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FALL 2023

VOLUME 34, ISSUE 4

The 2023 Campaign of the Year, “Cost of Beauty,” from Brand of the Year, Dove, highlights youth mental health.

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Marketing to all Canadians

Brands of the Year

Agency of the Year

Decathlon, Dove, Goodee, Molson and Pizza Pizza ignited deep-rooted shifts within their organizations.

When you partner savvy brands with inspired agencies, the results can be pretty remarkable.

Mainstream brands find the ROI, ramping up efforts to reach multicultural consumers.

4 Editorial Building a case for more honest brands • 6 Upfront Brands rewind to a less tempestuous time, maxing out on maximalism and looking back at the year that was • 10 Femcare brands and advertising: No longer a dirty little secret • 94 Back Page The absurdity/commonality of ad lingo ON THE COVER: So... Rethink. In a way, it's like watching STILL GOT GAME

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the 1980s-era Edmonton Oilers. You love to watch a team when it's at its best, breaking records and setting a whole new standard. Gretzky, Kurri, Anderson... they're household names for a reason. But, in another real way, it's like watching your ex win the Powerball. Like five freaking times in a row. You just gotta keep smiling and find a way to feel good about it. So, congrats, Rethink. Really. Congrats.

THE PHARMA REPORT Canadian agencies are delivering creative solutions to support and empower patients and HCPs. SUPPLEMENT Page 85

The Pharma Report

Medical systems globally are in crisis. There’s too much demand and too few resources, and patients are feeling forgotten and disconnected. But Canada’s pharma agencies are all about empowering people – arming them with information and direction, and giving experts on the front lines the support they need.

S PON S OR E D S UPPL E ME N T | S85

Fall 2023

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EDITOR’S NOTE

A little more honesty, please fall 2023 volume 34, issue 4 strategyonline.ca

I

've returned to strategy after a rollercoaster year of childbirth and childrearing. I’ll be honest... becoming a mom suuucked. It was the pits.

Tortured by sleep deprivation, invasive thoughts, fretfulness, loneliness and isolation, mood swings, crying spells, an unrecognizable body/mind, and the relentless feeling that every day was Groundhog Day, I wanted out. This, I eventually learned, was how many – oh so many – new mums experienced the first phase of motherhood. I wasn’t alone. So why did I feel that way? And why did I have to open up about my struggles before loved ones came out of the woodwork to say, “Oh, everyone feels that way during the newborn stage. But it gets better.”? They were right, of course. I just wish someone had thrown me a life preserver before I dove head-first into the postpartum ocean.

Postpartum depression and anxiety affects one in every seven women. It's real. It’s endemic. And yet it's still a dirty little secret. In truth, a lot of women's natural, biological experiences have become cultural and societal taboos. If it's not the fourth trimester, it's "that time of the month." We're about to enter the year 2024, yet society – and the advertising industry that has a tendency to perpetuate stigmas – still portray vaginal bleeding as icky (see p.10). Menstrual etiquette is still a bloody thing. Oh, and female masturbation? I'm convinced that disgusted drivers would have egged sex toy brand PinkCherry's racy billboards (which used the suggestive tag, "Scream your own name!") if they weren't placed 20 feet above a busy highway.

I don't mean to generalize. But the legacy of female shame is deep. And if there's anything we've learned about the much-coveted younger generation, it's that they don't look too kindly on pussyfooting around the issue. They want brands to be real, raw, TORTURED BY and relatable. Companies like Dove, one of strategy's SLEEP DEPRIVATION, 2023 Brands of the Year (see p.28), know this. A INVASIVE THOUGHTS, paragon of authenticity, Dove recently rugby-tackled FRETFULNESS, ageism, another feminist issue. #KeepTheGrey built LONELINESS on its decades-long journey to address, fight and reduce the stigma that many women face, yet few AND ISOLATION, speak up about. We need more of this. Much more.

MOOD SWINGS, As for postpartum secrets, I implore the industry CRYING SPELLS, AN to do more work here. Just the other day, ad agency UNRECOGNIZABLE Courage penned a book, called What No One Tells BODY/MIND, AND You When You're Expecting for North York General THE RELENTLESS Hospital, in consultation with parents who shared FEELING THAT true stories around pregnancy, birth and parenting.

EVERY DAY WAS So the conversation is brewing, but new moms are GROUNDHOG DAY, still drowning. Be the one who throws them a life I WANTED OUT. preserver.

Jennifer Horn Content Director and Editor, strategy

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publisher | lisa faktor | lfaktor@brunico.com content director, editor | jennifer horn | jhorn@brunico.com art director | tim davin | tdavin@brunico.com special reports, c-suite editor | sheima benembarek | sbenembarek@brunico.com associate publisher | neil ewen | newen@brunico.com senior reporter | justin crann | jcrann@brunico.com senior reporter | chris lombardo | clombardo@brunico.com contributers | mike connell, wendy kan, will novosedlik, chelsea clarke, patti summerfield, brennan doherty, megan haynes account manager | conidon pinto | cpinto@brunico.com account manager | nupur purohit | npurohit@brunico.com (leave) marketing co-ordinator | emily yuill | eyuill@brunico.com

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Early bird entries open December 5th.

TREND

RETRO REVIVAL

By Megan Haynes

Like most fashions of decades past, all things neon have returned with a gusto.

With ’90s-inspired fashion (hello outfits from Clueless), music (club hit remixes) and television (Friends on repeat), the era is taking over. What’s old is new again, and brands have jumped on board.

While not a fresh trend, ’90s-inspired creative bares a distinct neon vibe, with brands like KitKat and Melanoma Canada recently working with agencies Davis and No

TECHNOLOGY

THE FUTURE OF BEAUTY

By Sheima Benembarek

Blending beauty and tech has become a transformative approach for L’Oréal over the last few years. And Marc Dicko, L’Oréal Canada’s new(ish) chief digital and marketing officer, who took on the role in Montreal earlier this year, is very much here for it.

Prior to to arriving in Canada, Dicko was the chief digital and marketing officer at L’Oréal Taiwan, a senior digital manager at L’Oréal China and was part of the global team in Paris for several years. “I moved from the other side of the world… It’s a bit of a change of pace in terms of business and marketing and strategy,” Dicko says.

Since its arrival 65 years ago, L’Oreal has been a key player in the Canadian beauty market. It has experienced substantial growth, diversifying its product portfolio of about 40 brands to meet the varied beauty needs of a multicultural population.

A significant shift in how it goes to market took place within the last four or five years. “In our marketing material and our strategy, we talked about ‘Beauty for all.’ This meant more products, more brands, more distribution channels,” Dicko explains. “We’ve switched to ‘Beauty for each,’ which is more tailored, individual and inclusive.” This evolution is especially important in a country like Canada where diverse groups – each with their own different skin and hair needs – call home.

Technology, such as AR and AI, has enabled consumers to explore a wide range of L’Oréal brands Above: L’Oréal is exploring innovative product tools like this makeup applicator.

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and lines. The brand recently partnered with Microsoft to develop a software that can apply virtual makeup as a default filter. And in 2018, it acquired Toronto startup ModiFace, which specializes in experiential beauty solutions – allowing people to try virtual eye shadows, foundations, filters and the like. But it’s more than just virtual makeup, it’s also a diagnostic tool.

“We feel that consumers are more and more educated,” says Dicko. “They want to understand more about their skin and [its] condition. ModiFace can take a picture of you and count the acne on your face [and other] skin conditions. It’ll recommend which products are the most relevant for your needs.

This virtual beauty consultation for us is quite key.”

Beyond catering to a more educated audience, the move to digital has become the industry norm.

Dicko shares that, for a while, ecommerce was a small sliver of his business. “If we look at L’Oréal worldwide, ecommerce is almost 28% of the business. So we went from close to nothing to 28% in just a few years. We can see that people are shifting to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for information if necessary to understand the product better.”

To that end, the brand also works with 4,000 researchers and 5,500 tech and data professionals to keep up with trends and remain relevant. “Beauty is a huge and interesting category because every day, every week, every month, there’s something happening online which is changing the beauty trends. Monitoring that is a strategy.”

Clockwise from left: Designer Shaun Vincent had to consult with elders before he could design the logo for the Pope’s visit to Canada in Summer 2022.

Fixed Address to embrace a palette influenced

by Saved by the Bell. Staples’ back-to-school campaign, created by Jackman Reinvents, featured spokespeople Howie Mandel and Pierre-Yves Lord helping millennial parents relive their ’90s high school days – with the help of modern technology. And Molson’s

UP F RONT

Arizona Hard went all in on the nostalgia by opening up a speakeasy with a video rental store theme.

The popularity makes sense, explains Johanna Faigelman, an anthropologist, founding partner and CEO of consultancy Human Branding. Thanks to COVID-19, social isolation, economic and political turmoil, and a worsening climate, many people are yearning for a time when life was better. And life was particularly sweet in the ’90s, Faigelman says.

The decade saw rapid gains in social progress and unprecedented economic growth – with few downturns. This had a big impact on mid-career boomers, newly employed Gen Xers and millennials, who were in their formative years during the time.

“There’s just this huge feeling of what we’re calling the nostalgia effect, where people tend to recall the past much more fondly than the present,” Faigelman adds.

YEAR IN REVIEW

STRATEGY’S MOST-READ STORIES OF 2023

By Brendan Christie

WE’LL MISS YOU, PAUL Former DDB ECD Paul Wallace passed away on July 8, having made a profound impact on the ad industry. During his 17-year career, he won 199 international industry awards, including Cannes Lions and Clios.

Former DDB CCO Denise Rossetto recalled: “He was wicked funny and creative as hell, well beyond advertising... he proved that you could be a nice, good soul and still be the most interesting man in the world.”

goals. Diamond’s current clients include TD, Tim Hortons, SkipTheDishes and Accor Hotels North America. CEO David Diamond described landing Davison as a “dream hire.”

ECONOMY SEES BANKS GET CREATIVE TD Bank released two Super Bowl ads focusing on sound advice: one for its Easy Trade DIY app and another for its financial

A DIAMOND DREAM Lori Davison was appointed as the chief strategy officer at Diamond this year, reuniting with CCO Peter Ignazi. Davison, a former marketer at SickKids and the Royal Ontario Museum, previously worked with Clockwise from top left: Arizona Hard, Melanoma Canada and Staples have all embraced the ’90s vibe, harkening back to a simpler time that Gen Z prefers.

But the decade is particularly appealing to Gen Z – who weren’t even born until the early aughts and who have grown up with their entire lives online.

The ’90s represents a simpler time – one just before the internet boom. “There’s something utopic about the days before social media,” Faigelman goes on.

“There was this nice equilibrium between progress, burgeoning technology and economic growth, but also simplicity. No one knew what Metaverse meant.

Gen Zs are having this incredible, insatiable longing for a past that they never experienced, because it represents these glorified days that they aren’t living today. It’s like catnip to Gen Z.”

Ignazi at BBDO and Cossette. Davison has a passion for brand strategy and major brand transformations and, at Diamond, she’s focused on connections planning, activation and holistic client business

advisors. The creative approach, informed by post-pandemic customer research, centred on ease, value and advice, and targeted younger investors by emphasizing learning.

Ogilvy created the ads, while Unison handled media buying and planning. RBC, meanwhile, launched its “Make It Count” campaign for the Vantage rewards program – featuring Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews (image above). The bank aimed to resonate with consumers amid inflation and high interest rates, emphasizing its value proposition.

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Left: Pepsi’s rebrand towards “unapologetic enjoyment” meant moving from quiet simplicity to bold amplification; while Knorr launched its Taste Combos masterbrand campaign across North America in partnership with the never understated Cardi B.

DESIGN

MAXING OUT ON MAXIMALISM

By Will Novosedlik

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Are you a Marie Kondo or an Iris Apfel?

If you’re the latter, your style is full of bold, vivid colours, high contrast, multiple patterns, textures and lots of layering. You can see it in a 2016 Architectural Digest photo spread of the designer’s New York apartment. An over-the-top monument to “more is more,” each room a carefully curated collection of curiosities more akin to the storage room at the Château de Versailles than to what most of us would call a living space. Architectural Digest has described Iris Apfel’s style as “fleamarket-slash-desert-bazaar-chic.” It is the apotheosis of maximalism.

If you are a Marie Kondo, Apfel’s material exuberance would probably drive you insane. Kondo is all about disciplined decor. Star of the Netflix hit series Tidying up with Marie Kondo, the Japanese consultant and author relies on a process she calls the KonMari method. The goal is to “end up with a clutter-free home that is better able to bring joy and prosperity to your life.” That makes her the antithesis of Apfel, and the maven of minimalism.

This swing of the pendulum between restraint and romanticism is nothing new. It can be seen throughout art history: renaissance vs. baroque, neoclassical vs. impressionistic, modernist vs. post-modernist. Which way it swings depends on what’s going on in the world at the time.

Minimalism had a good run in the 2000s and early 2010s, a reflection of the rise of technology and the dictates of economic austerity. Think of it as the Apple aesthetic. It got a boost from the pandemic, during which people, stuck at home, suddenly had a lot of time to declutter à la KonMari.

“During the pandemic, visual clutter drove people crazy because they were so stressed out. They had the time and the need for an easy-to-clean environment,” says Nicki Gondell, principal and research lead at NYC-based creative research and

UP F RONT

Right: Disruptor brand Acid League uses bold, vivid colours and expressive typography in its packaging, branding and food pairing.

consumer trends consultancy firm Trend House. “But then post-pandemic, it was about making up for lost time.

It was about bursting out, dressing up, going out, and now, it’s about travelling again. So a lot of Iris Apfel’s layers are definitely coming back in.”

As marketing is generally the last car on the trend train, maximalism has been finding its way from fashion and décor into advertising and design.

One example is the Pepsi rebrand.

In an effort to express its mission of “unapologetic enjoyment,” packaging and identity have moved from quiet simplicity to bold amplification. The soft, slender lowercase lettering of the old identity has given way to big, bold caps and is accompanied, in both static and video applications, by a pulsating motif that keeps the party going. It’s a reflection of Pepsi’s embrace of emergent channels like Web3 and the metaverse, and an effort to connect with a younger demographic.

Knorr Canada is another CPG brand that’s embracing the maximalism trend. A recent “Knorr Taste Combos” campaign is a study in captivating visuals that makes the brand impossible to miss. But what’s the thinking behind its new visual language?

“When we looked at the culture and the dialogue around taste, there was a clear winner – fast food brands. They talk so effortlessly about cravings; they shout about flavour,” says Shagufta Hooda, Canada marketing lead, Knorr, Unilever. “Everything about our vivid use of colour, high contrast, bold typography and delicious food photography was choiceful. Hints of yellow, a more maximalist font and the stylistic choices on food styling and composition were all informed by the tropes of the fast food category.”

There’s a demographic dimension to this. Fast food also happens to appeal strongly to the Gen Z palate. So does TikTok. Unlike the more static, curated

world of Instagram, TikTok relies on boldness, weirdness and motion to attract user attention. For brands speaking to a customer who turns to social media to gorge on video, their products need to look good in motion.

These days, as marketers know, platforms maketh the brand.

Knorr has even been maximalist in its partnerships. “Earlier in the year, Knorr launched the ‘Taste Combos’ masterbrand campaign across North America, partnering with Cardi B – talk about maximalism,” says Hooda.

“Her personality and vibrancy are absolutely larger-than-life.”

The trend has been particularly embraced by the D2C brand set.

Proxies, a line of non-alcoholic wines launched by Acid League, have a special challenge: to resemble wine packaging but look like a new category of beverage all at once.

As Acid League’s co-founder and creative director, Rae Drake, explains it, Proxies are full of complexity and flavour, so the team set out to build a brand world that would reflect that.

Its aesthetic choices, one could say, are inspired by the way postmodern design breaks free from the ways

things have been done in the past.

“We knew we needed to go big and bold to set the tone for the category,” says Drake. “Unlike wine or beer, Proxies is its own thing, so there’s some education that needs to happen on shelf. We got creative with the shape of the label and used curves to emphasize each section of text and make the sides as visually interesting as the front to invite people to turn the bottle around. We played with unexpected colour combinations to build out distinct looks for each flavour, which we carry into our photography when styling with food and props.”

What do the designers think? Stephanie Yung, chief design officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo, makes an interesting point about the emergence of maximalism. “When I hear the word maximalism, I always feel compelled to think of it as a negative thing, but I don’t think it is,” she says. “It’s like a layering of experiences. It’s about individualism. And it’s not about one culture. It’s about many. So it rhymes with the notion of inclusivity.”

In much of the articles being written about the rise of maximalism, the most common refrain is “thank goodness blanding is over.” This reflects the fact that brands are often more interested in fitting in than standing out – so entire categories end up succumbing to imitation. While “more is more” is in full swing among both DTC and traditional CPG brands, is it right for every category, demographic or company?

Brands are meant to strive for differentiation. If you are big, bold, bright and colourful in a black and white, clinically minimal environment, you’re going to stand out. But if everyone is big, bold, bright and colourful, it’s more difficult. It’s hard to be you when you are trying to be just like everyone else on the shelf.

Fall 2023

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Right: Younger generations are far more comfortable talking about menstruation and didn’t see what the fuss was about when Aisle showed bloody underwear on Instagram. Below: The Knix "Period Underwear Changes Everything," campaign looked to “normalize leaks" and start an honest dialogue.

Opposite Page: Aisle has built its brand around inclusivity, reflecting women of every size and shape in its advertising.

The feminist evolution of menstrual

How marketers went from helping women “keep their secret” to mainstreaming a reusable product that’s

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n a popular Netflix special, stand-up comedian Michelle Wolf makes a hilarious and excellent point about menstruation. “‘Period’ isn’t the right name for it,” she tells the audience. “We’re too cute about it. A period should be called ‘bloody-tissuefalling-out-of-a-hole.’ If you went into work and you were like, ‘Hey, I got bloody-tissue-falling-out-of-ahole.’ They’d be like, ‘Yeah, take the week!’” Her blunt perspective on the oft-taboo subject is not common in society, let alone the advertising industry. Menstrual discharge is perfectly natural, and yet, brands tend to use euphemisms or blue dye to portray it. But that isn’t helping anyone – least of all the intended consumer.

“The good news is that we are seeing progress,”

counters Amanda Laird, principal strategist at Torontobased feminist marketing firm Slow & Steady Studio.

“About six years ago, I began to feel drastic changes were being made culturally when it came to our attitudes towards menstruation. But it wasn’t that long ago that advertising for menstrual products didn’t even talk about periods – a tampon commercial would show somebody playing tennis or horseback riding.”

Marketing around menstrual products was, effectively, all about keeping your period a secret.

When you look at the history of menstrual stigma and the idea that menstruation is “dirty,” Laird explains, a lot of those generational attitudes were fueled by marketing. “Back in the pre-Industrial Revolution, in the 1800s, we were using rags and cloths and it didn’t matter, you just washed them and that was the end of it. It was just a reality,” she adds. “But then once we started getting into disposable products that you have to purchase at a store, you needed marketing

to sell those products. And because our traditional marketing approach has been to feed on fear, that’s when we started to see these narratives around ‘Be clean, be fresh, be discreet.’”

This persistent, wide-spread portrayal of periods made it particularly challenging for brands in the reusable category to sell products like period panties. Vancouver-based Aisle (formerly known as Luna Pads) was the first brand to sell leak-proof menstruation underwear after fashion designer Madeleine Shaw came up with the idea to sew cloth pads into her underwear in the ’90s. But even a decade later, when Aisle CEO Suzanne Siemens arrived at the company, she says “it was really hard to market products like these because people didn’t want to talk about periods, and marketing messages were very sanitized.”

In fact, the first time the word “period” was used in a North American television commercial was in 1985 when Courtney Cox appeared in a Procter & Gamble Tampax spot explaining how this brand of tampons “can actually change the way you feel about your period.” And it wasn’t until 2011 that the first advertising campaign, by P&G’s Always, featured a pad with red dye instead of the customary blue to represent menstruation. Even so, the category continued to innovate products that fed into period stigma. In 2020, for example, Tampax rolled out tampons with silent wrappers. An X (formerly Twitter) user criticized the product with a post that amassed thousands of likes, stating: “Silent wrappers?! I’m on my period, not an MI5 mission.”

products for a highly-engaged community that – similar to Aisle’s own audience – share its values around authenticity and sustainability. Over the last decade, it has built its brand around inclusivity, reflecting women of every size and shape in its advertising. Emily Scarlett, director of communications at Knix told strategy earlier this year that its “Period Underwear Changes Everything” summer campaign looked to “normalize leaks” and that the best way to do that was to “talk about it.”

A similar unapologetic acceptance of oneself is also at the core of Aisle’s marketing. “Our values are conveyed in our models, messaging and how we show up in social media – namely that our products are ethically produced and designed to be size and gender inclusive for any person with a period,” says Siemens.

One of the brand’s most successful social campaigns is its annual holiday giving campaign called “Boxers Under the Tree,” where a portion of its sales are set aside in order to send free period underwear to trans and gender non-conforming youth in need.

Aisle mostly relies on online advertising and influencer marketing, “because we don’t have the budget for expensive campaigns that involve TV or billboards. We leverage our online

underwear advertising

s part of a $150 million USD market.

BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK

Over the years Aisle has learned that, to succeed, it doesn’t need to focus on converting people. Instead, the brand caters to a group of consumers that share the same values around sustainability and women’s empowerment. “Advertising for reusable period products is often about education and reassurance,” Siemens explains, “and what we are most proud of is having created this category and community so that the next generations don’t have to experience that shame.”

As consumer awareness of the category has increased, so too has acceptance. In the last several years period panties have become recognized as an alternative solution to traditional pads and tampons – they’re sustainable, environmental and convenient. Others, beyond Aisle, have looked to capture the market (which, according to Market.US, is steadily growing with a revenue estimation of US$148.8 million last year and a projection of US$901.9 million by 2032). Knix is one of them.

Founded by Joanna Griffins in 2013 as a direct-to-consumer intimate apparel brand (and recently purchased hygiene and health company Essity) Knix has been creating innovative period

community to share their love for our products and boost our message of period positivity.” The challenge, however, with online advertising is that there is a risk of being rejected for sexual impropriety. Ads featuring blood specifically are frequently banned. “This is frustrating since we are advertising a functionally specific type of underwear; meanwhile, sexually explicit ads for other products don’t face the same scrutiny,” says Siemens.

Social media, as of late, has been lessening its restrictions on the topic, albeit slowly and mostly only after public backlash. A report published by the Center for Intimacy Justice – a San-Francisco based non-profit civic organization that’s committed to equity and Fall 2023

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wellbeing in people’s intimate lives – revealed in January of 2022 that, of the 60 women’s health businesses that they surveyed, 100% had experienced Facebook or Instagram rejecting an ad and 50% reported Facebook suspending their ad accounts altogether. The categories the ads covered included postpartum care, sexual wellness and menstrual health, and were labeled by Meta as “adult content.” In October of the same year, Meta made changes to its sexual health advertising policies, stating that “advertisers can run ads that promote sexual health, wellness and reproductive products and services.”

Siemens is cognizant that a balance still needs to be struck between being authentic and unnecessarily blatant. “A couple of weeks ago, our social media manager said, ‘I’m posting a photo of some bloody underwear and I said, ‘Oh, I’m not sure if people are gonna like that,’” she says, “But it was within the right context, and if you look at that post, it got a ton of engagement, which was the whole goal.”

Laird explains that positive cultural changes have not only been propelled by social media, but also by a younger generation that doesn’t really understand what all the fuss is about.

“Younger people are Above: Aisle’s “Boxers Under the Tree” much more open and campaign sends period underwear to trans and gender non-conforming youth. comfortable talking about menstruation.

It’s just a fact of life. We get it and we need products to manage it.” It’s like having a runny nose, she explains, you blow it, and sure, it’s a little gross, but you’re definitely not ashamed of it. As attitudes changed and the dialogue surrounding periods became less strained in the public sphere, brands are having a much easier time marketing reusable feminine products. “As those companies – like Diva Cup and Aisle – began challenging those standards of advertising and period stigma in general, people became more interested in what used to be alternative products,” says Laird. And brands have begun changing their marketing approach to be more focused on eco standards and social inclusion.

“Our current systems of business and marketing are often about scaling our businesses for more money,” Laird says. “To contrast that with a feminist approach to marketing would be about really centering the consumer and their humaneness, their needs and their desires.” And that means continuously challenging and unlearning internalized stigma.

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Forbidden femcare fruit HUSHED BY SOCIETY AND MEDIA, SOME BRANDS CONTINUE TO FACE CRITICISM FOR HOW THEY TALK ABOUT WOMEN’S HEALTH AND PLEASURE.

Sexual pleasure

In 2019, Lovehoney Group (formerly WOW Tech Group), a global company that designs, manufactures and markets intimate pleasure products, collaborated with PinkCherry and agency The Garden to promote a new vibrator called the Womanizer.

Placed on a billboard along the QEW near Hwy 427 in Toronto, the copy read: “Scream your own name.” While many Torontonians applauded the sex positive message, others criticized it for making them uncomfortable. “Just saw a huge-ass billboard advertising a vibrator… why is Canada like this?” one X user asked.

“Shoutout to the vibrator ad billboard on the expressway that never fails to make me uncomfortable in the car with my parents,” another added. Despite criticism, Lovehoney Group reported a roughly 200% uptick in Canadian sales between 2019 and mid-2020.

Postpartum care

In 2020, a Frida Mom ad campaign was rejected at the Oscars for being “too graphic.” The commercial featured a new mother in the first days after giving birth, facing the realities of her changed body and new role as a parent. You can see her postpartum belly as she struggles to go to the bathroom while her newborn is crying in the background. Frida Mom, instead, posted the ad on its Instagram feed as a rebuttal and wrote, “The ad you’re about to watch was rejected

by ABC & the Oscars from airing during this year’s award show. It’s not violent, political or sexual in nature.

Our ad is not religious or lewd and does not portray guns or ammunition.

It’s just a new mom, home with her baby and her new body for the first time. Yet it was rejected. And we wonder why new moms feel unprepared.” A year later, the global postpartum products market was valued at US$2.22 billion and is only expected to grow.

Vaginal health

Olly Canada, a brand that focuses on health supplements and other wellness products for women – a market projected to grow to $4.649 billion in Canada by 2030 – released a new vitamins range this year called the Modern Woman’s line. The supporting campaign revolved around empowering women and addressing some of their unmet health needs – like having a healthy vaginal microflora and microbiome.

Marketing the product line, which includes capsule supplements called Lovin’ Libido, Beat the Bloat and Happy Hoo-Ha, however, proved challenging.

Parent company Unilever said in a release that it was “given the side-eye” when it tried to book ads featuring the word “vagina.” It also said that ads using the Happy Hoo-Ha product name were sometimes outright rejected for being “too suggestive.” The marketing team had to rethink some of its advertising concepts and find ways around the issue, managing to launch a successful campaign in the end.

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Brands (outside of the usual suspects) carve out budgets for multicultural audiences.

Minority to mainstream?

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KENRICK MILLS/UNSPLASH

ulticultural marketing, for the most part, has fallen under the near-exclusive territory of banks, telecommunications companies and niche CPGs. Newcomers typically need their food goods and phone/financial services upon their arrival in Canada, so it makes sense that these groups have been the biggest spenders in the multicultural arena.

However, “multicultural advertising gets, at most, 10% of the marketing dollar, which is extraordinary when you think that Toronto and Vancouver are 57%

BY WEN DY K AN and 55% visible minorities, respectively,” says Gavin Barrett, co-founder, CEO and CFO of multicultural agency Barrett and Welsh. “The way the marketing dollar is being proportioned and distributed – these demographics are being underserved.”

Barrett, along with eight other agency heads, established the Multicultural Marketing Alliance of Canada (MMAC) in 2015 to increase understanding of the discipline, set standards and establish best practices. Their efforts must be working because, in parallel with a steady growth in immigration rates, marketing among brands in categories outside of the usual suspects appears to be on the rise. More companies in auto, retail, consumer electronics, alcohol and fashion are choosing to no longer ignore multicultural audiences, investing in advertising that speaks to different ethnicities and cultures.

Some of the more recent examples include Kia Canada, which created Chinese and South Asian versions of its “Modern Times” campaign that played off the natural tension of how people in a two-

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generation household adapt to life in Canada. Samsung Electronics tapped South Asian influencers to speak to target audiences, as it did in its award-winning “Capture Your Journey” campaign. H&R Block is in the midst of a three-year strategy that targets newcomers and established immigrants separately, which includes “Block Game” and “Movie Night.” And Sephora has gone all-in, with an inclusive approach embodied in its North American “We Belong to Something Beautiful” brand platform.

THE ARGUMENT

BY THE NUMBERS

With an aging population and stagnant birth rates, immigration is the main driver of population growth for the country, according to Statistics Canada. In 2022, the number of Canadians rose by an unprecedented one million. Canada’s population reached 40 million this past June, with permanent and temporary migration accounting for nearly all growth recorded in 2022 (96%).

In addition, Statistics Canada projects that, by 2041, the South Asian population could rise to five million, the Chinese and Black communities to three, and the Filipino demographic could surpass two. “Immigration was – and continues to be – a growth strategy for the country,” says Bobby Sahni, co-founder and partner of Ethnicity Matters. “Because of that, immigration and multicultural marketing needs to be a growth strategy for every company as well.”

With such numbers, it’s difficult to see why every brand isn’t directing their marketing dollars and messages to court these

Clockwise from far left: For “Capture Your Journey,” Samsung tapped Indo-Pakistani Canadian group JoSH the Band in a content series; Kia’s campaign for the Niro EV embraced the natural tension within multi-generational households; H&R Block, meanwhile, is in the midst of a three-year strategy that targets both newcomers and established immigrants separately via the “Block Game” campaign.

? audiences. Between established multicultural communities and newcomers – immigrants, refugees and international students – the influence of diverse communities is inevitably impacting the foods we eat, the content we consume, the music we listen to, and the make-up of leaders across politics and business. Says Sahni: “The established multicultural perspective, the newcomer perspective, the impact on the general mass market: that trifecta of opportunity is the way to look at the market.”

DIFFERENT BRAND APPROACHES

Barrett points out that the spending behaviour of newlyarrived and tenured immigrants differ. “Newcomers are fickle consumers because they have to base decisions on budget,” he says.

“When you’re settled, you can choose the brand that works for you [so there’s] massive influence.”

That may be true in a general sense, but it doesn’t necessarily apply to every category. Take a tax company like H&R Block. While new clients can be acquired when people experience a life transition that changes their tax situation – getting married, having a baby, getting a new job – the company relies, in large part, on attracting those who have never filed Canadian taxes before, but need to start.

“We find that once somebody has filed their taxes for the first time, it’s hard to get them off that method,” says David Loria, director of marketing and business development for H&R Block Canada. “The lifeblood of an organization is the ability to acquire new clients, so first-

time filers are a really important cohort for us and newcomers are a large part of that.”

While H&R Block has long-served new Canadians, its current strategy is to target newcomers and established immigrants in a more sophisticated way, speaking directly to their concerns. Its Chineselanguage “Block Game,” for example, tapped into the anxiety that established communities have around missing an important detail in their tax submission.

And for a newcomer South Asian audience, its “Movie Night” featured a young immigrant couple startled by a text asking if they had started their taxes. Loria is currently working with Stradigi on the next iteration in time for the tax season.

Loria stresses the importance of companies putting in the work at ground level, too. To that end, the company holds regular workshops across its locations to demystify the Canadian tax filing process. And to further ease the complex task of filing taxes in a non-native language, many of H&R Block’s tax experts across the country speak the languages of their communities.

But tax filing isn’t the only complicated task for a newcomer.

Buying household appliances, with their jargon around specs and functionality, can be equally fraught. To that end, in September, the consumer electronics division of Samsung started displaying QR codes alongside products at Best Buy and Visions Electronics that, when scanned, provides a menu of options in multiple languages (English, French, Mandarin, Spanish, Punjabi, Filipino and Arabic) to ease confusion in the retail space.

Steven Cull, senior director and head of mobile product management, services and strategy for Samsung, says that the consumer electronics division is taking the lead on how the company will communicate across retail so that the QR codes, if successful, can be rolled out across its mobile phone displays as well. Cull says the strategy to focus on multicultural comes from the top, and is rooted in data. “We spent a lot of time in the early cycles, in 2018 and 2019, really understanding who our customers are, and where the new opportunities were,” he says.

Research showed that a number of Asian newcomers were arriving in Canada with older and international Samsung devices, so the goal was to make consumers aware of the ability to upgrade their devices and where to do so. With its “Level Up” campaign in 2018, it targeted Chinese and Filipino communities via WeChat, in-language media Fall 2023

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mass? Is it targeted? Is it a high-income audience? It depends on the brief and what you’re actually trying to accomplish. But the budget is the budget, so you do have to be a bit surgical,” says Kopke.

Indeed, how can anyone ignore the benefits of targeting these communities? Sahni points out the composition of multicultural households tend to be larger in size, which means a greater opportunity for more consumption, across a variety of categories.

For the companies that protest they don’t have the budget for multicultural marketing, Sahni advises: “It’s not about outspending the competition; it’s about outsmarting them. You don’t need big budgets for big insights. You don’t need big budgets for big ideas.”

channels and influencers. “We actually saw a significant increase in traffic to our website, and 97% of the traffic that we drove to the website with that campaign were all first-time visitors to our site,” says Cull.

Samsung’s multicultural marketing efforts – which include activations around cultural holidays such as Lunar New Year and Diwali – aim to find moments that will resonate with diverse audiences, such as targeting international students who were homesick around Mother’s Day in 2021 and creating a cricket campaign in 2022 that had the unintended effect of generating interest from Korean and Chinese audiences as well.

In the beauty space, Sephora views multicultural marketing as just one way to connect with diverse communities. The brand made a commitment to have 25% of its products come from BIPOC-owned brands by 2025 and established an ongoing partnership with the Native Women’s Association of Canada, among other moves. Earlier this year, it introduced its “Sephora Illumination powered

by Colour iQ,” a proprietary shade-matching technology featuring over 140,000 shades.

“The aim of our multicultural marketing efforts is twofold – yes, we want to ensure all Canadians feel seen and celebrated and connected to our brand, whether they’ve been here for two or twenty years,” says Allison Litzinger, SVP of marketing for Sephora Canada. “However, our purpose runs deeper – to foster a more open, progressive and accepting world of beauty by celebrating our differences.”

THE CHALLENGES, THE OUTLOOK

FINDING THE BUDGET (AND THE ROI) For all marketers looking to build their brands, it comes down to budget. “When we implemented our new marketing strategy for newcomers, we found that it was actually costing less out of our marketing budget to acquire a newcomer client than it was a conventional Canadian client, so the ROI was just there,” says H&R Block’s Loria. “We are definitely far outpacing [Canada’s] newcomer growth… which was year-over-year… around 15% and 20%, so it’s definitely paying dividends.”

Meanwhile, at Kia Canada, director of marketing Michael Kotpke, thinks about investment differently. When it came to its latest Niro EV campaign – which tapped into how newcomers establish themselves, as well as the high demand among ethnic communities for tech – no sales target was identified. “Based on the investment we made in terms of time, effort and dollars, what we saw in terms of impact, the level of engagement, the qualitative feedback we received – that’s where we’re seeing the benefit,” he says.

As a growing challenger brand, Kopke says the team determines, from one product to the next, who the message is intended for. “Is it

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Above: Sephora is creating “a more open, progressive and accepting world of beauty” through its multicultural marketing platform, “We Belong To Something Beautiful.”

While some brands were previously already invested in multicultural marketing, it was George Floyd’s death and the resulting globalization of the Black Lives Matter movement that finally compelled corporate Canada to take notice of long-overlooked consumer segments.

“What changed in 2020 was that the conversation we were having about multicultural marketing was elevated from the brand manager or the director of marketing or even the VP of marketing to the CEO, CFO or CMO,” says Sahni. “The importance of diversity and inclusion became an executive and board mandate versus a brand manager mandate.”

Yet, interestingly, marketing efforts targeting the Black community – which, within itself, is diverse – hasn’t taken off the same way it has for South Asian and Chinese ones. Sahni says: “The focus on Black Canadians in particular is something that corporate Canada has not figured out.”

For all these advocates, multicultural marketing needs to be part of the mix. Loria says marketers need to treat these communities the same as any consumer segment, and emphasizes the importance of curating content specifically for them. Litzinger wants to not only see marketers put their dollars towards campaigns that drive impact, but ensure teams, partners, consultants and vendors represent the people they speak to. And if this is the direction it’s all headed, competition among brands to reach these diverse segments will become even greater, and breaking through the noise will become a bigger challenge for marketers – a move Cull welcomes.

Sahni observes the common denominator among companies that are successful at multicultural marketing is the commitment from the C-Suite, and even the board, to understand that newcomers are the future of Canada and this is where the growth will come from. “This is not a short-term strategy; this is business as usual, forever.”

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Congrats to our friends and favourite Brand of the Year: Molson Coors.

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BRANDS OF THE YEAR Change can be pretty intimidating, even when it’s change for good. We tend to fall in love with the status quo. It’s comfortable, after all. We know it. We know what’s coming next and we know how we’re going to handle it. But sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between a well-travelled road and a deep rut. One thing is certain: Canada has changed. Canadians have changed. We’re bigger, bolder and better than ever before. Our priorities are evolving, too, and with them, so too are the things we look for in a brand. The five companies that topped strategy’s Brands of the Year list in 2023 definitely challenged the status quo. They made us think differently about things – whether that was the way we look at each other, the way we look at the planet, or the way we think of Canadians: Molson came up with a new approach that better reflects modern Canadian demographics; Goodee cut down waste by giving consumers access to way better stuff; Dove found heart-wrenching ways to challenge our preconceptions; Pizza Pizza fully embraced its mass appeal; and Decathlon opened more doors to participation in sports. So, read on, and see how our brand picks made all the difference.

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CONGRATULATIONS

2023 Brand of the Year Molson Coors Beverage Company

Cheers, Your Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Family

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Molson embraces plurality, unity and togetherness How the brewery marked the completion of a multi-year revitalization plan with a platform that embraces all Canadians. BY JUSTIN CRANN

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When your brand is deeply interwoven with the cultural zeitgeist of a nation, it can be an incredibly risky proposition to pivot. For many companies, such a feat is eagerly pursued, but rarely achieved. Finding the winning formula is about as unlikely as being struck by a bolt of lightning, let alone it happening twice.

And yet, that was the goal for Molson when it departed from its iconic “I Am Canadian” platform – launched two decades ago – and introduced “Everyone In” with a spot featuring Drake’s “One Dance” and a diverse depiction of today’s Canada.

Developed by AOR Rethink, “Everyone In” was built on the belief that the brand has “a responsibility and an opportunity to reflect what it means to be Canadian in 2023 and, in doing so, refresh big beer marketing in Canada,” Leslie Malcolm, senior director of marketing for Molson and global brands told strategy at the time of its launch.

The supporting commercial showcased many of the establishments where Molson can be consumed across the country – not just pubs, but also pho restaurants, salsa clubs and drag brunches. The goal is to show the breadth and diversity of Molson’s consumers, the brand’s full portfolio of beverages, as well as the modern-day Canadian consumer, said Malcolm.

The new positioning didn’t just come out of nowhere, though. It had been brewing for some time at Molson, with the brand’s research into consumer attitudes revealing that Canadians on the whole had shifted away from celebrating the virtues of individualism, and toward celebrations of “plurality, unity and togetherness,” says Malcolm.

“Everyone In” also marked the culmination of a three-year brand revitalization plan that kicked off in Fall 2023

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Previous page: Molson’s “I Am Canadian” no longer reflected what it means to be Canadian.

So, it worked with Rethink to reimagine the platform and invite “Everyone In.” Right: Molson’s new platform features a spot with Drake’s “One Dance” and a diverse depiction of today’s Canada; Consumers could trade leftover foreign currencies for beer in the “Molson Exchange.”

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late 2019. The corporate strategy was intended to help strengthen Molson’s core brands in key markets – including Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Croatia – and entailed aggressively premiumizing its portfolio with new product innovations that go “beyond beer”; investing in its digital initiatives, marketing effectiveness, sales efforts and sustainability programs; as well as supporting its people and communities where it operates globally.

“The intent [behind the strategic plan] was not only to cement our legacy but also to foster innovation and align with the modernday drinker,” says Sophia Lal, senior brand manager for the Molson and Miller trademarks. She adds that “Everyone In” was a pivotal platform for the company during this revitalization stage, as it significantly invested in Molson as “a core power brand.” The platform essentially allows the company to champion its various

product labels, while keeping Molson at the centre. “There was the realization that we are stronger as the sum of our parts,” says Malcolm. “We’re making sure for the first time ever that the Molson trademark plays the hero role.”

Of course, there will be moments where brands under the Molson umbrella will take the lead, adds Lal. Among those moments, she cites occasions such as Dry January, where it has

B brought forward low- and no-alcohol options such as Ultra and Exel. Another example is an experiential activation in Toronto where it invited Canadians to trade leftover foreign currencies from recent vacations for one of its brews – Canadian, Ultra, Export and Exel.

And the company will continue to champion Export in Quebec, where it has a big presence. “But, as a general guiding rule, you’ll see the Molson trademark, because it’s the way that we bring

‘Everyone In’,” says Lal. When repositioning the brand, the challenge was moving away from “I Am Canadian” without squandering the equity the platform had helped build. “There is a really delicate balance of celebrating the heritage and legacy we have and the role we’ve played in Canadians lives for so long, while also recognizing we needed to evolve and modernize,” says Malcolm.

Rethink, which has worked with the company for the past decade, brought a depth of understanding about the brand and “felt the importance, as we do, of celebrating the heritage,” says Malcolm. “The longstanding relationship we have means they understand how we need to modernize the brand.”

The “Everyone In” platform has been embraced by both consumers and employees, which makes sense seeing as Molson is “a brand that people within and outside of our organization

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B Above: Molson’s “Everyone In” platform allows the company to wrap its various product labels under a single unified umbrella, so that consumers know “there’s a Molson with your name on it.”

feel ownership and pride over. People value what Molson has stood for and represented in Canadian culture,” notes Malcolm.

