DPAA Canada Summit: Brands, Agencies, Storytellers, Tech Innovators Gather
to Discuss Trends Driving Innovation and Success in Digital Out of Home
Powerful Creative, Sports & Entertainment Tie-ins, Real Outcomes are Key to Growth
NEW YORK – DPAA, the global trade marketing association driving the growth and digitization of out-of-home (OOH) advertising, announced record attendance at its annual Canada Summit, held this month in Toronto. Approximately 400 agencies, brands, ad tech, media companies, and ad sales rep firms –gathered to discuss the latest innovation trends across the industry, network with their peers, and conduct business (plus have some fun). The event, held for the first time at MaRS Center located at the country’s hub of innovation, had standing-room-only crowds in the auditorium all day, with the concourse serving as an ideal location for in-person conversations, including with sponsors who set up areas from which they showed new developments in the space.
Great Creative, Sports & Entertainment, and Outcomes Drive Innovation
An impressive 80% of the speakers during the summit this year were women, reflecting the important roles held by women in the industry. As the day unfolded, certain themes surfaced that drove conversations across several sessions, with speakers from companies like Adapt Media, Adelaide, Canadian Gaming Association, Ikea, Intuit, Mastercard, NBCUniversal, Skip, Vertical Impression, WPP Canada, and more, including keynote sessions hosted by DPAA President & CEO Barry Frey:
- Creative is key to capturing the imagination of consumers, and humor is one of the best assets to creative.
- Sports & Entertainment tie-ins and partnerships with properties in these areas are very important for leveraging DOOH media buys and having a greater impact with both B2B customers and consumers.
- Outcomes are front and center in measuring the success of any DOOH campaign, with a key outcome of attending the DPAA Canada Summit of course being the resulting impact on the growth of the industry.
The event wrapped with a powerful closing session – “How OOH Helps Rethink Breast Cancer Move People to Act” – featuring a case study of a public service campaign about breast cancer detection, with two individual stories of personal courage that sent attendees home with a reminder of the real-life human impact possible through the right advertising initiative, shared by MJ DeCoteau, Founder, Rethink Breast Cancer in a deeply personal conversation with Debbie Benadiba, Business Transformation Leader and Industry Advocate.
“This event was inspiring in so many ways, not the least because of the array of great women leaders who simply owned the show,” said Frey. “We identified key trends, shared in-person moments with existing and new industry friends, and wrapped up the Summit with a strong case study and discussion about breast cancer that shined a light on the value of approaching life with optimism. And yes, we also learned about the key trends and tools driving DOOH growth.”
Session Highlights
- Shawna Miller, SVP, Marketing & Communications, Canada, Mastercard, shared how Mastercard is using sports and entertainment sponsorships to leverage B2B efforts, and existing alliances with sports properties to bring fans a “priceless experience.”
- Gah-Yee Won, Head of Marketing, Intuit Canada, spoke about marketing the Turbo Tax brand with video that made tax preparation easier and even more fun.
- Moira Gilderson, SVP, Dentsu and Jonelle Ricketts, Head of Marketing, Ikea Canada, talked about their famous “Start the car!” campaign and how creative messaging can be adapted for DOOH.
- Jodi Peacock, President, Essence Mediacom WPP Canada and Tamara Shannon, SVP Media, NBCUniversal talked about using DOOH on the promotional path leading to a movie launch.
- Paul Burns, President & CEO, Canadian Gaming Association, talked with Amanda Newell, Chief Revenue Officer, Adapt Media about how Bill S-211 can affect progress and profit around sports betting and campaigns to promote expansion in Canada.
Of course, news was also broken at the Summit. During “Real World Attention – The Final Step in True Omni-Channel Impact,”was moderated by Nicolette Leonardis, President & Co-founder, Vertical Impression, and panelists Jordan Weiers, Sr. Director, Partnerships & Business Development, at Adelaide, and Eleanor Bothwell, Manager Media Performance & Strategy, Skip, announced the details of their new partnership on stage. The session was complemented by a collection of new songs celebrating the benefits of DOOH advertising!
Frey added, “I always talk about DPAA’s mission in ‘Cs’ and we once again added Canada to that list with our successful Toronto event. DPAA Canada Summit is a proven, authentic community of professionals, an ideal opportunity for them to congregate, collaborate, coordinate, and not only have real-life conversations that led to real business deals, but also an opportunity to sync up their calendars to discuss future partnerships– the ultimate outcome.”
DPAA also practiced what it preaches, with DPAA branded signage predominant in the high-foot traffic venue’s atrium, using OOH advertising to promote the event and global association to hundreds of employees and commuters who walked through on their way to work or mass transit.
Second half of 2026 offers even more opportunities to connect online and IRL
A full list of upcoming events being held by DPAA, as part of its mission to facilitate connections between the industry, its members, and the people who drive these businesses, can be found at www.dpaaglobal.com/dpaaevents. This includes the October 13 Video Everywhere Summit in New York, as well as two July members-only webinars:
- Research, Retail & Technology Series presents “How Advanced AI Can Help Grow DOOH and In-Store Retail Media Networks” on July 8, featuring Australian Outdoor Media Chief Executive and Board Chair Leonie Valentine, and
- WE.DOOH Women’s Empowerment initiative webinar on July 15, speakers to be announced.
To become a member, contact the DPAA team at www.dpaaglobal.com/contact-us.
About DPAA
DPAA (www.dpaaglobal.com) is the global trade marketing association, driving the growth and digitization of out-of-home (OOH) advertising and its growing role in the Omnichannel mix. Membership in the DPAA community includes many business acceleration benefits and access to a wide array of products. It offers members an extensive database of research, best practices and case studies; tools for planning, training and forecasting; social media amplification of news; insights on software and hardware solutions; and further integration into the advertising ecosystem by connecting DOOH networks, brands, agencies, ad tech and others – including through its podcast, Launchpad of Innovation. DPAA’s Video Everywhere Summit, the largest one-day media/marketing event of its kind, is October 13, 2026, at Pier 60 in New York City.