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How to navigate change on social media

We find ourselves in the teenage years of the dominant social media platforms – Facebook is 20 years old; Instagram is 14; and 18-year-old Twitter has angrily changed its name to X. As with any teenager, volatility is the norm. Recent years brought us the mountainous rise of TikTok, the faltering of Twitter, the birth of Threads, the rise and fall of the metaverse, Bill C-18, Apple’s app tracking transparency, and generative AI for all. There’s been a tremendous amount of change. 

Constant change and disruption are woven into the fabric of the digital landscape. So how do communicators and marketers navigate these rapid transformations of technology, norms, and tastes? There are really only two choices – radical change every quarter or create a long-term, stable social strategy. The former is going to consistently get you into trouble, the latter will set you up for success for years to come.  
 
Just because platforms are volatile doesn’t mean brands have to be. Amidst the chaos, the smart move is to create integrated strategies that bring together social, creative, media, and web teams to curate moments and create ownable content focused on measurable goals.  

If users don’t win, everyone loses  

We are in the midst of a fierce battle for attention. Consumer ability to jump toward shiny new platforms is forever shifting how social media properties operate. As communicators, we should be rooting for more success, not failure. A healthy, competitive social media ecosystem is better for all of us as it incentivizes communicators to create compelling messaging.   
 
Meta’s platforms, along with TikTok’s, increasingly suffer from a proliferation of out-of-touch and socially disconnected ads. A surge in poorly crafted – and often auto-generated messaging results in user disengagement; they post less frequently, see less of what they want, and before you know it, you’re in a platform death spiral. This cycle creates a worse environment for users, contributing to declining diversity, doom-scrolling and deteriorating mental health – which is a lousy environment for organizations to communicate in with users.    
 
No one should add to this deterioration. Marketers and communicators must be thoughtful about what we bring to the party. Audiences want to be seen and acknowledged, and they crave relevant content. Brands who lead with authenticity and demonstrate they understand the diversity of their customers’ values will continue to flourish.  

Paid and organic: BFFs  

Organic reach is dead. But that doesn’t mean organic efforts should be abandoned. It just means that paid campaigns and organic publishing shouldn’t operate in silos, and certainly not with distinct teams behind them. Organic and paid should be part of the same strategy conversation – with creative and media at the table. Paid and organic can complement each other strongly. Organic audiences are engaged supporters, driving content views, comments and organic website sessions. Organic content nurtures and informs those who know your brand or your perspective. These audiences are your most loyal, and insights from their actions and interests will inform your paid audience targeting, and your next round of creative content planning. On the flip side, within your best-performing social media content – that’s tested across millions of targeted impressions and dozens of AI-powered creative treatments – lies the spark for your next most engaging organic content.    

Bigger! Better! Fewer!  

Face it, very few are waiting for your organization’s next social media post. You should be communicating when you have something relevant to say. It’s more effective to focus your integrated social media efforts within your brand’s own schedule. Find your most meaningful and most impactful moments. Pick your times to speak, and break through with meaning, authenticity, and the weight of a focused ad spend to drive higher exposure for the moments that matter (to you and your audiences). Less is more!  
 
Bigger moments are more likely to align with strategic outcomes. And social media outcomes should be a means to an end, aligning with actual business objectives. Your organization is not powered by impressions and likes. Calibrate your conversions and turn on an ecosystem that is fine-tuned to nurture first-party customer data – data from which you can grow more meaningful relationships. Engaged audiences are more likely to connect through to your websites, your ecommerce shop, your CRM initiatives and your physical assets.    

Embrace platform formats  

The smartphone is the TV of today. And vertical video is its 22-minute sitcom. XDR screens and 5G networks have made social media feeds the perfect place for vertical video entertainment. Steve Jobs dreamed of an entertainment and communications device for the park bench, the bus and the bathroom. And now we have it, full-screen and lightning fast. Today, content carrying your message needs to resonate with your mobile viewer within just 2 seconds. This is why your creative and social media teams should integrate from the start, so that possibilities are never missed. Your content planning and production stream can be designed to incorporate native platform truths, from the start. The format is vertical, short, and quickly engaging – with branding and key message right up front. 
 
Because social media is so volatile, we as marketers need to be extra-focused on stability. When users, platforms and policies ebb and flow, integration and cohesion are our secret weapons. Increase the proximity between social, creative, media and web teams. Lead with authenticity. Embrace and test new platform formats. These are the efforts that enhance immediate success during these platform teen years and prepare us for weathering the expected volatility ahead.  

About the author
Matthew Stradiotto / Senior Vice President, Social Media
Matthew is a digital leader, brand strategist, and North American influencer engagement pioneer, with over 22 years of agency experience. He was recently Vice President & General Manager, Digital at Argyle, and a co-founder of Matchstick, one of Canada’s leading boutique agencies specializing in social media marketing and digital brand engagement.

Reflections on CPRS National 2026: From data to decision table

St. Andrews by-the-Sea is the kind of place that makes you slow down, slurp an oyster, and take a breath of sea air. It was a fitting backdrop for this year’s CPRS National Conference: a moment for public relations professionals to reflect on where the field stands and where it’s headed. 

I arrived playing two roles. One as an insider: a communications practitioner excited to attend my first major industry event. And the other as somewhat of an outsider: someone who started my professional journey in data and analytics, and who has spent the last couple of years learning to speak the language of PR while helping build new data-driven solutions for our clients at ChangeMakers.  

What I found was a profession actively wrestling with a question that has driven our own work: how do you turn information into influence? Communications is ready to own a seat at the decision-making table, to speak to business objectives with clarity and confidence. My takeaway: data is the common language that can get us there. 