Lal says she has even noticed more Molson merchandise being sported around the office. “There is a lot of swagger and pride.

We get feedback from our sales teams that every time they see the spot, they still get goosebumps.”

The enthusiasm shown by its employees has been mirrored by consumers, with Molson seeing a 4% volume growth over the prior year and a 8.4% jump in revenue, Lal says. The brand is also up in market share by half a point over the previous year. “There is a real, palpable energy behind the brand,” Malcolm noted, adding that this is only the first year of a multi-year approach, but

AHHH, THE TASTE

OF VICTORY. Congratulations to Molson

TM

on being named one of strategy's brands of the year.

From your teammates at Wasserman.

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“the fact we’re able to translate this strategy into sales results is something we’re very proud of.”

Ultimately, while the message is different, the brand’s grandest ambition remains unchanged.

“Our mission has always been to make a beer all Canadians are proud to drink, and that remains the focal point of what we aim to do with Molson,” says Malcolm. “‘Everyone In’ was about galvanizing Canadians – there was clearly an intention to galvanize our employees, partners and customers. I’m proud that we have begun to do that, but the next step for us is not just talking the talk, but beginning to walk it and show up in the world, in front of consumers, for key cultural moments in Canada.”

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Sign up for your weekly briefing on how Canada’s brand leaders are responding to market challenges and acting on new opportunities. strategyonline.ca/subscribe

Goodee’s slow and steady sell How the Montreal marketplace is converting conscious consumers via digestible content and a simplified impact system. BY JENNIFER HORN

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This broom and dustpan is no ordinary cleaning tool. It wasn’t picked up on Amazon. It isn’t made of materials that started out as fossil fuels and will end up as waste in a landfill. And it won’t be tucked away in a dark mudroom closet.

No, this broom and dustpan will be presented out in the open and used as a talking point when entertaining dinner guests. Its purchase will give a small collective of visually impaired craftsmen in Stockholm the chance to gain economic independence. Its hard-wearing materials, from birchwood to horsehair, will provide a lifetime of use. And it will most likely find its forever home – as it has a less than 5% return rate, compared to the 20% industry average for similar products purchased online.

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But this isn’t a story about an unordinary cleaning tool. It’s about the company that supports its maker, and many others, by giving them a platform to be sold around the world. Four-year-old Montreal marketplace Goodee is a treasure trove of lifestyle products and homewares, like the brush set, that are meticulously vetted by co-founders and twin brothers Byron and Dexter Peart to ensure they reflect a concrete set of values – “good design, good people and good impact.” Everything that Goodee sells (and everything it does to promote what it sells) ladders up to those three principles.

The Peart brothers set out to create Goodee after spending an 18-year career in fashion design. They founded WANT Les Essentiels in 2007 and stepped back from the conscious clothing label in 2017 to take their eco and social intentions even further in 2019 with the launch of Goodee. During their time in fashion, the entrepreneurs spent many years abroad, encountering other creators “who were doing things that felt deeply authentic,” says Dexter.

“They had this slower, more considerate version of what design could be. But their stories weren’t necessarily being told.”

Goodee launched just before coronavirus became a household name, a time when the world had no choice but to slow down. “And I think people were more receptive to hearing stories about things that matter, stories about the home, and stories about sustainability and impact,” says Dexter of the glue that holds its purpose-led mission together. “When you have a long-form conversation about a product, the [purchase] journey is quite different. We don’t want you to buy something that you’re going to take home, and then don’t want it anymore,” adds Byron.

Any brand can sell products with purpose.

There are myriad online marketplaces that do exactly that. Some will burden buyers with information, bamboozling consumers with sustainability jargon. Goodee, however, has made efforts to simplify the education process using “codes,” with every product on the platform using simple icons to showcase its contribution to social and environmental change. Those symbols point to whether a product was made by a small business that uses recycled materials, reduces carbon, preserves a heritage craft, supports marginalized communities, and so forth.

B “From the get-go, we obtain as much information as possible to provide a seal of approval. Similar to when you walk into a Whole Foods, and you know the store has done its due diligence,” says Dexter. The idea is to make it easy for consumers to understand the product’s impact while shopping online, so that “by the time it gets to them, they feel very comfortable with their purchase and they’re excited about it,” adds Byron.

The brothers have adopted what they call “slow communication.” They engage with consumers online in the same way as they would any person in real-life – with tact and restraint. “You don’t just throw everything out on the table when you meet someone on the street. You don’t tell them your whole life story,” explains Byron. “Our approach is about engaging with consumers in an honest, authentic and long-form conversation.

Whether that’s on social media or on the website, it’s always about being digestible.” That means sending fewer, more curated marketing emails, posting pithy stories about its creators/ products on Instagram, and doing it in a way that’s “joyful, accessible and approachable” so that the information they’re sharing isn’t too heavy or too much for consumers to process.

Everything is intentional, from the makers they pick to the places they show up.

The platform is made up of creators who have typically not had their voices heard or their designs shared, with 50% of Goodee’s brands being female-led and 45% being BIPOC-owned.

And, while they don’t have a fixed location to stock their wares, Goodee has constructed a handful of pop-ups in locations where people are ready and willing to engage with the company and its message.

For example, it partnered with New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art to sell a curated collection of goods as a complement to the museum’s special exhibit Making Knowing: Craft in Art. “Someone going to the Whitney with that mindset [around art and craft] would be interested in hearing what Goodee has to say or offer,” says Byron. “Our pop-up strategy is very much around not showing up in a place and having to over-educate, but rather adding value to a conversation that’s already resonating.”

Goodee also showed up in Nordstrom U.S. stores earlier this year with an online and physical storefront in select locations.

The pop-up – called Goodee 100 – was a curated edit of home essentials for $100 or under. “The objective was to show that sustainable products can be affordable and accessible.

We wanted to break down the barriers of what people think sustainable design means,” notes Byron. And in October, Goodee found another temporary home in the heart of Los Angeles, where Dexter says 88% of its customers are based, with many of the city’s citizens following a progressive lifestyle, one that aligns with the brand’s eco and social values.

In its four short years, Goodee has earned B Corp certification, thanks to its mandate aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals; it raised $4.6 million in funding from investors including BDC Capital, Good & Well and Joe Mimran in its first 18 months; and it managed to maintain a

Left: This brush set gives back to a visually-impaired community of creators in Stokholm.

Above: Goodee sells an eclectic mix of homeware and lifestyle products; Founders Byron and Dexter Peart have a vision for a brand driven by “good design, good people and good impact.”

compound quarterly growth rate of 50% through the pandemic, when many businesses fell victim to the retailpocalypse.

The challenge Goodee faces now is building an even larger audience for its platform, says Byron, adding that the urgency around climate change and social issues is ramping up and so its message appears to be resonating more. “It’s getting harder and harder to activate communities because there is so much content, stories and brands. To get people to spend time and pay attention to what you’re doing is not an easy task. But that’s the reason we get out of bed every day as an organization – to scale these stories so that they can touch more people.” And, of course, to convince more people to proudly present a broom and dustpan (with purpose) in their home.

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The beauty of Dove

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The Unilever brand continuously looks to build awareness while altering oppressive social norms, one campaign at a time. BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK Dove Canada has been promoting the idea that natural beauty is real beauty for two decades – long before Drew Barrymore, Lady Gaga and Pamela Anderson began posting viral selfies with no makeup.

It was back in 2004 when the brand conducted strategic research about beauty, says Laura Douglas, Dove brand lead and growth manager at Unilever Canada. This temperature check, however, yielded concerning findings. Only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful, and 50% felt that beauty was way too narrowly defined. In response, Dove, in collaboration with Ogilvy and Mather, released its most iconic and globally recognizable campaign: the “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.”

This is the advertising that most people picture when they think of Dove. The brand used real women (not professional models) of different sizes and ethnicities, disrupting our notion of traditional beauty. The advertising assets featured these women across billboards and in magazines wearing simple white undergarments and confidently posing. “Real women. Real beauty,” the successful ads read.

Shortly after, Dove Canada began the Dove Self-Esteem Project.

“After consulting with academic advisors, we were told that if we really wanted to change the way that women feel about themselves,”

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Douglas says, “we had to start this intervention with girls.” The mission, which tied in with Dove’s strategic plans, was to reach young people by providing confidence-building tools, workshops and educational activities that could be used in classrooms and by parents at home to encourage self-esteem and confidence.

The program has been running for the last 19 years. “We are now officially the world’s largest provider of self-esteem education certified by the United Nations. It’s amazing,” says Douglas, who is obviously still excited about what this all means, and with reason. Out of the Unilever headquarters in the U.K., Dove worked with a team of leading academic body image experts to create those evidencebased resources. “We work with a lot of partners around the world to disseminate those tools and, so far, we’ve reached 94 million young people across 150 countries with a goal to reach a quarter billion by 2030.” And the brand, Douglas confirms, is on track to meet that self-assigned target.

But, of course, none of this comes without challenges.

“Upholding ourselves to the necessary academic integrity takes a significant amount of time. Validating the resources, through third-party randomized control trials to ensure that they’re having an

B Left: To visualize the extent of teen cosmetic injectables use, Dove created an installation with tens of thousands of medical-grade syringes.

Right: Dove released “Cost of Beauty” in 2023 to show how body dysmorphia and appearance-based discrimination costs young people their selfesteem and health.

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impact on those who use them, takes about a year or two, for example,” she explains. There’s also an important financial cost from an investment standpoint. And so sticking with the vision year-over-year is not easy, but necessary. “I believe that we have a fiduciary responsibility to stay on top of the trends and what’s impacting youth’s self-esteem and body confidence,” says Douglas.

The brand is able to react quickly by staying on top of cultural events, such as when media reports tied Canadian TV personality Lisa LaFlamme’s dismissal from Bell Media to her decision to stop dyeing her hair. Shortly after the news of the star’s ousting, Dove and Ogilvy created the “#KeepTheGrey” campaign, DOCUMENT stating that women should not be aged out of their careers by FICHIER 23004-LEV-Dove-Strategy-Card-HalfP-8,375x5,1875_PP-R1 changing its gold logo to grey. Dove’s swift support of LaFlamme was possible due to the authentic leadership and trust that it had CLIENT DOVE established for itself over the years, with the execution appearing DOSSIER seamless.23004 “It all happened within 48 hours. We came together on a PRODUIT Half and pagelaunched AD Print on that Sunday evening and went live on Friday night social media.”

“[Dove is] committed to widening the stereotypical view of beauty and making sure that we take concrete actions so that women aren’t held back in any form, and especially when it comes DIMENSION COULEUR to appearance-based discrimination,” says APPLAT/OUVERT 8,375 x 5,1875 po Douglas.

C “It was M J N importantFERMER/PLIER for Dove to respond because we could authentically PMS & SPECIAL stand up for the fact that women should be allowed to age on their FOND PERDU 0,125 po own terms without any consequences.”

100% “We wantedÉCHELLE to celebrate women for choosing to wear their hair PAGEawareness 1 de 1 that discrimination exists in the grey while also raising workplace. But truthfully, I don’t think we expected it to take off as

Dear agency partners,

Thank you for helping us change beauty

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B Right: Dove’s “#KeepTheGrey” campaign seamlessly jumped on a cultural moment, building upon two decades worth of work in promoting positive self-esteem.

well as it did,” she says. And did it ever take off. Dove quickly noticed that women all over the internet began changing their profile pictures to showcase their grey hair (whether real or made using a filter) out of support. The brand tracked at least 15,000 pieces of user-generated content and the campaign trended on X (formerly Twitter), reaching roughly 15% of the Canadian population on the platform organically.

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“You could tell that it really drove and drummed up this conversation. But what we’re really proud of is that we were actually able to shift consumer behaviour and attitudes. Our intuition was right,” Douglas shares. According to Dove’s post-campaign research, 90% of Canadians said they felt that #KeepTheGrey brought attention to an important topic, and 80% of consumers said the campaign made them want to speak up if they were to ever witness ageism in the workplace.

Dove didn’t stop at helping to galvanize important change via the campaign, it also supported other organizations through donations.

Within the flurry of that weekend, the brand donated $100,000 to Catalyst Canada – a nonprofit that supports building workplaces for women through thought leadership and actionable solutions.

Producing an impactful campaign and donating money to a likeminded organization still didn’t seem like enough. The brand also reached out to the Ontario Human Rights Commission to see what else it could do for women so that they don’t face the same kind of discrimination LaFlamme was subjected to. This led to the brand being offered a seat on the advisory board so that it could continue fighting for women’s rights and representation in Canada.

“This is something that I’ve also been trying to lead while I’ve had reins of the brand in Canada for the past three years. Leaning into what we’re calling ourselves an ‘actions brand’ and continuing to take actions to the next level,” Douglas explains.

Beautifully done

Ogilvy congratulates our partners at Dove for being named a Strategy Brand of the Year.

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Another example of the brand taking action to spur change can be seen in “The Cost of Beauty,” a campaign that pointed to alarming data showing how social media is directly fueling a mental health crisis (see p.78-79 for more). Dove partnered with Canadian organizations to directly address the issue, providing support for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and its Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) network by developing virtual programming to drive early intervention and more inclusive access to

Above: Since it began its work 20 years ago, Dove has provided educational assets to 94 million young people across 150 countries – with a goal to reach a quarter billion by 2030.

care for youth struggling with mental health issues.

While ROI is certainly a consideration for the work Dove does, Douglas highlights that a lot of what pushes her and her team is the duty they have towards consumers. “There [is a lot of investment] to make sure that we continue doing what’s right for Canadian women and girls. And Unilever truly believes that brands with purpose, the ones that have these types of social missions are the ones that are leading our business.”

Congratulations Dove!

Once again, you’ve demonstrated the value of courage and purpose.

We are proud to be your media partner.

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REAL BEAUTY SHOULD BE CELEBRATED

Congratulations to our partners at Dove on being named a strategy Brand of the Year. We are proud to support your commitment to changing beauty standards.

“We were finally able to win our dream award.”

We are proud to have been named a 2023 Strategy Magazine Brand of the Year.

Thank you to our agency partners for helping us achieve this recognition.

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Pizza Pizza for the people

as “bold.” The chain was best known for a jingle that spelled out its phone number – “96-7, 11-11.” And, like much of the pizza QSR category, many of its ads were highly tactical, The QSR has been on a multi-year quest to redefine its image focusing on various promotions, sales and low without losing what made it successful over the last 50 years. prices, across TV, radio and flyers.

That tactical approach was very successful

BY JOSH KOLM for Pizza Pizza – it’s what helped turn a single Toronto pizzeria that opened on the last day of 1967 into the country’s biggest pizza chain, says senior director Even though Pizza Pizza only recently started talking about of marketing Amber Winters, who has worked at the company being a “pizza for the people,” it’s a brand mantra that rings true for the last two decades. But with competition intensifying from for anyone who grew up with the QSR in their hometown.

U.S. brands and a store footprint that was continuing to expand “Most people have had a bit of a gritty experience in a Pizza nationally, it was time for the Pizza Pizza brand to evolve and no Pizza,” says Adrian Fuoco, the company’s VP of marketing. “The longer rely on “the same tricks.” instinct might be to shy away from that because it could drag us “Everyone loves a good deal,” Winters says. “And you can make in the wrong direction... But it has also given us a bit of street that shine with really good creative. But there are other needs our cred. It’s the place that fed you when it was the only place open customers have that are pushing us in directions that we can now late at night, or where you hung out with your friends during explore better with this new platform.” lunch in high school. Everyone has come into a Pizza Pizza, and “If you’re just going to talk about the value of your pizza, anyone that’s a very inclusive vibe for us to lean into.” can do that,” Fuoco adds. “QSR pizza is somewhat commoditized, The new brand expression – “Everyone Deserves Pizza” Top: “Fixed-Rate Pizza” which is why everybody’s got all these deals out there. And that’s – has only been in market for a little over a year, but Fuoco offered Canadians a why it’s super difficult to stand out if you just keep cranking out a says it came from a desire to refresh the company’s marketing chance to lock in the different deal, because there’s already so much of that going on.” approach that predated his arrival in late 2019, following more price of an extra-large After enlisting Zulu Alpha Kilo as its creative agency in 2021, than four years at Boston Pizza. pizza for a full year.

Pizza Pizza went to work on the new strategy that attempted to zero Pizza Pizza’s marketing legacy is not what many would describe

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B in on what makes it different. “We’ve been around for years, and in a lot of towns. Wherever you turn, there’s a Pizza Pizza… We’re one of you, and we’re going to advocate on your behalf on things that matter to Canadians,” says Fuoco. With the new “Everyone Deserves Pizza” platform in place, the team looked for ways for the brand to be a part of the cultural conversation. Making pizza affordable was a good place to start.

Tapping into anxiety Canadians have about mortgage prices, interest rates and inflation, “Fixed-Rate Pizza” offered them a chance to lock in the price of an extra-large pizza for a full year, complete with a cheeky application form that redirected consumers to an online ordering page.

The campaign was so successful that Pizza Pizza decided to build on the idea. It worked with Zulu Alpha Kilo to quickly put together TV spots that spoofed financial infomercials, adding in an even stronger brand sell. “Fixed-Rate Pizza” is now the most popular promotion Pizza Pizza has ever run, and was extended until the end of 2023.

“What was such a beautiful thing as a marketer is that the creative broke through and people liked it, but the deal itself became a big seller and money-maker for us,” he says. “I think that’s the golden jewel for a retailer, when you can find something that people respond to that does a good job of driving sustained business.”

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Top: The “Dip Roller” promoted Pizza Pizza’s dipping sauce, one of its most popular menu items.

Above: The QSR’s ”Everyone Deserves Pizza” campaign celebrated all types of people who enjoy its pies.

While Pizza Pizza looked to evolve its marketing beyond tactical work, that didn’t mean leaving value- and promotionfocused messaging behind entirely. Instead, the brand approached it in a way that laddered up to a more resonant brand identity. For example, last summer Pizza Pizza shifted its sights to “shrinkflation” – a practice where a product is reduced in size or quality while the price stays the same – launching the “Growflation Pizza,” which offered a medium pizza for the same price as a small – equating to 44% more pizza.

But the “Everyone Deserves Pizza” platform is about more than price. A month after first offering “Fixed-Rate Pizza,” another campaign debuted that turned its pizza into pie charts that encapsulated all the kinds of people who are worthy of its food – regardless of how they pronounce “Toronto” or what kind of car they can afford.

Pizza Pizza followed with other executions that showed its appreciation for everyone who comes into its restaurant. For Valentine’s Day, for example, the QSR helped those who often get overlooked during the holiday by renaming itself “Pizza” and offering free slices to single people. It also introduced a “Dip Roller” that tapped into the fact that dipping sauce – something rarely mentioned in pizza marketing – was both one of Pizza Pizza’s most popular menu items and a major driver of purchase consideration.

“Doing something like offering 25% off on Valentine’s Day doesn’t seem to drive the same interest,” Fuoco says. “But it’s also the kind of thing anyone can replicate, so the bigger thing is that there has to be some kind of shared purpose and connection between everything. You’re not just doing random stunts for the sake of it.”

In addition to rethinking its approach to storytelling, Pizza Pizza also reconsidered what media channels to use. Fuoco says that flyers, for example, are still effective. But Canada’s population is growing alongside Pizza Pizza’s national footprint, so effectively producing enough flyers has become much more expensive. So, the brand is rolling back its flyer program, still delivering enough so it can realize its benefits, but redirecting some of that budget to other media (including TikTok) and technology (such as data or the Pizza Pizza app to make its CRM messages more effective).

Through the first half of 2023, Pizza Pizza’s same-store sales were up 12.4% year-over-year. In 2022, same-store sales were up 17.8%. Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, the company has refocused on expansion. With over 730 Pizza Pizza restaurants in Canada, the company plans to continue restaurant expansion by 3% to 4%, while also continuing a renovation program for existing stores.

“There’s almost an expectation that you will get great deals from Pizza Pizza,” Winters says. “When we noticed the lift in traffic, we started moving in new directions with our marketing.

But even though it is more compelling, it is also more of a challenge to set yourself apart. Even if there is a constant acceleration of pace, we can now use that to our advantage to work quickly and keep ourselves interesting.”

We raise a dip cup to Pizza Pizza on being named a Brand of the Year.

From all of your friends and partners at Media Experts and Zulu Zulu.

Decathlon plays well with others The French sporting goods retailer is using value-centric messaging to boost its Canadian fortunes. BY CHRISTOPHER LOMBARDO

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Despite boasting 1,600 stores globally, French sports retailer Decathlon had little brand recognition when it first arrived in Canada in 2018. It had to maneuver its way into a mature sporting goods market already comprised of Canadian Tire, Sport Chek and Sporting Life Group – which have hundreds of stores and a combined century’s worth of brand history – yet the company has managed to thrive.

Mary-Lou Blais, Decathlon’s director of communications, says the brand succeeded by being focused on its mission to be accessible to all – selling sports/leisure equipment and apparel that caters to budget-conscious families, with marketing that inspires active lifestyles across generations. “We’re trying to play our own game. We’re not trying to take anybody’s position, we [just] want people to move more,” she says.

