FCB/Direct has bought eight-year-old Toronto direct marketing agency Interface Direct and merged the firm and its staff into its Toronto office.
Jan Plater, president and founder of Interface, brings his 17 years of direct marketing expertise to the company as vice-president, associate managing director.
The acquisition of Interface gives FCB/Direct clients Bell Canada, Federal Express and Eaton’s and capitalized billings of $20 million to bring its annual tally to more than $65 million.
FCB/Direct, the direct marketing arm of FCB Canada, has offices in Toronto, Vancouver and an affiliation with Hawk Communications of Sackville, n.b.
Peoples picks Gee Jeffery
peoples Jewellers picked Gee Jeffery & Partners from a short-list of six Toronto agencies to handle its account valued at more than $1 million.
Peoples filed for protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act last December and was saved from bankruptcy at the end of July when former chairman Duff Scott spearheaded a $70-million purchase of the company.
Peoples operates 220 stores in the Peoples, Mappins and MacKenzie jewelry chains.
Saffer Advertising handled the account until late last year.
V&B makes Canstar team
vickers & Benson of Toronto was the No. 1 draft pick of Canstar Sports in an agency search that also had Saatchi & Saatchi and MacLaren:Lintas on the short-list.
The creative account had been with Campaign House for the past six years. Media Buying Services continues to handle placement.
The annual budget is estimated at more than $1 million.
One of v&b’s first assignments will be Eric Lindros, the 20-year-old Philadelphia Flyers hockey player signed by Canstar to endorse Bauer skates and sticks, and Cooper gloves, helmets, pants and pads.
Canstar is based in Montreal and operates a Mississauga, Ont. sales and marketing office.
BSB hooks Sterling Salmon
stolt Sea Farm has hired Backer Spielvogel Bates of Toronto to introduce a new line of fresh Sterling Salmon products.
The November launch of portion-controlled products such as fresh salmon fillets and marinated salmon kebabs will be directed primarily to the hotel and restaurant trade through trade publications and direct mail.
Other products such as salmon burgers are expected to follow early next year.
The account was previously with a small Utah-based agency which specializes in the seafood industry.
Stolt Sea Farm has been in Canada since 1983 but was previously known as Sea Farm Canada, a 50-50 joint venture with Canada Packers (now Maple Leaf.)
In 1991, Stolt acquired 100% ownership.
Its Toronto office is the North American headquarters of the company, which gets its salmon from four state-of-the-art sea farms on the east and west coasts of North America.
Stolt’s worldwide headquarters is in Oslo.
Goodis goes to college
jerry Goodis, 30-year industry veteran, launches The Jerry Goodis Academy of Marketing and Advertising this fall with Toronto’s Centennial College Centre for Entrepreneurship, School of Business.
The six-week evening courses offer a certificate at the completion and are limited to 30 students per class.
Goodis will deliver the course but has invited other industry leaders as guest lecturers and arranged for agencies to provide students with marketing projects for pre-selected clients.
The first course is of a general nature that will appeal to those on both agency and client side, while other courses will follow, directed to specific applications such as copywriting, account management and art direction.
The first course begins Oct. 5 at Centennial’s Scarborough Campus.
