For Canadian author Karina Frederiks’ children’s book series Grumbalina – about a young fairy – Push launched a redesigned e-commerce website and merchandise lineup.
Ten-year-old media maven Push Media has tweaked its approach to creating campaigns, and that is paying dividends for brands. It also accounts for recent growth at the Toronto agency, according to president Kyle Verge.
Two years ago, the focus was on media at the Toronto-based agency, while creative was only a small part of the business. However, during the pandemic it became clear the traditional industry approach of starting with creative and then figuring out the most suitable media channels was no longer the best brand strategy. Verge says this is especially true given the current popularity of TikTok, which has become an agency priority.
In the “Long Time No See” campaign, furry friends welcomed Global Pet Foods customers back to stores that had been closed during the pandemic. The campaign was a winner for Push Media at the Summit Awards.
Push responded to brands’ changing market needs by focusing first on audience and research and then figuring out what media channels to use, all prior to creative development.
Once they started looking at media before creative, and saw the impact of early collaboration, the agency realized they needed to grow their internal creative team, and in 2022 nearly doubled in size. Verge says that growth proves the new approach is working.
Bernstein Diet & Health Clinic reached out to G&G and PUSH to reinvent their brand and media strategy. The client had operated clinics across the country pre-pandemic, but changed its business model to go entirely virtual.
“We found that when you have the creative and media teams working together from the beginning, the overall campaign is much more effective,” he says. “It’s made a world of difference because it allows us to have very specific creative executions for every channel.” “Rather than trying to figure out how to take a 15-second spot for YouTube and trying to make it work on TikTok, we go to market with unique creative and messaging executions for each independent channel.”
Queen’s University is a long-time client that has seen success with the new approach. The school found that while its institutional branding and messaging was effective in print and other traditional media, it wasn’t breaking through to students on platforms such as TikTok.
The institution then gave Push the go-ahead to execute TikTok campaigns focusing on music and trending topics. “They embraced what TikTok is all about and now have tremendous success there,” Verge says. The “How to Party Safely” campaign garnered more than 700,000 impressions and a CPM of $4.66.
Push’s business grew nearly 50% this year and 166% over the last three years, landing the agency on The Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. This boost was helped by new clients including CILAR, Westdale, as well as existing additional work with PUSH’s partner agency G&G Advertising on Clover Leaf, Berstein Diet & Health Clinic and the Canadian Internet Registration Authority.
The agency has moved into a new office – dubbed “the Clubhouse” – at Yonge and Shuter, transforming an abandoned building into a space full of breakout and meeting rooms, lounge areas and a rooftop deck with barbecue.
“Rather than just an office with desks, it’s a place for collaboration,” Verge says. “It’s been great for growing the company culture for a business that’s been expanding so quickly.”
Push convinced Queen’s University to break the mold with TikTok campaigns such as “How to Party Safely,” which garnered more than 700,000 impressions and a low CPM of $4.66.
The agency’s creative M.O. shone during Pride festivities in Toronto, when it conducted a takeover of billboards in Dundas Square for online retailer Global Pet Foods featuring drag queens with dogs. Push also won a Summit Creative Award for “Long Time No See,” a campaign centred on welcoming Global Pet Foods clients back to brick-and-mortar stores after pandemic closures.
Verge notes that many national clients are accustomed to producing creative once a year during an intensive eight-to-10-week period, but “We’ve tried to coach our clients into changing that mindset.” To be effective with new digital channels requires looking at what’s trending, being agile and nimble, and producing creative – often at a moment’s notice.
Push launched the Amazon store for Pharmacare’s Sambucol and Promensil products and created sponsored brands and display campaigns aimed at increasing orders from new customers. New-to-brand orders increased 385% versus 2021.
To give clients a taste of what’s ahead, the agency is also setting up shop in the metaverse. As Dundas Square is steps away from Push’s offices, they recreated the space in the metaverse and put clients’ creative on the billboards.
“Clients can put on VR headsets and see what their brand could look like in that space,” he says. “The big focus for us is always bringing innovative ideas of ‘what could be’ to our clients.”
CONTACT:
Kyle Verge
President
hello@pushinc.ca
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