“The idea is to help Canadians have access to sport,” adds Stephane Fasquel, Decathlon’s digital leader for ecommerce, communication, and marketing, touting the breadth of its merchandise

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Above: To boost brand recognition in the GTA, Decathlon offered a $50 discount toward the purchase of a new ride to cyclists whose bike had been stolen, among other perks.

that includes affordable category-spanning products from backpacks and lunchboxes to camping equipment. The company also prides itself on stocking less traditional sporting items too, like ones related to archery or ballet.

Decathlon has 16 locations and plans to expand at a four-store-per-year clip. And it’s the retailer’s “destination stores,” where touching and using the merch is both expected and encouraged, that Faquel says has helped grow the brand. Its 63,000-square-foot space at Calgary’s Southcentre Mall boasts warehouse robots that not only expedite ecommerce orders as a micro fulfilment centre, but allows the retailer to focus more resources on customer support and its showrooms. The store, which also includes a gym and basketball court, essentially functions like a sporting goods IKEA.

B Right and next page: Decathlon has stayed true to its mission to be accessible to all through its “Keep It Simple” campaign; the retailer’s “Ability Signs” reimagined the International Symbol of Access.

Other Decathlon stores position themselves as “destinations” too. Its Eaton Centre location in downtown Toronto held an interactive event demonstrating its inflatable kayaks, while its Vaughan, Ontario store hosted an “intro to camping” session, inviting users en masse to try out its tents.

Decathlon has also referred to its stores, not surprisingly, as “influence zones.” And rather than blasting a new market with an ad campaign announcing each store’s opening, it selects marketing tactics and activities best suited to a store’s particular region. For example, when its Toronto Union Station concept store opened last year, the retailer tailored it to suburban commuters by offering a “connection point to seasonal services like skate sharpening and bike repair from our growing network of flagship GTA stores.”

“We wanted to test a very convenient store location… and the foot traffic is like having a billboard in downtown Toronto,” Blais says. The store is a “testing ground” as part of Decathlon’s ongoing experimentation, and Blais admits it is still tweaking the retail “recipe.”

Despite having data to draw upon from the 60 markets in which it operates, Blais says the retailer is “still in the testing and analyzing era” when it comes to its marketing in Canada. She says outside of Quebec – the jurisdiction where it has best resonated thanks to language affinity – it is actively experimenting with different media mixes and approaches, to see what sticks where.

For example, to boost brand recognition in the GTA, Decathlon ran large billboards boasting “we’re in a league of our own to help you own your own league,” touting itself as a “new kind of sports store.” Its online and OOH-led “Play it Smart” campaign also made very basic claims about value and being “smart” about purchasing sporting equipment. In one of the ads, nothing more than a bouncing ball and a tennis racket with a conspicuous “$65” beside it was shown.

And, while the bulk of its messaging is simple, the brand also looks for ways to be bold. For instance, in Toronto, the country’s bike theft capital, Decathlon ran a unique summer campaign that showcased its cycling products.

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Working with Rethink, it released creative of grainy surveillance footage of thieves literally making off like bandits and offered a $50 discount toward the purchase of a new ride to people who could prove their bike had been stolen. In addition, the brand devised blue cut-outs with QR codes placed in bike racks and posted ads on Facebook Marketplace and bike sharing platforms. It is one of the ways Decathlon, with support from PR agency 1Milk2Sugars, has been more public-facing in its marketing. The motivation for the campaign was acknowledging

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a common pain point, and showing how the retailer can help, Fasquel says.

The bike theft campaign and “Play it Smart,” which ran concurrently, have paid major dividends. According to brand insights, 53% of survey respondents searched for Decathlon online after seeing the campaigns, with a 475% increase in engagement on its social channels. The campaigns boosted Decathlon familiarity by 12% and snagged an NPS score of +50.

The brand’s mission is to offer affordable products, with accessibility being a longstanding corporate value, which is also reflected in its marketing. For instance, Decathlon and Rethink’s Cannes Gold Lion-winning “Ability Signs,” inspired by the country’s 2020 Paralympic team, gained the company global recognition for a campaign that was birthed in Canada.

The icons (which reimagined the International Symbol of Access by incorporating different sports from tennis to volleyball) earned 227 million organic impressions and it was the most shared social campaign in Decathlon’s history. This fall, the brand made the “Ability Signs” available under a Creative Commons license.

“We hire people with physical disabilities in our stores, in our warehouse or in other teams and it’s something we did prior to [the campaign] and is being done in other parts of the world,” Blais says, noting that the accessibility messaging “is true to who we are.”

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Nominate them (or yourself) for the ultimate Brand, Media or Agency recognition.

Deadline: November 30, 2023

https://newestablishment.strategyonline.ca/2024/nominate.html

Porta’s grand plan The pasta and pizza specialist is reimagining itself as a North American omnichannel CPG brand.

BY JUSTIN CRANN

When you think about the hottest thing in the frozen food business, your mind might not immediately wander to pizza or pasta – a space long since cornered in grocery by major international CPG brands. But Toronto-based Porta, launched by Italian restaurant brand Terroni in 2021, has been succeeding in stealing some of the limelight. With more than 500,000 meals delivered in Ontario in its first year, and more than 700,000 this year, the brand is also stocked in nearly 100 grocery stores across the country, including Longo’s and Organic Garage. The brand’s winning recipe is a simple one, according to general manager Jason Cassidy. “You often hear others reference restaurant quality, and we’ve been screaming that from day one. That’s because we are restaurants,” he explains, citing Porta co-founder Cosimo Mammoliti’s many culinary pursuits, which also include Sud Forno and Spaccio. “Porta is restaurant-quality Italian, and we don’t plan to veer from that.” The brand built its business in the directto-consumer channel first, launching a “curated” offering with a menu of eight pizzas, eight pastas and four desserts. That menu quickly expanded with new innovations as the brand learned more about what its customers enjoy, through frequent surveys and social media, Cassidy says. Now, more than 30 items are offered by the brand, including an array of risottos, four breakfast pastries and seasonal offerings. While the early years have brought almost meteoric growth for the brand, Porta is positioning itself for even greater scale. “A year from now, I’d like people to think of Porta as a North American omnichannel CPG brand with multiple products in multiple categories,” he says.

Birch Bark Coffee, brewed with purpose The brand has become a mainstay for Millennial and Gen Z consumers. BY CHRISTOPHER LOMBARDO Ojibway-owned and Ottawa-based Birch Bark Coffee is the brainchild of Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow, a Band member of Whitefish River First Nation. He started Birch Bark Coffee in 2018 as a simple Shopify play, but when the ecommerce platform highlighted the brand during National Indigenous History Month, several small businesses took notice and started carrying it, followed by larger Ottawa-area grocery banners. Now, Birch Bark’s most popular blend, Inukshuk, can be found in Costco stores across Central and Eastern Canada. When he first started, MarsolaisNahwegahbow admits he spent a “little bit of money” on advertising and persevered through belief in himself as an entrepreneur. Now, the business is thriving.

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Marsolais-Nahwegahbow says Millennial and Gen Z consumers “really care what’s behind a product,” and have gravitated to Birch Bark Coffee, which exists to make a difference by using 100% organic, Fair Trade Arabica coffee, produced by Indigenous farmers. A recent partnership with another purpose-driven brand, Chapman’s, has also helped drive awareness. Earlier this year, the ice-cream brand launched a super-premium line, with packaging designed by Ukraine’s 360 Branding, whose owner, Elena Fedorenko, is a war refugee. Birch Bark also works with True North Aid, a charity that provides humanitarian support to Northern and remote Indigenous communities, as well as international non-profit Life From Water.

B B RA N DS TO WATC H

Sobrii’s sober spirits How Canada’s first NoLo spirits brand is carving out the health market.

BY JENNIFER HORN Teetotallers who like the taste of beer are spoiled for choice. There isn’t a lager, ale, craft, stout or pilsner out there that hasn’t been dealcoholized. On the other hand, those abstaining from alcohol who like the taste of spirits have been left pretty much stranded. That was until Bob Huitema came onto the scene. The Stratford, Ontario entrepreneur from a farming family spent several years working in the food and beverage industry at companies like Kraft Heinz, Diageo and Timothy’s. Drawing on that experience and his time exploring non-alcoholic spirits in the U.K., Huitema developed Sobrii 0-Gin, Canada’s first distilled gin that contains all the flavour, but none of the alcohol. More than that, it’s products are also free from

artificial flavours, sugars, sweetners and calories. And soon, it will be free from preservatives too. The brand, owned by parent co. DistillX Beverages, will potentially then be able to stock its products in places like Whole Foods, where it’s been a harder sell for Sobrii, says Huitema. “Non-alcoholic spirits use food preservatives, and a lot of places like Whole Foods don’t accept them. So what I’ve done, over the last six months, is reformulated our products, making us the first in the market to remove preservatives.” Distribution of Sobrii is across Canada and in parts of the U.S., with its dealcoholized gin and, more recently, tequila, seen in specialty stores like Pusateri’s, Market Fresh and Well.ca. Next, Sobrii plans to launch a whiskey and a rum SKU, as well as a ready-to-drink (RTD) product that will be priced more affordably and allow the brand to expand its consumer base. “Our gin bottles sell for around for $35; the RTDs will be in the $12 to $15 range, so it’s a more affordable buy, and retailers like it better,” he says. “There’s really no reason we can’t replicate the spirits-in-a-can trend on the non-alcoholic side, and use our advantages in terms of our brand position: where the RTD will be no sugar, no calories, no preservatives, but all the fun.”

Ciele blends form with function The brand’s iconic cap has become a staple for the running community. BY SHEIMA BENEMBERAK “It’s cee-elle-ay. However, we’re very comfortable with people pronouncing it differently,” clarifies Dan Marrett, director of global marketing and business development at Ciele Athletics. Before co-founding the Montreal-based brand in 2014, Jeremy Bresnen began running eight kilometres to work as a way to improve his physical and mental health.

A problem arose when he couldn’t find a hat that could be worn during a run and then afterwards, for example, when he met up with friends. Bresnen realized there was an opportunity for more curated running apparel and so he partnered up with entrepreneur Mike Giles to create a hat that offered a balance of both function and fashion. And while you can purchase a range of running apparel, footwear and accessories today, the duo first launched the business with the Ciele GoCap Standard – a one style hat, available in four colours. The brand went from producing 600 caps (144 of each colour) in its first

year to over 1 million to date. And in April, it opened a brick-and-mortar flagship store in the heart of Montreal’s Griffintown neighbourhood called espace MTL. The store displays Ciele’s entire collection, but it also serves as a meeting place for like-minded people. “We have a few couches, a water refill station, cubbies and lockers. We have eight run clubs that are running out of there on a regular basis each week,” says Marrett. “It provides us with a physical space where we can engage with the running community.” The brand’s functionfirst, fashion-forward products are eye-catching and iconic in their own right. And whether you know how to say the brand’s name correctly or not, it’s safe to say that you can’t walk down Montreal’s SainteCatherine street without catching a glimpse of a Ciele running hat.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR if you were hunting for a theme for this year’s Agency of the Year awards, maybe it’s got something to do with finding the right balance.

After all, it’s not just about the prettiest creative or a clever turn of phrase anymore. It’s about being aware of what impact you’re having, and whether you can do better. More than ever before, it’s about understanding the bigger picture and finding a place where you belong.

Really, it’s about asking questions you never thought to ask before – sometimes uncomfortable questions – and thinking about things in new ways. And not just for novelty’s sake, but because we’re not who we were a decade ago, or the decade before that.

Canada is changing and it’s time the industry changes with it.

Hell, maybe we can even lead the charge?

And that’s not dismissing the incredible power of pretty creative or clever words. It’s about understanding their influence.

It’s about recognizing that when brands and agencies work together they can do special things. When they put their minds to it, they can be inspirational.

This year’s report is a who’s-who of agencies and creatives who have done special things, for clients who really understand the special needs of their consumers.

Decided by jury members from brands and agencies (check them out starting on p.80), strategy’s 2023 Agency of the Year winners are divided into six categories, representing a new crop of gold medalists – some familiar, some new to the top of the podium.

It’s time again to celebrate the best of a truly remarkable Canadian industry.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AGENCY | GOLD + DESIGN | GOLD + DIGITAL | SILVER + PR | SILVER and that’s down,’ or you can find a higher mountain.” And finding more mountains to climb is in line with the Rethink way.

When the agency was founded back in 1999, its founders – Chris Staples, Ian Grais and Tom Shepansky, who were working at a big network at the time – were rethinking where they wanted to spend their time and careers. They wondered whether they were living the values they believed in. The answer came back as a clear “No.” And so Rethink was born – a place to reconsider your priorities, a place that puts people first, an independent agency that encourages its people to reimagine the way the work is done. “[Rethink is] a powerful word.

Everything we do comes down to that word. It can be rethinking strategy, rethinking ways of getting insights, how to tackle creative processes, how to do it all differently – rethinking the way things have always been done,” Starkman shares. “We’ve set the tone for what a lot of agencies are pursuing these days,” McDonald nods in agreement, “it’s based on a visceral dissatisfaction with the status quo.”

Rethink is clear about its mission, which is “to inspire more believers by doing the best work of our careers and being the example all creative organizations want to emulate,” says Starkman. “The agency is laser-focused on this vision, but it isn’t stingy about it. Rethink’s secret sauce is available to all in a book called Rethink the Business of Creativity by Grais, Shepansky and Staples. “We’re giving away our best ideas.

We don’t keep them to ourselves,” adds Starkman. Rethink encourages the rest of the industry to follow the agency’s path and avoid meetings on Mondays (which push people to work on the weekends) or add built-in rest time through things like its Independence Week so that the entire organization gets additional time off (winter holidays shouldn’t be the only time people get a break).

Rethinkers don’t believe in the status quo

BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK

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hat do you do next when you’re at the top?

Jerry Seinfeld’s answer to that very question was to end his immensely popular show Seinfeld in 1998, despite the NBC promise of a US$5 million-per-episode salary. He wanted his work to remain forever etched in time as the best.

But Rethink’s global CCO, partner Aaron Starkman and global CSO, partner Sean McDonald have no intention of closing up shop just because their leading creative agency has been sitting at the peak of the mountain and winning awards for the last several years. “Rethinkers aren’t satisfied with being at the top,” Starkman explains.

“You can look at it as ‘There’s only one way left to go

Rethink’s work is known for having penetrated the cultural zeitgeist. The agency has embraced being at the intersection of earned media, social and content development. It’s now a forte. A couple of years ago, anticipating this trend, the agency brought in PR lead Meredith Montgomery (who previously worked at comms firms like Ketchum and Hill & Knowlton) to establish and manage its “brand narrative” work.

“We’ve got an exceedingly strong internal editorial and production group with a disposition towards earned media,” McDonald explains. This ensures that Rethink is telling consistent stories against the brand strategy. It works with clients like A&W, Tangerine and others to tell their story through content, media relations and social in an ongoing day-to-day fashion.

CASES | AGENCY

When its comes to investments in capabilities, emerging technology isn’t an obsession. “Everybody wants to talk about AI and digital and tech, but one of our biggest developments is our Rethinker experience group. This group looks at the training and the support that Rethinkers are getting,” McDonald says.

Rethink has turned inward and made improvements with regards to how it inspires its talent, bringing in external speakers to help amplify their thinking and programs that offer employee support. AI isn’t replacing human creativity, the agency’s CCO believes. “AI can create an adequate rip-o-matic, it can do average work. It’s using existing ads to do that. And it’s important that an agency is not just doing adequate work or work that is familiar.

We’re striving to be not just adequate, but exceptional.”

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1. Creating cultural understanding

KitKat celebrated Ramadan’s daily Iftar break with a special 30-piece KitKat Iftar Bar, aligning the brand with the Muslim community’s traditions. The culturally-led campaign highlighted the holiday’s significance and also offered a digital fasting tracker. The Iftar Bar, with its lunar calendarinspired packaging, was supported by Muslim influencers, creating buzz and generating over two million impressions in just seven days.

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2. For Tangerine, Rethink tackled banking complexities with a simple, disruptive “Hoops” campaign, highlighting the unnecessary hurdles consumers need to jump through to do their banking.

3. IKEA Canada’s “Bring Home to Life” campaign highlighted homes as emotional sanctuaries. Rethink created a touching hero spot and “Window Shopping” OOH displays to showcase the power of home and its emotional connections.

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4. “Ketchup Fraud” aimed to reaffirm Heinz’s unmatched status by exposing restaurants refilling the brand’s bottles with generic ketchup.

The tagline? “Even when it isn’t Heinz, it has to be Heinz.”

5. Rethink and Scotiabank’s The Hockey Jersey promoted diversity in hockey. The campaign, endorsed by figures like PK Subban, is being utilized in schools and libraries to shape hockey perceptions for the next generation.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AGENCY | GOLD + DESIGN | GOLD + DIGITAL | SILVER + PR | SILVER to likeminded organizations that are trying to make hockey 1 accessible, benefitting over 290,000 youth.

Rethink expanded on this program with a children’s book called The Hockey Jersey – written by the author of acclaimed Gutter Child, Jael Richardson and twelve-year-old hockey player Eva Perron. The book, released in January 2023, features children from underrepresented communities playing hockey – because, when you see yourself on the page, you can see yourself in the game.

“The book has been distributed massively, starting with Indigo, across the country,” says McDonald. “My daughters have it in their school’s CASES | DESIGN library and they’ve talked about it. I don’t think there’s a piece of work – and we’ve been a part 1 of a lot – that is so meaningful and so important for a bank and a league.” All the net proceeds of the book sales go to an organization that provides newcomers and high-priority youth with free onand off-ice life skills programs. Since its launch, Scotiabank has donated an additional 8,500 copies of the book to public libraries.

But that is just one recent piece of work that Rethink has done that feels vital and influential.

Another was collaborating with Decathlon to change the international symbol for accessibility starting in their parking lots. The symbols represented a variety of different abilities. Helping contribute to a better world, as Starkman and McDonalds confirm, 2 1. For Heinz Ketchup, Rethink partnered with is just part of the job at this agency. thredUP to create a thrifted fashion collection stained To make sure they stick to their values and with Heinz ketchup. Launched during New York Fashion Week, the zero-waste collection offered mission, there is a system in place. CRAFTS is an a sustainable design alternative, with proceeds acronym embodying Rethink’s creative principles: donated to Rise Against Hunger.

C is for clear, R is for relevant, A is for achievable, 2. Rethink and La Maison Grise used Halloween F is for fresh, T is for true and S is for shareable. to spotlight domestic abuse with “Fear Windows,” If the work they’re doing passes the CRAFTS test, decals depicting real violence in high-risk Montreal neighbourhoods. It aimed to challenge perceptions then Rethink knows it won’t be ignored. Rethink’s of femicide as entertainment in Halloween movies. creative principles ensures its work makes a difference, which then generates more interesting For Rethink’s Design Campaign of the Year, see p.78-79. opportunities. For example, the purpose-led campaigns Rethink has built for Scotiabank and others have attracted the likes of Telus and Destination Canada. better, down to grassroots level efforts.”

“What’s exciting for us is that leveraging our ability to connect “Hockey For All” recognizes that the Canadian sport has with culture and outperform the media investment, begets other not been diverse or inclusive for far too long. In practice, it’s a opportunities to make a difference,” McDonalds adds, “and that is sponsorship program that helps fund organizations that believe very motivating for Rethinkers.” in Scotiabank’s commitment of making hockey a sport that But if the two were to impart some business wisdom accrued is truly for all Canadians (focusing on cultural and financial through experience, it’s that the humans involved are just as initiatives). The concept was generated within the agency, and important as the work being done. They encourage all creatives to then actualized in a programmatic way by the bank. look inward and “work as hard on yourself as you do on the work.”

“Hockey For All,” in its first year in 2021, donated $3 million In true fashion, Rethink likes to work with clients that are equally obsessed with living their values.

“We have the pleasure of working with Scotiabank’s global CMO Laura Curtis Ferrera and being part of an initiative that helps align their hockey sponsorship. It’s significant and important to Scotiabank, to the NHL and to Canadian hockey fans and players,” McDonald says of the bank’s “Hockey For All” program. “They have stood by their values all the way from challenging the NHL to get

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CASES | DIGITAL NEW BUSINESS Tangerine, FritoLay, Telus, Yves Rocher, Bibigo, Epidemic Sound Béatrice, ATCO Energy, United Way BC

CASES | PR 1. Teaching an old dog new tricks

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Rethink helped A&W revive the Whistle Dog in response to repeated fan requests. Working with a limited budget, they leveraged loyal fans’ songs and other elements (not to mention a Change.org petition) to make a splash. A surprise on-air delivery of the Whistle Dog to superfans, a documentary, and a partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays helped generate buzz.

OFFICES Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, New York.

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334 1. Want fries with that painful conversation?

Rethink and McCain introduced the “Distractifry” to showcase its fry category leadership and promote family togetherness during the holidays. The voice-activated device dispenses fries when triggered by awkward family conversation topics, redirecting contentious dinner discussions.

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2. To counter declining sales, Philadelphia and Rethink launched a digital drop of “Schmear Socks,” hijacking the hype around Nike’s Montreal Bagel Dunks. Available in three styles, the socks were sold exclusively on Instagram, reigniting brand love among younger consumers.

