Toronto-based Academy will be led by partners Chelsey Burnside, who was ECD at Sophomore and will continue to lead content; Sabrina Babooram, who will lead strategy; Peter Reitano, Abacus’ CEO, who will lead performance; and Cainan Querido, Sophomore’s managing director, who will lead Academy’s production. Studio Sophomore will remain intact as Academy’s in-house production arm, servicing both its retainer clients and ad-hoc productions.

Academy was formed in response to market opportunity and clients demand to re-engineer agency process, operations and culture.

Babooram tells strategy the foursome had been working together for six months, sharing a mindset of what she calls “relentlessness betterment,” born out of dissatisfaction from how agencies are typically run.

For example, the new shop is breaking ranks with the typical top-down model by which most agencies operate, opting for a more democratized creative process. It is also offering a four-day work week to its team of just over 30 staff. Academy is also intentionally being more diverse as well: its leadership is “proudly” 50% female, 50% BIPOC and 50% parents.

Most other agencies have the same work flow, Babooram explains, and it’s very linear. “We really want to challenge the way things have been done,” she says.

Also, Academy is rethinking what an agency looks like: its team comprises different types of storytellers including journalists, publishers, comedians, music video directors, entrepreneurs, data miners, marketers, content creators and producers. Babooram herself is a high school teacher by trade, and each founding partner brings unique experience to the table.

The combined agency’s client list in Canada now includes Porter Airlines, Sleep Country Canada, Sephora Canada and Harry Rosen. Internationally, the team has also worked with The Body Shop and Starbucks, and Academy plans to open offices in London and New York later this year in order to service international markets.