The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) today announced the release of three innovative resources designed to position Canadian marketers at the forefront of AI adoption and implementation. These materials underscore the CMA’s commitment to futureproofing the marketing profession in the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI).
The “Guide on AI for Marketers,” and “Setting the Stage on Artificial Intelligence: A Primer for Marketers,” were reviewed by the globally renowned Vector Institute, based in Toronto, that empowers researchers, businesses and governments to develop and adopt AI responsibly.
At CMAai, a virtual event taking place on April 10, the CMA will speak to these important resources and unveil key findings from its “Generative AI Readiness Survey,” powered by Twenty44.
The state of AI in marketing
The CMA’s “Generative AI Readiness Survey,” powered by Twenty44 and conducted in October 2024 with 126 CMA members, reveals critical insights into the current state of AI adoption among Canadian marketers:
- AI usage is on the rise, with 74 per cent of CMA members using generative AI tools at least weekly at work, surpassing the average for Canadian knowledge workers (62 per cent).
- 84 per cent of members feel positively about integrating AI tools into their daily work tasks.
- 68 per cent believe AI will make society somewhat or much better, while 83 per cent say it will improve their personal lives.
However, the research also highlights areas for improvement:
- 44 per cent of members are either unsure if their company has an AI policy or find it lacking.
- 56 per cent report receiving either no training on AI or ineffective training.
- 80 per cent report using free or paid personal AI accounts at work.
Strengthening AI knowledge, policies, and security
The CMA’s new resources address the gaps affecting adoption, providing clear guidance on ethical AI usage, practical implementation strategies and best practices for upskilling marketing teams.
The “Guide on AI for Marketers,” provides in-depth insights on key considerations such as:
- Using personal information in algorithms,
- AI-driven content creation,
- Consumer-facing AI applications,
- Implementing AI influencers, and
- Best practices for responsible AI use in marketing.
The guide is supported by the “CMA Accountability Checklists for AI in Marketing.” These checklists address a critical challenge in AI governance: the need for clear, role-specific guidance in a landscape where responsibilities often overlap or remain unclear. Our structured framework clearly delineates who is responsible for what in the AI marketing ecosystem. This approach ensures that all participants in the marketing value chain understand their specific obligations and can implement appropriate governance measures.
The resource, “Setting the Stage on Artificial Intelligence: A Primer for Marketers,” offers a comprehensive overview of AI’s impact on marketing, current adoption rates in Canada and global regulatory initiatives. It sets the foundation for marketers to understand and navigate the AI landscape confidently.
These resources affirm the CMA’s position as a leader in supporting the Canadian marketing industry’s growth and adaptation to emerging technologies.
For more information about the CMA’s AI resources, visit https://thecma.ca/resources/compliance-best-practices-guides.
About the survey
The survey methodology was developed by Twenty44 and is powered by Nexxt Intelligence’s AI-driven inca platform. It included a blend of qualitative and quantitative questions and was open between October 2 and October 28, 2024. A total of 126 CMA members participated in the survey.
Cyberattacks are Fewer in Number but Smarter in Strategy, Says CDW Canada Study
Posted in Commentary with tags CDW on April 8, 2025 by itnerdCDW Canada, today released its annual Canadian Cybersecurity Study, Canadian Cybersecurity Trends: Bridging Strategy, Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Human Expertise, which explores the evolving state of cybersecurity among Canadian organizations. The study, sponsored by CDW Canada and conducted with additional support and analysis by IDC Canada, surveyed over 704 IT security, risk and compliance professionals.
The expanding threat landscape highlights a critical pattern in 2025. Cyberattacks continue to decrease in frequency, yet successful attacks have intensified and become increasingly disruptive. In the past 12 months, 87 percent of Canadian organizations have reported experiencing a security incident, coupled with a 10 percent year-over-year increase in the length of downtime per incident. This pattern indicates a need for Canadian organizations to prioritize proactive cybersecurity to avoid these detrimental disruptions to their business.
GenAI progress stalls amid gaps in security and governance frameworks
Over the past year, organizations have raced to explore the potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), but the excitement has exposed a critical paradox. While organizations recognize GenAI’s transformative potential, many are facing security and compliance barriers that have slowed full-scale adoption.
Canadian organizations are particularly grappling with the complex challenges of securely integrating and scaling GenAI into business operations. Between 2023 and 2024, businesses conducted an average of 17 GenAI proof-of-concepts (PoCs), yet fewer than a third (28 percent) successfully transitioned to full production as concerns over data privacy and compliance put projects on hold.
The majority cite common barriers to adoption, including data privacy concerns (64 percent), skills shortages (57 percent) and system integration complexities (44 percent).
The rush to integrate GenAI has highlighted gaps in Canadian organizations’ foundational frameworks. However, this provides a key opportunity for organizations to strategically assess their data governance and compliance capabilities at a moment when the full potential of GenAI is still in its infancy.
Organizations must invest in strengthening their overall security posture and capabilities to benefit from the transformative potential of GenAI.
Proactive security testing is the missing link for cloud environments
As Canadian organizations expand their digital ecosystems and increasingly rely on their hybrid cloud environments, cyberattackers are keeping pace, exploiting vulnerabilities in cloud environments at an alarming rate. What was once a secondary risk has emerged as a primary concern, with public cloud infrastructures facing more attacks than any other IT infrastructure component.
More than half (61 percent) of Canadian organizations report that their public cloud environments have been the most impacted by cyberattacks. However, organizations conducting annual security testing indicated fewer infiltrations (23 incidents) and breaches (33 incidents) on average compared to 25 and 29 incidents respectively for those without regular testing. This underscores the clear value of comprehensive cloud testing to proactively mitigate risks, freeing up more time and resources for core business operations.
Structural gaps drive the shift toward third-party services
Canadian organizations are prioritizing their security capabilities by investing in Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, which provide proactive managed solutions to enhance detection and incident response driven by a strategic shift to address internal resource gaps, improve threat detection and response speeds to increase cyber resilience.
Nearly half (41 percent) of Canadian organizations have already adopted MDR services, with more than a third (37 percent) planning to do so in the near future. As organizations continue to struggle with the impacts of breaches, MDR services are a key enabler in reducing vulnerabilities and minimizing operational disruptions.
To learn more about the state of cybersecurity for Canadian organizations, download the study here.
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