AMA Toronto awards program marks 20th anniversary
TORONTO, April 29, 2024 — In a landmark 20th anniversary celebration, Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, one of Canada’s most respected and renowned industry awards, is proud to announce this year’s Marketing Legends and Marketer-on-the-Rise.
Canada’s newest Marketing Legends are:
- Malcolm Gladwell, co-founder, Pushkin Industries; journalist; author; public speaker; and podcaster
- Judy Lewis and Deborah Weinstein, co-founders and partners, Strategic Objectives
- Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie, and Ben Varadi, co-founders, Spin Master
- Ron Woodall, former EVP, creative director, Palmer Jarvis and DDB Canada
The 2024 Marketer-on-the-Rise award goes to brothers Tyler and Braden Handley, co-founders of Inkbox, a direct-to-consumer, semi-permanent tattoo brand.
“Marking the 20th anniversary of Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, each of this year’s inductees is being recognized for their remarkable leadership achievements and for elevating our industry,” says Santo Ligotti, president of AMA Toronto, the association that runs the awards program. “These extraordinary Canadians are being celebrated to inspire us, share wisdom, and ultimately empower new leadership to drive business growth within our community.”
Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends honours the industry’s most inspiring visionaries, enablers, builders and mentors who’ve had tremendous impact on the field of marketing throughout their careers. The Marketer-on-the-Rise award celebrates Canada’s top up-and-comers — the next generation of influential marketing leaders.
The award winners will be honoured and formally inducted by AMA Toronto on May 15 at an exclusive gala event.
The iinductees were carefully chosen from this year’s nominations by a 13-person selection committee made up of a distinguished and diverse group of marketing experts including past inductees, journalists, media, association heads, and brand and agency leaders. The selection committee was chaired by 2016 Legend inductee Arthur Fleischmann, group CEO, Ogilvy Canada.
“Our 2024 honourees of Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends represent a broad range of diversity, industry, and capabilities. I love that we recognize entrepreneurialism, technology, and legacy industries,” said Fleischmann.
“After 20 years, Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends has evolved into a unique year-long program involving the award recipients that’s focused on mentorship and knowledge-sharing,” says Jacob Kessler, VP and Steward of Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, AMA Toronto.
In addition to their induction into Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, award winners participate in programming that runs throughout the year, including the popular Legendary Leadership Series of events, blogs, as well as the video podcast series “Legends Journey: Lessons in Leadership.”
“Supporting this valuable awards program allows us to proudly help our community honour its Marketing Legends,” says 2021 inductee and 2024 jury member Sharifa Khan, CEO and founder of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. “To inspire and develop the next generation of leaders in our industry, the stories and experiences of our most accomplished marketers need to be shared.”
Balmoral Multicultural Marketing, Canada’s most established, authentic, and awarded multicultural marketing agency, is the 2024 Presenting Sponsor of Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends. AMA Toronto sponsors and partners that also support Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends include Silver Leaf Solutions, the Globe Media Group, Bili Social, Stonehenge and Score Promotions.
About the 2024 award recipients
- Malcolm Gladwell, a five-time best-selling author and the co-founder of the podcast and audio book company Pushkin Industries, is unquestionably one of the most acclaimed and influential thought leaders of our time. His ideas and books such as The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, have swayed and shifted how the marketing industry works.
- Judy Lewis and Deborah Weinstein, the co-founders and partners of Strategic Objectives, Canada’s most award-winning PR agency, are the first business duo to be inducted into Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends. These trailblazing women have influenced the marketing sector for over 40 years and their agency is the only Canadian firm to receive the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in PR.
- Ronnen Haray, Anton Rabie, and Ben Varadi, the co-founders of Spin Master, have built a leading global children’s entertainment company, creating exceptional play experiences through its three creative centres: Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games. With 31 offices spanning nearly 20 countries, employing close to 3,000 team members globally and with distribution in 100 countries, Spin Master is best known for award-winning brands PawPatrol, Hatchimals, Bakugan, Kinetic Sand, Air Hogs, Melissa & Doug, and more.
