Hires and promotions
Vancouver agency Wasserman + Partners has promoted Bronwyn Retief to the role of associate creative director. Since joining the agency in April last year, she has worked on campaigns for B.C. brands including ICBC, London Drugs and Accent Inns. She began her career with DDB New Zealand, working with brands like McDonald’s and Volkswagen.
Naked Creative Consultancy has made three hires and promoted two members of its team, expanding its content development and digital production capabilities. Laura Mahon joins the agency as director of content production from Traffik, where she led on the Walmart, Xbox, Microsoft, First Quality, Hydro One and Scotts Miracle-Gro accounts. Greg Plata becomes director of strategy and brand development, having previously worked at Hydro One and Traffik, and Amanda Bertrand is named an intermediate art director and graphic designer, having previously worked at Evoke Solutions in Toronto. In addition, Hayley Russel and Kereesa Wright were promoted to account supervisor and senior designer, respectively.
Sandie Sparkman has been appointed EVP of client solutions at polling and market research firm Leger. She will be responsible for business development, having previously served as VP of subsidiary Leger Metrics. Her hiring is accompanied by the addition of five people to the client solutions and sales team: Laurent Maruani and Mickael Lavergne in Montreal, Amber Persad and Philip Skladowski in Toronto and Pardeep K.Sharma in Philadelphia. Together, they will work to market Leger Metrics, which measures customer experience in real time.
Citizen Relations has made several senior hires to its public and corporate affairs practice. In recent months, it has added François Vaqué as VP of corporate and public affairs at Citoyen Optimum in Montreal, Stephen Smart as VP in Vancouver and Michael MacMillan as VP in Toronto. Vaqué has previously served as global head of marketing and communications for KPMG’s international audit practice. Smart, a former journalist, has also served as press secretary to the Premier of British Columbia. MacMillan has consulted across the public and private sectors in the tech and retail industries.
New business
As it re-enters the Canadian market, American Apparel has named Pomp & Circumstance PR as its public relations AOR north of the border. The apparel company recently re-launched globally with a “Back to Basics” campaign featuring real people who represent a diversity of body types, ages and ethnicities.
NKPR recently announced three account wins. The public relations firm will work with Nature’s Bounty to support its Hair, Skin & Nail vitamins through a media and digital influencer strategy, as well as strategic partnerships, to help increase brand awareness and drive sales. For spinning studio Spinco, NKPR will work on profile building for the company’s founder, media and digital influencer relations, events, strategic partnerships, and localized market support as the brand expands with more studio openings across the country. Finally, for Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the shop will roll out a media relations and digital media strategy in support of its financial literacy program.
Media
U.S.-based digital media company Refinery29 is entering Canada, naming Carley Fortune, former editor-in-chief of Rogers Media-owned Chatelaine magazine, as executive editor. The female-targeted digital content company is expected to launch a Canadian edition in early October (for Media in Canada subscribers).
Tim Hortons has signed a four-year sponsorship deal with Hockey Canada that will see the coffee and donut chain support the country’s national teams during the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship and the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Derek Kent, head of brand communications with parent company RBI, told Media in Canada the partnership is meant to align with the family-friendly approach of some of its past campaigns (for subscribers only).
