Officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee and CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation. This episode celebrates Team Canada athletes stories of resilience, perseverance, and excellence on the road to Milano Cortina 2026, and the importance of Marketing Partnership support on that journey. 00:00:01:18 - 00:00:22:20 Presenter Welcome to CMA Connect, Canada's marketing podcast, where industry experts discuss how marketers must manage the tectonic shifts that will change how brands and businesses are built for tomorrow, while also delivering on today's business needs. With your host, CMA CEO Alison Simpson. 00:00:22:22 - 00:00:46:16 Alison Canada is definitely having a sporty moment. From the Blue Jays extraordinary World Series run and women's rugby reaching the World Cup, to the Four Nations Cup victory and historic Olympic performances in Paris, Canadian athletes are capturing hearts and inspiring national pride like never before. There's truly no better time for this momentum as we head into the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. 00:00:46:18 - 00:01:25:14 Alison For today's episode, I am thrilled to welcome back Jacquie Ryan, Chief Brand and Commercial Officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee and CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation. Since joining the COC in 2019, Jacquie has transformed Canada's engagement with the Olympic Movement, including earning recognition as the Canadian Marketing Association's Marketer of the year in 2024 for her exceptional work during the Paris Olympics. Jacquie's leadership during Paris 2024 set new standards for Olympic marketing success, with the Brave is Unbeatable campaign significantly increasing positive feelings towards Team Canada.  00:01:25:14 - 00:01:51:20 Alison Under her guidance, Canada Olympic House opened to the public for the first time during a Summer Olympics, attracting 17,000 visitors in Paris, while Team Canada Fan Fest events back home drew 50,000 visitors across the country. With over 25 years of experience, including RBC, where Jacquie helped drive marketing strategy for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and Scotiabank, where she secured the 800 million naming rights deal for Scotiabank Arena, 00:01:52:01 - 00:02:15:19 Alison Jacquie brings exceptional expertise in sports marketing. As Canada approaches the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with such strong momentum, amazing marketing partners and a nation ready and keen to rally behind our athletes, there's never been a more exciting time to be part of Team Canada. Welcome, Jacquie. It is an absolute pleasure to have you back to CMA Connect leading up to the Olympics. 00:02:15:21 - 00:02:20:10 Jacquie Thank you, Alison, and thanks for the opportunity to join you here today. And really a great pleasure to be back. 00:02:20:16 - 00:02:36:14 Alison So I'd love to start by looking back at Paris. The 2024 Olympics really did set new benchmarks across the board, from medal count to sponsorships and to national engagement. So what were the key learnings from Paris that have shaped your approach for Milano Cortina 2026? 00:02:36:20 - 00:03:00:13 Jacquie Well, thanks for asking, Alison. Paris was, it was incredible. It was, the first normal games since we returned from Covid, because we had the two Covid games, Tokyo and Beijing. So a lot of expectations were high for Paris, for everyone, for fans, families, athletes, marketing partners or donors. And the games literally delivered across all expectations in the entire spectrum. 00:03:00:15 - 00:03:25:10 Jacquie Team Canada won 27 medals in Paris. It's the second best result for Team Canada ever at a Summer games. Like eight golds, six silver, 11 bronze and three Olympic records. So we're super proud of the team. They really, really showed up well. And on top of that, over 70% of Canadians tuned in and they engaged with Team Canada, whether it be through our social channels, through CBC or Radio-Canada in Quebec. 00:03:25:12 - 00:03:50:03 Jacquie So the games in Paris, they really raised the bar in many meaningful ways, and so many lessons that are directly shaping how we're approaching Milano Cortina now, in 2026. So the first thing it did really reinforced our belief that nothing really brings people together quite like sport. Olympics are an incredible, unifying platform that really allows us all to put our differences aside. 00:03:50:05 - 00:04:21:12 Jacquie Secondly, it just reminded us the power of athlete for storytelling. So fans engaged most deeply when they could see the people behind the podiums. They could see their journeys, their resilience. The community roots through moments of humanity, the whole experience leading up to and including the games. So we'll continue to prioritize these athlete narratives, being really, really authentic in the storytelling from their voice, and keep Canadians connected with these athletes and learning about Team Canada athletes well before the opening ceremony. 