“No one truly understands our mission, brand, and product better than the people who live our values and use our product daily. That’s why we chose to build an in-house agency—to ensure our brand remains authentic and aligned with who we are,” Cat van der Werff, Canva’s executive creative director, told Mediaweek . Van der Werff, who recently shared her insights on evolving in-house agencies and attracting top talent at the In-House Agency Council (IHAC) event in Melbourne, explained that the flexibility of an in-house team allows Canva to grow its creative strategies in real-time, in line with the brand’s goals. “As our goals evolve, we can adapt our strategies while maintaining brand consistency. This ensures our identity stays cohesive and impactful, even as we expand into new markets, products, and campaigns,” she said. The benefits go beyond adaptability. According to Van der Werff, having an in-house team fosters collaboration across departments—from Marketing and Sales to HR—eliminating silos and enabling integrated campaigns. It also streamlines decision-making, accelerates timelines, and creates tighter feedback loops, driving efficiency. Van der Werff joined Canva in 2018 as its first brand designer. At the time, the brand identity was in its infancy. “When I asked for brand guidelines, I was handed... a logo. While there wasn’t much of a traditional brand identity, our founders had already established a strong ethos rooted in Canva’s mission and values,” she recalled. Her early efforts included workshops with Canva’s founders to define the company’s values, voice, and visual identity. This collaboration laid the foundation for Canva’s core brand pillars: empowering, inspiring, and human . “Today, I’m proud to lead a team of over 100 incredible creatives who are building a globally beloved brand and realising our mission to empower the world to design,” Van der Werff said. A key part of building Canva’s in-house agency was close collaboration with leadership. “We’ve evolved to involve our entire leadership team—from sales to engineering and beyond. This sparks innovation, fosters new ideas, and ensures alignment, keeping us forward-thinking at every stage,” she said. “It’s one of the benefits of working in-house—you have a level of access that’s hard to achieve on the agency side,” she added. Cliff Obrecht, Mel Perkins and Cameron Adams While building an in-house agency came with its challenges, Van der Werff framed them as opportunities. One such opportunity was balancing brand authenticity with efficiency at scale. To address this, the team developed templates and Brand Kits that empower every team member to create on-brand content. For example, during Canva Create this year, the team designed a visual identity toolkit—including event logos, colour palettes, and press materials—that allowed Canva to scale content production efficiently while staying true to the brand. A standout example of Canva’s in-house capabilities is its recent Love Your Work campaign, inspired by research revealing that many people feel disconnected from their work. The team filmed seven Canva users from diverse backgrounds—a teacher, a DE&I manager, and a business analyst among them—showcasing their stories without scripts to ensure authenticity. Early prototypes were tested with users to refine the creative. “With audio becoming a signature element of our campaigns, we collaborated with Get Gospel, a UK choir that uses Canva for their own marketing, to record the backing track,” Van der Werff shared. The campaign was rolled out across various formats, from TV to organic social content, emails and OOH on buses and airports to target commuters. The 2023 In-House Agency Landscape Report, produced by the In-House Agency Council (IHAC) and Kantar Australia, revealed that 78% of marketers in Australia were working with an in-house agency, compared to 63% only two years prior. As brands look into taking agency services in-house, Van Der Werff noted that when considering an in-house or hybrid model, brands should ensure vision and values are the guiding light. “For us, everything starts and ends with our mission to empower the world to design—it’s the foundation of our creative decisions, big and small,” she said of Canva’s journey. “Building an in-house team has allowed us to live and breathe our values every day, making it easier to bring authenticity to every campaign and touchpoint.” A key learning from Van der Werff shared from her last six years of building an in-house team is the value of continuous learning and iterating. “Growing a team from one to 100+ has meant hiring people who are smarter than me at what they do so I can learn from them. Embracing what you don’t know and seeking out people who can teach you and push you to think bigger is all part of the journey,” she added. Marcel Hashimoto, Cat van der Werff, Sarah Hetherington and Abby Blackmore at the IHAC summit in Melbourne in September On the future of Canva’s in-house agency, Van der Werff said the team remains focused on ambitious goals, including expanding its reach into workplaces