My first day as managing director of Twitter Canada was epic. There’s no other way to describe it.
It was the day Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited our work space in downtown Toronto, the first world leader to visit Twitter while in office. The Prime Minister spent time with our staff. He toured our office. He engaged in a live Q+A with Twitter users, answering 28 questions in French and English in just over 45 minutes.
The Prime Minister had just reached the 100-day mark in his term. He chose to spend it at Twitter, connecting with Canadians.
As I led Prime Minister Trudeau on our office tour, it hit home what a unique opportunity I had been afforded and the importance that Twitter, as a platform, can have for all Canadians as a live connection to culture.
My first day at Twitter was also the first day on the job for Leslie Berland. Based in San Francisco, Leslie is Twitter’s first ever CMO and a true superstar in marketing circles, most known for her time spent in the C-suite at American Express. I spent time with Leslie and the entire Twitter leadership team in California during my first couple of weeks. It only strengthened by enthusiasm for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Make no mistake, it was a very difficult decision to leave Google. It was my home for the previous five years. The brand, the innovation and, most importantly, the people were hard to leave but the chance to lead Twitter in Canada was one I couldn’t pass up.
Twitter turned 10 in late March 2016 and our next decade will in large part be defined on how we market our brand to users new and old. We have many Canada-specific stories to tell and we look forward to telling them in the months and years to come.
There are the three key factors that will inform Twitter’s path as a marketing organization going forward.
Process: In Canada, we want to carve the path for innovation in how Twitter works – with our partners, within our own teams, and across regions. Team Canada not a large organization but we are mighty and we are motivated. Within weeks of my first day, I worked with our senior leadership team to realign Twitter Canada by verticals and ensure that marketing efforts were specifically tailored to those audiences by country, by size and by industry. This June, we held two standalone events for audiences of marketing executives and agency leads. One event shared new Canadian research for brands looking to activate on Twitter against major sporting events in 2016. The other event featured a panel of leading experts in the parenting space, sharing insights on how Twitter impacts purchase decisions for Canadian moms. That event was also layered with more original research from our team and plenty of face-to-face interaction with our key brand and agency partners. We recognize that our defining difference in Canada is the strength of our team and our ability to bring data-driven insights to partners who promote their products on Twitter. We’ll continue to strength our focus in these areas going forward.
Real-Time Access: Yes, we’ve had big names like Justin Trudeau, Jose Bautista and Meghan Trainor visit Twitter Canada headquarters during my first 100 days. The talent is amazing but just as important is the fact that Twitter gives all Canadians open access to live information and original content, both nationwide and in local communities. For example, Twitter was central during recent provincial elections in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It kept residents in Wood Buffalo informed as fires spread in their communities. It helped Toronto Police crack a cold case murder by polling Twitter users for information. No other platform provides the live experience that Twitter does. We’ve seen huge benefits in terms of tapping into this real-time access for marketers and brands looking to connect with Canadians. One recent example: During the Toronto Raptors’ 2016 postseason run, Samsung and the NBA Canada came together on Twitter via our Amplify program to bring game night highlights to Canadian Twitter users, featuring the biggest plays from the biggest games. As managing director, I continue to push our team to actively seek out opportunities to share this real-time access with our clients and create powerful brand experiences on Twitter.
Safety: This is a big one. All users should feel safe on Twitter, whether you’re an everyday users, a brand or somebody in the public eye. We are committed to supporting existing tools and adding new ones with regards to safety. It’s important that we keep our brand and agency partners informed of these changes. Accordingly, I ensure that our team is proactively sharing safety advancements with partners at all times. This is essential for the health of our brand and the confidence that partners have in presenting their products and messages on our platform. While users can unfollow or block other accounts at any time, we have introduced other safety features in recent weeks. This includes the ability to report up to five Tweets at once if you feel you’re being harassed. We’ve also recently appointed a global Trust and Safety Council to advise on the Twitter user experience and discuss ways to keep our platform optimized for users worldwide. Furthermore, our team regularly works with government bodies and police departments to educate them on how they can use Twitter to keep Canadians informed, engaged and secure. With millions of Canadians using Twitter on a daily basis, it’s a big job to ensure that users are enjoying the best Twitter has to offer. But again, it’s a job to which myself and the entire Twitter Canada team are firmly committed.
