End of an era

It’s a regular occurrence at Strategy to publish news of the comings and goings of various marketing industry personnel. Occasionally, such news focuses on staffing changes within Brunico Communications itself, the company that publishes this periodical. This issue, we’re sorry to say, marks the last in which Strategy’s founding editor, Mark Smyka, will be listed on the masthead as a senior vice-president within the company, as he has made a personal decision to embark on a new direction in his career and his life.

Here, Mark shares his thoughts behind his decision:

I suppose that most people carry around in their heads meaningful phrases and aphorisms that pop up, like guideposts, to help them through difficult moments in life. When I began contemplating what for me was to become the toughest decision in my professional career, the one thought that helped me through was a comment that appeared in a story that ran in KidScreen three years ago.

It was a tribute to Joe Bacal and his partner Tom Griffin, who together built the New York ad agency Griffin Bacal into one of the world’s leading specialists in kids advertising.

I had asked the reporter to make sure to explore, with Joe in particular, how he had found the courage to leave his comfortable agency surroundings (he was at Benton and Bowles at the time) and start something new. His answer appeared in the opening sentence. It read:

‘I met Ray Bradbury at a dinner a couple of years ago and we got to talking about creative courage,’ remembers Joe Bacal. ‘And he said, ‘If you get to the edge of the cliff, don’t be afraid to jump off. Have faith that you’ll grow wings on the way down.”Well, I never met Ray Bradbury, but I did meet Joe Bacal and got to know him well when we launched the Golden Marble Awards almost two years ago. Joe doesn’t even know how he’s influenced me with that wonderful anecdote. But it was that thought – of finding the faith in oneself – that helped me muster up the resolve to leave this company, which I have loved and helped build and will so miss.

In particular I will miss my partnership with Jim Shenkman, a unique individual, who has been my greatest inspiration and the foundation of whatever creative accomplishments I’ve achieved at Brunico.

Mark Smyka

Missed, but not forgotten

Almost 14 years ago, someone suggested to me that a young associate editor at Marketing magazine might be a perfect choice to help launch a newspaper about the film, TV, and radio business in Canada. A few days later, I met Mark Smyka and learned that not only was he eager for a new opportunity, but that he had his own dream of launching a magazine about commercial production in Canada.

Mark and I immediately clicked and within just a few days, he had agreed to leave Maclean Hunter after eight years to join me, someone who knew nothing about either publishing or the film, TV, and commercial production business. We combined our ideas and Mark became an investor and founding shareholder. Together we moved very fast. Within five weeks of meeting, we had named Playback (our first publication), developed a business plan, assembled the investors, commissioned a design, and incorporated the company.

Almost from the day we began working together, Mark wanted to launch a business publication that was really about marketing and not just the advertising and services business. Hence, Strategy was born three years after Brunico began and, under Mark’s editorship, it quickly became one of Canada’s largest trade papers.

In 1995, we decided that it was time to go international and Mark became the founding editor of KidScreen, probably the first truly international trade magazine to be published out of Canada. In 1998, Mark realized another long-held dream, but on a much larger and more successful scale than he had previously imagined. Organizing an advertising award show was something he had long wanted to do. But to put one on in New York City, the centre of the advertising universe, and attract a huge audience right off the bat, was a remarkable accomplishment. And so with Mark as the champion, the first ever Golden Marble Awards were born.

The publication of Boards last Fall was Mark’s fifth product launch. Almost ironically, this launch brought Mark full circle back to when we first met in 1986 and he described his idea for a commercial production magazine for Canada – only with Boards, we are doing it on a global scale.

Mark is now ready for his next challenges, but he is looking for something very different. And so here I am today, almost 14 years and five amazing product launches later and I find myself announcing that Mark is leaving Brunico Communications, the company he very much helped to conceive and build.

Mark will be very much missed. He has been an editorial inspiration, not only in shaping the content we distribute, but also in recognizing and fostering so much talent over the years. His combination of patience, insight, and caring has been invaluable to not only the success of this business, but also to so many careers he has fostered. I know this was a very difficult decision for Mark to make, because he is leaving behind a family that means so much to him. But his legacy shall long remain and ever be appreciated. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without his guidance and support. I shall miss him as a partner. I shall always value his friendship.

James Shenkman

President, Brunico Communications Inc.

Executive Publisher, Strategy

Cannes Lions 2025: Canadians nab more medals on final festival day

Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.

Friday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the oldest category at the Cannes festival, Film, as well as Sustainable Development Goals, Dan Wieden Titanium, Glass: The Lion for Change and Grand Prix for Good. Canadians were recognized with four Lions today: two Silver and a Bronze in Film, as well as a Bronze in Sustainable Development Goals.

FCB Toronto was given yet another nod for its work, “The Count,” for SickKids, bringing the medal count for that campaign to four, including a Gold for Health & Wellness. Another Canadian agency recognized on the final day of the festival was Klick Health Toronto, which earned a Silver in Film for its work “Love Captured” for Human Trafficking Awareness and a Bronze for “18 Months” for Second Nurture. And over in Sustainable Development Goals, the Bronze went to Publicis Canada and its “Wildfire Watchtowers” work for Rogers.

Another massive win for Canada included not one, but two Young Lions (pictured above) taking home medals in the annual competition. In Design, the Gold Young Lion was awarded to Rethink’s senior motion designer Jesse Shaw and ACD Zoë Boudreau. The second, a Bronze in Media, went to Cossette Media’s business intelligence analyst Samuel David-Durocher and product development supervisor Tristan Bonnot-Parent.

Film (2 Silver, 1 Bronze)

1 SILVER: “The  Count” by FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation

“The Count,” a striking campaign from FCB Toronto for SickKids Foundation, has earned 1 Gold, 2 Bronze and now 1 Silver for Film at Cannes. If you watch it, it’s easy to see why. The collaboration between brand and agency honoured the hospital’s “VS” platform, while steering it in a new direction from its initial development by previous AOR Cossette. The creative celebrates childhood cancer patients who have to fight for every birthday, while honouring the hospital’s own milestone – 150 years and counting.

 

1 Silver: “Love Captured” by Klick Health Toronto for The Exodus Road

Klick Health Toronto added to its medal tally with a Silver in Film for it’s work “Love Captured” for The Exodus Road. The creative features a romantic getaway that isn’t what it seems in an experiential short film for the global anti-trafficking organization. The experience takes viewers through a tragic and twisting experience of exploitation.

 

1 BRONZE: “18 Months” by Klick Health Toronto for Second Nurture

Klick Health Toronto also won a Bronze in the Film category for its work, “18 Months,” done for the charity organization Second Nurture. The animated film is based on a real-life story in which a same-sex couple adopts a baby found in a subway station, and the 18-month journey into a story of hope.

Sustainable Development Goals (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Wildfire Watchtowers” by Publicis Canada for Rogers

Publicis Canada landed on the winners board for its work, “Wildfire Watchtowers,” for Rogers. The Canadian-developed wildfire-detection tech – which has been billed as “a fire alarm in the forest” – uses AI-powered sensors installed on 5G towers to monitor vast remote areas in real time. By scanning, identifying and reporting early signs of wildfires (up to 16 minutes faster than other systems), the technology helped prevent 54 fires in 2024 alone.

Catch the Gold winners later today when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.