DealMaker Canada 2022 Recap

We had a record-breaking number of clients make the trip to The OMNI King Edward Hotel in Toronto for this exciting networking event. These attendees included top advertisers, publishers and agencies from across North America who got together to prove that deal-making shouldn’t be this much fun. Spoiler alert: it was!  

Our client partners pre-scheduled more than 300 meetings to strategize for Q4 and beyond—the room was in a constant buzz! Attendees learned of new technology and growth metrics from our executive team, listened to a compelling panel of advertisers and learned about four publishers during our Publisher Showcase. 

Here are some highlights from this year’s DealMaker Canada:   

Industry Panel Discussions 

Attendees had the opportunity to hear from a wide range of Canadian brands to discuss all things Q4 and beyond. They tackled issues of waning consumer spending, the uptick in inflation and the economic situation across the pond. The panelists talked through their strategies for combating these extenuating circumstances to succeed in Q4 and in 2023.  

Data, Trends & Insights – Strategies for Q4 and Beyond

The panel was a blend of thought leaders from jewelry, finance, beauty and retail who spoke about their affiliate marketing strategies and how to overcome current market challenges. The discussion centered around emerging trends in marketing technology, unique content and upper funnel partnerships, and refining the consumer journey across all digital channels.

Moderated by: Jennifer LaForge, GM of Rakuten Rewards Canada  

Panel Members: 

• Rachel Mielke, CEO of Hillberg & Berk
  
• Fiona Karl, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing Acquisition at Scotiabank 
  
• Heather Walker, Director of Operations at Canadian Down & Feather Company Inc.
  
• Elizabeth Fenton, Digital Marketing Manager at Moroccanoil

DealSpace & Networking 

As the name implies, DealMaker is all about making deals, and we did just that! The day was filled with opportunities to schedule one-on-one meetings through our DealMaker meeting app and network with the industry as a whole. In fact, our attendees scheduled over 300 individual meetings during our one-day event!   

DealSpace, a dedicated area for showcasing partners, was another exciting opportunity for participants to connect with each other. More than 84 companies were present, creating plenty of new connections, tons of laughter, and even a few cocktails next to the sushi station! Once again proving that doing business CAN be this much fun!  

We want to give a huge thank you to our superior events team, Sara Gorlick, Krystyna Lijek, Kayla Maley and Izzy Harris for all the hard work that they put into making this year’s DealMaker Canada a huge success – we couldn’t have pulled this off without you!      

To stay up to date on upcoming Rakuten Advertising events, check out our events page.