Agency launches with apparel brand as first client
Brett Channer, former chairman and executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, is now chief creative officer of a new Publicis-owned agency called Red Lion.
Headquartered in downtown Toronto (in the same Richmond St. building as Publicis), Red Lion is a 20-person agency positioning itself as “a consultancy focused on creativity and strategy,” said Channer.
Channer officially left Saatchi & Saatchi in August 2010, but after a two-month break, continued working within the Publicis Groupe network to develop the new agency, interviewing clients to help determine what the market needs.
From there the agency’s mantra was born: focus on developing a pattern of branded behaviour.
“We’re not just managing clients, we’re building clients’ [brands] and you’ll see some interesting and different ways of how we go to market with this kind of thinking,” he said.
“We really do believe in our core that consumers today chose brands for the long term… based on how a brand behaves and not just what it says,” said Channer.
Channer said Red Lion is set apart because it’s a “small intimate company” but has the financial backing of the Publicis network. “You don’t have to worry about going broke and gone tomorrow,” he joked.
Channer said the shop’s model is close to that of Zulu Alpha Kilo, which has a mix of full-time and freelance staff (partly made up of Publicis employees who wanted to “try something new”) and added that it would partner not only with Publicis-owned agencies, but independent shops as well.
“We believe in a wheel hub that actually invites others outside of the Publicis network to share in the execution if it’s necessary,” he said.
Channer said some of Red Lion’s clients were “gifts” from Publicis, while others were “earned.” The agency is expected to announce its full client and employee roster in January.
Channer was on hand at a launch event in Toronto yesterday for Canadian sportswear line Company of Adventurers, for which Red Lion developed a brand identity and advertising campaign.
The line, designed and developed by Caulfeild Apparel Group, is sold exclusively at The Bay and is currently available in 17 stores across the country and at HBC.com.
The line took only 10 months to create – a near impossible feat in the apparel world. It is inspired by Canadian explorers who formed “the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson Bay,” which is known today as Hudson’s Bay Co.
Michael Purkis, president of Company of Adventurers who first met Channer two years ago, said he first approached The Bay with the idea of the line as a way of helping the retailer retell its storied history.
“All of our garments are designed with a nod to Canadian history… and in time, from a marketing perspective, that will become even more important to the collection,” said Purkis. Each season will feature a different Canadian explorer on its hangtags and ad elements to drive that story home. “I think the marketing will tell history and grow a love for Canada,” said Purkis.
The brand identity for the adventure-based collection is “North of Where You Are,” which is more than just a tagline, said Channer, it’s a philosophy.
North is how the world describes Canada, said Purkis. It’s where Canadians go for the weekend, but is more than geography. It is also a state-of-mind.
The campaign includes print and resto-ads in addition to a Toronto streetcar wrap that runs on the line running past the Bay’s flagship location.
The brand website – COATrading.ca – is designed as a virtual camp fire where consumers can share stories of adventure. The company plans to use the site as a way of inviting consumers on real-life adventures.
Red Lion also handled media buying for the campaign, while Toronto firm The Siren Group oversees ongoing public relations and social media activities.