Facing the main stage

The question of impact showed up across the programming. Senior leaders spoke candidly on how communications teams can earn real credibility in an organization: executives don’t want a rundown of tactics. They want to understand what moved the needle, and how we know. 

Taylor Owen’s keynote on AI struck a similar chord, with welcome nuance. There was an honest reckoning with what AI disruption means at a time when public trust in our institutions is strained. But there was also a recognition of opportunity: new technology allows us to do things that simply weren’t possible before. One example that stuck with me was the use of AI to analyze podcast content at scale, tracing how ideas – both helpful and harmful – can take hold across the media ecosystem.  

It’s the same spirit we bring to ChangeMakers RepScore™: pulling signals from disparate sources and using AI tools to view them in context, building reputation narratives that resonate in the boardroom just as much as among communicators. 

Around the table

Some of the most valuable moments happened away from the main stage. On the first evening, our team hosted a dinner with a brilliant group of communications leaders. Two themes kept surfacing: the need for data that tells a clear story, and the value of diverse professional backgrounds (business, engineering, analytics) in the field. That second point hit close to home. My path into communications hasn’t been traditional, and hearing leaders frame that as an asset was genuinely motivating. 

Similar threads ran through conversations at our booth. My colleagues and I spoke with practitioners who were candid about the gaps in how they’re currently measuring reputation, curious about where this work is heading, and energized by the chance to think it through together. 

Looking ahead

The CPRS National Conference made clear that communications is at an inflection point. The leaders who will shape what this field looks like in five years are the ones who can connect what they do to why it matters – with the evidence to back it up. I left New Brunswick feeling proud to be part of this shift, and more committed than ever to putting our tools, skills, and perspectives to work for the people driving it. 

About the author
Grace McCormick / Manager, Data Intelligence

Building and sustaining consumer confidence in food through trust and transparency

 I think about food. A lot. Where it comes from, how it travels from farm fields to grocery shelves, and the role it plays in our everyday health and wellbeing. 

Working across both international and domestic agricultural commodities (peanuts, grapes, pears, raisins, watermelon, dairy), has shaped how I see the food system from both a professional and personal lens. And one thing has become increasingly clear over the past eighteen months: “business as usual” in food no longer exists. 

Consumer trust in our food ecosystem has shifted. In many cases, it’s been eroded and replaced by a new set of realities that reflect what matters most: 

Price 

Nutritious food has become significantly more expensive. Food inflation has risen roughly 27% over the past five years, with little short-term relief in sight. Food insecurity is at record levels. In fact, about one in four Canadians struggle to afford enough nutritious food. In response, nearly half of Canadians have adjusted their shopping habits: choosing lower-cost brands, shifting to discount retailers, and cutting back on dining out. 

Quality 

At the same time, expectations around quality have intensified. Canadians are paying closer attention to health, safety, and nutritional value, alongside ingredient transparency, sustainability, local sourcing, and brand authenticity. Scrutiny around food origin is rising, while expectations around pricing and supply chains are being reshaped in real time. 

So how do we rebuild what’s been lost? 

It starts with authentic, consistent storytelling that clearly communicates the journey food takes from farm to table. This is the connection to how we rebuild trust between producers, manufacturers, retailers, and ultimately, consumers. 

The alternative is risky: leaving consumer confidence to chance at a time when transparency, quality, and price are under a microscope. That’s not a risk this industry can afford. 

Recently, I attended the Farm & Food Care Ontario AGM, where agricultural storytellers shared how they’re connecting directly with consumers through agritourism, social media, and even film. Farmers are opening their doors and telling stories in real, human ways to build understanding with the very people who sustain their livelihoods. 

My takeaways continued when the ChangeMakers Agribusiness and International Trade team represented five client partners at key industry events in Toronto and Montreal, including the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, SIAL Canada, and Bakery Showcase. While food is always the hero (and rightfully so), the real takeaway went deeper: what it takes to build (and keep) trust across the entire food value chain. 

A few themes on how to build and keep trust among audiences stood out:   

  • Lead with transparency: Proactively address concerns, share updates, and demonstrate how brands are supporting consumers. 
  • Reinforce reliability: Consistency builds trust, especially in volatile conditions. 
  • Communicate with empathy: Acknowledge real consumer pressures and show genuine understanding. 
  • Back it up with proof: Data, third-party validation, and tangible outcomes strengthen credibility, and ultimately drive shopper confidence and sales. 

The bottom line: 


When external forces are unpredictable, communication becomes one of the most powerful levers we have. It’s not just about protecting consumer confidence. It’s about actively building it.  

We need to bring the full food system into the conversation. When consumers understand the people, processes, and purpose behind their food, they’re far more likely to trust it. 

About the author
Kyla Best / VP, Agribusiness and International Trade

Why reputation is one of your most valuable (and fragile) assets

Brand is the promise an organization makes to its audiences. Reputation is how well an organization keeps that promise. 

We say this to clients all the time.  But there’s a third concept, the most important of all, that every organization wants but not all of them have: Trust. 

Trust is what an organization earns (or loses) as a result of that promise and how well it’s kept.  

How do these three concepts interact?  

We think of trust as a bridge between brand and reputation. It’s built slowly over many years, even decades, through consistency, quality, and earned reputation. When what an organization promises and what it delivers are aligned, the bridge holds. But what takes years to build can collapse in a matter of seconds.  

And yet, many organizations still rely on instinct rather than data to tell them whether that bridge is holding. 

How trust is actually built (and why it’s so hard to do)

Every organization wants to be a trusted brand. They invest in building their brand and managing their reputation, assuming that if those two things are strong, trust will naturally follow. But it doesn’t work quite like that.  

Brand and reputation create the conditions for trust, but they don’t guarantee it. Brand is something you build and reputation is something you manage; but trust, that is something your audience decides. 

