M5 is expanding into Saint John, New Brunswick, after reaching a deal to transition staff over from agency Revolution Strategy.

“For us, our whole strategy really is having a strong footprint in Atlantic Canada and being able to serve all the markets in which we do business here within the region,” says Heather Dalton, partner at M5. She adds that when this opportunity with Revolution came up, it was a good way for M5 to “set up shop” in Saint John in “more of an established way,” as opposed to opening a new office from the ground up.

Revolution was founded in 2002 by Derek Riedle, with Terri Riedle joining the following year. In late 2018, the agency was acquired by the Riedles’ other venture, online cannabis publication Civilized, which was acquired by New Frontier Data in December. The company ceased operations and staff was laid off while the two companies focused on developing a “shared strategic and capital plan for 2020.”

M5 already has a presence across Atlantic Canada, with offices in Moncton, St. John’s, Charlottetown and Halifax. M5 will take over Revolution’s former location in Saint John. Dalton also notes that Revolution team members M5 is bringing over are a “huge plus” and behind M5’s strategy in the transition.

“As with any agency, I feel that [the] team members, and being able to bring on good staff, is a core part of its decision,” she says. “We were able to take an existing team, who were working together there at Revolution in Saint John, working with existing clients, [and] move them over to the M5 model, to supplement even more of the services that they were able to provide, through our more full-service agency model.”

Dalton could not provide a specific number as to how many Revolution staff members would be transitioning over to M5, but did note it would include senior staff who both hands-on knowledge in working with clients M5 will be transitioning over, Dalton notes, adding that the number of people transitioning over would be finalized later on Wednesday.

As part of the agency’s ongoing plan to expand its footprint in Atlantic Canada, M5 acquired Group ATN Consulting in late 2019.