Agency of the Year
2019 AOY Gold, Design Gold and Silver Digital: Rethink rethinks its future
The 20-year old shop, which bagged three awards for work across disciplines, is gearing up for a future without its founders at the helm.
2019 AOY Silver: BBDO dissects creativity
How the Toronto shop is inspiring creativity via a “Factory” workshop to come up with work that uniquely addresses business challenges.
2019 AOY Bronze: John St. is an Agency of the Year
The agency “brand thinker” is also collaborating with clients in a new rapid-fire creative process.
2019 Media AOY Gold: Initiative flips the script
How the shop is rejecting traditional adversarial relationships with media companies to create more collaborative programs.
2019 Media AOY Bronze: Touche!’s people-based planning
How the media agency is using its data source platform Omni to change the way it looks at media.
2019 Small AOY Gold: Target stays on its mark
The east coast shop finds success in not being a carbon copy of larger agencies and sticking to what it does best.
2019 Small AOY Silver: 123w pitches its best players
How a top-heavy creative director structure has helped the Vancouver agency hit major runs with clients big and small.
2019 Small AOY Bronze: Arrivals + Departures takes off
The shop is working with startups to explore the ins and outs of building a brand from the ground up while also pushing into health and wellness.
2019 Digital AOY Bronze: Zulu Alpha Kilo goes deeper on data
Data and creativity play nice at the Toronto agency, where strategy and facts are seen as “creative jet fuel.”
2019 PR AOY Gold: Narrative’s creative bravery
How the PR shop is getting brands and their marketers to adopt greater “creative bravery.”
2019 Design AOY Bronze: DDB brings design to the forefront
Going far beyond visual graphics, the agency is now more deeply involved in the strategic development of branding projects.
Passion Project
Steve Mykolyn’s 30-year-old passion project
How the ad man’s romance with mortality has come to life as a photo book, exhibit, documentary and a soundtrack on vinyl.
Marketer of the Year
2019 MOY: Clinton Braganza is Scotiabank’s miracle maker
This year’s top Marketer of the Year keeps things loose as the bank makes good on a massive sports investment.
2019 Marketer of the Year
2019 MOY: Jackson Hitchon sweetens Hershey
The confectionery brand’s marketer shows that boldness is for the brave in wild and wacky consumer-centric campaigns.
Marketer of the Year
2019 MOY: Susan O’Brien streamlines Canadian Tire
The marketer shows how smart data strategies and a desire for consumer insights wins the race.
2019 MOY: Matt Kohler grows a greener Clorox
The CPG company is making strides in sustainability, thanks to the marketer’s work behind the scenes.
2019 MOY: Fountain Tire’s Denise Gohl-Eacrett tackles shopper angst
How the marketer is making lives (and tire purchases) more comfortable and convenient.
Upfronts
Brewers tap into new occasions
How brands are expanding outside of alcohol by courting the sober curious and branching off into non-beer products.
Editor's Note
Brand thinkers make the industry go ’round
Editor Jennifer Horn on promoting agency powers of building empathy, humanity and brave thinking into brands.
Associate Publisher's Note
Reengineering Goliath with data, and David with scale
Associate publisher Lisa Faktor on using science-side marketing tools to de-risk big, bold brand ideas.