You can’t control trust directly, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to ignore how it is built or lost. To understand why, it helps to think about how trust forms at the most human level, and why organizations can’t replicate it the same way. 

With a person, trust is all about the relationship. Your interactions are personal, contextual, and forgiving: a trusted friend can have a bad day without significant consequences. In a brand context, whether it’s a company, public institution, government, or platform, external people rarely have access to decision makers in an organization. When intent isn’t visible, trust gets built through signals: what organizations say, how they act, policies, other people’s experiences, press coverage, delivery on their brand promise, and even who endorses them can all have impact. 

This is the challenge: trust has to be earned and built over time. And because institutional trust is built on foundations an organization can’t fully control, everything can be done correctly and you’re still one bad weekend away from watching that bridge collapse.  

Reputation is more fragile than most brands assume

Reputation can rupture in a split second. Some audiences are more forgiving than others, but history has taught us that pressure builds quietly, until a single decision, message, video or event undoes years of bridge-building.  

Reputation rupture event: a triggering moment that occurs when accumulated pressure on an organization’s credibility is suddenly exposed. In other words, when the bridge collapses. 

Today, these events can spread in seconds thanks to screenshots, reposts, X messages, Reddit communities, and un-trackable text messages. Social media has given audiences a plethora of platforms, and the motivation to speak up — sometimes anonymously, sometimes personally — faster than any communications team can respond. This turns into a bigger risk if that person has a considerable following of their own. 

This is why monitoring and tracking brand reputation and online presence is fundamental. And now, in an AI-driven environment, that job is more urgent and complex. This is not just social media listening or sentiment tracking. Most brands are measuring what’s loud, while pressure points are building tension over time. These pressure points are embedded across operations, employee experience, stakeholder trust and public perception, which are areas traditional monitoring usually overlooks. 

The warning signs are often subtle. Repeated complaints not escalated or employee reviews not addressed can cause small gaps between the brand promise and how well it’s maintained. Moments might seem isolated but point to something deeper. When tracked collectively, these signals begin to reveal patterns of declining confidence and legitimacy, long before they show up in traditional metrics.    

Reputation rupture events rarely come out of nowhere. In most cases, the pressure was visible, but wasn’t recognized. This is becoming a more prominent risk in an AI-driven world, with decisions amplified and interpreted at scale.  

In February 2026, two AI companies faced the same decision. One said no, one said yes. Both decisions were rooted in existing tensions around transparency, control and trust. The aftermath of those two events was a reputation rupture event that played out in real time. 

Chat, why are they losing so many users? — OpenAI’s reputation rupture event

In early March 2026, the Pentagon labeled Anthropic “a supply chain risk, effective immediately1” — a label usually reserved for US adversaries, never before applied to a US company2 . The designation was blocked by a US judge in March 2026, then reinstated on appeal in April3. Anthropic is currently excluded from Department of War4 contracts while the litigation continues. They also designated Claude “a national security risk5” after Anthropic refused to remove restrictions on two specific uses: mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. The Department of War demanded the right to use Claude “for all lawful purposes6” without exception.
The US government making that designation should have been enough to cause a reputation rupture event and inflict massive damage to Anthropic’s reputation … but it wasn’t.  

The reason? Anthropic’s response to these requests. On February 26th, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a statement pushing back on the DOW’s requests. Anthropic stood by their principles and didn’t budge. Many users online praised this decision, but the story wasn’t over. 

Hours later, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman published on X that his company had finalized a deal with the DOD to deploy models in the DOD’s classified network. That single message ignited a rupture event: 

  1. ChatGPT uninstalls jumped 295%7 within 24 hours.  
  1. One-star app reviews surged 775%8 the same day. 
  1. A Reddit post urging ChatGPT cancellation hit 30,000 upvotes9 before the weekend ended. 
  1. The QuitGPT movement gathered over 4 million10 digital participants and organized a physical protest outside OpenAI’s San Francisco HQ. 
  1. Claude topped the App store’s download11 charts. 

Same DOD contract, same weekend, opposite decisions, completely different trust outcomes. And yes, after the fact, OpenAI said that they were rushed, and that they were working on the terms and conditions, that the deal “looked opportunistic and sloppy”. But the reputation damage was done: trust was broken.  

We used our proprietary brand health measurement tool, ChangeMakers RepScore™ to measure the impact in real time. Our Data Intelligence team identified a 34.3 point drop12 from OpenAI’s baseline within a single day. This volume of movement reflects how quickly reputation can rupture when expectations fall out of alignment. It appears sudden, but it’s usually the result of underlying pressures reaching a tipping point.  

Uninstalls, reviews, and protest movements are lagging indicators: they tell you the bridge already collapsed. The backlash caused OpenAI to subsequently amend the deal to add surveillance restrictions, which is the real evidence: the reputation rupture event forced a course correction, proving the trust damage was real enough to change corporate behaviour. 

The question for any organization is: do you have a way to predict and measure the damage in real time, and do you have a baseline to measure it against? 

What keeps the bridge standing

Most organizations treat trust as a sentiment; something they feel is in good shape until suddenly it isn’t. But the organizations that protect it effectively aren’t reacting to crises; they’re tracking the pressure points to avoid a brand reputation collapse.  

Understanding how your reputation is perceived (and where the gaps between your promise and your audience’s experience might be growing) is what keeps the bridge standing. These gaps are early indicators of trust erosion that can impact everything from customer behaviour to employee retention. It’s why we built RepScore™: to give organizations a measurable read on the health of their brand reputation before it becomes a crisis, grounded in verifiable and relevant data points.  

When reputation is measured consistently, it becomes something brands can actively track. Knowing your reputation score helps you respond to risk with intention instead of reacting under pressure, and spot opportunities to build trust proactively. 

A brand promise has little value if audiences do not trust it.  

