Marketing News Roundup: September 22, 2022
Today we feature a round-up of some big events and recent industry happenings.
Emma Cusson Named Equity Partner at 1Milk2Sugars
Jeff Norton Joins Corus Entertainment as Head of Waterside Studios
Sonnet Insurance Paints Académie du guide de l’auto Teal This Season
Simplii Financial selects Barrett and Welsh as new marketing agency
Demand Spring Releases First Annual State of ABM Report
Read more below!
Emma Cusson Named Equity Partner at 1Milk2Sugars
Image: Emma Cusson
1Milk2Sugars’ new ownership era is picking up steam.
The award-winning PR and marketing agency has named Creative Director, Emma Cusson, its newest equity partner. With this announcement, Emma becomes the third shareholder on the firm’s all-female ownership team alongside Founder and President, Priya Chopra, and Vice President-General Manager, Ruth Goudie.
“I’m thrilled to announce my ownership stake in 1Milk2Sugars and join Priya and Ruth as partners in this incredible agency,” said Emma. “I’ve been privileged for five years to help grow 1Milk2Sugars into the progressive, creative and industry-leading communications firm it is today and I’m grateful for the chance to invest in its future.”
Since joining the agency in 2017, Emma has played a pivotal role in propelling 1Milk2Sugars’ triple-digit business growth by championing its expansion into new markets and broadening its focus into new marketing verticals. With today’s announcement, Emma’s purview will evolve to include a focus on company culture, spearheading the employer branding strategy rooted in innovation, inclusion and best-in-class service.
“Emma is a visionary — ever curious and encouraging with the kind of creative foresight needed to stand out in this business. Her ideas are fresh, relevant and rooted in substance above all,” said Ruth. ‘It’s been a pleasure to work side by side with Emma on hundreds of brand strategies over the last few years and see firsthand how she uplifts and inspires those around her. I’m honoured to make our partnership ‘official’ today.”
Today’s partnership announcement marks another high point in what’s already proven a history-making year for 1Milk2Sugars. Since 2021, the agency has welcomed 16 new clients in several industries, including food & beverage (Canada Dry, NotBurger, Motts Clamato & Keurig); lifestyle (Decathlon); retail (HBC); skincare (Herbivore Botanicals); health (Genuine Health); femtech (Willow, Angelcare) and urban mobility (Indigo Group).
For more about this latest announcement or to stay on top of what’s brewing at 1M2S, please visit: www.1Milk2Sugars.com.
Jeff Norton Joins Corus Entertainment as Head of Waterside Studios
Corus Entertainment has announced a new overall deal with creative content company Dominion of Drama and is pleased to welcome its founder Jeff Norton to the Corus team as Head of Waterside Studios. Waterside Studios is a new IP and production venture focused on bringing premium scripted Canadian content for youth and primetime audiences to the Canadian and international marketplace.
“Jeff’s creativity, business acumen, and international focus will help propel our content ownership strategy as we pursue production and distribution opportunities for Corus’ best-in-class creative content,” said Colin Bohm, Executive Vice President, Content and Corporate Strategy, Corus Entertainment.
Norton has a long creative history with Corus, most recently serving as a consultant and previously as executive producer of Trucktown for Nelvana. He also co-wrote the novel Keeping the Beat, which was one of the launch titles for KCP Loft, Kids Can Press’ young adult imprint.
The deal with Dominion of Drama includes the option of several titles including The Last Wish of Sasha and Cade, Elements at War, The Wanderer, A Switch in Time, and Action Figures.
“Audiences are hungry for bold, original content and this is an incredible time to meet that demand with Waterside Studios,” said Jeff Norton. “I’m thrilled to join Corus, and collaborate with Nelvana, to contribute to the impressive roster of Corus titles that will delight viewers around the world.”
Waterside Studios will not only collaborate with independent producers but also join forces with Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor and licensor of children’s animated and live-action content. Together with Nelvana, Waterside Studios will bring a slate of live-action programming into Corus’ overall content offering for global audiences. Known for his work in bringing best-selling books to the screen, Norton will also focus on adapting books for kids and youth audiences. Additional details on Nelvana’s live-action slate to be announced.
“Nelvana has experienced great success with our Emmy-nominated live action series The Hardy Boys, which engaged audiences around the world on Hulu, YTV and Disney+,” said Pam Westman, President of Nelvana. “We are excited to build on Nelvana’s 50 year legacy of producing best-in-class content for kids internationally as we further invest in producing live action content in collaboration with Jeff Norton and Waterside Studios.”