- Ron Woodall, the west coast creative leader for Vancouver’s historic Expo ‘86 World Fair, was the force behind the remarkable creative legacies of Palmer Jarvis and DDB Canada. He is known for creating some of Canada’s most memorable advertising, including the iconic A&W “Root Bear,” as well as mentoring a number of today’s top Canadian creative leaders.
- Tyler and Braden Handley launched Inkbox, a semi-permanent tattoo brand, in 2015 and recently sold the company to Bic for $65 million USD. Headquartered in downtown Toronto, Inkbox now employs 150+ people across Canada, Japan, and the United States.
About Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends
Founded in 2004, Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends honours inspiring Canadian leaders who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of excellence in the field of marketing. The award, created to spotlight the stories, people and brands behind Canada’s greatest marketing successes, recognizes a noteworthy body of work and a life-time of achievements and leadership, including contributions that have made our community a better place. Nominations for induction are held annually.
About AMA Toronto
The Toronto Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA Toronto) is a community of volunteer marketers who have been empowering leadership and business growth for more than 70 years in Canada. The AMA, with more than 30,000 members and 70 chapters across North America, is the largest not-for-profit marketing association in the world serving organizations and individuals who practice, teach and study marketing.
Legendary Quotes
“I’m thrilled to be inducted into Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends. Before I became a writer, my dream was to work in advertising. With this award, I’m halfway there!”
– Malcolm Gladwell, co-founder, Pushkin Industries; journalist; author; public speaker; and podcaster
“We are overjoyed and humbled by this incredible honour from AMA Toronto. We started our agency with a vision to harness the marketing power of PR to transform the industry, and we are thrilled to have partnered with so many of the world’s top brands and marketing minds over the years.”
– Deborah Weinstein, co-founder and partner, Strategic Objectives
“We share this honour with everyone who has played a role in the success of Strategic Objectives including our fearless clients, brilliant team of PR pros, and hard-working creatives, journalists and influencers. Huge thanks to the AMA and congratulations to our fellow inductees.”
– Judy Lewis, co-founder and partner, Strategic Objectives
“Twenty-two years growing very old on an island rock when somebody thinks “Oh look. A Legend!” I have really missed the energy and the brilliance of it all. Could this honour be more wonderful? Don’t get me started.”
– Ron Woodall, EVP, creative director, Palmer Jarvis and DDB Canada
“We’ve never been afraid to try new things and part of our success has come from relentless experimentation. When we first founded the company, 30 years ago, we invested in grassroots marketing – everything from in-store demos to driving around in a van to promote our products. So much has changed since then and today we are much more sophisticated in our marketing, but our entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to innovate remains. To be inducted into Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends is a remarkable moment for the three of us.”
– Ronnen Harary, Anton Rabie, and Ben Varadi, co-founders, Spin Master
“We’re honored to win the Marketer-on-the-Rise award, a recognition we share with our incredible team at inkbox. We hope our accomplishments inspire the next generation of Canadian marketers to dream big and push boundaries, just as we did.”
– Tyler and Braden Handley, co-founders of Inkbox
Quick Facts
- Since 2004, Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends has inducted 111 Canadian luminaries.
- Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends is now a year-long program involving award recipients that includes the Legendary Leadership Series of events, blogs, and the video podcast series “Legends Journey: Lessons in Leadership.”
- Progressive changes in 2021 transformed Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends to better serve and reflect the diverse character of the marketing community. The selection committee and the nomination and selection processes were revamped, and a more inclusive focus on all sectors of the industry was initiated.
- 2023 inductees included Lisa Lisson, senior VP of network operations at FedEx; Noel O’Dea, president and founder of Target Marketing and Communications; Sandra Sanderson, SVP, marketing, Empire Company Limited and Sobey’s Inc.; and Chris Staples, Ian Grais, and Tom Shepansky, foundering partners of Rethink Communications. The 2023 Marketer-on-the-Rise was Hyla Nayeri and Adrien Bettio, founders of 337 Swimwear.
Associated News Releases Links
https://ama-toronto.com/blog/canadas-marketing-hall-of-legends-marks-20-years/
https://www.newswire.ca/news/ama__toronto/
For further information or interviews please contact:
Robert MacLean, VP, Public Relations, AMA Toronto [email protected], (416) 817-4259;
Jal Sonpal, Manager, Public Relations, AMA Toronto, [email protected]