The Canadian Media Directors’ Council (CMDC) YA (Youth Ambassador) Future Impact Awards celebrate rising stars shaping the marketing industry. Globe Media Group is proud to sponsor the Young Marketer of the Year award, which honours exceptional creativity and innovation. This year’s winner, Mackenzie Worthy, Senior Manager, Media Strategy and Optimization at RBC, shares the strategies and ideas that earned her this recognition. Her manager, Armin Huska, head of Media and Agencies, concludes with key tips on fostering young talent.
Share a bit about your journey in marketing. What first inspired you to pursue a career in media strategy?
I graduated from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in 2019. Marketing stood out to me as I liked how multi-faceted it was, leaning into strategy, creativity and teamwork. To further explore this interest, I interned at UM Canada in 2018, gaining a deeper understanding of the media landscape. While completing my final year at university, I came across the Indigenous Peoples Development Program at RBC. I was immediately intrigued about the opportunity to engage with 3 teams across marketing over 2 years including a 4-month charity rotation.
It wasn’t until I was selecting my third rotation that I came across the opportunity to join the RBC Media team. During this rotation, I fell in love with Marketing and Media, and their natural intersection at a large organisation. Drawing from my UM experience and new skills from a traditional marketing role, I thrived under a supportive leader who provided opportunities to learn and grow, while creating an uncharted path for the organization. After 4.5 years, I still feel empowered to continue to push the needle for RBC, our colleagues, our clients, and our partners.
You’ve led significant initiatives to engage BIPOC audiences and support Canadian media. What motivates you to advocate for these changes, and how do you navigate challenges in pushing them forward?
In my role, our goal is to speak to as many Canadians as possible – relaying a message about products that will best fit their needs. I wanted to uncover if our media investment was hitting the mark – how could we improve our strategy to better reflect the real Canada, including my own heritage?
If you don’t question the status quo, you might not uncover opportunities that better represent your audience. The same applies to Canadian Media. Ensuring we continue to invest in our ecosystem will mean better journalism, better brand safety, and better campaign performance.
You host “Club 404” to connect RBC marketers with Canadian media teams. What inspired this initiative and how has it influenced RBC’s media strategy?
Club 404, named after the HTTP 404 error, was developed to educate marketers on the changing media landscape, audience insights, and forward-looking opportunities or blind spots. My manager Armin had originally started Club 404 at a previous company and handed me the name and concept to make my own. Since our team has access to partners with a surplus of information, it felt right to make these insights accessible.
Our partners leaned in and created custom presentations, fireside chats, and debates that touched on the current landscape and how we can better prepare at RBC. Everyone wants the opportunity to learn more and expand their knowledge set – Club 404 has provided an avenue to assist on that journey.
How has the mentorship and guidance from RBC leaders influenced your journey and shaped your career?
Immensely. I’ve been incredibly fortunate when it comes to the mentorship and leadership I’ve received throughout my career. Starting at RBC, I received support from senior managers to CMOs who wanted to see my experience be positive and successful.
It’s incredibly reassuring to know that you can lean into your environment, and feel supported to learn and grow. Once I joined the RBC Media team, I knew I had hit the jackpot. Armin genuinely values the success of his team over personal accolades and is always one step ahead in seeing the potential of his people. It was under his leadership that I came into my own as a media and marketing professional.
You’re also known for mentoring other marketers through various RBC programs. What’s the most important piece of advice you share with young marketers starting their careers?
Be curious and embrace discomfort. I often think back to my first year at RBC, and the leaders who encouraged me to meet with colleagues at all levels of the bank, and in various roles. I wasn’t entirely comfortable “cold calling” colleagues and asking them to take time out of their busy days to meet with me. But it was through these chats that I got a lay of the land when it came to opportunities at RBC.
I make a point to foster young talent, specifically those joining the Indigenous Peoples Development Program, which kickstarted my career. There are several hurdles Indigenous youth face when finding roles in Corporate Canada and it can feel incredibly intimidating. I want to nurture young talent on their journey, and hopefully one day, see more diverse perspectives in senior roles, at RBC and externally.
Finally, winning the CMDC YA Young Marketer of the Year award is an incredible milestone. What does this recognition mean to you and how does it inspire your future goals in the industry?
Winning the YA Young Marketer of the Year Award has felt like an incredible accomplishment. It’s motivating to know that value is placed not only on what we achieve but how we achieve it. I’m lucky to work at an organization that acknowledges this. I’m excited to see how the industry will evolve in the years to come and how our role as media advisors and strategists will adapt. It’s inspiring to know that opportunities are limitless; we just need to keep thinking creatively to uncover them.
We also spoke with Mackenzie’s manager, Armin Huska, to hear his thoughts on mentoring and supporting young talent.
Mackenzie’s Young Marketer of the Year award highlights RBC’s investment in mentorship — how do you prioritize training and inspiring future marketing leaders?
First, I can’t emphasize how proud our team is for Mackenzie receiving such an honour and recognition from her peers and the CMDC.
Our company invests heavily in our people and our young talent with a plethora of skill-building programs. However, I believe that this type of training will only cover the basics to become a high-performing marketing expert.
To truly grow as a person and become a future leader, mentoring & coaching are crucial for young marketers to excel in their careers. How else do you learn the soft skills these days? Knowing the technical elements of your field of expertise is one thing; but empathy & compassion, resilience, critical thinking, extreme ownership, listening skills, passion for the work, problem-solving or the capability to analyze complex business challenges are much more important qualities.
What advice would you give to other leaders who want to effectively mentor and support young talent in the industry?
Create a work environment where young marketers have a seat at the table so that they can observe leadership in action. Connect your young marketing talent to their internal peers, media partners, industry bodies, ad agencies, and other inspiring advertisers or even send them to conferences (if you can). It will trigger curiosity & inspiration and broaden your talent’s horizon.
But the most important element is to provide direct access to senior marketing executives. My team has full access to our RBC marketing leaders, discussing transparently the current state, challenges ahead and feedback on campaigns, so that they are in the loop. But it is also an opportunity for our talent to seek advice & counsel from our leaders. If your team knows the bigger picture and understands the mandate, they will put their best foot forward to help solve the challenge.
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