Adrian Capobianco to lead Proximity Canada

Adrian Capobianco has left Cundari to take the reins at Proximity Canada.

Proximity has been without leadership since Tyler Turnbull left in September to become CEO of FCB Toronto. Chairman, BBDO and Proximity Group Canada Gerry Frascione told Marketing he had a very specific type of candidate in mind to fill the hole in the agency’s leadership, and the search for the right fit has been long and challenging.

He said advances in modern analytics have paved the way for a “golden age” of creativity — but the skills to take advantage of it are in short supply. “It’s very easy to get lost in the complexity of data,” he said. “What we have tried to do at Proximity is come up with the tools and approach to help clients cut through that complexity.”

Frascione said Capobianco’s experience made him the only candidate who embodied the agency’s recently adopted mission to “unleash the power of data-driven creativity to solve complex business problems.” The digital marketing veteran has been GM of digital at Cundari for the past two years, since it acquired Quizative, the customer experience agency he founded in 2008. Before Quizative, Capobianco held successive roles as vice-president of interactive marketing at Fuse and vice-president client services at Publicis.

“Combining both data and creativity is a tall order, and Adrian demonstrated to me that he has proven experience in using data in an intelligent way to come up with a great creative solution,” Frascione said.

He also praised Capobianco’s deep understanding of brand strategy and his consultative approach to client services. “When he describes a case study, he always starts with, ‘Here’s what we were trying to solve,’ or ‘Here’s the opportunity we were trying to leverage,'” Frascione said. “The fact that he still has a relationship with every client he’s done business with over the past 15 years, to me signals someone who really understands the value of client passion. … It’s not about a project with Adrian, it’s about creating value for the long term.”

Capobianco said he’s excited to work with a team that shares his vision for digital marketing.

“You take a look across the industry and there’s a lot of amazing things going on,” he said. “But there’s still a ton of opportunity to have better creative that connects at a powerful, emotional level. I believe what’s going to do that is good data and good intelligence.

“Some people look at those as two ends of the spectrum, as mutually exclusive — you get either the hardcore, boring data side, or the cool, sexy creative side. I don’t see those as exclusive at all, but as a one-two punch. … We use the data to get good insights, and those insights fuel creativity.”

The data innovations driving better digital marketing aren’t always visible to consumers, he said, but that doesn’t mean they’re less important than flashy award-winning work. “A lot of that is secret sauce, behind the scenes. But if it works really well, it just becomes a fluid, seamless digital experience.”