SMALL AOY | BRONZE

This article was originally published in the Fall issue of Strategy Magazine

By Will Novosedlik

Some folks, seeking corporate comfort, are happy to work their way to the top of the food chain in a networked agency. So they stay on that path. Others, tired of the creative constraints of reporting to a distant head office, yearn for entrepreneurial freedom. So they leave.

Eleven years ago, Steph Mackie and Mark Biernacki, co-founders of the eponymously named Mackie Biernacki, chose the latter option. Having spent several years at places like TBWA, Lowe Roche and Tonic, they opened their own agency doors in 2013. They were joined in April of this year by president and chief strategy officer Malcolm McLean, who previously worked at Cundari, Grey, TBWA, BBDO and many others.

For partner and co-founder Biernacki, opening up the shop came down to having a greater sense of control over the work. “We were tired of the assembly-line approach that is common in larger firms, where you may be working on large accounts but can only deal with one part of the creative process before passing it onto the next person in line. Here, we like to own the whole project. Nothing goes out of here without our eyes on it.”

Being in control of your own creative destiny has its advantages. Over the last decade, it has allowed Mackie Biernacki to turn out award-winning work for clients like Miss Vickies (Pepsi), Boys and Girls Club of Canada, MS Society, Rustoleum, MacKenzie Health, Billy Bishop Airport and, most recently, Sonnet Insurance.

For Sonnet’s “Adulting Made Simple,” the agency built off the insight that when Canadians hit their thirties, they are overwhelmed by the stress of their careers, marriage, child-rearing, the high cost of living, etc., so the last thing they need is the hassle of buying insurance. In several commercials, Sonnet pitches itself as a solution to adulting woes, offering digital insurance that takes only minutes to be approved.

The Marketing Awards-winning campaign led to a 15% lift in brand awareness and a 25% jump in brand recall, reaching four million unique users with a 93% view-through rate (300% above the industry average of 23%).

The success of the Sonnet creative, says Biernacki, is representative of the similar kind of unorthodox thinking done for other clients, such as Italian footballer Sebastian Giovinco, who made his MLS debut in 2015 as a member of Toronto FC. Named one of the 25 greatest players in the league, his request to Mackie Biernacki was to turn him into a brand, which they named Seba Things. They created a logo, clothing line, website (where fans could find merchandise related to the footballer), as well as a film, and launched it globally in a bid to build affinity and attract sponsorship deals.

Aside from taking on unique challenges, Mackie Biernacki also has an unconventional (for the ad world) approach to billing, from results-based compensation to partial ownership.

“This is a way for us to participate in the growth of small, emerging companies that don’t have the budgets of large, established brands,” says Biernacki, pointing to skincare and naturopathic upstart brands like Orazi and Harrington’s, of which the agency has partial ownership. For both companies, Mackie Biernacki developed everything from marketing strategy to branding, packaging, advertising, content creation, POS, digital and social – the whole enchilada. “With these smaller companies, we can touch a lot more of the brand than we can with bigger brands,” adds McLean.

That’s not to say they don’t like working on big brands, as the aforementioned client list attests. Just don’t call them an “ad agency.” Instead, the firm refers to itself as a “special ops idea company.”

“We only fill the agency with thinkers [such as strategic directors, ADs, writers, designers and account service], and then build a customized team around the task,” says Biernacki. “So if we need to hire an interior designer to help build our clients’ retail stores, or a beauty editor to help develop a high-end beauty brand, or sports analyst to help us brand and build sponsorship for a soccer superstar – then we build a best-in-class special ops team for it.”

As the agency likes to say: “We’re all business junkies obsessed with problem-solving through creativity.”

New Business
WSIB, Fillion, Ventum Financial, Willowbrook Mall, Lavvi, Elevacion 1250 Tequila, Kensington Tours

New Hires
Malcolm McLean, president, CSO

Office
Toronto

Staff
12

Cases

Mackie Biernacki’s “Adulting Is Hard. Sonnet Is Simple.” campaign for Sonnet Insurance addressed the hassle of buying insurance by emphasizing how simple it can be in humorous spots. Targeting Canadians in their 30s, it reached four million users with creative that turned the insurance biz on its head (quite literally).

The “Science of Natural” campaign for The Harrington Method launched a new line of naturopathic supplements with benefit-driven packaging. The approach led to a threefold increase in retail listings, 200% higher return customers and expansion into global markets.

“Your Wellness Is Our Obsession” for Genuine Health highlighted the brand’s commitment to Canadian-specific research and consumer needs. The agency helped showcase how the brand’s products are linked to local data, and also redesigned its packaging across SKUs.