Stacy Rampersad started her career doing opt-outs escalations and writing how-to instructions on a Nokia flip phone.

Today, she’s guiding some of North America’s biggest brands through the compliance maze of Canadian short codes.

Although she didn’t go to school for telecom and didn’t even know what SMS really was when she applied. Her first interview? She gotlost in downtown Toronto, soaked from a sun shower, circling a building she couldn’t find. This making her an hour late but she got the job. And once she was in, there was no turning back.

Now, as Senior Strategic Account Executive at IC Mobile , Stacy leads the entire client relationship portfolio—from onboarding and education to compliance, pricing, and long-term support. She’s not here to sell you a short code. She’s here to make sure your program stays live.

And in this edition of One Expert, One Topic, Stacy talks about customer retention through compliance—and why messaging success in Canada starts with knowing the rules.

About The Series

This is the twenty-eighth installment in the One Expert, One Topic series, where field experts pick one topic and break it down using Matt Abrahams’ What / So What / Now What format. Written instead of recorded, so you can actually slow down and absorb it.

What

There’s more to running a short code than just getting a short code. What you say, how you onboard, how you escalate, how you respond—it all matters.

In Canada, the rules are quite strict . Stacy walks clients through every step: mandatory keywords, content restrictions, opt-out flows, character limits. She’s seen what happens when someone ignores that—usually because they thought it worked in the US. Her response is direct: “You can’t do that here.”

She’s the one chasing down fixes before deadlines, flagging issues before the carriers do, and protecting campaigns  before they hit trouble. Sometimes that means saying no. Sometimes it means rewriting the whole thing.

So What

If you ignore compliance, you’re gambling with your brand. You can—and will—get shut down.

Stacy’s not in the business of letting that happen. She’s is directt with clientsHer job is to keep the program live. But that only works if you play by the rules.

Compliance isn’t just a checkbox. It’s how trust is built. In a space where there’s very little room for error, it’s what keeps your messaging up and your reputation intact.

Now What

Here’s what Stacy tells brands entering the Canadian market:

1. Do your homework. Ask how compliance is handled by your aggregator. Ask what their standing is with carriers. Ask what happens when something goes wrong.
2. Get someone in-house who knows messaging. Not email. Not digital. Messaging. It’s different, and you need someone who’s lived it to help guide you through it
3. Keep learning. The rules shift. Use cases evolve. What worked six months ago might not fly now. If you’re not adapting, you’re exposing your campaign—and your brand.

Because the goal isn’t just to launch a campaign. It’s to stay alive. And in this industry, that starts with knowing the rules, following them, and working with people who actually care about making your program a success.