Montreal-based creative agency has opened its first international office in Los Angeles amid a larger rebranding into Tux Creative House.

The new office was quietly opened in December, and currently has three full-time staff, bringing the total headcount for the agency to 83 when combined with that of its home base in Montreal. But it will now also be the home base for Tux founder and CEO Dominic Tremblay, who says the plan had been in the works for several years but was delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The primary goal of the new office is to extend the agency’s reach to the West Coast while giving it a solid presence in the United States, from which a third of its existing business already originates – American work has accounted for $3.2 million CAD in billings in 2022 so far. Among the recent U.S. wins for the agency are Morton Salt, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Pravana, Converse, Mowellens and Winky LUX.

“The idea is that we will grow the business there, but a lot of business will continue to be done out of Montreal,” Tremblay says. “We will be one big team with two locations. The structure will be very integrated, not separated. That’s the plan for now.”

The move was ideal for the agency because L.A. is both a strong cultural fit and gives Tux presence in a lucrative market focused on some of the categories where Tux thrives – lifestyle, food, and tech.

“A lot of our work comes in branding and branding platforms, and there’s a lot of business there. Much of our U.S. work comes from the East Coast because it was harder to do work on the West Coast from Montreal,” Tremblay explains. “Industry wise, there’s so much innovation on the West Coast and it’s exciting.”

The move follows a period of growth for Tux, which has rebranded to Tux Creative House to better represent its multidisciplinary strengths. The agency has been adding new talent to bolster its production team, hiring CGI artists and developing its media expertise.

“Our launch in L.A. arrives at the perfect time,” says Pierre-André Vigneault, partner and EVP at Tux. “We’ve taken advantage of our growth in recent years by investing in expertise that makes us seriously effective in managing the complexity of our clients’ brand ecosystems … The American market is ripe for innovation, and we are ready like never before to deliver more creative agility and a greater return on dollars invested.”