Jan Kelley appoints president
Indie marketing firm Jan Kelley has appointed Shannon Ballard (above) as president.
Ballard has served at the agency based in Burlington, Ont., for more than a dozen years, most recently in the role of CSO and, previously, as VP of customer innovation.
On the brand side, Ballard held the title of director of marketing at the CFL from 2008 to 2013, overseeing national campaigns and initiatives spanning cause marketing, ticketing, licensing, sponsorships and annual planning.
Ballard and CEO Chantel Broten will work together to guide the agency’s transformation into a human-led, AI-enabled growth marketing agency that unites strategy, creativity and performance, according to a news release.
The company recently supported media execution for a Clearly Canadian comeback campaign featuring Shania Twain.
Pigeon spreads its wings with two hires, promotions
Brand strategy, design and communications agency Pigeon has unveiled two hires and a spate of promotions on the heels of of several key account wins, including the Metro private-label health and wellness brand Personnelle.
In Toronto, the agency welcomes Brandon Tralman-Baker (middle row, right), formerly of BBR, Giants & Gentlemen and Arrivals + Departures, as creative director. Most recently, Tralman-Baker served in a creative director role with Bleublancrouge and has supported brands such as Desjardins, Harvey’s and Fisherman’s Friend.
Pigeon is also welcoming Natalie Babij (bottom, second from left), formerly of Mosaic North America, Hunter Straker and Cott Beverages, as account director. She has experience across CPG, retail and corporate real estate delivering work for brands such as McCain, Tim Hortons and Popeyes.
Martin Carrière (top left) has been promoted to the role of VP of client services and business lead. Kevin Cornista (bottom left) is taking on the role of account director and Gillian Brown (middle, left) is stepping into the role of director of integrated production.
In Quebec, Jean-François Béliveau (top, second from right) has been promoted to the position of executive creative director of brand and communications.
Josianne Pelletier (middle, second from right) also takes on a new mandate as associate creative director on the Metro account.
Philippe Morin (top, second from left) will see his title expand from VP of production to VP of production and information systems. Armelle Dubourg (top right) steps into the role of VP of client services and business lead and Stéphane Crevier (middle, second from left) becomes VP of transformation and growth. Isabelle Mrvica (bottom row, second from right) joins Pigeon as account director and Rose Séguin (bottom right) joins as a photographer and retoucher.
Pigeon’s staffing complement now spans 85 employees at its offices in Montreal and Toronto.
Harbinger makes two senior promotions
Toronto agency Harbinger has promoted Sonya Franceschini, (above left) from a senior director role to VP and Lara Watson (above, right) from a director position to senior director.
Franceschini joined Harbinger in January 2022 and has accumulated nearly two decades of experience working in the areas of commodity and food marketing and lifestyle brands.
She currently oversees B2B and B2C campaigns across earned and paid media, influencer marketing and XM, along with strategic partnerships for clients including Behr Paint Company.
Watson joined Harbinger in April 2024 and has extensive CPG experience leading the shop’s personal care and lifestyle accounts. She has previously worked on brands such as Subway, Labatt and Skyn.
Watson has played a key role in enhancing Harbinger’s expertise in consumer-oriented campaigns with a focus on activation and sampling programs, earned and paid media, influencer marketing and brand partnerships.
Praxis PR names SVP
Natasha Townsend has been named Praxis PR’s SVP, joining the Toronto agency’s senior leadership team alongside CEO Matt Juniper, president Erin Morra and CCO Andrea Helmer.
Townsend is coming off more than seven years at Harbinger, where she served in senior client service manager, account director and VP roles. The former senior consultant at Strategic Objectives offers more than 12 years of experience leading strategic communications and brand-building programs for Canadian CPGs.
Vibrant makes a Montreal promotion
Laurie Tanguay has been promoted to the senior brand experience manager position at Vibrant’s Montreal office. She joined the agency in 2023 as a brand experience manager.
In the past on the brand side, Tanguay served as a foodservice marketing associate and field sales analyst with PepsiCo, based in Toronto.
More recently, she was a brand portfolio manager with wine and spirits wholesaler Dandurand Group in Montreal.
Superside adds an ACD
Mehdi Lakhdar is starting a new chapter as associate creative director at Montreal creative service Superside.
He previously served as a creative lead and senior art director at OK C’est Cool and worked as an art director at Wunderman Thompson Singapore, where he supported
Lakhdar also has experience as an art director with Wunderman Thompson Paris, where he worked on campaigns for the likes of Lancome, Armani and Danone.
