Digital advertising is no longer a separate discipline. As data, media, technology and creative become increasingly interconnected, the challenge for agencies is to make those capabilities work together to solve larger business problems.

That thinking helped TBWA\Canada earn Silver in Digital Agency of the Year in 2026, reflecting an approach that integrates digital into brand strategy rather than treating it as an executional layer.

Under Crimi-Lamanna's leadership, the agency has been building a model in which audience data informs everything from the initial brief to creative development, media targeting and campaign optimization. Creative and media teams work from shared datasets, ensuring that campaigns reach the audiences they were designed to engage.

TBWA has also expanded its in-house CRM, production, AI and innovation capabilities, drawing on the broader technology resources available through Omnicom. Increasingly, that expertise extends to helping clients get more from their existing investments, including AI workshops and Salesforce audits.

It's a response to a fundamental change in the agency business. As automation makes routine execution faster and cheaper, technical proficiency alone is becoming less of a competitive advantage. The opportunity lies in applying those capabilities to more complex marketing and business challenges.

The approach is reflected in the agency's work. Aeroplan's “Stop Sitting on Your Next Trip” used personalized travel advertising and emails to turn unused loyalty points into 608,000 redemptions, lifting redemption activity by 27%. SickKids' “The Count” connected donors with patients through SMS birthday messages and personalized digital experiences, acquiring 9,788 new monthly donors. And the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team's “Dang, You're in a Gang” used animated stories distributed through gaming, social media and other channels to communicate the dangers of gang involvement to teenagers.

Each campaign demonstrates how audience understanding, technology and creative thinking can work together to change behaviour rather than simply generate impressions.

Crimi-Lamanna believes that distinction will become increasingly important as AI makes basic executional services easier to replicate.

“Over the next few years, the best digital agencies are going to win because they stop selling basic skills and tasks and start solving big business problems,” she says.

Ultimately, the agency sees little value in maintaining traditional boundaries between disciplines. “I don’t think the delineation between brand and digital exists anymore,” Crimi-Lamanna says.