To help Breast Cancer Canada stand out in a sea of pink, the agency created a sleek modern brand identity.
From new technology to rapidly changing consumer behaviours and geopolitical turmoil, the world has been going through profound disruption as of late.
“We always say, ‘the world changed; a lot of agencies didn’t,’” says Scot Keith, CEO of Vancouver-based agency One Twenty Three West (123w). “In this environment, our biggest job is to make people care. You can’t just do the old-school thing, make a few traditional media buys and expect to be successful. You’ve got to do something smart and insightful.”
The 65-person shop with offices in Vancouver and Toronto tackles this challenge by specializing in strategy, design and digital advertising. The shop prides itself on keeping its overhead costs low (Keith often brags about how little the agency pays for office space) and its structure flat (the shop has a “one team, one dream” philosophy).
Whether it’s working with popular dating app Plenty of Fish, nonprofits like Breast Cancer Canada or household names like Loblaws, every project starts with an ideation session – a planning session with key stakeholders. “Firstly, we need to do our homework on their vision, objectives, target groups – really understanding their business, tonality and their best touchpoints,” Keith says. “We’re basically co-creating the perfect brief together.”
Often in these discovery sessions, it becomes clear that what the client thought it wanted, isn’t what it needed.
“Explore Seattle Southside” went big on the small moments of joy to be found in suburban neighourboods, targeting families looking for micro adventures.
Mo Bofill, partner and ECD of design points to 123w’s recent work with Seattle Southside, a tourism agency dedicated to drawing visitors to the towns just south of downtown Seattle. Rather than vying for urbanite travellers, who are the traditional audience for most travel campaigns, the focus shifted to showcasing the area as an affordable – yet exciting – destination for families. “For [some travellers] you might want to be downtown Seattle to go to all the restaurants. But for a lot of people, [the focus] is on family travel. They want ‘smaller’ things, like miniature golf, nice hotels with a pool and activities for the kids. That led to the strategy of ‘micro-adventures.’”
The campaign flipped the narrative on the ‘mundane‘ by using a resplendent design aesthetic. This focus on design is a key differentiator for the agency.
“Human beings are visual-first,” Bofill says. “Good brand design commands attention and can disrupt people’s day in a good way. A striking package on a shelf can mean the difference between a new buyer stopping to learn more or moving right along. And a beautiful brand can be a differentiator in a crowded field.”
A limited-edition beer pack for Vancouver Island Brewing leaned into the iconic Orca whale, with specialty beers named after famous sea mammals and packaging making use of the famous fin.
Take the work 123w did with Breast Cancer Canada (formerly the Breast Cancer Society of Canada). Tasked with a complete modernization of the brand, the agency first looked at its design identity.
The charity competes against a number of similar organizations, all of which are awash in a sea of pink. It also faced messaging fatigue, thanks to the pandemic as well as a lack of perceived progress in cancer care research.
The new brand identity puts breast cancer survivors and researchers at the heart of the creative, in beautifully shot, sophisticated imagery that pays tribute to the iconic pink ribbon. The “Know More Breast Cancer” campaign played on the homophone of “no/know” and focused on the role of the non-profit in the fight against the disease and recent advancements in cancer research, resulting in a marked increase in engagement with the brand.
The Real Canadian Superstore got personal and put customers’ purchases on billboards, showcasing the culinary array of both Canadians and its locations.
Bofill pegs much of the agency’s success to its team, which has expanded by more than 30% since 2021. Recent hires include Samantha Faloon and Amber Malik (account directors), Sasha Abrams (digital director), Matthew Johnson (designer), Andronicus Wu (AD), Jon Dawe (senior copywriter), Jillian Arsenault (producer) and Neal Owusu (head of production). “We keep our overhead low so we can save money and hire better, more experienced people who do better work for clients.”
CONTACT:
Scot Keith
Founder, CEO, president
scot@123w.ca
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