#136: Human at the Center | Dana Marineau, CMO @ Canva North America

About this episode

How do you turn a brand into a household name?

This week on Soul & Science, Jason Harris talks to Dana Marineau, CMO at Canva North America, about building awareness for a global brand in the U.S., keeping humans at the center of creative work, and leading through trust building. From 15 years at EA CMO roles at Rakuten and now Canva, Dana has spent her career finding new ways to make brands culturally relevant and commercially successful.

Dana shares how she's working to redefine what Canva means to consumers, including a new brand campaign that aims to turn “Canva” into a verb. She also explains why the divide between brand and performance is a myth, how she encourages risk taking by having her teams give "goldfish presentations" about ideas that didn’t work out, and why the best marketing ideas should make you a little nervous.

Key Takeaways

✅ Great marketing is both meaningful and measurable

✅ Brand awareness is less meaningful than informed awareness

✅ Regular positive feedback builds trust that makes hard conversations easier

✅ Embracing failure creates a culture where teams feel safe to take creative risks

✅ The faster the technology, the more important it is to keep humans at the center

Memorable Moments 💡 "Instead of ‘What will you design today?’ it’s ‘What will you Canva today?’"

💡 "You don't work for me; I work for you."

💡 "If you're not a little bit scared, it's not good enough."

💡 "Don't worry. Be a goldfish."

💡 "I always say we're the sunshine department."

Brought to you by Mekanism.