BBDO has announced two recent senior hires in Toronto, both brought on to help the agency position itself as a leader in data-driven precision marketing.

Trent Thompson has joined the shop as VP, creative director, reporting to chief creative officers Denise Rossetto and Todd Mackie. Thompson, most recently group creative director at Cossette, is returning to BBDO following stints at RAPP and Track DDB. Prior to those roles, he had worked for nine years in various positions with BBDO’s Proximity Canada.

Meanwhile, Thomas Kenny has joined the shop as VP, strategy, reporting to chief strategy officer Jeff McCrory. Kenny was most recently strategy director at Taxi and has held roles with Leo Burnett Toronto and MacLaren MRM. BBDO’s total strategy and insights department now includes 14 people with brand, data and analytics and communications strategy expertise.

The added bench-strength in digital, direct and CRM marketing from the two hires is important for the agency’s ambition to bring what it calls “mass precision” to its clients base, says Dom Caruso, BBDO’s president and CEO.

That plan has also included the integration of Proximity into BBDO in late 2015. “That was a deliberate act to bring in that data sophistication and Proximity’s legacy in CRM into the core offer,” Caruso says.