A Head Start

I experienced this playoff run through two very different lenses.

The first was as a Canadiens fan. I wore the jersey, watched every game, and felt the electricity inside the Bell Centre. That's what made this moment so compelling.

The second was as a marketer. Professionally, I spend my days helping brands earn attention, relevance and trust. That’s why I found what happened around these playoffs almost as fascinating as what happened on the ice.

The Canadiens entered the playoffs as underdogs. Tampa Bay in seven games. Buffalo in seven. With every round, hope grew. For six weeks, Montreal wasn’t simply following a hockey team. The city was participating in a cultural moment.

Flags flew from balconies and car windows. Jerseys became everyday attire. Inside the Bell Centre, the crowd roared so loudly that smart watches issued warnings about excessive noise. Even when the team was on the road, fans packed the arena simply to share the experience.

But the passion did not stop with the fans. Across the city, brands found ways to participate as well.

What made this moment unique wasn't just the sport—it was the convergence. In an era of fragmented audiences and generational divides, Montreal experienced something rare: a moment where age, language, and politics took a back seat. That scarcity is why this moment—and how brands participated—matters.

Several campaigns stood out for how effectively they capitalized on the cultural opportunity created by the playoffs. Air Canada created the Fan Flame outside the Bell Centre. Fans around the world submitted their cheers online, helping a 16-foot torch burn brighter in real time—transforming a sponsorship asset into a symbol of collective belief.

IGA leaned into humour and local pride—playoff stripes to storefront logos and painting parking spots for visiting teams as far from the entrance as possible. Fans didn’t see corporate messaging; they saw a brand having fun alongside them, demonstrating that relevance often beats reach.

Intact remained one of the most visible players. Through its “Le rêve est Intact” platform, game-day statistics and bold creative executions—including the now-famous “A hurricane isn’t going to stop us” billboard overlooking the Bell Centre—the insurer became part of the playoff conversation rather than simply advertising around it.

Other brands that succeeded—RONA, Maxi and The Canadiens street team—shared this insight: being part of the moment meant strengthening it, not hijacking it.

What made these activations successful was simple: they understood the assignment. Before joining the next cultural moment, ask: Does this align with who we are? Can we add something the moment doesn't already have? Are we willing to let the moment be bigger than our brand?

The brands that won this spring understood this intuitively. Intact didn't just buy billboard space—they contributed daily. IGA didn't force humour—it felt authentic. Air Canada didn't interrupt; they amplified. They were participants, not spectators.

But here's what's equally important: not every brand should join every cultural moment. Some tried to piggyback on this moment and felt out of place. They didn't align with the culture, they couldn't add genuine value, and they made it all about themselves.

Too often, brands approach cultural moments asking, "How can we get attention?" The better question is: "How can we add value?"

And that's what separates memorable marketing from forgettable noise: the willingness to strengthen emotional connections instead of chasing immediate transactions. The best brands don't interrupt culture. They become part of it.

The Canadiens didn't win the Stanley Cup. But they gave Montreal something more valuable: a shared experience that united a city and reminded us what belonging feels like.

For a few unforgettable weeks, Montreal felt alive. And we're only getting started.

While this case study centers on hockey, the principles apply to any cultural moment—award shows, cultural movements, community crises, product launches, or industry shifts.

The question remains: Will your brand be a spectator or a participant?

If I were to compile the micro-trends of 2026 that stood out to me, they would mainly include pickle recipes, thrift store finds, a few tears for Punch the Monkey, BookTok, and looks inspired by Caroline Besset Kennedy after listening to the series Love Story.

Your list probably doesn’t look like mine — and that’s exactly what makes influence so fascinating and diverse.

Decentralized influence

Drawn from the POV “The Future of Influence” by Omnicom Media Intelligence, three major trends are emerging.

1. Riding the flow of influence

Brands are no longer the sole authority. Consumers rely on their peers, influencers, and increasingly on AI. Influence no longer comes from a few major voices, but emerges from niches, micro-communities, and cultural movements.

Trying to control it as before means investing against the current. The challenge is no longer to push a message, but to understand where perception is shaped.

The micro-moments they generate offer brands fast and impactful opportunities to connect: joining the conversation, exploring a universe, or riding a parallel buzz.

• belairdirect rode the wave this summer around the series The Summer I Turned Pretty with an organic strategy.
• Cascades is collaborating with Vanessa Pilon on an organic concept, perfectly aligned with platform codes.

The goal is no longer to control, but to insert the brand where culture comes alive and becomes relevant.

2. Intent & discoverability, at the right moment

For consumers, availability is a given. The real question is whether the brand is present at the moment of consideration and purchase, online or on any screen that can become a digital shelf.

What matters is not being everywhere, but being present at the moment of purchase, staying top of mind, and creating a connection that goes beyond simple media exposure.

3. Proximity > transaction

72% of consumers assume that brands prioritize transactions over consumer connection. Short-term efficiency comes at a cost: an emotional gap.

In this fragmented world, the advantage comes from emotional availability: creating experiences that resonate, staying in consumers’ minds and hearts, and capturing key cultural moments.

• Dove Men turns an ice rink into a soccer field to celebrate FIFA in a Canadian way.
• Crocs turns Punch the Monkey into Jibbitz to personalize its clogs.
• Duolingo launched Bad Bunny 101, inviting fans to learn Spanish with phrases from his songs ahead of Super Bowl.

The playbook: How to capture and amplify brand influence

To capture attention and influence in a fragmented environment, brands must combine human understanding and technological intelligence.

1. Understanding conversations and trends

• Explore consumer needs processed by generative AI (LLMs) to detect blind spots and anticipate trends.
• Combine social listening and competitive monitoring to understand where and how to engage with consumers.
• Equip with advanced cultural trend discovery platforms, supported by AI-driven content classification, to continuously analyze and anticipate influence points for a market.

2. Embedding in key trends and conversations

• Optimize your visibility and positioning in generative search environments (GEO), and adapt the media mix based on where and how consumers discover and purchase.
• Create memorable cultural experiences and activate content that resonates and drives sharing, inspired by trends identified through AI, social listening, or pop culture.
• Invest in credible content creators and retail media: influencers translate brand values into authentic interactions, while retail media supports consumers at every stage of the journey.

Brand influence is undergoing a rupture, not a transition. Without unified data and modern marketing tools, only intuition and luck remain.

At Touché!, we support brands in turning this decentralization into an opportunity; to understand, manage, and amplify impact across their entire holistic marketing ecosystem.