3. The “Heinz A.I. Ketchup” campaign leveraged AI imagery to prove Heinz is synonymous with ketchup. The campaign crowd-sourced image prompts on social and featured the generated images in newspaper, OOH ads and special edition Heinz bottles.

2. To challenge stereotypes, Rethink and the Ordre des infirmières du Québec launched the “Real Nurse Costume,” featuring authentic scrubs, PPE and a stethoscope. Shoppers who searched the term “sexy nurse costume” online would find the “Real Nurse Costume,” which was also displayed in one of Montreal’s largest and most popular costume stores in the lead-up to Halloween.

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3. YWCA Metro Vancouver spotlighted underreported intimate partner violence-related concussions in women through the “Concussion Story” PSA featuring Trevor Linden. The Rethink campaign fueled discussions about domestic violence and garnered support from BC’s Lieutenant Governor.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AGENCY | SILVER + DESIGN | BRONZE + DIGITAL | BRONZE

Zulu’s creative vision comes alive

BY JENNIFER HORN

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ak Mroueh can see the forest for the trees. No more digging through the weeds. No more sweating the small stuff. He’s slowly stripped himself of his CCO and CEO hats, stepped into the role of creative chairman, and is now, simply, a leader with a vision.

“My job is to select the projects I want to focus on, jump in as needed, and coach, mentor and support our creative leaders,” the Zulu Alpha Kilo founder tells strategy.

“When I started the agency 15 years ago,” he goes on, “I set the creative vision of what we wanted to become. And now we’re really seeing it unfold. We haven’t achieved everything.

However, one part of the two-paragraph vision was to have global clients want to come to us to solve their challenges – and that’s happening.”

Mroueh is talking, in part, about when his agency made Canadian advertising history. Earlier this year it became one of the first Canadian independents to have a homegrown commercial air during the American broadcast of the SuperBowl. The spot was for Amsterdam-based client Booking. com, and a big contributor to the campaign’s success was the leadership team that he – alongside CEO Mike Sutton – handpicked and empowered to take the reins.

The Melissa McCarthy-starring spot (see sidebar) was

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developed in close quarters with the New York, Toronto and Vancouver offices. Each outpost is autonomously managed by a set of high-ranking creative, design and strategy officers – Jenny Glover, Brian Murray, Stephanie Yung, Heather Segal and Maxine Thomas in TO; Addie Gillispie in VAN; and former Droga5 creative leader Tim Gordon in NYC – and each have been playing a key part in helping to grow Zulu’s revenue by 42% over the last year.

“The new business has been crazy,” says Moureh.

“We’ve turned down a shitload of pitches, but we’ve still grown… Creatively, we’re firing on all cylinders.”

It probably also doesn’t hurt that Mroueh hired a CMO to work directly with him to build the agency’s

brand globally. Christine McNab was brought on to explore opportunities outside of Canada, which could soon include Europe as Mroueh hints at potential expansion plans there. Not only is McNab supporting the agency’s vision to go global, she’s also helping to shape other growth areas, from its production offering Zulubot to media innovation and CX capabilities.

Between the end of 2022 and mid-2023, Zulu Alpha Kilo made 20 hires across all three of its offices for roles in client services, creative, design, strategic planning and production. It also got into the business of media with newly launched Zulumatic Media, a digitally led division that’s geared towards finding stronger connections between creativity and media.

CASES | AGENCY 1. Road trip!

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Zulu created Booking.com’s “Somewhere, Anywhere” campaign (featuring Melissa McCarthy) to celebrate the joy of vacation planning – something that just wasn’t possible during the pandemic. Airing during the Super Bowl, the successful North American campaign also resonated internationally, showcasing its global appeal.

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2. Pizza Pizza and the agency introduced “Fixed-Rate Pizza,” playing off traditional late-night 1-800 ads. The campaign created buzz with no price cuts or new menu items.

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3. HomeEquity Bank’s “Digital Poppy” campaign sent 300 soldiers’ letters to their original addresses, raising awareness and funds for Canadian veterans via QR code donations.

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4. D2L and Zulu’s “Unstandardized Desk,” designed for varied learning styles, showcased its commitment to personalized education, boosting brand awareness and sparking conversations.

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5. Sephora’s “Illumination” campaign celebrated Canada’s diversity, showcasing 140,000 skin tones with Colour iQ technology, highlighting beauty, inclusion and business growth.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AGENCY | SILVER + DESIGN | BRONZE + DIGITAL | BRONZE CASES | DESIGN 1. Learning new tricks

Zulu Alpha Kilo rebranded DNA My Dog to position it as a credible guide for pet parents, focusing on diet, activities and behaviour.

The strategy combined playful and scientific elements, and featured a logo with genetic dots, bright colours and playful photography.

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2. Zulu previously unveiled “The Micropedia of Microaggressions,” the first-ever encyclopedia of these subtle yet harmful slights. A follow-up to this was the “Worn Down by Words” art exhibit, which depicted their emotional impact in workplaces and schools.

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3. For the Vancouver Island Ferry Company, the shop reimagined the Vancouver-Nanaimo ferry journey with a focus on ease. Inspired by the Salish Sea, the new brand design featured a unique, waterline-dipping wordmark.

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That division is being led by Alicia Petralia, who joined in April to manage a team of five staffers, with plans to grow even more. Also this year, the agency picked up high-profile brand accounts with the likes of Sephora, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Campbell’s in the U.S. Mroueh believes that marketers are seeking Zulu’s services because of its reputation for “transformative work,” based on its foundational platform work for Bell when the agency first formed back in 2007.

For example, Pizza Pizza, a brand that was once very “conservative” with its advertising, says Mroueh, is on a mission to reinvent itself and turned to Zulu to help it along that path via campaigns that go against the pizza QSR grain (see p.35-36).

“Clients see the agency as one that’s disrupting categories. And so they come to us when they want to disrupt their own,” adds Mroueh.

Meanwhile, Sutton points to the firm’s “breadth and diversity of what a creative solution looks like” as the reason clients are knocking on Zulu’s doors.

“Clients tend to see us as an innovation agency,” thanks to work like the prototype school desk it created for D2L, the AI-led experiential platform it developed for Sephora, the NYC fire hydrants that it turned into mini water parks for non-profit Street Labs, and the experiments it conducted on how music impacts spending for Interac. “What I’m hearing from brands is that a lot of what we create doesn’t look like the quintessential creative solution,” adds Sutton.

Innovation also comes from the agency’s expertise in the digital and social realm, which it’s been fine-tuning for a couple years now, working closely with Snapchat as its official production partner for its augmented reality (AR) lenses. Zulu produces lenses for Snap’s

CASES | DIGITAL 1

1. CSR in the metaverse

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The shop created “Homes For Heroes,” a virtual village in Decentraland’s metaverse to fundraise for real homes for veterans. Done in partnership with Homes for Heroes, the campaign was the first corporate social responsibility initiative in Decentraland, connecting the metaverse with a real-world problem.

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2. Campbell’s “Mega Bites Not MegaBytes” promoted Goldfish for adults using nostalgia, and introduced larger sizes and new flavours. Mega Bites Mountain, a gaming experience in Decentraland, also marked Goldfish’s debut in the metaverse.

3. Zulu and Interac’s “Sound Shopping” campaign aimed to improve millennial spending habits. It was shared on streaming platforms and social media.

brand partners, like Disney, Hulu and Starbucks, so that the experiences are tailor-made for Canadian audiences. “We’re Canada’s first production partner for Snap. Nobody really knows that,” says Mroueh. “But we’ve produced over 100 lenses in the past year.”

As its pool of talent, capabilities and clients continue to grow, so too does its footprint and the need for leaders like Mroueh and Sutton to “spread and build the Zulu culture across borders,” says the CEO, who recently completed a leadership and performance coaching certificate at George Brown University. “I think we’ve realized that the future of the agency requires us to build leaders across the offices.”

That cross-pollination of Zulu’s culture, teams and work is a part of the agency’s philosophy, says Mroueh.

Although it has different locations, the team of 181 will always operate as one.

“Healthy competition is good,” he says of the reality of the ad business, where there’s no escaping territorial behaviour in agencies that have multiple offices. “But when we work on a project,” whether that’s pitching for new work or a building out a cross-border campaign, “I always set the ground rules at the begining: we’re here to support each other.”

When asked how the shop plans to maintain its indie spirit alive while growing its brand globally, Sutton says it will use Zulu’s innate decisive nature to its advantage.

“As companies get bigger, they can sometimes be paralyzed with decision-making. But what we’ve had to do is empower the leaders coming into our offices to have that same decisive spirit… as well as that accountability of carrying Zulu’s entrepreneurial spirit forward.”

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AGENCY | BRONZE

McCann’s one big diverse family

BY CHRIS LOMBARDO

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t’s said that you can’t choose family, but McCann is proving naysayers wrong.

In fact, according to president Ryan Timms, it’s successfully leaned on its chosen “family” of agencies to execute campaigns, using the help of data crunchers at MRM, PR pros at Weber Shandwick, production experts at Craft, media mavens at Initiative and sponsorship specialists at Momentum.

McCann’s expertise, he says, spans multiple capabilities and regions. By virtue of its size, the agency is able to have conversations with those headquartered in other geographies to get a better sense of where a market or category is headed.

“Having that global view nowadays is very helpful,” Timms notes.

A compelling advantage of its agency

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network is also seen in its ability to work across capabilities. That means being able to cross-pollinate ideas and apply learnings, what Timms calls “McCann’s superpower.”

“French Toast Guy,” for the Wendy’s brand, is one of its more successful collaborative efforts, with the shop’s network partners in both media and production banding together to pull off a viral stunt. The QSR confused Toronto subway commuters when they spotted an unassuming traveller who set up his own fine dining table on a subway train, complete with French toast, maple syrup, a tablecloth and a tucked-in napkin.

Initiative, part of the McCann network, leveraged its partnerships with media properties to “shift the narrative in the press from ‘Who is French Toast Guy?’ to

‘Why Wendy’s was behind it.’ Initiative was crucial in making that happen,” says Timms.

When footage of the subway diner began to circulate online, McCann called on its partners at Craft Worldwide to edit footage in real-time and create platform-specific posts for social. “Having them on hand allowed us to move as fast as Canadians did for their interest in ‘French Toast Guy.’” And interest was considerable: the campaign earned 25.6M impressions in the first week, reaching 243M people. Wendy’s breakfast sales increased 30%, driven largely by in-app orders, which increased by 74.8%.

Mastercard’s “True Name” campaign, aimed at directly addressing deadnaming and allowing transgender people to use their chosen name on their cards,

NEW BUSINESS Norwell Acadian Plant Health, Skyscanner, PetroCanada, Phillips Brewery, ATCO Energy, Hockey Diversity Alliance, Calgary Board of Education, Melanoma Canada NEW HIRES Fernando Salvador Hoyos, Stef Fabich, Andrew Brown, Megan Hardisty, Laura Rodriguez, Ben Archer OFFICES Calgary, Montreal, Toronto STAFF

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is another example of cross-agency collaboration.

The work first emerged out of McCann’s New York office, with McCann XBC rebranding a popular LGBTQ+ neighbourhood in Manhattan’s West Village as “Acceptance Street,” complete with “Nonbinary Street,” “Gay Street” and others. Mastercard garnered over two billion impressions in the first three weeks of the campaign, including 15M impressions on Snapchat from consumers engaging with and sharing more than three million custom filters.

“Canada was the next market to follow,” Timms explains. “Because McCann leads Mastercard in the U.S. (and around the world) we were able to work closely with the team in NYC, learning from what they did and applying that to our launch efforts and ultimately producing something truly powerful.”

The Canadian work, which included a video featuring transgender people describing the difficulties they’ve faced when it comes to deadnaming, generated more than 8.1 million impressions through earned media and a 29.9 million reach via social.

But the agency’s success is not just in being able to work with and across a diverse set of agency partners. Having in-office diversity, Timms says, has also gone a long way in helping McCann ensure clients get the right solutions.

He cites the agency’s work to rejuvenate Kids Help Phone as an example. McCann refreshed its brand identity and positioning, and launched its biggest fundraising drive in support of youth mental health in Canadian history.

“Being able to assemble a very diverse team around KHP’s needs ensured that we brought the right diversity of perspective to our work,” he says. Since launch, internal metrics revealed that 80% of youth believe that KHP understands and is relevant to the country’s diverse population – an 11-point lift vs pre-launch.

Timms shares that McCann “rigorously” measures its staff composition to make sure it’s diverse and reflects Toronto, and that the agency is part of the federal government’s workplace equity program. He does, however, concede that one of the biggest challenges it faces today is having better Indigenous representation – something it’s particularly focused on.

A diverse workforce, which can call upon members of its “family” for assistance, means McCann can address the needs of any brand.

CASES 1. Show how much you care

McCann and the Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation illuminated the tireless, often invisible, work of eight million family caregivers in Canada with “24 Hours of Care.” The groundbreaking 24-hour digital caregiving experience offered an intimate view into the daily challenges and triumphs faced by real caregivers, providing empathy and insight.

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2. To boost breakfast sales for Wendy’s, McCann launched a humorous campaign featuring “#FrenchToastGuy” eating breakfast on a Toronto subway.

The campaign went viral, boosting sales of the QSR’s French Toast Sticks.

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3. McCann and Love & Nudes addressed breast health disparities in Black women with the Stage Zero Collection — a line of bras as self-examination aids to understand breast cancer on different skin tones.

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4. L’Oréal Paris Canada and McCann collaborated with Right To Be for its Stand Up Initiative, encouraging Canadians to intervene against street harassment.

5. For Kids Help Phone, the agency showed the full spectrum of emotions that mental health includes, so that youth can talk about their own feelings.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

DIGITAL | GOLD + PR | BRONZE

FCB rules the digital playground

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CB describes itself as an agency that’s “never finished.” There’s always further to go creatively, more dynamic ways to work, and deeper insights to be made. But the agency’s most significant work-inprogress might be its digital landscape.

"Our goal isn’t just about disruption,” says FCB’s CSO Shelley Brown. “Instead, we understand what people are trying to accomplish—then how our brands can be a part of that.”

Perfecting the integration of data and technological advancements is, like the digital world itself, constantly evolving. But what FCB brings to that is a fearless sense of play: “We’re always inventing new things, developing new processes, and trying new tools,” says Brown. “It’s a state of ongoing investment through experimentation

BY CHELSEA CLARKE and exploration.”

Take, for example, OLG’s Lotto Max Dream Bars.

Igniting millennial and Gen Z consumers’ desire for obscure, limited edition snacks, FCB created ice-cream bars inspired by millionaire lifestyles – with names such as Designer Handbag, Private Island, Grail Sneaker and Rare Oil Painting. Each purchase included a QR code for a free lotto ticket and OLG saw a 50% lift in brand consideration from its target demographic, as well as 56 million impressions.

Digital practices were expertly woven into this campaign. FCB used more than a dozen social listening tools, such as Infegy and Netbase, to intantly capture viral trends so they could release new flavours and capitalize on cultural moments.

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Additionally, it captured first-party data when consumers redeemed a free-play ticket in an effort to draw consumers into the OLG universe, which provided the team with information for future campaign success.

“User experience is important, but it’s the empathy and understanding of what people are looking for in the moment,” says FCB’s CEO Bryan Kane. “We determine how a brand can meet that need in a way that achieves both the business objective and the consumer expectation.”

Its ongoing investment in digital has led FCB to create strategic teams that are dedicated to developing dynamic creative, such as video and AI integration, and supporting the ideation and production processes with technology.

“Tech isn’t a stage at the end where someone is asked to go make something. Instead, our ideas are informed and infused with tech,” says Kane.

“Strategy, creative and production are working together,” adds Brown.

Digital capabilities have played an integral role in better understanding consumers. “The element that’s made our success repeatable and ongoing is rooted

in understanding what’s happening in a consumer’s life,” says Kane.

“We’re able to understand human behavior in an authentic environment, rather than have people sitting in a focus group,” notes Brown. “We can understand their actions and interests, what they’re engaging with, and what they care about. That allows us to bring brands into a relationship with people in a completely new way.”

Indeed, the agency’s top campaigns have capitalized on cultural and societal insights.

For the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, it connected jobseekers with mentors via LinkedIn; turned rainbows into donations that benefitted 2LGBTQ+ organization Rainbow Road for BMO; promoted visibility for neurodivergent athletes in Adidas’s “Runner 321” campaign, and improved commuters’ mental health with Corona’s “SunBrew.”

“At our core, we want to unlock unique possibilities for our clients that our competitors can’t,” says Kane.

“There’s lots of activity coming from brands that are trying new things that don’t really make sense for them,” adds Brown. “We intentionally work to get a sense of what our brands are, and which brands feel

CASES | DIGITAL 1

1. Snack (and dream) bigger!

The FCB Lotto Max "Dream Bars" campaign engaged young adults with ticket-inspired ice cream bars. Flavours mimicked millionaire luxuries (like Designer Handbag or Private Island), and each had a QR code for a lottery ticket. Proceeds supported Friends of Ruby, aiding the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

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2. BMO's "Rainbow Deposits" transformed Pride Month support into tangible action. Using an app, users turned rainbow photos into $1 donations for Rainbow Railroad, in support of persecuted 2LGBTQ+ globally. The rainbows could be real, from another brand, or featured on a piece of clothing. The campaign also included social media, window decals, and influencers showcasing the rainbow deposits.

For FCB’s Digital Campaign of the Year, see p.78-79.

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right on which platforms.”

As FCB continues to make tech and digital advancements its playground, the agency views the evolution as a limitless chance to improve. It's investing in its team, creating roles such as VP of creative innovation, with former FCB/Six-er Eli Ferrara stepping into the position last year. His job has been to pioneer new formats and educate FCB employees and clients on fledgling platforms like the metaverse and gaming, or refining the network’s ability to collect first-party data and integrate it into its work.

“We recognize how marrying creativity with data and technology can lead to better creative solutions for our clients. It’s at the heart of everything we do and

fundamental to fully understanding and intercepting the consumer journey in the most effective way,” CCO Nancy Crimi-Lamanna told strategy at the time.

“Technology makes us more creative, not less,” adds Brown. “And for brands, that means we’ll continue to prove that creativity drives business – it’s an economic multiplier and the secret ingredient to the most effective work.”

“Technology informs the dimensions of an idea to realize its full potential,” adds Kane. “Months from now – not years – our creative teams will be empowered with a whole new suite of tools to create work that blows our minds and does incredible things for our clients.”

CASES | PR 1. Running toward inclusion

The “Runner 321” campaign by FCB for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society aimed to inspire and promote visibility for athletes with Down syndrome by reserving the number "321" for a neurodivergent athlete in marathons.

Adidas also got involved, launching the campaign with athlete Chris Nikic, its first sponsored athlete with Down syndrome.

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2. "Keep Up Can" for GE Appliances acted as a portal to connect Canadians with Team Canada in Qatar. Fans used an augmented reality filter to participate in what became the biggest game of virtual keep-ups. The experience also provided fans with a platform to share messages of support.

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3. Corona faced the challenge of standing out during the country's cold winters. So FCB created "Sunshine Underground," an immersive sunlight-filled experience in a 250-foot-long underground commuter tunnel that included lights, Muskoka chairs, sampling pop-ups and brand imagery.

All the media news you need. Replenish daily.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

DESIGN | SILVER

NEW BUSINESS PUR Gum, Chard Development, Hasbro U.S., RGD - Design thinkers, Cannes Lions, Rogers, Hema Quebec, Félix & Paul, Nutrafol, Point S, PIXMOB, Groupe Media TFO, LCI Education Network, Montréal Canadiens, FIFA, Nasdaq, Pernod Ricarde OFFICES Montreal, Toronto STAFF

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Sid Lee’s synergy strategy

BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK

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estled in downtown Montreal’s Place Ville Marie, not too far from the city’s charming Old Port, you’ll find Sid Lee’s headquarters. The agency that’s been around since 1993 – first called Diesel, then rearranged into the anagram Sid Lee – recently renovated its offices so that staff want to go in and create great work in the comfort of their second home.

A little over a year ago, Martin Gauthier, who was already partner and president, took on the role of CEO at Sid Lee Canada with the specific goal of unifying the Toronto and Montreal offices. “In the past, it was always Toronto versus Montreal. There was some competition,”

he admits. “We used to function as two distinct units, each with its own president and separate P&L statements. But I wanted us to be one big Canadian agency that serves more and more pan-Canadian brands.”

Now, Montreal’s office, including an architecture arm (Sid Lee is one of the few agencies that has one), and its Toronto arm operate as one family.

Gauthier travels extensively between the two offices on a weekly basis, ensuring that Sid Lee’s teams “collaborate seamlessly.”

“While we maintain separate creative, strategy and account teams in each city, they… complement one another. And our production, CRM, digital and architecture studios have been consolidated into unified departments.” In addition, all of the leaders are expected to convene in either Montreal or Toronto for in-person executive committee meetings on a monthly basis.

Sid Lee also makes a concerted effort to collaborate seamlessly with a client’s “marketing department to make sure that, one, we have a better synergy with them, and, two, that we keep them for a long time,” Gauthier explains. “For instance, we frequently hold agency days

with Rogers, during which both teams seamlessly unite, working together in the same office for a day.”

