Maple Leaf Foods had redesigned their Grab n’ Snack packaging to appeal to busy students who needed protein on the go. Those design cues, along with an in-house media plan and a few clever headlines, delivered at key moments, gave students some food, for thought.
Ask a creative agency to define what differentiates it and you will almost always get the same answer: creativity. It’s a bit like a shoe store saying that what sets it apart is shoes.
However, if you ask Fuse Create that question, you get two words: “turn heads.” That kind of focus means that since redefining its brand four years ago, it has won a steady stream of awards and seen its business grow 73% between 2020 and the end of 2024.
As Steve Miller, ECD, SVP and partner tells it, “When I joined five-and-a-half years ago, it was a much different agency. It was predominantly below the line. It had a different name. It had these siloed groups that operated as their own brands. It lacked meaning, vision and guidance. So four years ago we developed a purpose for the agency: ‘turn heads.’ That means work that breaks through, demands attention, earns audience interest, wins awards and gets its clients promoted.”
The colourful creative plus contextual in-house media buy for the CCOA’s first awareness campaign outside PEI drove 11.6x the average industry CTR.
It has delivered against those KPIs repeatedly, here and in the US, for clients like Hilton Hotels, Maple Leaf Foods, CIBC, and Ricola. It boasts awards and industry recognition from the likes of AdAge, The Drum, Cannes Lions, the Clio Awards, The One Show, The Effies and the Epica Awards. And it’s not just client wins and industry kudos. Most importantly, their employees like it too.
The “The Holiday Sweater: Climate Change Collection”; was an art installation with a message that hung in the agency’s storefront window in support of the David Suzuki Foundation.
SVP, head of strategy Jon Crowley sees the culture of Fuse Create as one of the key advantages of the agency. “It’s not only that people are kind to each other and nice to be around, it’s an ingrained attitude of respect for each other’s craft, a desire to learn from each other, and trust that we can go further together. It’s reflected in the way people talk about the agency, even former employees and anonymous posts on the social app Fishbowl are overwhelmingly positive about our culture and our people.”
The first national awareness campaign for US-based Soles4Souls saw a 27.3% increase in Awareness, a 2,717% increase in recurring donor lifetime value, and earned close to 1 Billion Impressions for the non-profit.
“We’re firm believers that culture drives the work,” says Miller. And when we say culture, we don’t mean ping pong tables and jellybean jars. For us, culture is about the people you hire. As a result, we’ve seen one of the lowest attrition rates in the industry.”
Fuse Create also attributes its success to the quality of its client relationships. It does not take a traditional view on retainers, believing this makes agencies complacent. Instead, it relies on client business outcomes and results, ensuring the value is clear. This approach demands that you stay sharp, Miller says, always in the knowledge that you’re only as good as your last job.
The agency used A.I. based research against itself to prove that Schneiders doesn’t take any shortcuts with its food. The video earned 10x the average engagement rate.
The final element in its evolution has been to a full-service model. Since 2022, it has expanded its integrated model to include media, PR, creative, social and XM. Miller believes that having a full menu of services under one roof beats the integrated agency team model not only from a cost and management perspective but also from a strategic perspective.
“The process is more seamless and the creative output is both more contextual and more pointed,” says Crowley, noting that in particular, “integrating media and PR into the mix has really changed the way we look at briefing.” This integration, which includes everything from broadcast to digital, social, SEO and programmatic, has resulted in significant growth of the media practice, which is now responsible for about 20% of total revenue.
Ricola’s US Throat Balm launch helped the brand achieve its first 3D-animated spot, its first fully integrated influencer campaign, and by the end of 2023, it was the number one selling cough drop in the US – another first.
The new approach has helped Fuse win new business from Gay Lea Foods, Fujifilm, British protein bar Grenade and the Confederation Center of the Arts in Prince Edward Island, plus new media wins including Fittes, Second City and Chartwell. Led by Luke Moore, VP, managing director, media, and partner, the agency has expanded into the US market with work for Ricola North America and for Nashville-based global non-profit Soles4Souls. The latter campaign, called “Doors of Opportunity,” took the standardized, “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” signs and gave them a head-turning twist to speak to the social barriers people face when they lack footwear and clothing. Across OLV, print, social, OOH, and guerrilla, Fuse Create grew brand awareness by over 27%, as reported by Aleena Mazhar Kuzma, SVP, managing director and partner.
-
- With the help of some clever XM, OOH, and PR, the UK’s Grenade protein bar landed in Canada this past summer. Where to next for Fuse and Grenade? Texas!
-
- In 2024, Niuriss tapped Fuse Create, for Creative and Media, to launch their first baby formula in Canada.
-
- Fuse Create counts several brands in their Social Media purview that includes strategy, content creation, and in-house production. Gay Lea being one of them.
-
- The agency helped non-profit Hackergal give women in tech a voice – literally and figuratively.
-
- As Proximo Spirits’ XM AOR, the agency activates over 300 events across Canada each year.
-
- Turn Heads is the agency’s raison d’être and at the heart of every campaign, brief, and FUCR (shorthand for someone who works at FUse CReate).
CONTACT:
Garo Keresteci
Founding partner
garo@fusecreate.com
The 2025 Indie List:
Zulu Alpha Kilo: Unconventional Creativity
DAC: Finding media’s sweet spot
M&H: Accelerating your brand’s content supply chain
Balmoral: Insights with impact
Round: Less drama. More delivery.
Zerotrillion: Helping brands achieve their biggest ambitions
True Media Services: Solving for scale
