Toronto-based High Road has opened an office in the Big Apple to serve clients on both sides of the border.
“As we were talking to clients and looking at what they needed, they really needed and wanted a New York presence,” said Sarah Spence, president of High Road. “Some of our Canadian clients have asked us to do work in the U.S. and we’re now getting some U.S. clients, like Huawei Device USA.”
High Road already had a small U.S. presence, with one person based in L.A. “[But] as we take a look at expansion, it just makes sense for us to put a beachhead in New York,” said Spence.
The New York office is being led by general manager Sean Stevenson, who was most recently senior VP at Edelman in New York. Prior to that, he was co-founder of Zero to Sixty, which helped brands develop entertainment/lifestyle partnerships.
“When launching a new office, I look for someone who really fits with the High Road culture, which he did,” said Spence. “He also brings a strong entrepreneurial background and a strong digital background [to the role]. He has been a fantastic addition for us and he’s the right guy to help us build in the U.S.”
Coinciding with the New York expansion announcement, High Road also launched a brand refresh, including a new website as well as a modified logo and name. The agency has dropped “Communications” from its name to better reflect its service offering.
“In the PR world, you can get put into a box,” said Spence. “The number of services that we offer our clients is huge. And it’s much bigger than just media relations… We are still communicators — everything we are doing is helping our clients to communicate. But I think High Road on its own is the right brand and we are able to communicate what we do as an agency through that name alone.”
The rebrand was one reason Stevenson decided to make the move to High Road. “The timing of the rebrand — dropping ‘Communications’ and focusing more on the bigger picture so we can have the right solutions for our clients — was very attractive to me,” he said. “I’ve been in this industry for a number of years and staying fresh and creative is more important than ever, particularly as the business changes almost every 72 hours.”
As part of the brand refresh, High Road introduced a new internal credo, “We make it personal.”
“It’s our rallying cry,” said Spence. “And we’re [making it personal] through all of the various services that we offer.”
