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The news: Block’s Square will be Live Nation Canada’s exclusive provider of payments. Our take: Partnering with Live Nation Canada offers Square a space to test out its newest tech on large crowds in a confined space expecting fast turnaround times.

Gaming in Canada has developed into an important advertising opportunity as audiences grow and in-game ads gain traction with mobile users.

The news: Novo Nordisk missed an important patent filing deadline in Canada for its weight loss and diabetes drug semaglutide, opening the door to generics as soon as next year. Our take: If Sandoz and other generic makers start selling semaglutide GLP-1 drugs in Canada next year, FDA approval for states may not matter. If drugmakers do start selling generic GLP-1s in Canada, Novo will see Ozempic brand sales drop, but the GLP-1 market could see a generics’ explosion.

National Bank is distinguishing itself as the first major Canadian bank to implement a secure data feed (API) for its retail customers to share financial information with approved fintech applications, putting it ahead of Canada's potential 2026 open banking rollout. This innovative approach significantly reduces security risks by redirecting customers to National Bank's own website for identity verification, eliminating the need for customers to share online banking passwords with third-party aggregators (known as "screen scraping"). By taking an 80% stake in Flinks, a financial data aggregator that now accredits fintechs, National Bank transforms a potential threat to customer loyalty into an opportunity to deepen relationships, ensuring it remains the central hub for customers' financial lives even as they use other apps.

Canada trails just one country—the US—in average daily time spent with media. That means plenty of opportunity for media buyers to reach audiences across a range of devices and services.

Canadian banks have heavily invested in digital development, yet their mobile apps remain uniform and lack standout features, according to J.D. Power. While mobile apps perform reliably, satisfaction gains are seen mainly in credit card and website platforms. AI integrations like virtual assistants have failed to personalize experiences. Key missing features include clear transaction data, stored debit cards, and Gen Z’s most demanded functions like electronic direct deposits and subscription controls. To differentiate, banks must enhance mobile app experiences by adding unique, customer-desired features and improving personalization and security.

Social users around the world engage with and make purchase decisions from creator content in similar ways. Localizing creator strategies is key, but marketers can apply the same best practices across many geographies.

The news: Lululemon beat earnings expectations and met revenue forecasts in Q1, but softening demand in its core Americas market cast a shadow over the results. Our take: Even premium brands aren’t immune to macro pressures. As consumers grow increasingly cost-conscious, discretionary purchases—especially those with big price tags—are easy for consumers to postpone. Lululemon’s challenge now is not just product innovation, but convincing shoppers its value proposition is worth the premium.

LinkedIn doubles down on B2B video and CTV: New tools help marketers capture attention and drive full-funnel impact.

The outlook for retail media ad spending remains bright throughout most of the world, even as ad budgets are increasingly constrained in the face of economic storm clouds.

We examine which improvements could help banks boost loyalty.

Half of young UK consumers accept AI in customer service, but 81% of all UK adults want full disclosure—because comfort doesn’t cancel the need for trust.