worldwide. Currently, 95% of Fortune 500 companies use Canva across Marketing, Sales, Creative, and HR. “I’m excited to see how our brand pillars of Human, Inspiring, and Empowering come to life in different cultures and empower people from all walks of life to achieve their goals,” she said. Beyond its commercial success, Canva’s commitment to being a force for good remains central to its identity. The company’s education and nonprofit programs already support over 70 million students and teachers and 670,000 nonprofits globally. “Our two-step plan is simple: build one of the world’s most valuable companies and do the most good we can,” Van der Werff said. “I’d love for Canva to be known as the Patagonia of design , synonymous with both our product and our impact.” – Top image: Cat van der Werff Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the Mediaweek Morning Report – delivered for free every morning to your inbox.Something unusual happened when a journalist in New York called a toll-free 1-800 number last week. The reason for the call wasn't to reach a particular product helpline, but because she wanted to find out about something entirely new. Sitting at her desk, perhaps somewhat anxious, she typed out the number on her phone - 1-800-242-8478. After an initial disclaimer, the phone rang. A woman promptly answered the phone. The conversation began with a cheerful 'Hi!', and what happened next, left her fascinated. The woman who answered the phone seemed to be able to talk about absolutely anything - from giving the recipe for chocolate-chip cookies to an insightful account of the American Civil War. 1-800-242-8478 was indeed 1-800-ChatGPT. WILL IT BE A GAME CHANGER? Ten days ago, OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, introduced a voice service in the United States, especially for those who do not have the App or aren't tech-savvy. The tech firm believes this could help them get the answers they need over a regular phone call - speaking with someone who sounds like a pleasant and helpful 'human being', except, she's an AI chatbot. There are a few limitation though - while the number in itself is toll-free, the service is free only for 15 minutes per number, per month, and is currently available only in the US. For the rest of the world, OpenAI said it has launched a text service directly on WhatsApp. The number is the same - 1-800-ChatGPT. OpenAI's chief product officer Kevin Weil said that these new features were a project that the team worked up only in the last few weeks. The company believes that these two new features are very important to expand the reach of AI and introduce it to even those without access to high-speed internet. Interestingly though, OpenAI isn't the first company to introduce a voice feature over a phone call. Google had done something similar 17 years ago. Google's GOOG-411 or 'voice local search' feature was launched back in 2007. It provided a speech-recognition-based business directory search. However, it was mysteriously shut down in 2010 and Google never declared why. THE CONCERNS Though solutions being just a call away makes life simpler, many have raised valid concerns. 'Will my calls be recorded?', 'Will my voice and speech be used as a sample to train AI?', 'Can my voice be replicated in case of a data leak?', 'Can such technology manipulate human emotions?', 'Can people get emotionally attached to AI?', 'Will it lead to people seeking companionship with an AI?', 'Will people get too dependent on a human-sounding chatbot?', 'What impact will it have on those who are lonely?' - Several such though-provoking questions were asked by users online. According to a CNN report, when it questioned whether users agree for OpenAI to record or store their voice while using the feature, OpenAI told them to refer to a copy of their 'privacy policy' and 'Terms of Use' manual. "Before users begin speaking to ChatGPT over the phone, they must agree to OpenAI's Terms of Use and privacy policy by clicking on a button to 'proceed' with the call" they were informed. A disclaimer is also read out to all users informing them that OpenAI may "review the data for safety purposes". FROM NON-PROFIT TO FOR-PROFIT On Friday, OpenAI officially declared plans to lay out an entirely new corporate structure - one that will likely end its control by a non-profit. OpenAI was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2015. It later switched to a "capped" for-profit enterprise, which allowed the tech firm a limited level of money making. Now it says that the ceiling limit will be removed. In a blog post, OpenAI said it plans to restructure as a 'for-profit PBC' or Public Benefit Corporation. This would "requires the company to balance shareholder interests, stakeholder interests, and a public benefit interest in its decision making." "It will enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space," OpenAI added. However, OpenAI's restructuring efforts will likely face obstacles, with Elon Musk reportedly asking a US court to stop OpenAI from converting into a for-profit enterprise.
