Hires and promotions
Caroline Murphy has been hired by Huge in the new role of VP of strategic growth. Based out of Toronto, she will lead communications and business development for the agency, reporting into Matt Di Paola, who was named managing director of the Toronto office last year. Her responsibilities include having a seat at the executive table, offering strategic communications advice to clients and supporting the agency’s global business development team in Brooklyn. Murphy most recently served as SVP of brand development at McCann Worldgroup Canada, where she oversaw marketing communications and strategy across all its agency brands. She has also spent time at Harbinger, Veritas and Mosaic.
Erin Manning has taken on new responsibilities at Ketchum Canada after a promotion to associate managing director, five years after rejoining the shop in 2014 following a stint at Hill+Knowlton Strategies. In the role, Manning will lead Canadian operations for Ketchum within Canada. She replaces Emma Capombassis, who has taken on new duties as senior counsellor for Ketchum North America, and will play a leadership role across accounts while leading growth and innovation.
New business
NKPR has bagged two new accounts. The PR agency will lead Olsen’s Canadian communications strategy, having been named the European women fashion brand’s agency of record. NKPR will focus on media relations, stylist and influencer relations, brand partnerships and collaborations for the brand. The shop has also been named AOR for female-focused website The Strategy, and will work on leadership strategy for founder Natasha Lawrence, influencer relations, and ongoing digital engagement and growth.
Flying Camel, a Burlington, Ont.-based agency, has been named PR and social media AOR for the HD Expo, an annual North America trade show dedicated to the hospitality design industry.
Media
As its newly appointed media AOR, Cossette Media will lead all media planning and strategy, buying, ad serving and trafficking, ad verification and reporting for the Government of Canada. The three-year contract expands upon a long-standing relationship between the government and agency. On the creative side, the federal government works with multiple agencies, including McCann, Ogilvy and Cheil (full story for Media in Canada subscribers).
Comscore has restructured, reducing its global workforce by around 8%. The change has resulted in some Canadian job losses, though just how many is unclear. The news comes after the resignations of the company’s CEO and president in March (full story for Media in Canada subscribers).