This dedication to nurturing relationships is part of Sid Lee’s long-term business strategy and is something the agency’s clients have come to expect – Sobeys, Belair Direct, Air Transat, TGX, Rona, Cirque du Soleil and Maple Leaf Foods, are all long-term clients.

Sid Lee has also been investing in UX/UI and CRM so that it can deliver better on digital work. In fact, this is such an important zone for Sid Lee that in 2018 it acquired BIMM, a company that specializes in CRM. “There are a lot of brands that work with UX/UI agencies, yet many lack the comprehensive creative expertise and depth that we offer at Sid Lee – a cadre of skilled professionals specializing in CRM, UX/UI, design, digital strategy, front-end and backend development and creativity. And they all work together toward a singular objective: crafting a worldclass digital brand experience centered on human emotions. It’s pretty unique.”

An example of how the agency leverages these skills can be found in the complete redesign of TFO’s digital ecosystem. In a landscape where the Canadian French language educational television channel and media organization contends with streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube, it needed to stand out.

And Sid Lee’s challenge was twofold.

“Not only did we need to revolutionize the entire online experience, providing exceptional quality in every aspect, but we also had to cater to the unique needs of children, a primary user group that often cannot yet read and may not be fluent in the French language.

All of this was undertaken with meticulous attention to discoverability, given that TFO’s platform operates on the open internet, rather than within a closed ecosystem,” Gauthier says. In roughly six weeks, the agency built an ad-free, user-friendly digital universe complete with 5,000 pieces of content.

When it comes to the creative work that Sid Lee goes after, it very much keeps its people in mind, pitching for work that they’re excited about, because Gauthier knows that investing in his people is investing in results. “This is why we are not only working with Canadian brands, but we are also working with international brands,” such as WB Games, Hasbro, NASDAQ and Angel’s Envy.

“The truth of the matter is we are not just competing against other creative agencies, we are also competing against strategy firms such as EY, KPMG and Deloitte,” says Gauthier. “The golden years of advertising are behind us, now we need to fight every single day to keep our clients and to win new business.”

CASES 1. Not playing games.

Janette Bertrand’s groundbreaking influence in Quebec feminism takes centre stage in Janette and Daughters, a doc that played on Tele-Quebec. Sid Lee created a visual identity to support the film that challenges patriarchal norms, with custom typography that mirrors Bertrand’s multifaceted career. An all-female team harmonized the documentary’s visual universe with historically inspired motion design.

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2. Serres de rue transformed old car shelters into solar greenhouses, bringing year-round urban farming to Montreal’s streets. Promoting local food, sustainability and car dependency awareness, the crops also supported low-income communities and community meals.

3. To engage Gen Z audiences who aren’t passionate about hockey, Sid Lee and the Montreal Canadiens created “The Original One” subbrand. It celebrated Montreal’s unique culture and originality, aligning with Gen Z values of selfexpression and individuality.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

MEDIA | GOLD

More than just a media buyer, PHD proves its creative worth

BY MIKE CONNELL

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HD’s business model is built on the belief that the power of creativity drives results. That, plus a culture of bravery and a curious ethos – which Caroline Moul, president of PHD Canada, says is all about “making the leap.”

Innovation can come in all shapes and sizes, “and we want to make sure we’re not just talking about price,” when it comes to pitching the agency to clients, Moul says. Price is a factor, but “fundamentally, it’s about our people, our tools and technology and how those fuel and empower our people.”

Moul points to Sico’s “Honouring Quebec” campaign, which the agency has iterated over the years. For 2023, it created over 80 different executions in more than 20 hyper-contextual environments, for a total of 240 Sico colours that celebrated Quebec, its culture and language.

PHD’s team helped bring new life to the campaign, which led to a collaboration with Quebec chef Ricardo Larrivée and ads featuring recipes with an ingredient corresponding to a colour in the Sico palette (think basil leaves, lemon tart or vanilla powder). The campaign was featured in local media like La Presse+ to drive cultural relevance in the market.

The shop also created a media placement that was triggered by temperatures and weather conditions, and worked with Tinder to personify Sico with its own profile on the platform.

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Those are the kind of creatively led media campaigns PHD wants to be known for. “It breaks our hearts when we’re considered just a [media] buyer,” says Moul. It’s become the agency’s mission to take creative leaps, but some clients “are more procurement and price-driven, and less ambitious when it comes to creativity and innovation,” she admits. Some might see bravery as a risk, she adds, but the scale and impact that comes with PHD being part of the larger Omnicom Media Group helps make its case.

PHD’s success is also rooted in how it looks at client relationships as long-term partnerships.

Moul harks back to Sico, which has been on a multi-year journey with PHD to bring the brand’s cultural relevance to life. And that journey doesn’t just entail the client. “The magic happens when that ecosystem [of brand, PR, creative and media partners] is working, because everyone involved can see the big, bold, broad ideas. It’s not just one spoke in the wheel doing all that work, it’s how we all come together, and that’s the holy grail we aspire to.”

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1. Get back in the game.

The Dove “#KeepTheGrey” campaign, which won a Gold in Social Media at the Marketing Awards this year, is a good example. In August 2022, news broke that CTV National News anchor Lisa Laflamme had been let go after 35 years, followed by rumours that her firing was due to her decision to let her hair go grey. Forty-eight hours later, PHD and Unilever’s PR agency, Edelman, launched #KeepTheGrey, with the brand turning its logo silverygrey, and launching campaigns across Meta and X (formerly Twitter) – making Dove the first Canadian brand to bring attention to the story.

“It was a complex, yet simple, campaign all at the same time,” Moul explains. “It’s complex because, while the situation that catapulted [the campaign idea] is a moment in time,” PHD had to be on top of the media strategy within 24 hours. Changing the colour of a logo seems simple enough, but it involved cooperation and collaboration at a huge scale.

That spirit isn’t innate. It requires constant, ongoing training, which is something she feels also makes PHD unique. “The industry changes so fast that every year we need to reset how we’re going to train our people, and rethink how we can foster the insights that drive innovation,” she adds.

To stay on top of trends and insights, the agency looks to OMG’s data-centric marketing platform Omni, as well as Omnicom Precision Marketing Group’s AI-powered cultural intelligence platform Q. The two units help PHD’s teams focus on long-term ideas and results that are “tied to a brand’s cultural relevance, purpose, and the things we think are important for society,” in addition to short-term sales goals, says Moul.

“They allow our whole team to do things in smarter ways.”

PHD launched its “#KeepTheGrey” campaign for Dove after news anchor Lisa LaFlamme’s controversial dismissal. It featured a hashtag with the same name, and urged people to change their profile pictures to greyscale in solidarity against ageism in the workplace. Dove even changed its gold logo to grey in protest.

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2. Sico’s “Honouring Quebec” campaign by PHD aimed to retain the brand’s connection with Quebecers by associating paint colours with local interests and passions. Dozens of executions, local media collaborations and a Tinder integration emphasized Sico’s affinity and aimed to boost sales.

For PHD’s Media Campaign of the Year, see p.78-79.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

MEDIA | SILVER

Innovation fuels UM

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PG Mediabrands CEO Shelley Smit loves how no day is quite the same in the media industry.

“The challenges we’re solving for today are considerably different than those three to five years ago,” she says, with privacy laws, Bill C-18 and other regulatory concerns coming into play. So how does the agency keep up?

Data and technology are a big part of UM’s USP. “We have a huge data stack, but it’s not just about the size, it’s about knowing how to harness its power, and use it in different ways to solve business challenges.”

Just like data, AI, according to Smit, will be gamechanging, but it won’t be a full solve. “If you don’t have the understanding of the marketplace, the ability to break down a client’s challenges, the insights and the ability to bring all that together,” then it won’t be of value to anyone.

As an agency under the IPG Mediabrands umbrella, UM is privy to many tools and technologies, but so too are many other agency players out there. The difference, Smit says, is in how UM harnesses it all.

“We look at it two ways,” says Erica Kokiw, EVP of digital at UM. “Internally, it’s about how we are going to leverage AI to accelerate our already-strong foundational

BY MIKE CONNELL

processes, audience strategy and advanced analytics.”

More specifically, UM uses it for efficiencies like crunching large datasets on audience strategy. Externally, it’s about identifying where AI “could potentially help our clients when it comes to particular business challenges.”

While data and tech fuels innovation, it’s easy for agencies to want to grasp all the latest and greatest tools. That’s why UM built its “90-9-1” framework, Smit says. It’s designed to map out which tools, technologies, and areas to focus on and invest in.

“Every year, we look at all the existing and emerging technology at a global level, and then calibrate for Canada,” Kokiw says, adding that they map it along two axes: where consumer attention is going, and the advertising opportunity that the platform/tech offers.

The 90% (of the “90-9-1” rule) are investments made in established platforms, like Meta and Google, Kokiw says. “Then the 9% [is technology or platforms that] have some consumer attention, with a smaller amount of advertising opportunity. Augmented reality or Snapchat are good examples because there is consumer attention there, but the opportunity is more niche than, say, [paid] search,” she says.

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“The 1% are media futures. Those are areas where we’re starting to hear some noise, and consumers are starting to interact, but it’s not obvious what the advertising opportunity is,” Kokiw adds, pointing to artificial intelligence and the metaverse.

It’s that framework that led to innovations like Shoptimizer, a retail budget allocation and optimization tool that simplifies commerce planning while maximizing ROI. It was launched in August of this year, and has fueled UM’s ability to be more effective in the retail media space. Shoptimizer was developed globally, but the agency fuels it with data from Canada so that it can manage investment performance across the increasing number of retail media networks (RMNs).

“We are operating in walled gardens for the most part,” Kokiw shares, noting that there is typically very little visibility into the performance of RMNs. “Shoptimizer is our answer to that, giving clients the ability to look at their holistic omnichannel investment, and where they should be moving dollars for the best results.”

The agency also uses planning tools, such as Growth Accelerator and Futurecaster, and has access to data (via Acxiom and Kinesso) to identify trends and sentiments.

For client BMO, for instance, the agency discovered that “young consumers are fed up with the inauthenticity of their brand relationships... Brands need to invest in living and breathing the experience of their customers more diligently.” The result was “Rainbow Deposits,” a global program where consumers could “deposit” a rainbow they saw during last year’s Pride Month, in exchange for BMO donating $1 to Rainbow Railroad, up to $50,000.

“Our most successful work over the past year has been born out of our desire to push beyond the boundaries of any individual brief,” Kokiw says. And while UM’s tools and tech drive innovation, it’s the agency’s culture that makes both Kokiw and Smit aware that “nothing good ever happens in a vacuum. Our best work has been born out of true collaboration between client and agency stakeholders alike who feel brought in on a shared vision for the campaign. Relationships drive our success.”

CASES 1. Better mental health

For the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation’s Movember campaign, UM challenged male cultural conventions and encouraged men to embrace self-care. The campaign normalized not being the “Greatest of All Time,” instead promoting being the “Decentest of All Time,” using media and partnerships with Rogers Sportsnet and TikTok to share sports icons’ mental health experiences and the significance of self-care.

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2. For Boston Pizza’s “Powered By Fanalytics” campaign, UM used fan data and real-time game outcomes to enhance the fan experience during the 2023 NHL playoffs. It turned every touchpoint into a real-time experience, connecting with fans through digital OOH and localized connections.

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3. UM and BMO combated rainbow-washing during Pride Month with “Rainbow Deposits,” a campaign that partnered with Rainbow Railroad to create a web app that turned rainbows in the wild into $1 donations for the cause. A media campaign, influencers and Pride events amplified the initiative, transforming rainbows into active support symbols for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

MEDIA | BRONZE

Cossette Media erases discipline borders

to creative agencies Cossette, K72, Camp Jefferson and Eleven; fellow media shop Jungle; PR firms Citizen Relations, Middle Child and The Narrative Group; performance marketing agencies All Inclusive Marketing and PathIQ; and specialist arms Munvo (marketing technology) Gene Global (health), Impact Research, Magnet (tech and data) and Septième (production).

Butts uses the Air Canada “Vibes from Down South” campaign as an example of a recent collaboration

BY PATTI SUMMERFIELD

KEY NEW BUSINESS Novo Nordisk, SNC Lavalin, Aviva, Steam Whistle Brewing, CNESST, Ville de Québec, Autorité des marchés financiers, Fédération des cégeps du Québec, Conseil de l’industrie forestière du Québec, l’AMF. OFFICE Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax STAFF

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hange is as good as a rest, the saying goes. And Cossette Media must be feeling quite refreshed after the amount of change its gone through over the last couple years. In that short time, the shop has seen a shuffling of its senior leadership team, the launch of a Responsible Media Solutions group, and enhanced access to capabilities through Plus Company Canada.

Last fall, the agency brought Andrew Butts on board as SVP business leadership (now GM of Ontario and West Canada) and promoted SVP Brian Cuddy to head up its Responsible Media Solutions group. Over at Plus, accomplished industry veteran Karine Courtemanche joined the network of entrepreneurial agencies as EVP of Plus Company Canada and president of its media group, which includes Cossette Media and Jungle Media.

Cossette Media has also made investments in analytics, talent and resources to create a Responsible Media Solutions division. At the time of its launch in late 2022, the agency told strategy sister publication Media in Canada that the group is testing, measuring and attempting to offset carbon emissions with clients in the digital advertising space. It also introduced the “Purpose Marketplace,” which is designed to match digital publishers with brands to ensure that they’re in an environment that actually adds value. Another result of that group will be seen in the upcoming launch of a new tool that will bring generative AI to the forefront, says Cossette Media’s Butts.

The agency was also given access to an integrated suite of firms when the spin-off of Vision7 and other agencies formed Plus Company Canada in late 2021. This meant that the media shop was even more connected

between Cossette Montreal and another Plus Company agency PR firm Citoyen (Citizen Relations Montréal). The campaign ran from mid-December 2022 to March of this year in Quebec, with the two agencies working together to counter the airline’s brand erosion post-pandemic.

It featured four Quebec singers collaborating with four artists to reimagine classic songs on Spotify, and included contests and influencer content across social.

As a result, Air Canada’s brand scores increased by over 12% for both positive impression of the brand and trust.

Cossette Media clients are taking advantage of its connection to the network, says Butts, as there is value in being able to tap into a variety of disciplines and bring different schools of thought to the table. “Nearly 50% of

our revenues come from being able to offer those integrated clients other disciplines covering areas such as creative, social, PR, CRM and content creation to be a true marketing partner,” says Butts. “What we’re trying to do is erase the borders between those communication disciplines through collaboration.”

Butts sees Cossette Media and Plus Company

CASES

1. Work smarter, not harder.

Telus faced a perfect storm of competitive pressure, media rate hikes and economic uncertainties leading into Black Friday/ Cyber Monday. So Cossette utilized Google trends data to pinpoint early November as the time to capture consumer interest. The agency focused on early market presence, datadriven targeting and a “war room” approach to succeed during the shopping period.

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as having a unique business model. It’s not a big holding company or an independent shop, but a network that has allowed the agency to make very pointed investments on behalf of Canadian clients. “[We’re] a new breed of marketing partner, one that is going to challenge [clients] on ideas and bring forward impact to their business. That’s first and foremost,” he says.

“We are deeply committed to… ensuring that we establish the best possible media ecosystem going forward – one that delivers on a responsible media mandate, one that betters our clients’ businesses, and one that betters media for consumers.”

2. For Elections Québec’s unconventional “Provincial Elections” campaign, the agency eschewed popular influencers for a squad of “non-influencers” in order to get out the vote.

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3. Facing a vehicle shortage, the Quebec Toyota Dealers Association chose to focus on future brand consideration.

The “Quest for Silence” campaign targeted stressed millennials in noisy urban areas with the brand’s hybrid offerings.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

PR AOY | GOLD

Citizen Relations digs its heels into digital

A new chief digital officer, U.S.-based Crystalyn Stuart-Loayza, was brought on and the agency invested in a more comprehensive digital team, including hiring tech and analytics leaders such as Cara Peckens, EVP of technology and

BY SHEIMA BENEMBAREK analytics, Suran Ravi, VP of intelligence and insights and Yenfu Chen, creative technology lead. “We’ve probably produced itizen Relations has a very clear mission: to make some of the most exciting work out of the digital group. We’ve had the best year ever from an awards or every conversation count. The ethos makes sense for a PR and comms agency – and it’s also a recognition perspective; client satisfaction is through the roof and only getting better,” Cowling shares. robust work ethic.

Cowling says the digital team and unit was created “Internally, we make sure that none of the to help Citizen Relations expand its offerings beyond conversations we have with colleagues or clients are traditional PR. “It’s not like we’re going to come up taken for granted. Everything we say, everything we with this brand new way to pitch media or put on an do, any level of support, is really critical,” explains Nick event or otherwise. This is about amplifying the great Cowling, who assumed the role of CEO in 2022, and conversations or narratives that we’re developing, and has been with the firm for last 16 years. “We want to taking them to new audiences in different ways. And make sure that every piece of work we put out there is that’s what our digital group is doing spectacularly.” generating exactly what the client is looking for.”

In fact, Citizen Relations just rolled out a new analytics It wasn’t until mid-2022 that, under CCO Josh Budd’s tool that it calls “conversational intelligence,” which direction, a real push was made into the digital sphere.

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channel-formatted and publish-ready, says Cowling, and it will largely use social data to identify when and what conversations are growing and provide content that taps into those trends. The incubator will be fully automated with the use of AI, giving Citizen Relations’ employees the opportunity to focus their energy on curating campaigns rather than drafting content from scratch. “We’re only just starting with this, there’s going to be some pretty wicked stuff over the next 12 or 18 months,” the CEO says.

While most of the industry is tracking data in one way or another, the proprietary tech that Citizen Relations is investing in has a more curatorial lens. “I’m sure there are competitors out there that have figured out some monitoring or reporting solutions. But I think where we differentiate is by bringing it all together and then looking at it more critically to make sure that the output is actually about value as opposed to just volume.”

Cowling says Citizen Relations’ clients depend on the agency to stay ahead of the curve and help introduce them to new ways of thinking and working. “Like all Citizens, I would say I’ve got this hunger to continue to grow. And our clients want to continue to evolve with us.”

the shop has been beta testing with a few clients in Canada, including Coast Capital. At a very base level, the conversational tool works to automate the agency’s social media monitoring and reporting. “[The tool] brings together what people consume – general news, what people are saying, listening to, searching… combined with some elements of the client’s data, which could be downloads for web traffic, something trackable. And the results are amazing,” Cowling explains.

But not every client has the same needs, of course, which is why the agency has different versions based on budget capabilities and targets. A new API-backed suite (equipped with a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other) will most likely be offered to every client by January. “It also has some AI that pulls trends and looks at correlations a little quicker.”

The agency is shortly coming out with another AIbased platform for clients who want to play an active role in the conversations that are happening on important topics. Clients will use it to find a selection of brandrelevant content that’s informed by real-time search intelligence. The content would be tone appropriate,

CASES 1. So much more than snack sized

Cheetos Canada aimed to attract adults and boost sales by celebrating “Cheetle,” the snack’s signature orange residue. Citizen’s “Cheetle in Cheadle” campaign featured a 17-foot statue of Cheetle-coated fingers in Cheadle, Alberta, capitalizing on the town’s name and Alberta’s love for oversized food landmarks.

The unexpected stunt went viral on social media, reaching global audiences and catching the eye of actor Don Cheadle.

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2. Citizen and Coast Capital’s “We’re for real” platform positioned it as an alternative to big banks. To demystify financial discussions, they launched the “Talk Money To Me” card game for a Valentine’s Day campaign aimed at fostering open money conversations.

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3. Elimin8Hate combated anti-Asian racism with “ReclaimYourName.dic,” the first custom dictionary of 8,000+ Asian names to challenge bias in systems like Microsoft Word.

For Citizen Relations’ PR Campaign of the Year, see p.78-79.

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69

2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

SMALL AOY | GOLD

Wunder packs a punch

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BY JOSH KOLM

istorically, small businesses have always faced the most risk during recessions and other economic turmoil. But the kind of work Halifaxbased creative agency Wunder wants to do – and who it wants to do it with – means it is less susceptible to the travails some may be struggling with right now, like clients tightening budgets.

“We’ve never really looked for or attracted clients who look purely at ROI,” says Mike Postma, director of strategy and co-founder. “Our clients have that longerterm view, are willing to put a marketing plan in place for three-plus years and grind away at elevating their

brands. I think that comes with different expectations than people who are looking to immediately see a return.”

Wunder’s leadership believes the agency is able to weather the current economic landscape – and maybe even find growth. “A lot of agencies grow to a point where so much of their energy is spent chasing pitches and stressing over revenue targets, and making sure all of those boxes are ticked,” says Stephen Flynn, creative director and co-founder. “When you’re bigger and things aren’t going great in the economy, you have to be thinking more about targets and taking care of your staff. That’s not the kind of thing we want to rush into, but we want to be in place where we can build a team that embodies the same culture we have now.”