In a world where a single decision can destroy years of earned reputation, treating trust as a passive outcome is no longer a strategy any organization can afford. 

About the authors
Christian Rosenthal / Director, AI
Hannah Langille / Senior Account Manager

When AI is the crisis: reputation and credibility when the machines make the mistake

I opened my session at the PWorld Crisis Communications Bootcamp in Toronto with a disclosure. I told the room I use AI in my work and I showed a slide on how I used and verified the information.

Then I asked two questions.

How do you feel right now about my presentation?

Does my disclosure impact how you will receive my insights?

The reaction was mixed. Some people said my disclosure improved their trust. Others said it made them immediately skeptical. Either way, I knew the pressure to not sound like an LLM had just gone way up.

It was a deliberate point, and one that is increasingly impacting trust and reputation. What happens when your audiences learn AI was involved in a decision, a message, a recommendation or a mistake?

Disclosure matters and it matters more when something goes wrong.

A familiar scenario

A board gets an update. The team presents AI-assisted market analysis that projects a significant drop in demand. The approved response involves cuts and layoffs.

Weeks later, on an earnings call, someone asks a basic question about the assumptions behind the forecast. The answers are hard to find. After digging around, the team discovers the AI tool produced incorrect information, including two reports that didn’t exist.

The first responses are predictable.

  • Experimental tool
  • Third-party technology
  • We are reviewing the system

This scenario is fiction, but it points to a pattern we’re seeing in crisis response related to AI.

The early cyber years are a warning

In the early years of major cyber incidents, many organizations responded similarly. Sophisticated attack, bad actor, vendor issue, or we take this seriously. The organization positioned itself as the victim, blamed the technology, or the vendors and avoided accountability.

The result was a loss in trust, and eventually regulations around disclosure and communications.

We’re seeing this with early AI incidents or mistakes. Blame the tool. Downplay the impact. We’re abandoning the basic principles of crisis communications: own it, acknowledge I and fix it..

Trust is already uncertain

Most organizations are moving fast on AI adoption. Governance not so much. In fact, the best way to put people to sleep is to start talking AI governance. I’ve started leaning into verification to get people to pay attention.

But while we’re all using AI more, trust is declining. A recent KPMG report indicates most people use AI regularly (66%), but trust is much lower (46%) and there is growing support for regulation (70%). The same report shows that 66% of respondents rely on AI output without evaluating accuracy, even while 56% admit they have made mistakes at work because of AI.

Inside organizations, most leaders say ethical AI matters. Most teams are using AI. And yet the 2025 CPRS State of PR in Canada study showed less than a third of communications and public relations professionals reported having a well-established AI policy.

What makes it more interesting is that another recent academic study indicated that prior disclosure on AI use reduces trust, but exposure, being found to have used AI after the fact has an even greater impact on trust.

I feel the disclosure dilemma is relatively short lived. As AI becomes more prevalent, disclosure will be expected. Those who disclose now may experience a slight dip in in trust but will rebound quickly and avoid the larger drops that come with being found out.

But that’s not what’s happening today. Organizations avoid disclosure until they are forced into it and then it comes with ‘disappointment’ in the technology and a lack of acknowledgement of the impact. Quick tip – your AI chatbot should be as locked down and accountable as your human spokespeople. 

At the end of the day, do you want disclosure to happen on your terms or through screenshots, speculation and mockery.

AI crisis communications is still crisis communications.

There’s no secret to AI crisis communications. Here is the framework I shared in Toronto.

Identify it. Map out where AI is being used. Not just the final output. Look at prompts, datasets, tools, review steps and any decisions influenced by the output.

Assess it. Assess impact before you draft language. What changed because of the AI output? Who was impacted? What decisions were shaped? What public-facing content, financial analysis, safety guidance, or policy decisions were influenced?

Own it. Accountability sits with the organization. “The tool did it” is not good enough. “We are investigating” is not a substitute for responsibility. Ownership means clear responsibility for the decision and the next steps.

Fix it. Correct the output and deal with the consequences of acting on it. If AI influenced layoffs, pricing, safety guidance, or services, the fix must address those consequences. And if you’re ‘standing by the decision’, you’d better have credible data to back that up.

Prevent it. Build verification and escalation into your workflow. Decide who signs off, when AI use is disclosed, and how. Practice an AI crisis scenario under time pressure, the same way many organizations now practice cyber simulations.

In almost every AI incident I see discussed, the same friction points show up:

  • AI is used across the organization often without leadership visibility. IBM reports that close to a quarter of Canadian employees using AI at work are doing it on non-enterprise tools. This means your company information is likely sitting in the free version of ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
  • Verification is treated as optional and everyone assumes someone else has done it
  • Legal, comms and IT are all talking about it, but there’s no shared plan, and likely no risk mapping of AI use across all functions.
  • Leaders default to vendor language, or anthropomorphize the tool saying, ‘it surprised me’ or ‘it let me down’, eroding accountability.

If you are a CEO, a board member or the head of communications, you need to understand where AI is being used, what verification exists and who owns what. Here are five questions to get you started:

  1. Where is AI being used in your organization?
    Can you name the functions where AI is influencing public-facing content, analysis, or decisions?
  2. What verification do you have in place?
    What guardrails exist before AI-assisted output can shape public communication, financial analysis, safety guidance or policy decisions?
  3. Who is accountable if AI gets it wrong?
    Hint: it is not your vendor.
  4. What is your policy on disclosure?
    When do you proactively disclose AI use?
  5. Have you practiced an AI crisis scenario?
    Have you run an AI-specific crisis simulation that tests verification, escalation, and messaging under time pressure?

If you can’t answer these quickly, you’re likely at risk. The point is to see it clearly and take steps to reduce that risk and be ready when, not if, the machines make a mistake.

