Building Authentic Engagement Through Data-Driven Marketing

Deborah Podema, Sr. Digital Marketing Manager, DAP

Deborah Podema is a seasoned marketing strategist and digital leader, currently spearheading growth at DAP Canada. With a strong background in brand building, e-commerce, and data-driven performance, she excels in creating authentic consumer engagement. Her leadership blends creativity and analytics to deliver measurable impact across Canada’s dynamic retail and digital landscape.

For MarTech Outlook Canada’s upcoming edition, we would like Deborah Podema, Digital Marketing Manager at DAP, to share her expert insights on leveraging integrated digital marketing strategies to enhance brand presence and customer engagement in the Canadian market.

In line with this, we have crafted a set of questions that will guide our conversation. This will be featured as a Q&A piece in our magazine, offering valuable perspectives for marketing professionals and e-commerce stakeholders, exploring how social media, paid advertising, SEO, and customer insights combine to drive effective marketing campaigns and boost online retail performance.

• Can you walk us briefly through your leadership role as Digital Marketing Manager? What are your key responsibilities and areas of focus?

As the Digital Marketing Manager at DAP Canada, my leadership role revolves around building a strong digital presence that aligns with our brand's mission while driving measurable growth. I oversee the development and execution of digital strategies across multiple platforms, including social media, website, email marketing, and digital advertising. A big part of my role is ensuring that our messaging resonates with both professional contractors and DIY consumers, while maintaining consistency with our North American marketing efforts.

My key responsibilities include managing digital campaigns from concept to execution, optimizing content for engagement and conversion, analyzing performance metrics, and staying ahead of digital trends to ensure DAP remains competitive in the marketplace. I also collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including sales, product development, and creative to support launches, promotions, and brand initiatives.

“In a digital world oversaturated with content, authenticity and human connection not just algorithms will determine which brands earn trust and Deborah Podema stay relevant.”

I recently received the DAP North American Marketing Impact Award, which was a meaningful recognition of the results-driven and collaborative approach I bring to my work. One standout project involved leading the launch of a CRM tailored to the Canadian market an initiative that wasn't originally in scope for the year but proved to be a valuable asset for our sales and marketing alignment.

At its core, my role is about bridging strategy with execution using data, creativity, and innovation to help DAP continue to lead in the building materials space.

• How do you define brand authenticity in today’s digital landscape, and why is it becoming a top priority for marketers in 2025?

I would define brand authenticity in today's digital landscape as showing up consistently in a transparent and human way across every platform and within every single interaction or DM. In a world where consumers are constantly bombarded with content, authenticity cuts through the noise. For marketers in 2025, authenticity is no longer optional but it’s expected. Today’s consumers are incredibly savvy, they can spot inauthenticity in a second. They want real stories, not just polished ads. They value brands that show up consistently, admit when they get things wrong, and actually listen to their community. At DAP Canada, authenticity means showing the real people behind the brand: we love sharing content that depicts our products in real-life scenarios used by the DIYers and contractors who rely on our products every single day or introducing our audience to the team members who bring our innovations to life. It means educating and engaging, not just selling. And it means building trust over time, which ultimately leads to stronger brand loyalty. In an era where AI-generated content and digital saturation are at an all-time high, authenticity is what will differentiate the brands that endure from the ones that fade out.

• How do you identify and select the right influencers whose values align authentically with your brand and resonate with your Canadian audience?

At DAP Canada, we have built out a successful influencer program over the last 6 years and have found sort of our “vibe” when it comes to our brand - this seems to be a big topic this year as we witnessed during the “Web Summit” in Vancoucer in May.

This Vibe also translates into our selection process of our influencers. Something that has become more challenging is that a lot of the Mid-tier to Macro-influencers these days have a lot of US audience most of the time. We still try to pick influencers who have a decent amount of their audience in Canada but that is definitely getting more challenging. We try to at least have them be based out of Canada always though. I definitely find that long-term brand ambassadorships are the most authentic way to collaborate with influencers rather than having “one-off” contracts which can get frustrating for both sides, on the brand side the performance is often not there from singular posts and on the influencer side that can be associated with some shame and guilt as well in addition to the fluctuations in income on the influencer side.

• How do you measure the effectiveness of IGC and UGC in building trust and engagement among your target audience?

We constantly measure the effectiveness of our IGC (Influencer Generated Content) and UGC (User generated content) using monthly scorecards, following up on lots of KPIs such as engagements and engagement rates, reach, reviews and consumer sentiment.

There is also the sort of “word of mouth” effect of hearing from people in the industry that they are seeing and enjoying our content that is out there which is feedback that makes us very happy.

UGC, User generated content, in itself builds a lot of trust in my opinion since you are having the end user create authentic content in the way that they are organically using your product, even more so than IGC, influencer generated content, where they might be more of an agreed-upon strategy between the brand and the influencer behind the content. To avoid having IGC look too “planned” or “formulated” I would recommend to always try and fit your product into the influencer’s ongoing projects that they are working on regardless and need to use your product for anyways – that way the collaboration will be the most natural, authentic and organic looking.

• For marketing teams looking to expand their digital footprint in Canada, what strategic priorities and investments would you recommend to stay competitive in the next 3–5 years?

One of the most important strategic priorities for brands right now is investing in User-Generated Content (UGC) and Influencer-Generated Content (IGC). In a crowded digital space, authentic content that feels real and relatable consistently outperforms overly polished or traditional brand advertising. UGC and IGC build trust, drive engagement, especially when tailored to Canadian audiences who tend to value transparency, community, and relevance. Working with micro and mid-tier creators is especially effective they often have tight-knit, highly engaged audiences and produce content that resonates without feeling forced. Encouraging customers and creators to share their own experiences with a brand helps build organic momentum and social proof that can’t be bought through traditional ads. Above all, brands that foster genuine connection through real content will be best positioned to grow in the Canadian market over the next 3–5 years.