Similar to many of its agency peers, Wunder spent the last year exploring artificial intelligence. “We’re not specifically looking to make investments into

building out AI tools. What we are doing is investing in our bread and butter: ideas and strategies,” Flynn says, likening AI to idea generation tools like Deck of Brilliance or Kickstart Creativity flashcards that many creative professionals use to iterate on an idea or come at it from a different perspective.

“Agencies that are consistently doing great work are not just a bunch of people tapping pencils on a desk and throwing crumpled papers in the waste bin until they get an idea. There are systems in place and, just like any of those agencies, we should be constantly trying to retool and make sure our ideas and strategies are top tier. And, yes, we do believe that AI is super helpful when it comes to that,” adds Flynn.

Wunder is ready for growth and has begun planning an approach for more business development. Flynn admits that the agency hasn’t put much energy into seeking clients it would like to work with – for much of its existence, Wunder has let its work and wordof-mouth draw in clients. But now it is ready to be more purposeful about seeking work it wants to do.

“We want our relationships to genuinely be about what we’re best at,” Flynn says. “We don’t want to win business just so we can say, ‘Hey, we got this big client

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and we’re going to grow,’ but then that growth is just 19 people working on brochures.”

Wunder has begun to do a fair share of work for start-ups both in Canada and the U.S., such as finance app Relief, project management platform Asana and stock photo site Pexels. And that work is getting recognized. In addition to Canadian award shows, the shop has notched wins at international shows like Communication Arts and The One Show.

A planned growth in its client roster also means getting ready for a growth in headcount. Wunder is still small, by choice, but Postma says the agency is at a point where it can spend the next few years focusing on expansion – the three-person team (including Postma, Flynn and traffic manager Cobie McFallon) grew to four when it hired Naqsh Sagar as a full-time designer in September.

“I think we’ve taken the last six years to really figure out who we are and what we want to do,” he says. “We’ve made several pivots, but we’ve been very aligned for the last two years, and we know exactly what we want to do. We feel confident now that we know who we want to hire and the type of people that we’re looking for.”

CASES 1

2. United Way Halifax’s “The Doorbell” campaign used front door footage to highlight homelessness during the holidays.

Showcasing scenes from a home’s perspective, the ad contrasted how those with disposable income and food security experience the holidays versus those facing homelessness.

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1. Working with Domus Realty, the “200 Square Feet” campaign tackled

the Halifax housing market slowdown through data-driven billboards.

Instead of agent images, these billboards showcased the value of rooms based on MLS data, allowing homeowners to see the potential worth of their properties. A physical display that replicated a 200-square foot room made it especially tangible for viewers.

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3. Wunder and Brigadoon Village, a Nova Scotia summer camp for kids with health conditions, partnered with pharmacies for its “Pill Bottles” campaign. The special “prescriptions” were inserted into the bags of eligible children (aged 7-18 with specific health conditions), offering info about the camp and expanding its reach to potential visitors.

For Wunder’s Small AOY Campaign of the Year, see p.78-79.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

SMALL AOY | SILVER (TIE)

Juliet’s real and raw reportage approach

BY BRENNAN DOHERTY

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n their first day in the office, new hires at Juliet aren’t given the customary welcome of a branded Moleskine. Ryan Spelliscy, the agency’s founder and chief creative officer, says they’re let loose with $50 and asked to bring back stories of audiences they love.

In the journalism world, this is called “shoe-leather” reporting, pounding the pavement to find compelling subjects and experiences. Juliet, a Toronto-based agency with an office in Los Angeles, is showing why this approach isn’t just for old-school newspapers. Personal stories touch audiences in a way that ordinary market research can’t.

“So many people can walk around agencies and describe a persona,” Spelliscy says. “But can they actually describe the person, and the conversations you’ve had with them?”

Over the past year, Juliet scored work with The Keg

and RE/MAX, joining its other major clients like FreshCo, SickKids Hospital and pet food company Redbarn. At the core of any Juliet project, Spelliscy says, is a willingness to send staffers into the field to learn everything they need to know about a brand’s audience.

To understand the world of beauty, for example, the agency sends male staffers to get their first manicures and pedicures. “There’s a little bit of a lost art of rolling up your sleeves and going out and touching the dirt, if you will, with the actual people you’re trying to win with,” Spelliscy says.

Juliet took that approach one step further when it partnered up with Mailchimp. The shop cobbled together an editorial division, led by editor-in-chief Greg Bolton and art director Joanna Durkalec, to basically act as an in-house magazine team. Through a mix of articles, newsletter posts, and other long-form content, this team took Juliet’s storytelling approach even further.

To be clear, the division doesn’t replace Juliet’s more traditional offerings, a combination of strategy, production, creative and connections planning, as befits a full-service ad agency. But journalists, Spelliscy says, bring an aptitude for the long-form content needed in the ad world and a willingness to tell big

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stories. By contrast, he says, traditional ad creatives keep the brand narrative train on its tracks.

Juliet didn’t fold up the editorial division after its Mailchimp campaign ended, either. The same team worked with the Directors Guild of Canada on its quest to draw Hollywood’s eye towards Toronto. Instead of a glitzy TV spot, Juliet went into the weeds with a fullblown content world called “‘Wider Lens.”

Featuring a podcast, monthly newsletters, an interview series and in-person events, Juliet credits “Wider Lens” with doubling the DGC’s email open rate. Meanwhile, The Guild’s podcast open rate went up by a factor of 10.

Spelliscy says the Directors Guild’s target audience of busy producers, directors and Hollywood executives “index really high on reading content about the industry… Rather than doing ‘advertising,’ it was always going to be content-driven.”

Sometimes, Juliet will ditch the need for an ad brief from a client and flex its editorial muscle internally. For

CASES 1. It’s a dog’s world

For Redbarn, Juliet’s “Where Dog Dreams Come True” campaign brought dogs’ fantasies to life, differentiating its meat-rich kibble from competitor’s poorer offerings.

Films and social media content featured dogs enjoying their dream scenarios, from digging in a massive pit to playing in a snow-filled playground in summer.

example, “Heart Shaped Glasses,” found on its website, tells compelling stories that aren’t tethered to any particular brand or campaign.

The latest edition of “Heart Shaped Glasses,” titled “To Have Loved & Lost,” takes the stories of people who have lost the love of their life, and are looking to date again. Through Midjourney illustrations, Juliet interprets their struggle to accept their loss, live with it, and somehow find another partner without feeling as though they’ve betrayed their late love.

That isn’t where the project started. “[The agency team] went to Palm Springs because they wanted to do a piece about [older] people dating,” Spelliscy says. “As they were doing the piece, people were talking about the loss of loved ones, and it evolved.”

That act of listening to an audience, realizing their story isn’t quite what you anticipated and pivoting accordingly, is hard to do. So is keeping a good story within brand guidelines. Juliet’s team has proven it can do both.

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2. For Grizzly Coast, the “For the Love of Live” campaign created concert t-shirts for COVID-cancelled shows, generating income for Canadian bands. This unique collection featured original illustrations and dates for Grizzly Coast and ten other bands.

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3. The “Same Team” campaign for the Canadian Cancer Society made the most of the cause’s NHL partnership to engage younger donors. Using archival footage, past and present cancer-affected hockey players united in a heartfelt plea for unity, urging supporters to join the fight against cancer.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

SMALL AOY | SILVER (TIE)

The view is different from Target

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efore she signed on with Newfoundlandbased Target Marketing and Communications, where she now serves as president, Catherine Kelly had no interest in advertising. She

BY WILL NOVOSEDLIK was supposed to be a scientist like her sister, or a mathematician like her father. But, after a few years in Toronto and a stint at telecom Nortel, she decided she missed Newfoundland and headed back to St. John’s to look for work. Halfway through a meeting with Target founder Noel O’Dea she decided she really wasn’t interested in the “fluffy” subjective nature of creativity.

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The interview should have been over at that point, but O’Dea managed to convince her that there was an element of science to the art of advertising – even if it is a social science. Kelly decided to give it a shot.

That was 25 years ago, a long time in this business.

But Target is the kind of place that puts a premium on retention over recruitment, for both employees and clients. Earlier this year, Kelly was appointed to her current position by O’Dea, who has stepped into the role of “chief storyteller.”

When it comes to employees, one-third of Target’s staff of 40 has been there for 10 years or more. “Between 40 and 50 people is our sweet spot. We will not grow just for the sake of growth,” says Kelly. “We have found that over 50 people demands more administration, hierarchy and layers of oversight. It focuses too much of our attention on managing the work and less on doing it.

NEW BUSINESS Atkinson Foundation, Historic Sites Association of NL, Global Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, She Sells Seafood, asTech, Repairifys

So we work really hard to stay small.”

That’s not to say there are no new hires.

Two years ago, for instance, TJ Arch joined as creative director, after a stint at Halifax-based Arrivals and Departures and then at Toronto’s Juniper Park.

“In addition to TJ, we’ve added two new ACDs, one from BBDO and the other from Lg2,” explains Kelly. “We’ve also added to our digital, media and production teams, including a new head of production. Although we’re well OFFICE St. John’s known for high quality Newfoundland tourism videos, which are designed for broadcast, STAFF they’re also digital facing. So we’re investing in a team and process that enables us to create more digital and social content. That’s why we have a new head of agency production.”

This year has seen business increase by about 20%. New wins include a brand of seacuterie (the seafood version of charcuterie) called She Sells Seafood, soon to launch in retailers across the U.S. Another is the Atkinson Foundation, a Canadian charity focused on social and economic justice. Then there is a national campaign for Inclusive Workplaces Canada, and work for St. Bonaventure College in Newfoundland. About 50% of Target’s business is local and 50% in other markets.

Target also works hard at organic growth. Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism is the most celebrated example, an 18-year relationship that is still going strong. This year has seen a new chapter in the highly effective “Find Yourself” platform, a new “Get Wild” broadcast spot and a campaign called “The Welcome Desk,” which showcases people in the province.

So why would clients want to work with an agency built on a rock out in the middle of the Atlantic? According to Kelly, that’s Target’s secret sauce. “The fact that we are uniquely and stubbornly rooted here in Newfoundland and Labrador is a benefit,” she says. “We get that it’s the opposite of the mainstream, the opposite of the expected. The view is very different from here.

We are literally and figuratively the road less travelled.”

She says Newfoundland’s historically remote location makes it the kind of place where, if you have a problem, no one’s going to solve it for you. “Newfoundland is well-known for its creativity, ingenuity and tenacity. We were never given cookie cutter solutions to things out here,” asserts Kelly. Certainly the pandemic has made geography less of a barrier. When everyone is working remotely, nowhere is too remote, and the idea that you need to go to Toronto or New York for top creative holds less and less water.

So what is Kelly’s vision for the future of Target? “To continue to build on the pillars of what makes Target special: its culture and its commitment to making its clients famous and making their cash registers ring. And, in a world where you really don’t know who or what to trust, there’s something very attractive about the authenticity and credibility of a place like Newfoundland, and, by extension Target.”

CASES 1

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1. The “Stallmark Collection” campaign for the St. John’s Board of Trade aimed to

promote local shopping. Capitalizing on frustration over shipping delays in Dieppe, the final mainland point before the island, the campaign featured Hallmark-style greeting cards for occasions when online gifts were delayed. These cards, designed by local artists, humorously reminded people of the pitfalls of online shopping, encouraging them to support local businesses instead.

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2. St. Bonaventure’s College in St. John’s was repositioned to emphasize its traditions of compassion, curiosity and critical thinking. The “What Did You Learn Today?” campaign highlighted its diverse learning offering to boost enrollment.

3

3. For Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, “Come Home” enticed expats back to the province to revitalize postpandemic tourism. The campaign used the social media networks of residents, showcasing local pride through videos, themes, profile filters and e-cards.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

SMALL AOY | BRONZE

Angry Butterfly brings AI and PhDs to advertising

BY BRENNAN DOHERTY

E

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veryone in the ad world is either tinkering with AI, or terrified of it. Angry Butterfly, a Torontobased agency, is carving a path forward by harnessing AI tools to punch well above its weight.

In its “Bill It To Bezos” campaign, an AI-generated version of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos extols Amazon Prime Users to donate to the Jane/Finch Centre’s community Twitch page. A pre-AI campaign of this kind would have required serious cash, probably a six-figure contract, to render each of Bezos’s facial expressions.

“I actually don’t think an agency of our size would have been able to do the project 10 years ago,” says agency CSO Graham Candy.

That’s why, when generative AI swept into the public consciousness late last year, Angry Butterfly’s response wasn’t to ignore it. Instead, the shop harnessed it to

help crank out creative in record time. For instance, when one of Angry Butterfly’s art directors was recently preparing ideas for a Jays Care Foundation campaign, Candy says they didn’t need to resort to stock art or spend hours labouring over a sketch.

AI gave them the ability to not only generate an image for a pitch, but, effectively, an entire storyboard in minutes. “You still need a very talented set of art directors,” Candy says, “but the time-saving is incredible.”

The agency even used AI to create a virtual cow influencer on TikTok for Dairy Farmers of Canada named Daisy, no voice actor required. As Candy puts it, Daisy is basically a digital puppet. In just a few seconds, the agency can tweak whatever she says without the need for constant do-overs and a lengthy voice activating contract.

NEW BUSINESS Co-operators Insurance, Jays Care Foundation OFFICE Toronto STAFF

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As much promise as AI presents, Angry Butterfly won’t be replacing its cadre of art directors, copywriters and executives anytime soon. One of the agency’s secrets to success is very human — a brain trust of PhDs on its strategy team. Michael Bell, Angry Butterfly’s data analytics lead, has a doctorate in mathematics. Senior strategy Adam Allentuck has a PhD in archaeology.

Candy himself completed a PhD in anthropology from the University of Toronto on the intersection of technology and society.

All of these specialities may seem very far removed from the ad world, but Candy insists they offer an invaluable perspective on issues like the climate crisis, economic change and social upheaval.

“I think sometimes having academic people on board can give [marketers] a really solid, intelligent foundation for approaching some of these topics that are pretty sensitive and challenging,” he says.

The rest of Angry Butterfly’s partners round out everything a small agency needs in its head office. Erin Kawalecki, Angry Butterfly’s creative chief, brings a portfolio of award-winning ad work to the table.

Brent Choi, an Ivey business grad who took a 20-year-long detour into creative, is Angry Butterfly’s CEO. In a hiring spree earlier this year, Angry Butterfly also added two new VPs and creative directors: Bernice Lo, formerly of Dentsu Creative, and ex-Dentsu One creative director Adam Notzl-Keyser.

Between the academic backgrounds of Angry Butterfly’s strategy team, its efficient use of AI, and the creative chops of its ad pros, the agency is getting noticed. It picked up a Social & Influencer Lion at Cannes for “Bill It To Bezos” in June, and was also shortlisted for Innovation and Creative Commerce Lions.

All in all, Candy says 2023 has been a growth year despite concerns of tighter ad budgets from clients. He doesn’t expect that to change. Quite simply, Candy says, it is less costly to hire Angry Butterfly than a more established multinational agency.

“The reality is, when you’re 40 people,” says Candy, “you can be involved in almost everything.” Angry Butterfly boasts the nimbleness of an upstart ad shop with the reputation of an industry heavyweight.

CASES 1. Show how much you care

Working with Gameloft, Angry Butterfly developed “Dairy Diversion” for the Dairy Farmers of Canada, effectively gamifying education. Mini-games and a virtual cow influencer named Daisy taught sustainability, animal care and high standards on Canadian dairy farms while providing entertainment.

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2. “Stories Behind the Words” by the Art Gallery of Ontario aimed to revitalize Leonard Cohen’s image and attract GTA residents to its Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows exhibit. Cohen’s quotes were projected onto key city locations, like Toronto’s downtown convention centre, placing his timeless ideas in modern contexts.

For Angry Butterfly’s Small AOY Campaign of the Year, see p.78-79.

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2023 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

AGENCY OF THE YEAR | CAMPAIGNS OF THE YEAR

CREATIVE “COST OF BEAUTY” Ogilvy’s campaign for Dove highlights the impact toxic beauty content is having on kids on social media. Featuring Mary, a teen survivor, the film uses her own “photos and video footage to showcase the impact of social media on selfperception and mental health. The campaign went viral and achieved Dove’s highest organic views ever, garnering more than 2.5 billion impressions and 190 placements.

DIGITAL “INPLOYABLE” The Canadian Down Syndrome Society turned to FCB for “Inployable,” LinkedIn’s first employment network for individuals with Down syndrome. Aiming to counter workforce misconceptions, it paired job seekers with coaches to showcase unique skills, adding over 25 abilities to LinkedIn. The campaign featured a provocative video challenging employees and employers to visit the hub and connect.

DESIGN RGD BRANDING AWARDS Rethink’s campaign for the RGD Branding Awards (hosted by Canada’s largest graphic design association, RGD) aimed to establish a new global design identity. The brand harnessed the power of the registered trademark symbol, creating a custom typeface and dynamic suite of graphics. It also crafted judge portraits with the symbol, building an identity system that celebrated this overlooked branding icon.

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MEDIA THE HOCKEY JERSEY Working with PHD, Scotiabank’s “Hockey For All” aimed to make hockey more inclusive in Canada. Inspired by The Hockey Sweater book, it collaborated with Black creators for The Hockey Jersey, promoting diversity in the sport. Sales supported Hockey 4 Youth, offering free hockey programs for diverse youth.

PR “CHEETLE IN CHEADLE” Citizen Relations and Cheetos Canada celebrated “Cheetle,” the distinctive orange dust left behind on fingertips after eating the snack, with a 17-foot “Cheetle in Cheadle” statue in Cheadle, Alberta. The unexpected stunt went viral on social media, reaching a global audience and even garnering attention from actor Don Cheadle.

SMALL “BILL IT TO BEZOS” Driven by Angry Butterfly, the Jane/Finch Centre’s “Bill it to Bezos” campaign leveraged a Twitch loophole, enabling Amazon Prime members to donate their unused $3.50 monthly subscription to the Centre. By transforming the Centre into a verified Twitch streamer, it ensured donations were entirely funded by Amazon.

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AGENCY OF THE YEAR

DESIGN AGENCY OF THE YEAR

DIGITAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR

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Rachel Abrams Bensimon Byrne

Irfan Khan Freelance

Alanna Nathanson G&G Advertising

Israel Diaz Sunday+Night

Matt Kohler McCain Foods

Rubina Singh Wealthsimple

Stephen Jurisic Freelance

Matt Litzinger The Local Collective

Janie Thériault Loto-Québec

Jan Avendano Art & Mechanical

Monique Gamache Matter Studio

Kelly Small Intents & Purposes

Julia Cooper Endy

Diti Katona Concrete

Stüssy Tschudin Forge

Kat Dean Canadian Tire

Stéphane Monnet Monnet Design

Simon Au The Kitchen

Jaylone Lee Formerly Bugatchi

Max Sawka OneMethod

Derek Blais Lifelong Crush

Tara Powadiuk Volvo

Matthew Seagrim Meridian

Idan Driman Pet Valu

Vanda Provato LCBO

AGENCY OF THE YEAR | JUDGES Duncan Cameron Formerly Reprise Digital

Catherine Laporte Rona

Bruce Neve True Media

Andrea Danovitch Consultant

Siobhan McCausland Molson Coors

Alicia Petralia Zulu Alpha Kilo

Mo Dezyanian Empathy Inc.

Luke Moore FUSE Create

Robin Hassan Unilever

Royal Nasager St. Louis Bar & Grill

Tanya Bevington IKEA

Aurélie Sauthier Made In

Kate Torrance SickKids Foundation

Karen Cleveland CAMH

Amanda Shuchat Heads+Tales

Renee Weeks Duncan Golin

Keka DasGupta The Art of Life-ing

France-Michele Thomas Citoyen Relations

Heather Cameron DoorDash

Mark MarsolaisNahwegahbow Birch Bark Coffee Company

Lori Davison Diamond Dan Howe Pattison Food Group

Michael Mayes Zulu Alpha Kilo Joanna Monteiro Publicis

Dave Nourse M&H Janice Ryder KitchenAid

MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR

PR AGENCY OF THE YEAR

SMALL AGENCY OF THE YEAR

Britanny Wilson Tangerine

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AGENCY OF THE YEAR | PROCESS & SHORTLISTS

3 Y 202 ENC AG THE OF AR YE

THE 2023 AWARDS PROGRAM BEGAN with an open call for Canadian agencies to submit their best campaigns from the past 12 months. All eligible creative, media, digital, PR and design agencies entered the program with comprehensive campaign, program or project case studies – five for AOY and three for Media, Digital, PR, Design and Small Agency. Separate cross-industry and cross-country jury panels then marked the work online and in isolation. Each campaign for the agency, media and digital competitions was given two marks from one to 10 based on strategy and creativity, while judges scored the PR campaigns using the same criteria, as well as a score for impact. Design was judged on creativity, technical challenge and impact. Judges with conflicts were omitted from scoring on the applicable cases. The top-scoring agencies made up the shortlists, based on a natural drop-off point in the scoring. Scores were averaged with equal weighting, and the agency with the highest marks was the winner. One case from each category with the highest points was named a Campaign of the Year. The finalists, in winning order, are listed below.