About the author
Kim Blanchette / President, Class Action Advisory & Communications
Kim Blanchette is an award-winning communications leader with over 35 years of experience in crisis communications, class action advisory, and leadership training. At Castlemain, she leads the Class Action Advisory and Communications practice, supporting Indigenous Class Members in landmark Settlements through trauma-informed and culturally grounded engagement programs. She has also won national and international recognition for her crisis response work during the Swissair Flight 111 crash and Alberta’s wildfires and floods.

Kim is a Fellow of the Canadian Public Relations Society, Canada’s first Chartered PR professional through the UK’s CIPR, the 2021 recipient of the Philip A. Novikoff Award and the 2026 CPRS Thought Leader of the Year Award. At ChangeMakers, she delivers executive training programs that prepare leaders to communicate, facilitate, and respond under pressure.

Stop Surviving Change. Start Operating Within It.

There was a time when change felt episodic — a system implementation, a reorganization, a strategic shift — distinct enough that organizations could prepare, execute, stabilize, and return to normal. 

That time is gone and never coming back.

Today, change is a constant and multi-dimensional. Technology evolves, markets shift, leadership turns over, regulations move, and strategic priorities adjust — often all at once. By the time one initiative begins to settle, another is already competing for attention and resources. 

In this environment, performance depends on more than managing individual initiatives well. Organizations have to rethink how their people understand change, make decisions, and execute under pressure. Volatility isn’t temporary anymore. So if change is constant, your operating model also has to reflect that new reality.

Five Change Realities 

Here are five truths every organization must accept:  

1. Change is Unavoidable and Must Be Normalized 

Change can no longer be treated as a rare occurrence that surprises the team and eventually passes. Teams need to anticipate change as part of how they operate.  This means shifting the mindset from “we’re going through change” to “this is how we do business.” Leaders must not only communicate that expectation clearly and consistently – but create the environment of trust and belonging that enables people to embrace change for what it is.  

Competitive advantage today depends less on executing a single change event well and more on sustaining momentum across multiple, overlapping initiatives. When teams understand that adaptation is part of the job, they stop bracing for disruption and start operating within it. 

2. Change is a Team Sport 

Employees should understand how change management works. Most of the reactions we see during change are predictable: resistance, fatigue, confusion, or slipping back into old habits. When people understand those patterns, they stop personalizing the disruption and start navigating it more intentionally. Instead of reacting impulsively, they can respond strategically. The more your organization understands change management fundamentals, the less disruptive change actually becomes. 

3. Agility is the Ultimate Goal  

Agility is a buzzword that shows up in frameworks and tools, but its real impact comes from how people think. Resilience is built when teams test assumptions, ask better questions, incorporate feedback, and adjust course when needed. In today’s environment, complete information is rarely available before action is required. Strong organizations are able to make thoughtful decisions anyway and continue moving forward without losing focus on outcomes. Agile minds adapt quickly and deliberately. 

4. Leadership Alignment is Essential 

People know when senior leaders are aligned, and when they are not. The moment a crack appears, employees notice, and it creates space to question, delay, or ignore the change altogether. 

Leaders must agree on the direction, commit to championing the change, and reinforce it consistently as a team. If leaders send mixed signals, operate in silos, or quietly disagree, the organization will feel it immediately. Alignment isn’t a one-time conversation. It requires visible commitment and the willingness to hold one another accountable. When leadership is unified, change gains traction. When it isn’t, even strong strategies stall. 

5. Failure is Not an Option 

With so many priorities shifting at once, leaders can’t afford to treat change management as optional or informal. You can’t wing it with a well-written email and expect alignment to follow. Today’s environment requires an enterprise-level change structure that provides clarity, accountability, and consistency across initiatives. Leadership behavior, decision-making, incentives, and performance expectations all need to reinforce the direction of the change. When that structure is in place, execution holds and momentum builds. Without it, even strong strategies lose traction.

The Results of Getting This Right 

When organizations normalize change, build change capability across the business, and reinforce adaptability through their systems, performance becomes steadier, even in volatile conditions. Resistance decreases, adoption speeds, execution holds, and initiatives deliver the value they were designed to produce. That consistency protects ROI and strengthens confidence at every level of the organization. 

At ChangeMakers, we recognize that change management and agility are not separate disciplines, but integrated capabilities that determine whether strategy performs under pressure. In an environment where change is constant, organizations that build this capability don’t just manage disruption — they operate effectively within it. 

About the authors
Veronica Van Loon / Senior Director, Corporate Advisory 
Veronica is a trusted advisor to executive teams, organizations, and government agencies navigating their most difficult moments—from critical transformations to crisis response and rebuilding. With more than a decade of experience leading complex communication and change initiatives, she guides leaders through disruption to restore trust, drive sustainable change, and achieve strategic goals. She is based in Washington, DC.
Megan Gabriel / Executive Vice President, Corporate Advisory 
Megan is a trusted advisor to executive leadership and communications teams, guiding organizations as they build, protect and repair their reputation during high-stakes challenges. She lives in Philadelphia, PA. 

Forget the Deliverables. Drive Business Outcomes. 

Across industries, transformation is constant. If you’re not evolving, you may be left behind. But the difference between success and failure isn’t simply who adapts fastest or the most. Those who will emerge as leaders in today’s business environment will be those who embrace and drive change best. 

That’s why communications teams can no longer afford to sit at the end of the decision chain to receive and act on a mandate—they must be present at the decision-making table, shoulder-to-shoulder with the C-suite. The communications function is capable of more than storytelling, media, and advertising if you allow it.  

At ChangeMakers, we demand it

Co-architect Business Strategies  

For too long, communications has been the messenger—not a co-architect—of business strategy. The result is often reactive campaigns, fragmented programs, or missed opportunities. 

