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.’

The Garden promotes two creative directors

ACDs Lindsay Eady and Francheska Galloway-Davis have taken over responsibility for day-to-day creative leadership at The Garden after being promoted to creative director roles.

The pair will also help develop the agency’s creative talent, formalizing mentorship and leadership activities they have been doing since joining the agency four and three years ago, respectively. In addition to creating the agency’s internship program, the pair have worked on campaigns for Coinsquare, FitTrack and “The Coke Challenge” campaign for DanceSafe.

Eady and Galloway-Davis will continue to report to The Garden’s co-founder and chief creative officer Shane Ogilvie, who is stepping back from daily creative duties to a more high-level strategic role, allowing him to focus on client relationships and business growth.

Naked Creative Consultancy names new creative and strategy leadership

Toronto’s Naked Creative Consultancy has hired Yasmin Sahni as its new creative director. She is taking over creative leadership from David Kenyon, who has been in the role for 10 years and is moving into a new role as director of strategy, leading the discipline at the agency.

Sahni is coming off of three years as VP and ECD at GTB’s Toronto office, where she managed all the retail, social and service creative for Ford Canada. She previously managed both Vice Media and Vice’s in-house ad agency Virtue.

Peter Shier, president of Naked, says Sahni’s hiring adds to its creative bench and capabilities, as well as a track record of mentorship, a priority for the company. Meanwhile, Kenyon’s move to the strategy side, he says, makes sense because of his deep knowledge of its clients, which have included Ancestry and The Globe and Mail.

Digital Ethos opens a Toronto office

U.K. digital agency Digital Ethos is pursuing new growth opportunities in North America by opening a new office in Toronto.

Though it didn’t disclose them, the agency has begun serving a number of North American clients, and CEO/founder Luke Tobin says the “time was right to invest in a more formal and actual presence in the area.” whose services include design, SEO, pay-per-click, social media, influencer and PR,

This year, the agency’s growth has also allowed it to open an office in Hamburg, Germany, though it also has remote staff working in countries around the world.

Moray Hickes was the company’s first North American hire as VP of sales, tasked with business development in the region.