This conversation is a deep dive into the Canadian creative industry's untapped potential and challenges.
Scott Knox, President and CEO of the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA), discusses their "Brands Need More Canada" initiative.
Canadian agencies excel at delivering integrated campaigns with smaller budgets compared to larger markets like New York or London. This efficiency, combined with Canada's diverse workforce, makes it an ideal testing ground for global brands.
We spend a little time introducing our "Canadians Create" video podcast series, which is a StartWell production being made in partnership with the ICA. The series aims to showcase the depth of thinking and capability within Canadian agencies to a global audience - by telling the stories behind case studies of excellent Canadian creative work.
We covered a lot of ground in this conversation - you'll no doubt enjoy hearing how StartWell's CEO, Qasim Virjee, and Scott discuss:
- Canadian agencies' struggle with business development and self-promotion
- The need to move away from speculative creative work in pitches
- The importance of qualification-based agency selection
- The disconnect between marketers and agencies in understanding value
- The challenge of short-term tactical thinking versus long-term brand building
- Canada's unique advantage in integrated marketing across diverse markets
Plus how the ICA is working on:
- Getting rating agencies like Moody's to consider marketing effectiveness
- Improving how private equity values creative agencies
- Building stronger connections between the agency sector and government
- Creating better storytelling around Canadian creative excellence
