After previously operating within Bleublancrouge as part of a strategic alliance, DDB Canada has opened a standalone Montreal office and added key staff as it prepares to take over as Volkswagen Canada’s agency of record beginning next month.
The new hires include Monique Brosseau as vice-president, managing director, and Etienne Bastien as VP, creative director and national co-creative lead on Volkswagen.
The agency also announced five new hires spanning both creative and account management, including art directors Arnaud Tartier from Bleublanrouge and Arnaud Deneux from Palm+Havas; copywriters Emmanuel Chevallier and Ben Duquette from Marcel Paris and Bleublancrouge respectively, and group account director Jacques Blanchet from JWT.
DDB Canada president and chief operating officer David Leonard said both Brosseau and Bastien will serve “critical” roles in servicing the Volkswagen business, both regionally and nationally.
Bastien arrives at DDB from TAM-TAM\TBWA, where he was VP, creative director. He previously worked on the Volkswagen business while at Palm+Havas, winning a Bronze Film Lion at Cannes for a 2009 spot in which a woman driving a VW Golf is unaware she has been rear-ended.
Brosseau has 21 years of marketing communications and business development experience, having most recently served as EVP, GM at ZenithOptimedia Canada.
The two senior leaders were hired on the basis of a proven track record and a strong cultural fit with DDB, said Leonard. “They’ve felt like part of the family from day one,” he said. “There’s no ego, no attitude – they just want to focus on doing brilliant work for a great client and help build the DDB brand.”
Volkswagen moved its assignment to DDB Canada in September after five years with Red Urban. The automaker is the Omnicom Group network’s largest global client, with a partnership dating back to 1959 and the iconic “Think Small” campaign.
The move comes as Volkswagen implements a new five-year business plan that features aggressive growth targets. The German automaker sold 5,276 new cars and light trucks in Canada in October, bringing total sales for the first 10 months of 2014 to 56,443, a 5% increase from the previous 10-month period.
Leonard said Quebec is of “huge importance” to Volkswagen Canada, where it is a “very well developed” brand. Leonard attributed its success to the market’s European heritage.
DDB has been partnered with Bleublancrouge since 2012 as part of what Leonard described as a “pure strategic alliance.” It has operated as an “agency within an agency” since then, but Leonard said the size and scale of the VW assignment made it feasible to establish a standalone office. He said the new office would employ 18 people by the end of Q1 2015, with additional hires in other DDB offices to service the account.
While the new Montreal office will service the Volkswagen assignment, Leonard said current DDB Canada and Tribal Worldwide clients would continue to be serviced in Quebec through the strategic partnership with Bleublancrouge.
Leonard said it is important to maintain that relationship, particularly since there is a historical trend of multinational agencies entering Quebec through acquisition and creating a “big mess.” The ongoing partnership with Bleublancrouge will provide Quebec -specific expertise to clients looking to make inroads in that market, while providing Bleublanrouge clients with access to DDB’s resources and tools, he said.
“We’re trying to be smarter about the business opportunity and how to manage the market, and create more than one door to accommodate clients of different needs. It’s as simple as that.”
While DDB’s Toronto office will lead the Volkswagen assignment, he said the agency will utilize talent and resources from all of its Canadian offices. “It’s not like Toronto’s going to do all the English work and Montreal’s going to do all the French original work and adaptation, and the other offices are going to support the field with retail work,” he said. “We’re going to move it through ‘one hallway’ and deploy the best way possible with the best talent.”
He said DDB is currently deep into strategic work and creative development for Volkswagen, with a “full blown campaign” expected at the end of February. He gave no indication on creative direction.
“Creatively, Volkswagen is a very well defined brand,” he said. “We have lots of depth in terms of understanding the brand’s DNA; having said that, you will see a fresh approach to the Canadian market.”
