MDC Partners agency KWT Global has made one senior hire and looked internally for a new managing director in Toronto, while announcing a new mandate with Montreal-based entertainment company Cirque du Soleil.
The agency will help launch Cirque du Soleil Creactive, a new concept of immersive entertainment centres owned and operated by Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, which announced plans to open its first location in the Greater Toronto Area last June.
At the time, the company said it would work with real estate developer Ivanhoé Cambridge on additional Canadian locations, which will be family-oriented and offer a range of acrobatic, artistic and other circus-inspired recreational activities.
KWT Global, which has worked with Cirque du Soleil since 2012 (most recently on its touring shows Alegria, Corteo and Crystal) will oversee the launch of the first Cirque du Soleil Creactive location at the Vaughan Mills shopping centre in November.
In addition to announcing the new win, the agency has promoted Tran Nguyen to managing director of its Toronto office and hired of Vanessa Foy as account director.
Nguyen, who will now oversee the shop’s Toronto operations, joined the agency as part of the senior leadership team at Toronto-based communications shop Holmes PR, which was acquired by KWT last year.
For her part, Foy has worked on accounts across the corporate, consumer and entertainment sectors during stints at Ketchum Toronto and Holmes PR. At KWT, she will lead a portfolio that includes American Express Global Business Travel and Cirque du Soleil.
Since its acquisition of Homes PR last September, KWT has continued to diversify its portfolio with new client work for Toronto exhibition space Happy Place, the CNE Foundation, The Royal Academy of Dance’s 2019 Genée International Ballet Competition, as well as Canadian support for Amway Artistry Beauty.
In a press release, Gabrielle Zucker, KWT Global EVP and global managing director, said the Toronto office is “primed for momentous growth” as it continues to expand its services and integrated offering of PR, marketing, social and digital capabilities in Canada.
