Salt XC is continuing its rapid growth with fresh remits from existing clients RBC and Anheuser-Busch, while also experiencing a “significant explosion” in its U.S. business, according to president Jeff Rogers.

The agency was recently awarded new work for RBC on its partnership with “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” RBC selected Salt XC from among its roster to take on the assignment, tasking it with determining how the bank will show up as an official partner when the singer/songwriter performs in Toronto across six nights in November 2024, says Leanne Bernardo, partner and VP of Salt XC.

“We are responsible for everything from the campaign strategy and creative to all of the connections planning and tactics,” she explains. “That will include everything from social and influencer to digital assets, and it will be something we will be diving into deeply as the city prepares for that concert.”

The opportunity is an exciting one for the agency, Bernardo says – not least because it provides “a sort of blank canvas to work from,” but also because it is “an unprecedented event” for the city. Swift will perform on six different dates at the Rogers Centre, becoming the first recording artist to perform six shows at the venue.

“It excites us because we get to stretch our creative and strategic chops to figure out how to set RBC apart,” she says.

The RBC assignment is not the only new win for the agency, which has also taken on fresh business with Anheuser-Busch in the U.S., expanding its remit “across many brands,” says Rogers. Salt XC has been helping Bud Light navigate backlash after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted it on Instagram earlier this year while also assisting the brand return to its “grassroots,” including its advertising around the NFL.

In Canada, the agency has also taken on additional work with Labatt in the sponsorship space, following expanding remits earlier this year with Toyota and Kraft Heinz. Adidas has also “become a much bigger client this year,” he adds.

The expanding remits – and new client wins south of the border with protein bar brand 1440 and Luxe, Ariana Grande’s perfume brand, have also been key to the agency’s growth. With 1440, “we are their agency for everything, from strategy and creative to media buying, social and influencer,” says Rogers. On Luxe, the agency handles creative, media and content.

While the agency has hubs in Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin, the majority of its capabilities are serviced out of Toronto.

The wins and expanding remits have helped fuel the agency’s continued growth. The agency has “been fortunate to grow 100% year-over-year,” says Rogers, who notes that while others in the industry had been furloughing employees during the pandemic, Salt XC had been aggressively hiring new employees on a global basis.

Established in 2019, the agency had a headcount of 15 at the start of 2020 – a figure that has ballooned to 220 this year. That, and a staggering 20,315% growth in revenue over the past three years, earned the agency a second-place berth on The Globe and Mail‘s 2023 Top Growing Companies list.

“It all really ties back to what we stand for as a company, which is around moving at the speed of culture, being performance-obsessed, and building connections, which all have really aided in our growth,” adds Jil Eisnor, partner and VP. “Having an in-house media department, social, creative, omnishopper, sponsor and XM has not only allowed us to win some really nice, integrated client work with brands like 1440 and PointsBet, but also to enhance some of our other clients where we have one specific focus, like Labatt.”