This announcement underscores Corus’ commitment to Canadian content as it continues to build a global content powerhouse. In April 2022, Corus acquired a majority stake in Aircraft Pictures, a Canadian production company focused on the international market.
Sonnet Insurance Paints Académie du guide de l’auto Teal This Season
Car enthusiasts will see a familiar shade of teal when they tune into the 7th season of The Académie du Guide de l’auto this year. Sonnet Insurance, Canada’s first coast-to-coast fully online home and auto insurance company, is now the official insurer and presenting partner of the television show, which returns to TVA on Saturday, September 24th.
Since its inception in 2016, Sonnet has been bringing a fresh approach to insurance by providing customers with a simple-to-navigate experience, backed by 150 years of insurance expertise through parent company, Definity. Sharing a joint commitment of educating audiences about the car market and car safety, the partnership with Académie du guide de l’auto will see Sonnet integrated throughout the show in the following formats:
A ‘tips and tricks’ segment hosted by journalist Antoine Joubert, where viewers will learn how to maintain their car and keep it running in good shape by themselves
The official pace car driven by host Patrick Benoit will be wrapped in Sonnet’s colour and logo
The Sonnet logo will be embedded on the track and throughout the segment in areas such as the coveralls and hats worn by guests, banners around the track, and beach flags on set
Viewers will have the opportunity to enter a contest to win an electric car, which will be insured for one year through Sonnet Insurance
This opportunity allows Sonnet to continue making a household name for itself in Quebec and live up to its reputation of being a trusted provider for your auto needs.
Simplii Financial selects Barrett and Welsh as new marketing agency
Award-winning, Toronto-based agency Barrett and Welsh has been named the new multicultural marketing agency for Simplii Financial. Simplii is the first Canadian banking brand to enable international students and newcomers to set up banking before moving to Canada.
“Barrett and Welsh’s thought leadership and established credentials will help Simplii engage newcomers to Canada as well as international students in authentic and deeply meaningful ways,” says Tammy Sadinsky, SVP of brand and marketing.
Working alongside Simplii’s other partner agencies, Broken Heart Love Affair, MediaCom and Pomp and Circumstance, Barrett and Welsh will provide strategic, creative, and media-related counsel to reinforce Simplii’s simplified digital services, enabling new communities to bank their way – any time, anywhere.
“Canada attracted nearly half a million students in 2021 alone, and over the next two years, we will welcome 1.2 million new immigrants. This is where all the opportunity is,” says Gavin Barrett, co- founder, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Barrett and Welsh. “We intend to radically grow Simplii’s presence with our trademark: empathetic communications built on insight-rich, idea-first work.”
Sadinsky adds, “This is an extremely exciting agency relationship that allows us to lead the way as a brand that truly serves Canada’s rich cultural diversity.” With over 1.8 million existing clients, Simplii has introduced several new features and services to make digital banking simpler and more attractive for them and for new users.
The Simplii announcement follows Barrett and Welsh’s recent slew of wins at Strategy’s 2022 Marketing Awards, where it placed 5th among all Canadian agencies.
Demand Spring Releases First Annual State of ABM Report
Revenue Marketing consultancy Demand Spring today released its first annual State of Account-Based Marketing report.
Demand Spring surveyed marketers located across North America, from a variety of industries. From the 100 responses received, we learned that while two-thirds of respondents have implemented ABM as part of their marketing strategy, many marketers are still trying to determine the optimal execution for these strategies.
A number of key findings were uncovered in this survey:
One third of marketers have seen more than 50% return on investment through their ABM efforts.
74% of respondents identified generating new business as the primary goal of their ABM strategy.
53% of respondents reported that their ABM campaigns have generated more revenue than other marketing efforts.
47% of marketers surveyed stated they have seen a moderate increase in sales and marketing alignment since implementing account-based marketing.
Choosing the right target accounts was the top challenge (46%) identified by marketers in their ABM efforts. The two other main challenges survey respondents faced were delivering a personalized experience (39%) and selecting the right content and assets (34%).
“With customers demanding better experiences throughout their buying process, Demand Spring felt it was time to see how B2B organizations are delivering on the promise of experience, and what role ABM is playing in their strategies,” said Tracy Thayne, Vice President of Strategy Consulting with Demand Spring. “This report is our first on ABM, so it establishes a baseline for follow-up research and offers strong insights for marketers just getting started with account-based execution.”
For more information, and to see a full copy of the report, visit https://demandspring.com/research/state-of-account-based-marketing-2/.
Compiled by Emma Whiten, Editor of Marketing News Canada