CREATIVE Rethink Zulu Alpha Kilo McCann Broken Heart Love Affair LG2 One Twenty Three West Ogilvy Cossette Sid Lee Courage No Fixed Address Taxi

DESIGN Rethink Sid Lee Zulu Alpha Kilo Cossette LG2 Blok Design Leo Burnett Daughter Creative OneMethod DDB

DIGITAL FCB Rethink Zulu Alpha Kilo McCann BBDO Cossette LG2 Sid Lee

MEDIA PHD UM Cossette Media Touché!

Initiative OMD Spark Foundry Starcom Jungle Media Media Experts

PR Citizen Relations Rethink FCB Pomp and Circumstance Narrative Edelman Agnostic Middle Child Veritas Craft Public Relations North Strategic

SMALL Wunder Juliet / Target (tie) Angry Butterfly Ray The Hive Hard Work Club Cartier Will FUSE Create Mackie Biernacki

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AGENCY OF THE YEAR | HALL OF FAME

2002

2013

2003

2014

Gold: Taxi Silver: Bensimon-Byrne Bronze: Zig Gold: Taxi Silver: Palmer Jarvis DDB Bronze: Downtown Partners DDB

2004

Gold: Taxi Silver: Zig Bronze: DDB

2005

Gold: Taxi Silver: Rethink Bronze: BBDO Canada This is the fifth year in a row Rethink has landed Agency of the Year Gold.

Zulu Alpha Kilo, meanwhile, took second place for the third consecutive year.

To see all of the winners, visit agencyoftheyear. strategyonline.ca

1990

Gold: McKim Advertising Silver: Cossette Communication-Marketing Bronze: Baker Lovick Advertising

1991

Gold: Chiat/Day/Mojo Silver: Baker Lovick:BBDO Bronze: MacLaren:Lintas

1992

Gold: Chiat/Day Silver: Ogilvy & Mather Bronze: MacLaren:Lintas

1993

Gold: Geoffrey B. Roche & Partners Advertising Silver (tie): McKim Baker Lovick/BBDO, Taxi Bronze: BCP

1994

Gold: MacLaren:Lintas Silver: BBDO Canada Bronze: Geoffrey B. Roche & Partners Advertising

1995

Gold: MacLaren McCann Silver: BBDO Canada Bronze: Leo Burnett

1996

Gold: Leo Burnett Silver: Palmer Jarvis Communications Bronze: BBDO Canada

1997

Gold: Roche Macaulay & Partners Advertising Silver: Palmer Jarvis Communications Bronze: Leo Burnett

1998

2006

Gold: Rethink Silver: DDB Bronze: Lowe Roche

2007

Gold: DDB Silver: Ogilvy & Mather Bronze: Taxi

2008

Gold: Taxi Silver: BBDO Canada Bronze: DDB

Gold: Roche Macaulay & Partners Advertising Silver: BBDO Canada Bronze: Palmer Jarvis DDB

2009

1999

2010

Gold: Palmer Jarvis DDB Silver: Ammirati Puris Lintas Bronze: Young & Rubicam

Gold: DDB Silver: Taxi Bronze: Sid Lee

2000

2011

Gold: Palmer Jarvis DDB Silver: Taxi Bronze: MacLaren McCann

Gold: BBDO Silver: DDB Bronze: Taxi

2001

2012

Gold: Palmer Jarvis DDB Silver: Ammirati Puris Bronze: Taxi

Gold: DDB Silver: Rethink Bronze: Zig

Gold: DDB Silver: John St. Bronze: Taxi

Gold: John St. Silver: Taxi Bronze: BBDO Gold: Leo Burnett Silver: Rethink Bronze: DDB

2015

Gold: Leo Burnett Silver: J. Walter Thompson Bronze: Taxi

2016

Gold: Cossette Silver: Leo Burnett Bronze: John St.

2017

Gold: Cossette Silver: J. Walter Thompson Bronze: Lg2

2018

Gold: Cossette Silver: John St. Bronze: Zulu Alpha Kilo

2019

Gold: Rethink Silver: BBDO Toronto Bronze: John St.

2020

Gold: Rethink Silver: No Fixed Address Bronze: BBDO

2021

Gold: Rethink Silver: Zulu Alpha Kilo Bronze: Ogilvy

2022

Gold: Rethink Silver: Zulu Alpha Kilo Bronze: BBDO Canada

2023

Gold: Rethink Silver: Zulu Alpha Kilo Bronze: McCann

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“It’s fficial.

Klick Health is not to be ignored.”

——— Strategy Magazine, June 2023

The Most Awarded Independent Healthcare Agency in the World is Here to Make a Difference.

klick.com

The Pharma Report

Medical systems globally are in crisis. There’s too much demand and too few resources, and patients are feeling forgotten and disconnected. But Canada’s pharma agencies are all about empowering people – arming them with information and direction, and giving experts on the front lines the support they need.

SPO NSO R E D SUPPLEMEN T | S85

The Pharma Report Left: For GSK's Trelegy, McCann Health created billboards with a positive tone to empower patients.

From frustration to renewed confidence

In a strained healthcare system, McCann Health is stepping up to empower Canadians

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“WE NEED TO RE-ESTABLISH TRUST AND THAT ‘THRIVE’ mindset because, otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of conditions that go either undiagnosed or unmanaged,” cautions Andrew Merola, director of strategic planning at McCann Health. The problem is that Canadians aren’t feeling great about our healthcare system today.

McCann Health teamed up with Angus Reid to take the pulse of 3,000 Canadians to find out how consumers are navigating healthcare today. The findings of the study – part of their “Truth In Healthcare” series – show a system facing unprecedented challenges. 76% of those surveyed said they thought the Canadian healthcare system is falling apart. And, while 93% of Canadians agree that free public healthcare is a core Canadian value, only 60% say they’re proud of the current system. “Our healthcare system has moved from being a source of pride to being a source of frustration,” observes Merola.

Today, simply accessing a family doctor has become a major issue for many Canadians. Half of those surveyed said that compared to five years ago, their ability to access healthcare has gotten worse. When it comes to advertising, Canadians are often influenced by spillover of U.S. campaigns, given the heavy restrictions on direct-to-consumer (DTC) messaging in this country. However, 76% of respondents find advertising from the pharmaceutical industry overly confusing.

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For McCann Health, that means it’s time for a new approach. New channels such as virtual care, and recent expansions to Canada’s pharmacy practice, are opening up opportunities to support Canadians with timely diagnosis and personalized treatment support. “There’s an opportunity for us to help Canadians navigate both health and technological literacy, and help them to better advocate for their themselves,” adds Merola.

McCann Health believes that healthcare marketers have a meaningful role to play in re-establishing confidence and keeping people connected to the system, as fractured as it is. That manifests itself in the types of projects it’s taking on, with a greater emphasis on patient support tools and more direct-to-consumer approaches. Increasingly, Canadians are taking the management of their health into their own hands, so they need to be empowered and informed.

For example, consider recent work in the ovarian cancer space. McCann Health worked with GSK to develop patient support materials in the form of an animated video series.

“Even though it's a heavy topic, speaking with empathy and being there along the journey makes it truly supportive,” says McCann Health ECD Sean Riley.

“Because at a time like that, people need practical guidance filled with humanity and warmth, not just another brochure.”

“I really wouldn’t refer to us as an ad agency anymore,” says Richelle Colbear, VP client services. “The bulk of what we do isn’t necessarily advertising. It’s more about recognizing the entire consumer or patient journey from start to finish, and maximizing the impact that we can generate at each step.” It may not always be “in person” but primary care is definitely becoming a more “personal experience”, sums Colbear.

To do that, McCann Health has broadened its strategic planning department to include behavioural science experts, medical strategists, and engagement specialists.

The agency has also expanded relationships with clients including Lilly, GSK and Novartis, as well as new clients like Pfizer, BAT, and Merck.

“Our commitment is to stay on the pulse of healthcare as it evolves throughout the post-pandemic era,” says Neill Brown, president of IPG Health. “As Canadians adapt to the new realities of our strained system, marketers need to bring new solutions to the table. People have been through a lot – so there’s fear fatigue. Finding reasons for optimism and positivity, even when you’re talking about difficult subjects, is important.”

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Left: 1 An empowering message for Patients Living With HIV (PLHIV) that today's treatment dynamics have changed. 2 For new contact lens wearers, McCann Health helps Alcon Canada communicate practical information with playfulness.

Below: 3 In partnership with Angus Reid, McCann Health conducted a proprietary study of 3,000 Canadians this year.

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CONTACT:

Neill Brown President, IPG Health Canada neill.brown@ipghealth.com

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The Pharma Report

The dual benefits of global reach and local touch

Dentsu Health Canada brings brands domestic expertise, international intel and resources

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THE POWER OF DENTSU Above: The cheeky F*cking Old campaign Health’s global network for condom maker Jems attracted worldwide attention got Canadian seniors this year when a coalition of to think about safer teams rallied to create a winning sex. Boxes of candy solution for a disease affecting with hidden condom millions of people. stashes and messages Scrolling Therapy is a freeabout safe sex were to-use mobile app developed distributed to seniors’

by Dentsu Health and Dentsu groups in a campaign Creative teams in Argentina, that helped boost Jems’ Brazil and the U.S. for Brazil-based online sales by 400%. biopharmaceutical company Eurofarma. It was created to motivate people with Parkinson’s disease to perform exercises that help control its symptoms.

Using AI, the app allows the person to control their social media accounts by using one of five facial expressions to execute common actions.

The app was launched in 10 countries with 45,128 doctors and ultimately won the global Dentsu teams the Pharma Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Lions.

“It was awesome, because it really was a global effort,” says New York based Kent Groves, EVP, global head of strategy at Dentsu Health.

The effort highlights the benefit of partnering with Dentsu Health Canada and gaining access to its international network, says Susan Johnson, EVP , Dentsu Health Canada lead and global integrated client lead.

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The agency was formally launched in April 2022 after Dentsu completed its acquisition of Toronto-based agency Antibody Healthcare Communications. The move “really built out our health chops as a network,” Johnson says, noting that the success of the merger is a result of careful and strategic integration.

Johnson adds that each member of Dentsu Health’s leadership team has at least 25 years of experience in life sciences. The team’s deep medical experience enables partnerships that ensure “communications are at the right time in the right place with the right message.”

This is especially critical for Canadian pharma brands with global ambitions. When a marketer in Toronto or Montreal needs to know something about another country, the 30-person Dentsu Health Canada team can get them an answer quickly.

She provides the example of Dentsu Health Canada’s recent outreach to its Japanese affiliates to help a Canadian pharmaceutical brand navigate Japan’s regulatory requirements. “Knowing the nuances of what you can and can't do [in different territories] helps the work get done faster,” she notes.

Dentsu’s 2023 “F*cking Old” campaign for Toronto-based condom maker Jems was another successful connection program with a social bent. Leaning on the insight that sexually transmitted infections are on the rise among Canada’s seniors, the Dentsu Creative team in Canada led by Jordan Doucette, CCO, partnered with Dentsu Health and devised a cheeky campaign to get over-65s thinking about safer sex.

The agency distributed boxes of candy with hidden condom stashes to seniors’ groups, with each candy’s wrapper containing a cheeky joke such as, “What’s worse for sex than a bad hip? Syphilis!”

“F*cking Old” resulted in more than 151 million earned media impressions and an earned media value of more than $20 million. What’s more, Jems’ online sales increased by 400%.

Despite its lighthearted tone, the campaign tackled a genuine health issue and the results show that customers were interested in the solution. This empathetic approach is one Groves says is at the heart of all Dentsu Health does, whether it’s patient-facing or physician-focused.

“If what we do today helps one physician discover a new product or [diagnose a condition] that's going to help one patient improve their quality of life, then we’ve accomplished our goal.”

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Left: 1 Members of the Dentsu Health executive leadership team, Susan Johnson, EVP Canada lead and global integrated client lead, Kent Groves, EVP, global head of strategy and Collette (Coco) Douaihy, global chief creative officer. 2 Dentsu Health & Dentsu Creative developed Scrolling Therapy app to offer people with Parkinson’s a new way of navigating social media while doing necessary exercises for facial masking symptoms – putting the control of their scrolling – to the power of their expressions.

3 A group shot of Dentsu Health Canada including the Health Strategy, Creative and Client Engagement teams along with the Dentsu Health president, Greg Reilly.

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CONTACT:

Michael Agnello Dentsu Health growth lead Michael.Agnello@dentsu.com

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The Pharma Report

Why putting patients at the center pays off

No Fixed Address Health listening-based philosophy fuels strategies and solutions that work

C

CAUSE AND EFFECT – WHETHER IT’S IN THE medicine you’re prescribed or the marketing that informs you about it, linking actions to results is critical.

That’s why No Fixed Address (NFA) Health is obsessed with “creative insights.”

“Yesterday, we spent two hours speaking with patients with prostate cancer,” says David Brown, the agency’s EVP of strategy. “We got to listen to these men discuss how they relate their condition to their community, whether it’s their family or friends. We got to hear stories of how they’ve interacted with HCPs. It’s those nuances that matter the most. We build those into our briefs.”

It’s in those stories, says Brown, where you find the humanity behind the clinical condition and uncover the problem we are solving for them through our creative and that pull through into marketing initiatives. For NFA, the patient will always be the most important person at the table.

“They’re at the centre of every solution,” explains Joy Panday, the agency's ECD, “because that relationship is key to feeling comfortable with their treatment. The creative has to be relevant, but it has to

1 Above: One of the key components for “Crucial Rehearsal,” an unbranded DTC campaign to raise awareness of treatment options for prostate cancer, was a tool on crucialrehearsal.ca that allowed patients to create a customized script that helped them discuss their concerns and treatment with their doctor.

Right: 1 For Vertex Pharma Canada, the agency turned to Instagram to create conversations with #cfpossibilities – a destination that offers “fresh content, life hacks & real-talk support to help you chart your path to living your best life with cystic fibrosis.” 2 NFA used humour as the hook for its unbranded DTC campaign about OAB. Dubbed “Stalking Toilet,” the effort represented a sufferer’s sudden urge to pee as a toilet that appears unannounced throughout the day. The campaign encouraged consumers to engage in a quiz asking about OAB symptoms and realized an 80% survey completion rate and grew the brand by 19% YOY.

CONTACT:

Dorothy Czylyski Partner, president dorothy.czylyski@nfahealth.com

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be empathetic to their situation and speak to them in a way that not only empowers them, but also disrupts them and gets them asking questions. “It's the only way to move patient behaviour.”

In the last year, the team has expanded to 40 full-time staff with senior leadership that includes Joy Panday as ECD; David Brown, EVP of healthcare strategy and Erwin Tumangday, EVP of growth.

With head offices in Toronto and New York, and employees based in Chicago, San Francisco, New Jersey, Atlanta, Boston and Montreal, No Fixed Address Health offers end-to-end insight, strategy, creative and digital capabilities. In addition, the agency’s in-house Medical and Regulatory team is adept in internal compliance as well as FDA, Health Canada, PAAB and ASC regulations.

And what’s their philosophy? NFA Health president Dorothy Czylyski says it comes down to NFA’s creative insight framework.

Their fuel is data and a deep understanding of the experience of patients, health care providers and the market. It’s about finding solutions that draw a direct line between insight, strategy, creative and performance.

Czylyski says the NFA approach resonates best with brands that have a challenger mindset and want to shake up the status quo.

Consider the recent “Crucial Rehearsal” unbranded DTC campaign for prostate cancer treatment. For it, the team created a website that encourages men with prostate cancer to speak up about their treatment options by using a simple online tool to create a personalized script for talking to their doctor. With more than 50,000 visits – representing an 80% reach of affected men in Canada and an 87% survey completion rate.

In another unbranded DTC campaign, this time for an overactive bladder treatment called “Stalking Toilet,” the team was

inspired by the emotional insights of patients to create a social video campaign featuring toilets that cause terror by lurking in the background. It drove to a quiz that informed consumers about the problem – and a solution. The campaign generated over 4 million video views, 5 million social impressions, an 88% click-through rate on social and an 80% test completion rate.

Or maybe the solution looks like the unique Instagram initiative created (#cfpossibilities) for Vertex Pharma Canada, creating conversations about what independent living looks like for patients with cystic fibrosis.

“In all three cases,” sums Panday, “those are very brave clients.

They understand that in order to reach our audiences, we can’t talk at them – we have to talk to them.” It’s an approach that resonates with brands like Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Astellas, Eli Lilly, LEO Pharma, and NovoNordisk.

For us it’s all about creating meaningful experiences around healthcare decision making for the HCP, the patient, and the consumer. When we uncover and dissect a particular journey, every point of connection matters and can have an impact, says Czylyski. So, whether it’s creating a script for patients or getting them to fill out a quiz, Czylyski says the goal is to drive action.

“The creative insight approach we've refined allows us to deliver better, stronger work that delivers ROI for the client,” she says. “And that's why they come to us. We’ve become experts in being able to navigate the regulatory landscape and create something truly impactful.”

NFA Health’s success in the Canadian market is garnering interest from pharma brands looking for bigger and bolder creative ideas that will deliver brand growth as a result of impacting true behavior change.”

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The Pharma Report

Provoking change through creativity

All briefs start by asking a question: what is the injustice at hand? Levy says he finds that when you start from that perspective, “all you want to do is find a way to make a difference.”

The model may be best illustrated in Klick’s most recent campaign for PodHER, a US-based organization focused on women's empowerment.

The initiative, called The Congregation, is a fictional religion devised in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.

“Many people within Klick stepped forward and said, ‘We need to do something,” recalls Levy. “We needed to Left: Based on figure out a way of letting women know they research that found weren't alone.” surgeons listening The Congregation is anchored in a real, to heavy metal music perform bible-like tome called the Book of Beliefs, more efficiently in containing resources for women and their operating rooms, allies, such as maps to medical clinics.

Klick Health Although the agency was driven to created Lifesaving join PodHER’s fight, the advertising Radio, which allows community rallied behind the work as well, doctors in ORs to awarding a 2023 Gold Lion in the Designcustomize music Book category. playlists based The trophy is joined in Klick’s case on the type and by another Cannes win: The Bridge, length of medical an animated short about how a procedures. suicidal man and an abandoned dog save one another. It was created for animal advocacy organization PAWS NY. THE CREATIVES AT KLICK HEALTH NEVER DREAMED THAT “I've watched that piece of work hundreds and hundreds of rock band AC/DC could be the key to improving outcomes in times,” Levy says, “and every time it just gets to me.” operating rooms around the world.

Apparently juries agreed, because the campaign won a But when the agency discovered research that showed the Silver Lion in Digital Craft for Animation and a bronze in band’s music amped up the performance of surgeons in the Health & Wellness for Animation at the 2023 Cannes Lions.

OR, they were… thunderstruck.

AI is also playing an increasing role in Klick’s work. It recently The insight drove the creation of Lifesaving Radio, an AIlaunched the KlickRx ChatGPT plugin – an agency first – powered Spotify radio station featuring a 30-hour playlist of and developed an algorithm that can forecast the amount songs inspired by the band. The work was created for Klick of glucose in diabetic patients’ blood 30 minutes into the future. client NextMed Health, a US-based digital health innovation That’s a big enough window to prompt diabetics to take brain trust. an insulin dose or adjust their diets based on the information, Noting that “almost every surgeon in a surgical suite plays notes Alfred Whitehead, EVP of data science at Klick. music,” Klick CCO Rich Levy says the playlist is customized to It’s another example of how Klick can effect real change, the type and length of a medical procedure. Testing has shown and Levy says pharma brands are looking for agencies that can that surgeons who listen to Lifesaving Radio perform faster, communicate those efforts clearly and creatively. more efficiently and with higher accuracy.

“Pharmaceutical companies want to talk about their Thousands of physicians from around the world have now efforts to make a difference in people's lives,” he says. tapped into Lifesaving Radio on Spotify and media coverage “That's why all of them got into the business and I think that has achieved close to one billion earned impressions. we, as communication companies, have to remember that The unlikely pairing of hard rock and surgical procedures is our job is to help them realize that goal.” an example of Klick’s 26-year history of refusing to accept the Klick is now positioned to bring its strategy worldwide, status quo, Levy says. headquartered in Toronto, with offices in New York, It all starts with what Klick calls a “provocation brief,” Philadelphia, London, Singapore and Sao Paulo. named so because the goal is to provoke an action. “It's not “People are really getting to see what we can do when good enough for people to be aware of a problem. People have we're firing on all cylinders,” Levy notes with a smile. to do something about it,” he insists.

How Klick Health taps AI and team passion to empower real world outcomes

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Above: 1 Klick Health made Lady Gaga the face of migraine treatment Nurtec. Described as an actual Nurtec user, she says in a 30-second TV spot: “I know what it's like to perform through pain.” 2 Klicksters take the Cannes stage in June after winning a Gold Lion for The Congregation. 3 Klick created The Bridge, a four-minute animation short for animal advocacy organization PAWS NY, that shows the power pets can have on people's mental health. It went on to win two awards at the 2023 Cannes Lions. 4 For U.S. women’s empowerment organization PodHER, Klick created The Congregation, in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Cannes Lions-winning campaign includes resources and support for women seeking abortions.

CONTACT:

Jennifer White Global Head of Growth, Klick Health connect@klick.com

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