The Bell Canada account group at Cossette Communication-Marketing has been realigned, in response to recent structural changes made by the telecommunications giant.

The Bell account teams in Ontario and Quebec have now been integrated, and will both work under the direction of executive vice-president Daniel Rabinowicz, who is based in the Montreal office.

Mary Koven, the vice-president, general manager previously responsible for the Bell Ontario account, will be moved to other duties.

Suzanne Sauvage, vice-president, strategic in Montreal, reports to Rabinowicz and is the agency’s point of contact with Sylvie Lalonde, chief communications officer for Bell.

Lalonde says the changes on the agency side mirror the way Bell’s marketing organization has structured itself internally.

The telco’s overall marketing direction is now set by chief marketing officer Karen Sheriff, who is based in Toronto, but works directly with staff in both Quebec and Ontario.

"We’ve put in place similar organizations at both the agency and at Bell," Lalonde says, "to make sure that when we communicate, we communicate as if we were two mirrored organizations."

No jobs are expected to be lost at Cossette as a result of the realignment.

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

Thursday’s batch of Silver and Bronze winners included the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury Lions, Brand Experience & Activation, Innovation and Creative Commerce Lions categories. Canadians were recognized with three Lions today: a Silver in Brand Experience & Activation, a Bronze in Creative Commerce and a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness. Rethink was awarded twice on Day 4, while Weber Shandwick rounded out the Canadian agency wins with one Lion. Below is a look at the work. Catch the Gold winners later this afternoon when they’re revealed at the gala in Cannes.

Creative Commerce (1 Silver)

1 SILVER: “U Up?” by Rethink for IKEA

IKEA’s “U Up?” campaign has legs, it turns out. The campaign is getting major love at Cannes. The IKEA work, created in collaboration with Rethink Toronto, added to its Cannes Lions tally with a Silver medal in Creative Commerce. That now makes five total Lions for the work, including two Golds on Wednesday night, for Direct and Socal & Creator. The campaign has been lauded by jurors for its dexterity, contextual timing and humour.

Creative Effectiveness (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch” by Rethink for Kraft Heinz 

Both Rethink and Kraft Heinz picked up another Lion, this one a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness for their collaboration on “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch.” Not only did the work capture a culture moment spurred by Taylor Swift, but it also created a new product, “in under 24 hours,” to match. The latest two Lions makes 10 total wins for Rethink. Kraft Heinz and Rethink also picked up a rare Gold Lion for Media a day earlier.

Brand Experience & Activation (1 Bronze)

1 BRONZE: “Airbnb Icons” by Weber Shandwick for Airbnb

The Weber Shandwick work, “Airbnb Icons,” won Bronze on Thursday in Brand Experience & Activation after claiming a Bronze in Media Wednesday. Airbnb turned media brands into a destination, partnering with the likes of Marvel and Disney to offer travellers experiences like drifting off in the Up house or crashing at an X-Men mansion. The first 11 experiences rolled out mid-2024, and most of the experiences were free or under $100, with over 4,000 tickets sold by the end of the season.