00:04:21:12 - 00:04:45:14 Jacquie So when they arrive at the games, Canadians are really well poised to really understand the journey and know our athletes. And then our Brave is Unbeatable, our marketing campaign was a big success. We built a lot of equity in this platform through Paris and so working with The Hive, we decided to use it again, basically as a springboard to drive engagement with Canadians heading in now to the Cortina games. 00:04:45:16 - 00:05:07:10 Jacquie The platform, as you'll recall, really leans into the idea of Canadians seeing themselves in the athletes. These athletes are competing. They're on the global stage representing Canada, but they're still human. They have our similar struggles, they go through all sorts of things in their journey, and all of that can lend itself both as inspiration for all of us, and connection so that we feel connected to the athletes. 00:05:07:10 - 00:05:41:04 Jacquie So creatively, we've expanded this iteration of storytelling across far more athletes, representing the real vast diversity of Team Canada athletes from across Canada, sharing their stories, of course, strategically across different placements and channels and in different ways. So that's definitely something that was a big success and we're building on. Another is that Paris really demonstrated that what it looks like when marketing partnerships are truly integrated. Not just visible. They become part of the fan experience, part of the Canadian experience with these athletes and part of the athlete support system. 00:05:41:06 - 00:06:16:10 Jacquie So for Milano now, we've built collaborative, values-aligned marketing partnerships that contribute directly to performance, athlete well-being, fan engagement, rather than simply sponsorship presence. So, I mean, we've known this for years, but it really came together well for Paris, and wait until you see the marketing partner campaigns for Milano Cortina. And then finally, Paris really showed us that major games like the Olympic Games can be platforms for purpose, from sustainability to inclusion to national pride. 00:06:16:12 - 00:06:29:22 Jacquie That lands really guides how we tell our story, how we support our athletes, how partners activate, and all of this helps bring Canadians together, and so we really look forward to all of that coming together in a few short weeks as we head into Milano Cortina. 00:06:30:00 - 00:07:06:00 Alison That's outstanding, Jacquie, thanks so much. I love that you're prioritizing the athlete content and bringing to life their whole selves. It's so inspiring to see the exceptional athletic conditioning and expertise that they bring, but it can sometimes be hard for us mere mortals to relate to. So understanding some of the real life challenges that they're facing, and seeing their 360-view of their lives helps us dream even more about how we can be inspired by them, both athletically and just from sheer perseverance and grit and determination. 00:07:06:00 - 00:07:27:22 Alison So I love that. And the marketing partnerships, I'm looking forward to drilling into that a little bit more. You've built an impressive roster of 39 marketing partners for Milano Cortina, so I'd love you to share how some of your longest standing partners, like RBC, are activating differently this time, and what new partners are bringing to the table that hasn't existed before. 00:07:28:00 - 00:07:51:06 Jacquie Thank you for the question. You could well imagine we're very proud of the 39 marketing partners who are helping power Team Canada toward Milano Cortina. What's exciting is both how long-standing partners and new partners are evolving, what partnership really means, as I referenced earlier. You know, essentially our marketing partners will look at their partnership with us as a way to do a few things. 00:07:51:07 - 00:08:18:09 Jacquie One, they want to support Team Canada directly. They want to celebrate the athletes. They want to tell the athletes stories. They want to engage Canadians. They want engage fans from coast to coast to coast. And really importantly, just as importantly, they really want to help leave a legacy, a lasting legacy of inspiration for the next generation. And I think those four components really drive a lot of what our marketing partners are up to in their campaigns leading up to Milano Cortina. 00:08:18:11 - 00:08:41:15 Jacquie I think you know this, but I'll just remind you that the Canadian Olympic Committee is a not for profit organization. And I mention that because we're almost exclusively privately funded by our marketing partners. So Team Canada quite literally could not get to the Games without our marketing partners. They're literally the engine b