Toronto-based ad agency Bensimon*Byrne*D’Arcy has launched a fully independent direct marketing business unit, called Clarion Direct, which had been operating as an internal group within the agency since 1997.

‘We’ve grown a lot since we initially began offering database and direct marketing services,’ says Steffanie Gareau, vice-president of Clarion.

‘Now, we’ll have to staff up appropriately and we’ll be making that investment in people and technology,’ says Gareau, adding that Clarion counts 10 people in creative, account management and production services.

Jack Bensimon, president of Bensimon*Byrne is confident the move will work, based on a similar approach the agency took with its media department in 1998. That year, it spun off Mediavest Canada from its own in-house media department.

‘The lesson for marketers is, as technology and skills become more specialized, departments require more independence,’ he says. ‘When they operate with autonomy, it’s easier for them to reinvest their revenues in their business. That’s more difficult when revenue is consolidated and everyone is competing for their share.’