Meanwhile, Tam-Tam\TBWA enters the table.

In our final instalment, we asked marketing leaders to give us their thoughts on topics including the importance of influencers; whether traditional media is still relevant, and the impact of social commerce on brick-and-mortar retail.

While Canadian competitiveness and AI were the featured topics of Pts I and II of our State of the Nation report, marketers and their agencies are dealing with a number of impactful dynamics that are reshaping the industry. We'll explore those in parts 3a and 3b.

Respondents to our first State of the Nation survey agree that Canada boasts incredible talent and thinking, but what's holding us back is a tendency to be both risk-averse while politely waiting for validation.

While it was the overwhelming selection of survey respondents when asked about forces of change in the year ahead, the economy and talent also earned consideration.

Campaign Red examines how a merged Omnicom/IPG compares to the remaining "big four".

Medialabs surges into global indie league after big wins

Meanwhile, Publicis creates bespoke team for Mars account.

Meanwhile, two agencies, Hearts & Science and Infinite Roar, enter the top 20.

The rise of single-client units, their promise of efficiency, and the risk of staff churn and creative stagnation.

On the holding company level, IPG edges out Omnicom ahead of imminent merger.

Three new agencies enter the league.

Notorious Communications entered the October rankings after being appointed to William Hill's media buying and planning account.

Dentsu X and Known join the league as established players make moves.

Initiative and Mekanism climb, newcomers Glassroom and Espace M enter the table, while Publicis Groupe maintains its holding company lead.

The Specialist Works jumped up the September rankings after becoming Lebara's agency of record.

Meanwhile, Labelium and Media Experts continue to hold top spots

Meanwhile, existing agencies make gains further down the table.

The gain deepens IPG's momentum and intensifies pressure on WPP, which had held the business for over a decade.

Publicis and Spark Foundry held the top spots, while PHD and Media Experts entered the list with wins from Burger King and Pizza Pizza.

Spark Foundry and Cossette also post strong showings; indie and regional players make modest gains.

Meanwhile, 13 new agencies join the top 20.

Omnicom trails far behind in a quiet period for new-business activity.

Spark Foundry, which ranks third, picked up the Canadian Kimberly-Clark assignment.

Indie agencies held their own, claiming nearly half of the top 20 spots.

Plus intermediaries weigh in on the level of global activity and AI in pitches.

Reshuffle at the top pushes PMG and the7stars down the rankings.

The home improvement win boosts Cossette's standing in Canadian retail

Meanwhile, Cossette enters the rankings at #30 after winning Rona.

Digitas leads first global creative rankings for 2024, while WPP shops land fifth and sixth position.

New entries shift others down the table.

Meanwhile, four new agencies enter the top 20.

Meanwhile, Horizon Media maintained its lead for the second month in a row.

Bountiful Cow enters global indie league as PMG takes top spot, while previous frontrunner Horizon Media drops to 17th.

With Amazon Prime having joined the pack of ad-tier streamers, marketers from across the globe reveal how far video on demand will shake up their strategy in the next year - and where it needs to improve.

Some say adland is saturated with purpose-led work, but for others, it still has an important role. CMOs from across the globe share whether and why the popularity of purpose-led ads is on the wane.

Meanwhile, EssenceMediacom maintains its lead.

Pitching for new business can be crushing, says Angus Tucker. "But if you want to feel something deep and lasting for a place and its people, there ain't nothing like a pitch."

Meanwhile, several agencies in the top 10 swap places.

It's among a series of account wins that includes Loblaw Companies and London Drugs.

Led by Toronto-based global CCO Judy John and global ECD Andrew Simon, the world's largest PR shop has incorporated creative thinking into its PR product, with standout results.

In many ways, Quebec has already provided a blueprint for how the Canadian ad industry can carve out a unique identity from a much larger neighbour.

Canada's population, economy and ad industry is nearly eight times bigger than New Zealand's. So why are the Kiwis winning double the number of Cannes Lions (relative to their size) than Canada?

In his latest Free to Disagree column, Éric Blais explains why Campaign's "Made in Canada" playbook should include lessons from Québec.

The five things you need to do right now…

You are now competing with American agencies who know how to play the American game and how to deposition you because you're not Americans. To succeed in the U.S., Canadian shops need to figure out a truly unique positioning. Here's how to do it.

The Canadian way of doing things-fast, nimble, innovative, resourceful-is well aligned with modern marketers' needs. Here's why this "second tier" capability could be the antidote to the big and slow, grinding along, expensive, TV-first model that is still associated with the American ad industry.

We have internalized the "stay in our lane" mindset, are uncomfortable asking for more, have a tendency to conflate bigger budgets and lead assignments with better talent, and are generally subordinate to the U.S. Here's why it's time to stop saying sorry.

It's understandable why Canadian marketers adapt work from other markets, but being willing to fight for more ambitious and potentially riskier made-in-Canada campaigns could have a beneficial effect on the industry as a whole.

More Canadian marketers asking for more Canadian advertising, would mean a stronger, more robust and vibrant ad industry, bringing with it an increase in expertise and innovation, more knowledge, better craft, greater likelihood of work that captures world attention and added reasons for the best talent to stay in Canada.