Hires, promotions and other news
Vancouver-based natural health products company Vega has named Samantha Taylor as its new VP of marketing. Taylor joins after more than 15 years with Kraft Heinz Canada, most recently as VP, head of meal solutions marketing.
Public Inc. has announced three additions to its senior leadership team. Dan Dunsky has joined as VP, insights and impact. Dunsky most recently founded Dunsky Insight, a strategic communications consultancy, and was previously executive producer of The Agenda with Steve Paikin on TVO. Adam Kahan has also joined as senior adviser. He was most recently VP of advancement at Ryerson University, a role he held for 13 years before retiring. In that position, he led the rebranding of the university and its fundraising. Lastly, Roberta Polyak has joined Public as director, people and culture. With 13 years in human resources and organizational development, her expertise includes training and development as well as leadership and management coaching. Over the past two years, Public (which operates as both a social impact agency and accelerator to help businesses with a social purpose grow) has doubled in size and has taken up new office space in Toronto.
Broad Reach Communications has brought on Jeff Roman as VP, client service and operations. Roman was most recently a VP at National Public Relations and has held roles with Sirius Satellite Radio Canada, Edelman and the Ontario Public Service. Other recent hires for Broad Reach include account director Denise Gagnon, senior account manager Daina Astwood-George and account coordinator Danielle Scott.
ChizComm has promoted Stephanie Costabile and Kassandra O’Brien to directors of marketing and communications. Costabile joined ChizComm in 2013, while O’Brien came on in 2015. Both have been promoted from their roles as senior public relations and marketing managers. Since opening in 2013, the company has doubled its client base and is continuing to grow, with a satellite office opening in Los Angeles next year.
The One Club for Creativity (the new organization formed by the merger of The One Club and the Art Directors Club) has announced the judges for The One Show in 2017, including five from Canada. They include Claire Dawson, co-founder and CD at Underline Studio in Toronto (design); Christina Yu, EVP and CD at Red Urban in Toronto (film); Adrian Belina, partner and ECD at Jam 3 in Toronto (interactive); Steve Persico, GCD at Leo Burnett in Toronto (print and outdoor); and Bryan Collins, partner and CD at 123West in Vancouver (radio). There are 134 judges from 31 countries across 13 disciplines, including branded entertainment, cross-platform, design, direct, film, IP, interactive, mobile, print and outdoor, social media, UX/UI, responsive environments and radio.
Canadian Interuniversity Sport has rebranded to U Sports. The organization represents 12,000 student-athletes, 500 coaches, 56 universities and 12 sports, now under one brand that’s meant to resonate in both English and French. The rebrand, including a new logo inspired by the angular letters on varsity jerseys, was handled by Hulse & Durrell, which has led various brand launches over the years, including the Canadian Olympic Committee, Swimming Canada, Curling Canada and most recently Equestrian Canada.
The Institute of Communication Agencies’ FFWD Advertising & Marketing Week 2017 has unveiled its theme and keynote speakers. The theme for this year’s event will be “Canada Needs You” created by Cossette. Keynote speakers include Jess Greenwood, VP of content and partnerships at R/GA, and Tom Morton, SVP of strategy at R/GA in New York City along, with Mark Tutssel, Leo Burnett’s worldwide CCO. More information and speakers are available on the event website.
Fuse Marketing Group has launched Fuse Live, dedicated to live experiences for brands, part of its plan to continue evolving its XM and digital content practices. All of the Fuse Live staff will be dedicated to its projects, not pulled from the rest of Fuse’s staff. Aimed at being data-informed and relying heavily on insights and analytics, including social listening, search behaviour, event behaviour and attendance, the goal is to help clients understand what’s working and what isn’t in real time.
Mississauga, Ont.-based boutique agency BTI Brand Innovations has formally announced a new division dedicated to multicultural marketing. Parveen Dhupar, BTI’s CCO describes it as a logical step for the agency, as Canada becomes increasingly diverse. Sarthak Sharma, who joined BTI in late 2015, will lead the vertical. Sharma has held various roles in India with agencies including McCann Worldgroup, Blackpencil India (part of Leo Burnett) and DDB India.
Dan Bannister’s “Portraits for Good” is back. The Toronto photographer will be doing two photo sessions in December at his studio, with 40 spots available in total. Bannister is providing free professional portraits for those who make a donation to a food bank. Details are available on his website and more information about “Portraits for Good” is available on Stimulant.
New business
NKPR has been named North American AOR for SIM Group, a leading supplier of production equipment, dailies and post-production services in film and television. SIM’s affiliated companies include SIM Digital, PS Production Services, Bling, Chainsaw, Pixel Underground, Tattersall Sound & Picture and Post Factory NY. NKPR is tasked with developing PR strategies to boost visibility with key stakeholders.
Media
Twitter is cutting 9% of its global workforce, and shutting down its Vine app.
Shaftesbury/Smokebomb and Shift2 have partnered with Corus Entertainment’s YTV, Ubisoft and charitable organization Let’s Talk Science to launch a new multiplatform series aimed at promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Canadian education.
Internet access revenue surpassed broadcasting revenue for the first time in 2015, according to numbers from the CRTC released as part of the 2016 Communications Monitoring Report.
With files from Josh Kolm
