Longtime SAAQ marketer retires
Patrice Letendre, strategic advisor at the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), and Strategy’s Marketer of the Year 2021, is retiring.
Letendre has been at the SAAQ, the body which is responsible for road safety in the province, since 1991. He began his career as a researcher, but for the last decade, has spearheaded the organization’s advertising creative.
Letendre has a track record in creating – with agency partner LG2 – internationally recognized campaigns that have helped make Quebec roads safer: the number of accident victims on Quebec roads have decreased by 35% from 2016 to 2020, even as the number of vehicles on the road have increased.
This summer, the organization transformed bar coasters into bus passes as part of an initiative to show safer options for getting home.
Citizen announces slew of promotions and a hire
Citizen PR has promoted France-Michèle Thomas to VP, Suran Ravi to VP of intelligence and insights, and Cara Peckens to EVP of technology and intelligence.
The PR shop, whose client roster includes Molson Coors and PepsiCo Foods brands like Ruffles and Doritos, also added Ben Ruoff to the team as its new senior VP of digital strategy.
Ruoff is a veteran of Maryland-based media agency Imre and, prior to joining Citizen, was VP and engagement director for FCB-owned full service health agency, Area 23.
Uber names new North American brand media lead
Louisa Chu is taking on the role of brand media lead for the Uber U.S. and Canada media team.
Chu is currently Uber’s head of media for Australia and New Zealand in Sydney. In the new role, she will be based out of New York City.
Before joining Uber in 2021, Chu was brand media marketing manager for eBay, leading performance marketing and above-the-line media buying for eBay Australia, managing teams in the U.S., U.K. and Australia to deliver on the ecomm company’s key business objectives.
Ballance names a general manager
Alexandre Lessard will be stepping into the role of GM for Ballance Design, the events and retail solutions fabrication shop whose work includes supporting Air Canada Rouge and Roots X Shawn Mendes pop-up shops.
Lessard is a former brand strategist for DNA Genetics and helped co-lead the launch of cannabis brands like Snoop Dogg’s LBS, and DNA Genetics. He was previously brand manager with Canopy Growth.
Lessard is also a longtime SDI Marketing vet, where he worked as a client services manager.
Westside’s team grows
Full-service production studio, Westside, has added Jono Hunter to its team as a director.
Hunter has directed campaigns for brands such as Mike’s Hard, Pizza Pops, Nintendo Switch, Kit Kat and Turbo Tax, working with agencies like DDB and Cossette Toronto.
CMHA makes a comms team promotion
Emma Higgins has been promoted to national communications specialist at the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Higgins is a two-year veteran of Agnostic, who joined CMHA in 2022.
