From left to right: Josh Norton, Erin Jacobson, Lanny Cardow and Megan Shay.
National Public Relations’ Toronto office has brought its digital, marketing and technology practices together under one team with the goal of creating a more integrated offering.
The new business unit, known as the “DMT,” will see the Toronto PR shop deliver services across earned and paid media, digital, influencer engagement, content and social strategy through a single integrated team led by Erin Jacobson, who takes on the new title of SVP and practice lead for digital, marketing and technology. She previously joined National as SVP and head of digital in the fall.
Reporting into Jacobson are three discipline leads responsible for driving growth in their respective areas. Lanny Cardow becomes VP and head of digital, Josh Norton takes on the VP and head of marketing role, and Megan Shay becomes VP and head of technology. Jacobson, meanwhile, will report into Rick Murray, managing partner and chief digital strategist of National in Toronto, and managing partner of sister agency Cohn & Wolfe Canada since September.
Jacobson says the change comes in response to the evolving media environment, where capturing and holding an audience’s attention has become more difficult.
“It only makes sense to bring together the people who craft and tell brand stories with the experts who know how to find audiences and reach them through paid and owned channels,” she says. “The convergence of these teams will mean that each piece of coverage, earned or sponsored, will work harder and go further for our clients.”
She adds that the structure of DMT will enable the agency to “not only tell great stories but serve them seamlessly into the feeds and channels where that content is being consumed by our client’s target audiences.”
She wouldn’t say whether the creation of DMT was the result of demand from existing or prospective clients, saying only that the service will help identify new opportunities for all of National Toronto’s clients.
National is present in most major Canadian markets with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, Halifax and St. John’s.
