For the past two weeks, Disney+ has been running a limited-time sale in Canada, allowing consumers to subscribe to its ad-supported tier for much less than usual. The deal comes as Canadians are increasingly supporting local businesses in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
In Canada, certain broadcasters and streamers are also adjusting their strategies to better engage with their local audiences.
Troy Reeb, co-CEO at Corus Entertainment, tells MiC that shortly after the U.S. administration first threatened tariffs in February, the broadcaster wanted to encourage its audience to support Canadian companies that invested in the country’s communities and created jobs.
“As a proudly Canadian company, it’s our responsibility to champion this message, and we’re doing it through a multi-channel marketing campaign that sees high-rotation promos running across Global, Flavour Network, Home Network, W Network, Showcase, Slice, StackTV, Global News and our audio portfolio,” Reeb says.
Corus’s “Buy Canadian” campaign aims to promote support for local businesses, including the country’s advertising industry, encouraging local advertisers to reinvest their money in Canadian companies.
According to Reeb, Canadian companies, including Corus, have lost substantial ad revenue to foreign companies over the past two decades. Twenty years ago, 95% of ad spending in Canada was on Canadian media and platforms. Today, big tech companies aligned with Trump – such as Apple, TikTok, Meta and X – absorb nearly two-thirds of spend in the country, he explains.
“We have (also) leaned into our hundreds of weekly hours of Canadian original programming, and homegrown brands like Home and Flavour, to create new integration opportunities for clients who want to fly their Canadian colours,” Reeb says.
As part of that strategy, the broadcaster has launched the “Shop local: Buy Canadian tagged promo plan,” which allows brands to gain increased exposure on Global and Corus’ top specialty networks, including Home, Flavour, Showcase, W Network, Slice and History. Canadian partners who make a media buy with Corus will have a five-second “Shop Local, Buy Canadian” tag added to their creative. And if they don’t have advertising, Reeb says the team is preparing a custom spot for them.
Additionally, Corus is featuring a Global News editorial series entitled Proudly Canadian, focusing on eight local companies from across the country, showcasing their products, services and business history. It is also running spotlights on The Morning Show with in-depth features about local businesses such as Bye American, Buy Canadian, which guides viewers to find Canadian products that are comparable to or better than U.S. products.
“Our insights team is monitoring the consumer response to U.S. tariffs and threats, and the resulting concerns, challenges and opportunities for brands, which is why we know 85% of Canadians intend to take some form of consumer action in response to the threat of tariffs – underscoring the importance of this message and Corus’ commitment to supporting Canadian businesses,” Reeb adds.
Bell Media and the CBC, meanwhile, are investing in marketing campaigns and new programming, acquiring and producing more original Canadian content for their channels.
A Bell spokesperson tells MiC that the company is running a “Proudly Canadian” digital and OOH campaign. The campaign’s messaging aims to position Crave as one of the leading Canadian-owned streaming services, leveraging its recent surge in subscribers.
According to the company, Q4 2024 was the most-watched quarter in Crave history for hours viewed and the most-watched year in Crave history for hours viewed. BCE’s Q4 2024 report also shows that Crave registered 3.6 million subscribers, a year-on-year increase of 18%.
“We have never shied away from being Canadian, both in our promotion and in our content strategy. We are happy to amplify that message in our current on-air campaign,” says the spokesperson, adding that Bell has also recently ordered new seasons of Canadian series such as Children Ruin Everything, Sight Unseen and Sullivan’s Crossing for the streamer and CTV.
Maya Kane, CBC’s executive director of marketing and communications, says the team recognized an opportunity to build on the strong connection it has made with Canadians over time.
Recently, the CBC launched the “Always Here for Canada” campaign across its digital and audio platforms, building on its new “It’s a Canada Thing” brand identity and emphasizing the CBC’s storytelling role in the country. The campaign uses several videos to recall CBC’s coverage of significant events in Canadian history, such as the formalization of the maple leaf flag in 1965 and more recent ones such as the Yellowknife wildfire in the Northwest Territories in 2023.
The broadcaster also unveiled the “Celebrate Canadian Film” campaign, supporting local stories and creators with 15- and 30-second spots airing on CBC’s digital platforms. Along with the campaign, two commercials are highlighting CBC Gem as Canada’s home for streaming, and a new series of 11 Canadian feature films is now available on CBC Gem’s free subscription plan.
On the radio front, CBC is providing a promotional code and special prices for Canadian advertisers who use the Max CBC/Radio-Canada platform, which enables businesses to run display, video, and audio ads across CBC/Radio-Canada’s digital platforms. The broadcaster says that, in addition to supporting small businesses during a period of economic instability, the strategy has helped to build awareness of the platform, introduced at the end of 2024.
And over at audio streaming, Acast says it recently backed its Canadian online podcast network Apostrophe Network’s “Made in Canada” program by encouraging creators to include a red maple leaf on their cover image.
“Every day at Acast, we see the pride that comes from podcasters, media buyers and audiences around the world for their homegrown content,” Yael Strasberg, director of Acast’s creator network in Canada, tells MiC. “The subtle change has made Canadian content easier for both advertisers and listeners to discover when looking for local shows to tune in to and invest in.”
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