We’ve entered an era that requires communicators to understand – and are given visibility into – the entirety of an organization and business context before executing on a task. Communications deliverables are a means to the end.  

To achieve business outcomes, communications must be at the core. Whether advising on organizational design, reputation risk, or stakeholder trust, engagement must be strategic, intentional, and continuous. Otherwise leaders will fail to build the trust required to execute successfully.  

That’s why our role at ChangeMakers extends beyond “telling the story” to building the systems and approaches that make stories credible. We’re helping set direction, identifying roadblocks, and supporting organizational changes to meet and exceed expectations. This requires effective integration—across disciplines, crafts, and technologies, both internally and externally.    

Leverage Communications as a Partner  

Immeasurable strength comes from integrating the entire communications landscape — from marketing and brand strategy to crisis management, organizational change, and social-impact advisory. Our excellence across this diverse skill set gives us an unmatched perspective that informs our approach to every business challenge.  

Communications can lead the next decade of organizational transformation. Doing so will require courage to collapse silos, to rethink traditional models, to show up in boardrooms armed not only with creative ideas, but with data, foresight, and strategic authority. 

For CEOs, boards, and senior leaders, strategic communications must be viewed as a key driver in every plan to achieve business outcomes. It’s the force multiplier — aligning people on the why, increasing adoption and execution, protecting reputation, and unlocking growth. Whether you’re introducing AI, repositioning a brand, driving rapid growth, responding to a crisis or reputational risk, or delivering social impact at scale, success depends on your ability to bring people with you – and communications is the catalyst for success. 

Use Technology and AI as a Catalyst 

People across every organization are using some form of AI – whether it’s endorsed or not. At its best, AI offers a promise of net new solutions, efficiency, cost reduction and automation. Executed inconsistently, it risks eroding trust and value among stakeholders that matter most.  

The most effective transformations pair data intelligence with human expertise — the ability to listen, interpret, give and take, and adjust. At ChangeMakers, we leverage technology to provide data and insight so our teams can focus on strategic counsel: shaping messages that move markets, align employees, or attract investors. 

AI is embedded in how we analyze sentiment, forecast risk, and measure impact. It helps us measure what was previously immeasurable. Our Reputation Score can quantify your reputation, analyze how competitors compare, predict reputational risk, and identify avenues for future growth.  

In another case, we’re going beyond talking with clients about how AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews change the way people find information. We’re proactively workshopping content strategies and messages that resonate across audiences and organizational contexts, and are structured so AI tools can find, understand, trust, and quote them. 

No one person can keep up with the pace of change set by AI and technology. It requires partnership with a trusted advisor who can help you set the path and filter what’s valuable amidst the noise. 

Learn How to Do Change Well 

The pace of change today—technological, societal, regulatory—can feel overwhelming. Change is hard. And can be exhausting. Especially when poorly managed. 

Organizations with strong change management deliver 264% more revenue growth than those that don’t. What does “strong change management” mean? Following a change management methodology is not enough. Leaders must leverage their strategic communications team to take organizational change beyond process and protocols to embed lasting shifts in culture, performance, and resilience that maximize success.  

When done well, change builds credibility and confidence. When done poorly, it destroys both. Strategic communications is the difference. 

At ChangeMakers, that’s our purpose and our promise: to help leaders and their organizations navigate complexity with clarity, integrity, and measurable results. 

You can’t stop change. But you can do it well. 

About the author
Stefan Moores / Chief Executive Officer
Stefan Moores is a business leader with expertise in professional services, management consulting, communications, and public affairs. With two decades of experience leading business transformation, including stewarding companies through mergers and acquisitions, Stefan approaches change as a growth opportunity for any company. He is based in Toronto, Ontario.  
Expertise
Reputation Management
Services
Agribusiness and international trade

Educating Canadians about early introduction guidance​ 

Challenge

According to Food Allergy Canada (FAC), food allergies affect more than 3 million Canadians, including more than 600,000 children. While research shows that early introduction of common allergenic foods to high-risk infants as young as four months old can help reduce the risk of allergy development, many Canadian parents are not following this guidance. Since 2007, the Peanut Bureau of Canada has supported FAC to execute programming that educates parents and drives allergy awareness among Canadian parents about what they can do to help avoid the development of a peanut allergy among high-risk infants.​

Insight

Parents find themselves in a dilemma – they certainly want to protect their babies from food allergies, but at the same time they’re afraid about how or when to start introducing allergenic foods like peanut butter. Providing science-based information endorsed by FAC provides parents with the confidence they need to introduce peanut protein to their children.  

Idea

The PBC launched a comprehensive program to promote allergy awareness and early introduction guidance through a tenured and strategic partnership with FAC, Canada’s foremost food allergy authority, adding credibility to allergy awareness messages from the PBC. This initiative educated Canadian consumers, particularly parents of young children, about guidance on introducing peanut protein to babies early and often to help prevent the development of an allergy. Through FAC’s digital channels, the program addressed common concerns, offered expert advice and provided reliable, evidence-based resources for parents and healthcare practitioners, as a conduit to Canadian consumers. 

Execution

In 2024, the PBC’s allergy awareness program included a strategic mix of tactics that allowed us to connect with target audiences in relevant ways. The following curated tactics were part of the program:​

  • Social media peanut ambassador partnership​
  • In-clinic outreach for health care providers and patients​
  • Paid social and programmatic display for health care providers​
  • Back-to-school campaign in partnership with FAC​
  • Dietitian-led workshops for introducing solids and allergenic foods​

Each tactic aimed to increase early introduction awareness and ultimately support the goal of creating life long peanut lovers from a young age.

