For much of the staff at the newly formed Manitoba offices of Glennie Stamnes Strategy, it’ll seem like old times.
The new division of Vancouver-based Glennie Stamnes came out of a merger with Winnipeg-based Gray Advertising. Gray, a small regional advertising firm, was founded by Laura Gray in 1992. Gray worked with former Winnipeggers Rob Glennie and Bob Stamnes nearly 10 years ago when they worked in the Winnipeg offices of Palmer Jarvis.
Gray, Stamnes, Glennie and Walter Kulyk are equal partners in the new venture, says Gray. Kulyk and Glennie worked together in the early 1980s.
‘This is not a big company eating up a small one; it’s like four old friends getting back together,’ Gray says.
Gray had billings of about $1 million last year from a stable of clients that includes Red River College, WOW Hospitality, the Keg, Manitoba Education and Training, and the Manitoba Milk Producers. For its part, Glennie Stamnes has annual billings of about $12 million. Its accounts include Toyota B.C. Dealers, Ethical Funds and Citizens Bank of Canada.
The merger will allow the new company to pitch larger clients in Manitoba and to better service current clients such as Citizens Bank and Ethical Funds, says Glennie Stamnes president Bob Stamnes.
The Winnipeg advertising market was once dominated by Palmer Jarvis which held the account for Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS). Their position was weakened somewhat when they had to resign the MTS account after it was consolidated with Quebec-based Cossette Communication-Marketing last year.
Glennie Stamnes is currently looking for other expansion opportunities in Western Canada, says Stamnes.