2 Oregon men die from exposure in a forest after they went out to look for SasquatchNEW YORK (AP) — A former top New York City police official admitted through his lawyer Friday that he had a sexual relationship with a subordinate, but denied her claims that he demanded sex in exchange for extra pay. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * NEW YORK (AP) — A former top New York City police official admitted through his lawyer Friday that he had a sexual relationship with a subordinate, but denied her claims that he demanded sex in exchange for extra pay. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? NEW YORK (AP) — A former top New York City police official admitted through his lawyer Friday that he had a sexual relationship with a subordinate, but denied her claims that he demanded sex in exchange for extra pay. Jeffrey Maddrey stood silently as his lawyer, Lambros Lambrou, addressed allegations that culminated in resignation a week ago as chief of department, the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer. Lambrou, speaking to reporters at his Manhattan law office, said that the 33-year NYPD veteran had a “consensual, adult relationship” with Lt. Quathisha Epps and had no authority to sign off on overtime pay. “Lt Epps got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and is trying to deflect her wrong doing by making these allegations against Chief Maddrey,” Lambrou said. Epps raised allegations against Maddrey last weekend in a complaint she filed against the city with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In it, she claimed Maddrey engaged in “quid pro quo sexual harassment” by coercing her to “perform unwanted sexual favors in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.” Epps, who held an administrative post in Maddrey’s office, was the NYPD’s top earner in fiscal year 2024, according to payroll data, pulling in more than $400,000 — more than half of it in overtime pay. Epps contends that when she finally pushed back at Maddrey’s demands, he retaliated by claiming she was abusing overtime, prompting the department to launch a review. Lambrou said Friday that the timing didn’t add up because Epps was already under investigation before she filed her complaint. Epps’ lawyer, Eric Sanders, said Lambrou’s admission that Maddrey had a sexual relationship with Epps undercut a previous statement denying “every aspect” of the allegations. “We have a treasure trove of digital data that will hopefully bring this degenerate to justice,” Sanders said. Maddrey, a close ally of mayor and former police captain Eric Adams, joined the NYPD in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become chief of patrol in 2021. Last year, Maddrey was promoted to chief of department despite a history of internal disciplinary issues, including an allegation that he lied to investigators about an affair with another subordinate. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted Maddrey’s resignation on Dec. 20, effective immediately. She appointed John Chell, the former chief of patrol, to the position on an interim basis. The NYPD has declined to comment on the allegations against Maddrey other than to say it “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and will thoroughly investigate this matter.” Maddrey’s resignation follows months of scandal and leadership turnover at the NYPD, the nation’s largest police department. In September, Commissioner Edward Caban resigned after federal agents searched his home as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into members of Adams’ inner circle. Soon after, Timothy Pearson, another Adams adviser with wide latitude over the NYPD, resigned after investigators seized devices and cash from his home. He has also been accused of sexual harassment by multiple colleagues. Neither Pearson nor Caban have been criminally charged, and both have denied wrongdoing. Advertisement Advertisement
Middle East latest: Lebanon closes all its land border crossings with Syria except one
Japan's famous sake joins UNESCO's cultural heritage list, a boost to brewers and enthusiastsSTEVENSON, Wash. — Two Oregon men were found dead in a Washington state forest after they failed to return from a trip to look for Sasquatch, authorities said Saturday. The 59-year-old and 37-year-old appear to have died from exposure, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said via Facebook. The weather and the men’s lack of preparedness led the office to draw that conclusion, it said. Sasquatch is a folkloric beast thought by some to roam the forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. The two men were found in a heavily wooded area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Portland. A family member reported them missing at around 1 a.m. on Christmas Day after they failed to return from a Christmas Eve outing. Sixty volunteer search-and-rescue personnel helped in the three-day search, including canine, drone and ground teams. The Coast Guard used infrared technology to search from the air. Authorities used camera recordings to locate the vehicle used by the pair off Oklahoma Road near Willard, which is on the southern border of the national forest.
Kitchens will lead Tar Heels in Fenway Bowl against UConn. Another ex-Browns coach is standing by
