Every year since I became a marketer, I have forced myself to watch the Super Bowl, not for the sport, but instead to study what takes up more time than the actual on-field play. You know what I'm talking about. Watching the Canadian Super Bowl commercials this year was an especially cringe-worthy chore. Brand after brand trotting out their version of jingoistic 'Made in Canada' messages made me believe more than ever that the disconnect between the mainstream and the rest of us is now certifiably cavernous.
I'm not even sure that all of those brands claiming "True North" status are actually even Canadian. Ask any fifteen-year-old TikTok fiend if Timmies is still Canadian; I'm sorry, Tim, but that ship has sailed. Tchau, tchau.
Now, this isn't going to be a commentary on the Trump regime's trade wars. Besides the contradiction of buying millions of dollars of ads next to America's favourite single game – we all understand why those maple leaves needed to be there. The disconnect for me is that this macro form of marketing represents the past. And the extreme past for diverse communities.
But here's what fascinates me: while these corporate giants are busy waving the maple leaf, a Shawarma joint from London, Ontario, is quietly opening up stores across the province and Quebec off the back of a global cult following on TikTok. No national TV spots, no "proud to be Canadian" slogans – just authentic connection with their community, an excellent social hook and a damn good Shawarma.
This is where marketing gets interesting in 2025. The micro isn't just eating the macro – it's redefining what success looks like. After eighteen months leading communications at Canada's premier Muslim advocacy organization, I've watched this transformation from an interesting vantage point. The big players – from banks to retailers – are finally realizing what community-focused brands have known for years: the age of mass-market messaging is over. But their response? Awkwardly copying the playbook of successful micro-brands without understanding what makes them work.
Consumer brands, B2B companies, professional services, and even government initiatives – are all discovering that broad-stroke marketing no longer works. The landscape has splintered into a thousand micro-communities, each with its own language, values, and ways of building trust.
At rep, our new marketing and PR agency, we've orientated toward the micro from the jump. Take our client, Dr. Mahmood of M City Dental in Mississauga – instead of creating a diluted brand to fit mainstream marketing templates, we helped build a dental practice that explicitly celebrates its community connections. The result? When we got him live on the 6 PM news on Halloween to discuss dental health, he wasn't just another expert – he was a trusted voice from within the community.
The migration of audiences into self-defined micro-communities is now marketing's new normal. But here's what mainstream brands don't get: you can't fake your way into these communities. That's why we're seeing so many awkward attempts at cultural relevance failing spectacularly.
The transformation goes deeper than marketing channels or cultural references. It's about understanding that today's consumers don't just want products – they want brands that get their specific context. This isn't about market segmentation; it's about cultural fluency.
And yes, AI fits into this equation, but not in the way most think. At a recent small business workshop, I watched a series B founder demonstrate an n8n/Google Sheets/Instagram workflow for "personalizing" content. Then I realised most of the audience had no idea what they were looking at. The lady next to me said, ‘all I wanted to know was how to run my busy family bakery.'
I don’t want my principal dentist talking to Claude more than his office manager or my new baker friend learning n8n workflows at the expense of securing the family’s tradition of making the best baguette in East York.
That's why at rep, we use AI to streamline operations and cut costs, but our focus remains on what machines can't replicate: genuine community understanding and authentic brand building.
Looking ahead, the choice for brands is clear: learn to speak authentically to specific communities or become increasingly irrelevant. This isn't about choosing between mainstream success and niche appeal – it's about understanding that the mainstream itself has transformed into a network of micro-communities.
The future belongs to brands that understand this shift. While the giants are still trying to figure out how to speak to everyone at once, nimble players are building deep connections within specific communities and watching their influence spread organically.
So the next time you see a generic "proudly Canadian" ad during the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup, remember: somewhere out there, a brand you've never heard of is building the future of marketing. They're not trying to speak to everyone – and that's exactly why everyone's starting to listen.
The revolution in marketing isn't about reach anymore. It's about resonance. And in 2025, the brands that resonate most powerfully might not be the ones with the biggest budgets but the ones with the deepest understanding of their communities.
The micro isn't just eating the macro – it's teaching us what marketing should have been all along.
