Hires and promotions
Atlantic-based agency M5 has made additions to its executive teams in two of its offices. Under the new structure, Jennifer Kenny is promoted from senior account director to VP of client service in the Moncton office and Jon Duke, formerly senior director of integrated marketing, becomes VP of marketing and innovation in Newfoundland. Kenny joined the agency in 2013 after working with ALC, Cavendish Farms and with SGCI Communications, while Duke has been with the agency for the last 12 years.
Following the recent hiring of Thomas Lecordier as VP of integration and innovation, Tank continues to grow in Montreal. The new wave of hires includes Marie-Joëlle Dubois as principal account director, Maylina Babin as creative assistant, Charlotte Bernet as designer of interactive, Stacey Rubin as account supervisor, Maggie Sirois as account coordinator, Sevilla Dorotea as producer, Vincent Faust as administrative coordinator and receptionist, Alexandre Deakin as animator, Iliana Palenzuela as medical writer and Zineb Benlahbib as accounting technician on accounts payable. In addition, the shop has promoted Josée Bisson to account manager, Adam Michiels to senior director of digital planning and Gabriel Masella to artistic director for animation.
New business and other news
Zenergy Communications has been awarded an AOR mandate with The Beach Village BIA in Toronto, following a selection process that began in December. The Toronto firm will lead marketing, PR and communications strategy for the east-end business improvement area with the goal of highlighting its local businesses and events. The work has already begun, with Zenergy launching a “Back to the Beach Village” campaign this week that will roll out over the next several months.
The Clio Awards has announced the jury members of the 60th annual awards show. This year, the juror pool is split evenly between men and women representing 28 countries, including Canada with Cossette’s Peter Ignazi and Anomaly’s Mike Byrne joining the film panel; Lg2’s Elisa Cropsal on design; Saints’ Melanie Hider and Roosters’ Chris Parkins on editing; and John St.’s Mooren Bofill on design. The complete list can be found here. Winners will be announced in New York on Sept. 25, 2019.
François Duffar, Jean-Jacques Stréliski and Pierre Lalande have been selected as the 2019 inductees of the Association of Creative Communications Agencies’ (A2C) Hall of Fame. The annual initiative pays tribute to the careers of “great visionaries” who have contributed to the excellence of the marketing and communications industry in Quebec.
Entering its tenth year as an agency, Toronto marketing firm BlackJet has rebranded. The new visual identity includes a brightened palette, modernized look and new logo featuring a horizontal “k,” which the agency says is a subtle nod to “key” or “black” in the printing process.
Media
Toronto-based craft brewer Steam Whistle has gone with Dentsu Aegis Network shop Carat as its media buying partner. Media in Canada spoke with president Jeff Dack, who says the partnership comes as Stream Whistle looks to continue investing in more of a mass play, having recently returned to TV screens (full story available to Media in Canada subscribers).
A number of Canadian publishers have signed on to be part of Apple News Plus, the tech giant’s new pay-per-month news service that was announced earlier this week. The pubs include Toronto Star, La Presse, as well as St. Joseph Communications’ recently acquired titles, Chatelaine, Hello! Canada and Maclean’s. The basic Apple News app is free, while the premium subscription service is CAD$12.99 per month in Canada (full story available to Media in Canada subscribers).
Facebook and Google’s share of advertising dollars is set to rise, in spite of the recent controversies that have pledged both platforms. According to Warc, more than a quarter of ad spend across all platforms is expected to be scooped up by the duopoly next year, up from 24.5% last year (full story available to Media in Canada subscribers).
