DonerNorth names new GM

DonerNorth has appointed Julie Haroutunian as general manager.

In her role, Haroutunian will lead the agency’s leadership team and business development, reporting to Doner COO Craig Conrad.

Haroutunian joins DonerNorth after a career on both the client and agency side. Most recently, she led a 100-person team across account services, technology, project management, creative and strategy, as VP and managing director at Cossette. Previously, Haroutunian held positions at doug&partners, Momentum Worldwide and Capital One.

“There is a growing need for talent that can architect solutions for the entire consumer journey and care about a brand’s engagement as much as a brand’s sales,” said Adrianne Gaffney Wotherspoon, chief strategy officer of DonerNorth. “With [Haroutunian] joining our team, we have a dynamic leader to help us design solutions today’s clients most seek.”

Stagwell-owned DonerNorth’s client roster includes Edo Japan, Irving (Royale), Best Buy, Edgewell Personal Care (Schick, Hydro Silk, Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic) and Subway Canada.

Citizen Relations appoints new managing director

Citizen Relations has named Josie Haynes as managing director for its Toronto office. Haynes, who began her journey with Citizen as an intern 17 years ago, rose through the ranks to her most recent position as senior vice president.

In addition to Haynes’ appointment, Jenn Duggan, Citizen Relations’ president of Canada, expands her role to include the Quebec market, now overseeing Canadian leadership from coast-to-coast.

“Both [Haynes and Duggan] have been instrumental in shaping Citizen’s success story in Canada,” says Nick Cowling, CEO of Citizen Relations. “The elevation of their roles comes at a pivotal moment of growth for the agency.”

Haynes has led a number of accounts for the shop during her tenure, including Emirates, Indeed, Intuit TurboTax, Kijiji and SickKids Foundation.

Her leadership on the 2023 “Asshole Activists” campaign for Tushy and “Addy’s Crystal Ball” for SickKids Foundation earned the agency multiple accolades this year.

For the past two years, Haynes has also served as a judge for the Effie Awards in Canada.

Prime Marketing gets a new name and rebrands

Experiential shop Prime Marketing Agency is now House of XM.

The move signals a fresh start linked to new leadership and stateside expansion, the agency says. Co-owner and partner Samantha Martin adds that the rebranding aims to solidify the agency’s position in the experiential marketing industry.

The agency recently executed the “Molson Coors Chill Tour,” which featured pop-up activations spanning various mountain resorts across the country. Another project it supported was the “McStampede” pop-up tour with McDonald’s. The shop also put the spotlight on Big Mac transparency with a McDonald’s see-through kitchen restaurant at Yonge-Dundas Square.

House of XM now plans to expand in the U.S., including New York City, California, Texas and Florida. In the last two years, House of XM says its business has returned to pre-pandemic revenue levels and and that it’s added over 50 new clients.