Geoffrey B. Roche & Partners Advertising entered the new year with a new name.

The Toronto shop will now be known as Roche Macaulay & Partners, recognizing the contribution of Senior Vice-President Andy Macaulay to the building of the $40-million agency.

Macaulay has had an equity position since joining the company in December 1990, nine months after it was established.

Geoffrey Roche, president and creative director of the agency, says many consider the firm a creative boutique.

Roche, referring to Macaulay’s strategic background, says he hopes the new name will send the message the shop is a strategic agency.

Before joining Roche, Macaulay had handled strategic planning for clients such as Nabisco, Ault Foods, Volkswagen, Labatt, Nestle and Sony.

The agency, which has a staff of 27, picked up nearly $20 million in billings in 1994 from new clients such as Roots and Petro-Canada.

While Roche acknowledges his shop is now a big agency, he says the flat structure of the firm is what has contributed to its success.

‘The last thing we want to do is become a layered agency,’ he says.

‘There are no account managers in the agency.

‘Believe it or not, we’re only putting three or four people on the PetroCan business, two strategic planners, and possibly, a couple of traffic planners.’