Fine Tune with Corby Fine

Today, Corby welcomes Jon Finnie, the head of international sales for Yahoo Ads. With a rich background in Canadian marketing, advertising, and media, Jon shares his insights on driving revenue across Yahoo's diverse consumer properties, including Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, as well as its demand side platform, Yahoo DSP.  

Tune in to hear Jon discuss the evolving landscape of digital advertising, the importance of...

This episode features a dynamic discussion with Brad Bettinson, VP of Enterprise Solutions at JAM Direct, focusing on the evolution of email marketing and the role of AI in modern marketing strategies. The conversation delves into whether email is becoming obsolete akin to outdated technologies like the fax machine, or if it's adapting and thriving in a world dominated by instant communication channels.

Brad brings over 20 year...

In this episode, seasoned industry experts Kevin Krossing and Jeff Dack gather around the virtual table to dissect the ever-evolving landscape of creative agencies. Buckle up as we unravel intriguing insights, heated debates, and fresh perspectives on what lies ahead for these dynamic entities.

1. Art vs. Agency Work: The Great Debate

🎨 Artistic Boundaries: Is agency work truly an art form? We delve into the delicate balance between...

In this episode, I welcome two respected experts in the digital advertising space, Ben Wise and Jeremy Freedman, to explore the evolving landscape of digital advertising and the future of agency structures.

We start by discussing the current definition of digital advertising, noting its evolution beyond traditional online ads to encompass various channels like billboards, audio, and even in-video game ads. Ben suggests tha...

Helping organizations embrace emerging technologies so that they can have a better relationship with their customers, unlock growth and build their brand is the goal of  Forum3. Co-founders Adam Brotman and Andy Sack know a thing or two about each of those goals, which is why they started the business in the first place, and the emerging technology of focus, Generative AI.

Adam is the former Chief Digital Officer at Starbu...

Successful leaders have a number of common attributes. Some of them include having a sense of humility and humbleness, to be able to say that they don't have all the answers, that they have made mistakes, and that they are human and vulnerable. One of the most important characteristics is that they try to surround themselves with people who can teach them as well.

Cindy Wahler understands that no single human is succe...

Many of us strive to work at the intersection of really smart people, really strong technology advancement and differentiated thinking. That combination of elements ultimately leads to better results. Sean Downey, President, Americas & Global Partners at Google lives at that intersection.

As Sean explains, you have to have a really innovative culture that has tremendous amounts of psychological safety, where people fee...

You don't need to consistently look for big, humongous changes in your organization. According to Tanbir Grover, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Pet Valu, thinking about and focusing on the edges is critical as most things in your business are usually working quite well. The challenge is in getting alignment and support to work on making those things better. The trick according to Tanbir, is to figure out who you can al...

It takes a strong leader to be vulnerable and ask their teams, "can we do it this way?" and if it doesn't work, admit that it's okay. It takes an even stronger leader to speak with all new hires as they come on board, empowering and encouraging them to be reckless. Imagine starting a new job and having you leader tell you to use your first 90 days to try and do things your way, and to break and change things as ...

As marketing teams change their focus from successful campaign launches to measuring outcomes in an agile operating model, there is a fundamental shift requiring significant trust from the rest of the organization taking place. As Meghan Nameth describes, it is probably the biggest leap of faith that an organization can take, as most people, especially in senior executive positions, are used to seeing everything before it happens. ...

Michael Roberts, CMO of MetLife, believes in outcomes, so much so that in the organizations he has had a chance to lead as a senior marketing executive, he has changed team structures and operating models to focus on outcomes based marketing.  One of his key principles, is that if you can't find a pattern of things NOT working, then it means that things are completely out control. So how do you find ways to consistently make t...

There is no question that digital technology is impacting all verticals and businesses, affecting both the customer experience and how organizations make money. The sports industry in particular, is undergoing rapid change and unlocking all kinds of opportunities for growth and new business models.

Joining me in this episode is Christina Litz, the Chief Brand & Commercial Officer at True North Sports and Entertainment ...

According to Nic Beique, the payments space is generally boring, but his goal is to build a payments company that is loved by his customers and that can be the heartbeat of their customers success. Nic tells me that it would be enough of a differentiating point for Helcim to have built the brand that they have already built, one based on processing billions in payments per year with a human touch. But in an industry notorious for b...

When Daniel Dubois did the research, he realized that it takes an average of 27 years for the typical first-time Canadian urban home buyer just to save up for the recommended 20% down payment. That's when he and his co-founder decided to do something about it. They launched Key, a patent-pending two sided marketplace with a co-ownership model allowing people to move in and start building home equity, without being locked into ...

Pinterest is not really social media in the traditional sense, it's more personal media. As the "ultimate discovery platform", Pinterest is just in its very nature, a place where people feel hopeful when they are thinking about the future. As Erin Elofson describes in our discussion, "when using Pinterest you're fundamentally happy, reflecting on the past is a harder emotional process, and that's what ...

Candice Faktor is on a mission to help creators make a living teaching what they love by re- imagining the future of learning through her platform, Disco.  She believes the future is learning live together and Disco's vision for learning leaves the industrial age behind and looks to a world of lifelong learning, that's live, with peers, led by trusted creators and accessible from anywhere.

Prior to Disco, Candice...

Ever hear of The Peak? Well if you haven't it's time to change that. The Peak is a daily newsletter covering the latest Canadian and global business, finance and tech news in a fun and informative daily email. Over 42,000 Canadians start their day with this email and I am one of them!

Brett Chang is co-founder of The Peak, starting the business after a number of roles including working at Uber. As Brett explains ...

Most companies don't bother spending time thinking about how they can create their own flywheel. The flywheel that comes from digitally transforming their business, and finding ways that one new business model or revenue stream can feed off the other. 

John Boynton is an executive with over 30 years experience and a passion and track record of turning companies around and delivering high growth rates in highly competi...

In a world where consumers are moving their banking transactions online and leaving branches as remnants of the past, how does one bank differentiate themselves from the other? According to Maja Neable, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Banking at BMO Financial Group, it is a combination of what consumers think about as a perceived convenience, and the distinctiveness that a bank can create to try and convince consumers that they are ...