lg2: The results agency

lg2 is making its mark in Quebec, in North America and on the world stage. In 2013, the agency captured third spot on strategy’s ranking of Canadian agencies with the most major global, national and regional award show wins. Since 2006, lg2 has won five Cannes Lions – the ad world’s top honor, and in May, the agency picked up five awards at the prestigious One Show in New York.

lg2’s work for SAAQ/QAIC, the Societe de l’assurance automobile du Quebec, netted the agency a total of 111 awards in 2013 alone. The overall role of the multi-faceted campaign is to generate long-term change in attitude and safe driving behaviour, particular in targets that demonstrate ‘risky behaviour’ such as men and youth.

“Ghosts”, an impactful component of the campaign, involved installations in highschool washrooms. Teen ‘ghosts’ were projected as 3D holograms on the backs of mirrors, startling and engaging thousands of students with cautionary tales of the dangers of speeding, drinking or texting while driving. On YouTube, the videos had 210,000 views in just one week.

Marc Fortin, agency partner, VP & creative director, says the success of the 23-year-old agency has generated the momentum needed to further its presence on the national scene. lg2 is currently interviewing some of the best talent in the country for a new office that will soon be opening in Toronto. Until now, lg2 has only had offices in Montreal and Quebec City.

There are two overriding influences that have contributed to the success, Fortin says. “The first is the fact that we’re privately-owned. It’s really important for us that the agency is still owned 100% by people that work here. The other is that we believe all decisions should be made in order to deliver positive client results through amazing work, never making a decision based only on the bottom line.”

A few other things are unique about lg2. lg2 has the agility of a small agency and the insight of a big one as it puts more senior people on a client problem than most agencies do.

There are 200 staffers in the two offices, and Fortin describes it as being staffed, plus one – a decision the agency can make because it is privately-owned.

lg2 is fully integrated, open concept with the planners sitting with the creatives and everyone working together. Although staffers are specialists in specific disciplines, they understand all areas since increasingly clients are bringing all of their business to the agency – from design and packaging to branding, digital and traditional advertising.

Fortin. “We’re not like other agencies where planners do the thinking and prepare a brief that goes to client for approval and back to the creative department. After a client brief, we sit down together right from the beginning to put our instincts at work synergetically before anyone goes off to further reflect.”

From the beginning, the agency’s motto has been “Think like a brand, act like a retailer”. The lg2 formula is working for a wide range of big brands, like Bell, Desjardins, Rolaids, Natrel, Loto-Québec and Arctic Gardens, many that have been with the agency for several years.

Aside from its much awarded work for SAAQ, lg2 has been getting a lot of attention for its design work for the Montreal Olympic Park. The agency created a compelling visual identity for the sports, cultural and outdoor hub that was originally built for the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. The branding is now on everything from park passes and packaging to souvenir product and advertising.

One of the agency’s fun – but impactful – executions was designed for the Quebec City Magic Festival. The idea was
to capture the attention of the public with an actual magic trick, so a bus shelter installation was created with sponge balls placed between two panes of glass, that were triggered to “magically” react to passersby via a motion detector. The interactivity worked, drawing sellout crowds and attendance almost doubled over the previous year.

Fortin adds, “We never make decisions based on anything other than, ‘what are the conditions to provide best results and great ideas for the clients?’ In that way we create loyalty. Clients are staying longer because we’ve become partners in their business success, both by intelligence and by great creative.”