Background
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the SVP of marketing and strategy for MTY Food Group, one of Canada’s largest restaurant franchisers. We operate over 2,700 quick-service restaurant locations under multiple brands and are expanding through new concepts, acquisitions, and strategic alliances.
Opportunity/Challenge
What challenge were you trying to address with Hotspex Media?
We needed help increasing our restaurant awareness, visitation, sales, and transactions.
Solution
What was the scope of their involvement?
Hotspex Media provides omnichannel digital and traditional media services. The team manages our campaigns on Meta, Reddit, Google Performance Max, CTV, streaming radio, broadcast radio, traditional TV, and digital and traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising.
What is the team composition?
We work with three teammates from Hotspex Media.
How did you come to work with Hotspex Media?
We had a previous relationship with Hotspex Media. We chose them over other options because they were a great culture fit, their company values aligned with ours, and they had the knowledge, expertise, and the breadth of experience we needed.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Hotspex Media in March 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.
Results & Feedback
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Hotspex Media has delivered several clear, quantifiable outcomes that demonstrate meaningful progress and tangible value. First, we’ve seen a measurable increase in media performance across key KPIs, including stronger click-through rates (CTRs), lower cost per thousand impressions (CPMs), and more efficient cost per engagement (CPE) versus our previous benchmarks. This has allowed us to stretch our media budget further while maintaining or improving reach and frequency. Moreover, Hotspex Media’s behavioral insights and optimization tools have helped refine our audience segments, resulting in more relevant impressions and higher-quality traffic. This has been reflected in increased time on site, stronger engagement rates, and reduced bounce rates.Additionally, through brand-lift measurement, we’ve observed improvements in awareness, recall, and consideration – confirming that the creative and media placements resonate with the intended audience. For example, one of our brands has seen an 8% increase in brand sentiment, while another has seen a 30% increase. Hotspex Media’s testing framework has also helped us identify which creative executions and messages perform the strongest. This has enabled us to confidently scale top-performing assets and retire underperformers based on real data. Finally, beyond immediate KPIs, the project has generated deeper audience and messaging insights that will shape future media planning.
How did Hotspex Media perform from a project management standpoint?
Hotspex Media’s project management is highly organized and dependable. The team communicates clearly, sets realistic timelines, and provides consistent updates at every stage of the process. Milestones, deliverables, and next steps are always transparent, which makes collaboration smooth and efficient.Moreover, Hotspex Media consistently delivers work on or ahead of schedule. When timelines are tight, the team demonstrates flexibility and a strong ability to prioritize without compromising quality. Overall, their reliability and structure give us confidence that the project is always moving forward as planned.Regarding communication, we use in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and emails or messaging apps.
What did you find most impressive about them?
What stands out the most about Hotspex Media is their ability to combine deep insights with precision media execution — and their Reticle platform plays a major role in that. Reticle has given us a level of audience clarity and targeting accuracy that we haven’t experienced with other partners. Instead of relying solely on broad demographic assumptions, we’ve been able to reach audiences based on real behavioral and emotional drivers, which has significantly improved relevance and performance. Equally impressive is how seamlessly Hotspex Media’s team translates these insights into actionable media strategies. They don’t just provide data; they provide clear recommendations, thoughtful rationale, and continuous optimization grounded in Reticle’s intelligence. This makes the entire process feel not just efficient, but genuinely collaborative and strategic. Overall, Hotspex Media’s combination of insight-led planning, the power of Reticle, and a team that’s both innovative and easy to work with makes the experience truly unique.
