Chris Dunne is a master at the art of shaking hands. As the designated “partnership builder” at St. John’s-based Prime Creative, Dunne is a one-man procurement department who’s helping turn the agency into a force to be reckoned with in Newfoundland.
Since joining the agency in late 2013, Dunne has brought in half a million dollars in new business – no small task in a market like Newfoundland where big accounts are scarce and agency-client relationships come with storied histories.
Among the list of clients Dunne has secured are Clean St. John’s (the city’s anti-littering division); packaged goods company Purity Factories and Screech Rum.
Knowing the province lacks a breadth of million dollar accounts, Dunne, 26, has built Prime Creative’s client roster piece by piece, landing everything from website builds for SMBs to project-based work for municipalities and large, coveted accounts like Purity Factories that were previously held by other agencies.
In less than two years, he’s brought on 18 new clients, grown its billings by almost 20% and helped usher in Prime Creative’s best-ever quarter in Q1 of this year.
Beyond procurement, Dunne takes on a client services role for all the accounts he on boards, personally delivering on the promises he makes in pitches. His hands-on approach is what’s delivering the real business success at Prime Creative – his pitches may bring clients in the door, but his management skills keep accounts growing. Purity Factories, for example, started as a $20,000 digital project and is now an AOR account.
The secret to his procurement success? Social connections. St. John’s is a small town and as Dunne puts it, “everyone is two degrees of separation away from someone who works at an agency.” His aim is to be that someone for the entire city.
Dunne’s off hours are stacked full of extracurriculars including an ambassador role for the St. John’s Board of Trade, a spot on the Conservation Corp board of directors, volunteering for the SPCA and TEDx St. John’s, and running events like Brews, Bowls and Charity Goals – a cancer fundraiser he co-founded.
By hitting the pavement and putting in a helping hand, Dunne’s made himself – and Prime Creative – a known quantity in the St. John’s business community and the logical first call when his business contacts need an agency.
Dunne has had a mind for business since he was a 13-year-old selling golf clubs at his parents’ store. By university he’d teamed up with two friends to start a company that built websites for small businesses across Newfoundland. In total they earned $100,000 in revenue and paid their tuition in full.
After graduation, Dunne joined software startup ClearRisk, where he worked with big brands like Cirque du Soleil, Home Hardware and Papa John’s, before being recruited by Prime Creative.
Among his proudest accomplishments is winning an account any Newfoundlander would be proud to work on: Screech Rum, the liquor bars around the province use to “screech in” visitors. Dunne and the agency now help market the rum, which is poured for visitors during a ceremony to swear them in and name them an honourary Newfoundlander. It’s almost like a little handshake with every single tourist.