Results

2024 results: 12.3 million impressions; 4.1 million reach; 38% of consumers have heard about early introduction guidelines for peanuts/peanut butter; 65% of consumers who say the new recommendations have changed their opinion about introducing peanut butter to children.​

Since 2017, the PBC’s food allergy programming has contributed to a 25% increase in Canadian consumer awareness of early introduction guidance, and in just the two years from 2022 to 2024, we’ve seen a 4% increase in the number of consumers who have changed their opinions about introducing peanut protein to children.​

Crohn’s & Colitis Canada

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada is a leading national charity dedicated to finding cures and improving the lives of those with IBD. 

Expertise
Health
Reputation Management
Services
Creative strategy
Earned media, influencer relations and partnerships  
Strategic Counsel

Challenge

The Locked Out campaign faced several challenges to raise awareness for IBD and public washroom accessibility. The activation — a real portable toilet placed in a public space — often led to preconceived assumptions, mirroring the stigma those with IBD face when seeking washrooms. This reinforced the need for targeted engagement to shift perceptions. 

Stigma remains a barrier, as understanding of IBD, its symptoms and patient experiences are often overlooked. Positioning the stunt within Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Month and sharing educational information was essential to breaking down misconceptions. The campaign relied on knowledgeable event staff to effectively communicate the message, which was supported by QR codes, signage, and live app demonstrations to ensure accessibility and education. 

Engaging passers-by required adaptable strategies to capture attention and encourage participation. Crohn’s and Colitis Canada’s network of advocates played a key role in staffing the event, providing credible voices to reinforce the campaign’s message.  Maximizing visibility required a strategic mix of organic and paid social content, ensuring reach beyond the physical activation. Targeted media outreach focused on Toronto to optimize resources and drive coverage, reinforcing the campaign’s urgency and impact. 

Insight

To effectively engage key stakeholders and promote the GoHere® app during Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Month, we analyzed and applied existing research on the needs and challenges of those who live with IBD. It was important to understand disease prevalence and patient experiences to ensure our program resonated with audiences. We examined insights into public washroom access barriers, stigma, and the need for real-time solutions, ensuring our messaging addressed the most pressing concerns. We also leveraged Vividata research to deepen our understanding of audience behaviors and media consumption patterns. These insights guided our strategic approach, enabling us to craft compelling content, target key demographics, and maximize engagement across multiple channels. 

IBD Patients

IBD diagnosis rates in Canada are increasing – and so are the needs for support. There is no cure for IBD. Approximately 322,000 Canadians live with IBD, with new diagnoses every 48 minutes. Patients experience lifestyle impacts, including chronic abdominal pain, frequent bathroom visits, and fatigue.1 Addressing IBD requires a thoughtful, sensitive, and real approach to the stigma that patients experience. Our strategy balanced empathy with practical solutions to drive engagement and app downloads. 

Additional research findings: IBD often develops in young adults, typically between 16 and 35 years old, but can occur at any age. A second peak may occur in individuals over 60. Both men and women are equally affected.1 Patients experience significant lifestyle and psychosocial impacts such as mental health, diet and nutrition, and work and social life; Psychiatric disorders frequently occur among those with IBD: An estimated 21% have clinical anxiety; and an estimated 15% have clinical depression.2 

News and social media consumption habits: Mobile (hours per week)3: Gen Z: 16.8; Millennial: 10.1; Gen X: 12.8; Social applications (hours per week)3: Gen Z: 15.8; Millennial: 15.1; Gen X: 8.2; TV (hours per week)3: Gen Z: 14.4; Millennial: 17.5; Gen X: 16.5; Online (hours per week)3: Gen Z: 28.7; Millennial: 25.6; Gen X: 24.7. 

IBD Caregivers

Those who care for individuals who live with IBD, usually family members, close friends or partners of those diagnosed. Research revealed that 56 per cent of caregivers feel exhausted from caregiving duties, and 44% report anxiety.4 Women are more likely to take on the caregiver role for children with IBD.5 IBD caregivers in Canada are essential to the well-being of individuals living with the condition. We needed to show support for the care they provide and make them aware of the GoHere® app to increase downloads and usage.

Policymakers: Those who shape public policy and address issues through legislation and decision-making. For non-profit organizations, this audience can influence resources, support advocacy efforts and shape the broader environment in which Crohn’s and Colitis Canada operates. Engagement with policymakers was essential to raise awareness and garner support for washroom accessibility initiatives in a sensitive way to make it easy for this audience to share our messages. We needed a demonstration of local political support to increase awareness and action.  

News Media and Social Media: We targeted top-tier health reporters, online news outlets, and Crohn’s and Colitis Canada’s active social platforms (FB & IG) to reach key audiences. Insights showed that Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X spend significant time on mobile and social media, making a shareable, timely event essential. Personal patient stories highlighted the GoHere® app’s impact, driving awareness and downloads. Securing a national health reporter with a personal connection to IBD further amplified engagement within the IBD community.  

Environmental Scan: To understand the IBD landscape, we reviewed media coverage and patient testimonials. Results showed IBD awareness remains low, and the stigma surrounding the disease often prevents open conversations. Public washroom accessibility and reduced stigma emerged as a critical need for IBD patients.  

Approach

To reduce stigma, we had to find a way to visualize the realities of washroom access needs for those who live with IBD. To achieve this, we produced a powerful visual centerpiece – an ‘out-of-order’ portable toilet – representing the challenges faced by individuals with Crohn’s or colitis in accessing public washrooms quickly. Through earned and social media, this activation sparked conversation and action on the GoHere® app during Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Month. 

The campaign featured a high-impact public activation and a multi-channel communication strategy: 

Call-to-Action: Event materials, earned and social media materials, and conversations encouraged attendees to scan the QR code and download the GoHere® app. 

Event Execution: On November 26, 2024, we installed an ‘out-of-order’ portable toilet near Toronto’s Union Station to highlight the urgent need for accessible washrooms. Crohn’s and Colitis Canada staff and volunteers engaged the public with creative materials and a QR code for easy GoHere® app downloads. 

Media Engagement: To broaden education beyond the event, we needed national media coverage for our story. This involved securing a nationally syndicated feature story, booking interviews for patient advocates and Crohn’s and Colitis Canada spokespeople, and sharing event photos with media outlets to provide audiences with the powerful visual to include in their stories.   

Social Media Strategy: Organic and paid social media posts leveraged hashtags and influencer partnerships, and visual content from the event captured attention and drove app downloads.  

Policymaker engagement: To amplify event support and impact, we engaged local MPs and MPPs to demonstrate their support. Mary-Margaret McMahon, MPP for Beaches-East York and Toronto City Councillor, Paul Ainslie, Scarborough-Guildwood, attended the event, shared on their social channels and encouraged GoHere® app downloads. This demonstration of local political support allowed for increased awareness and actionable items for local communities to consider.  

Call-to-Action: Event materials, earned and social media materials, and conversations encouraged attendees to scan the QR code and download the GoHere® app.

Results

  • Over 28.3 million total audience reach through earned and social media tactics  
  • 131 stories published by news outlets 
  • Over 9,000 social media engagements (comments, likes and shares) 
  • Seven campaign spokespeople and patient advocates interviewed 
  • One national feature 
  • Seven interviews facilitated 
  • 100% of stories included GoHere® mentions 
  • 351% increase of daily GoHere® app downloads from November to December 2024, compared to app creation, November 2015 to October 2024  
  • 2,221 GoHere® app downloads from November 26-27, 2024 
  • 55,136 total GoHere® app downloads from launch of app until December 31, 2024 
  • 62x increase in daily average number of GoHere® downloads on November 26 and November 27, 2024, compared to January-October, 2024.  
  • 17x increase in average app usage on November 26 and 27, 2024 
  • 15x increase in webpage visits to CCC GoHere® site on November 26 and 27 
  • One MPP and one Toronto City Councillor attended the event and amplified our content by sharing it on their personal social media channels

References

  1. Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. (2023). Impact of IBD in Canada Report – Resources and publications – Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. https://crohnsandcolitis.ca/About-Us/Resources-Publications/Impact-of-IBD-Report​ 
  2. Dmagnus. (2024, July 8). The state of Caregiving in Canada. CareMakers. https://caremakers.ca/uncategorized-en/the-state-of-caregiving-in-canada/#:~:text=Being%20a%20family%20caregiver%20can,experience%20these%20emotions%20than%20men 
  3. Targownik LE, Bollegala N, Huang VW, et al. The 2023 Impact of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada: The influence of sex and gender on Canadians living with inflammatory bowel disease. Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology 2023;6(Suppl 2):S55–S63. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcag/gwad011.​ 
  4. VIVIDATA SCC (2024). Study of the Canadian Consumer Digital Fall. Retrieved from https://vividata.ca/ 

The world of healthcare is constantly changing.

Novel molecules, innovative mechanisms of action, new indications, loss of exclusivity, drug shortages, reimbursement challenges, evolving models of care… and the list goes on.

At ChangeMakers Health, we help clients navigate today’s complexities and anticipate tomorrow’s challenges — all in service of improving care and creating better lives for patients.

We partner with pharmaceutical companies, healthcare organizations and patient advocacy groups. Together, we help patients access potentially life-saving and life-changing medications and treatments. We educate patients and the public about chronic conditions and treatment options. We work to strengthen our healthcare system — ensuring people receive accurate, empowering information to support informed care with our dedicated healthcare providers.

To find out more, or engage our team, email us at:
health@thechangemakers.com

Expertise

PR & reputation management

Reputation management in healthcare is built on strong relationships. Relationships which can only be developed through years of hard work and responsibility. We have decades worth of experience to draw upon and have established strong ties with the who’s who of health media.

Key PR & reputation management services

  • Advocacy and stakeholder engagement
  • Crisis and issues management
  • Data intelligence, monitoring and newsjacking
  • Executive positioning and thought leadership
  • Influencer/content creator partnerships
  • Media relations

Marketing & advertising

Pharmaceutical marketing in Canada is complex. We know how to navigate strict regulations and how to work within the guidelines to create breakthrough work — and we’ve got PAAB and Ad Standards wins to prove it.

Key marketing & advertising services

  • Ad boards
  • Brand Strategy
  • Creative concepting, design and production
  • Digital marketing: websites, SEO/SEM, display, AR/VR, social media, CRM
  • DTC and HCP marketing campaign development
  • Medical writing

Collaborations

  • Abbvie
  • Crohns and Colitis Canada
  • CSL Behring
  • GSK
  • Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
  • Takeda
There are a small number of projects in my career that I remember as the most memorable (for the right reasons). And Locked Out is one I have added to my collection. And the ChangeMakers team was a partner for that journey. Glad to know it’s also a source of pride for you too!
Paul Kilbertus

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada
Senior Manager, Communications and Public Relations

Leadership team

Meaningful change is not possible without collaboration because trust is foundational to great work. Our goal is to become an extension of your team, building a strong and lasting relationship

AutumnGehring
Autumn Gehring
VP, Client Partner
CarolineDeSilva
Caroline De Silva
SVP, Consumer
Jennifer Fox
Group Account Director
KylaBest
Kyla Best
VP, Health, Food & Trade
MichaelService
Michael Service
SVP, Healthcare Strategy
RobMcEwan
Rob McEwan
EVP & National Leader, Health

What complex challenges can we help you navigate?

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Land acknowledgement, truth and reconciliation action plan

ChangeMakers offices and team members are located across North America within the traditional, Treaty, and unceded territories of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.