The migration of English Canadian agencies into Quebec continues, with Toronto’s John St. becoming the fourth shop in six weeks to announce plans for a Montreal beachhead.
John St. president and co-founder Arthur Fleischmann said his agency has been making a “concerted effort” to assess the Quebec market for nearly 10 years, but that its business didn’t previously justify a standalone office.
While John St. had been doing a lot of French-language work for clients, Fleischmann said it was mostly adaptation, handled through what he described as a “virtual” office – a small group of part-time freelancers.
He said the need for a Montreal office became apparent as clients began requesting more market-specific creative that addressed the cultural nuances between English and French Canada.
The agency’s two offices will be treated as “one long boardroom table,” said Fleischmann, with the Montreal office receiving national briefs in addition to Quebec-specific requests.
Mylene Savoie, a Montreal native who was previously group account director with Taxi, and whose resume also includes stints with JWT and Leo Burnett, is heading the four-person office as managing director.
Savoie, who Fleischmann joked “had us at bonjour,” has spent her career overseeing large accounts including Intrawest, Tim Hortons and Telus. “She really understands large, complex businesses that do a lot of Quebec-centric work as well as national work,” he said.
Creative will be led by co-creative directors Sebastien Lafaye and Cedric Audet, who were most recently at Bleublancrouge and whose portfolio includes work for Toyota, Air France, the Church of Montreal and the Quebec Alzheimer Society. Producer Anna Neilson rounds out the core team, which will be augmented by contract employees.
The agency’s first work is “not that far down the road,” said Fleischmann, targeting spring as its possible arrival. The agency will “for sure” pitch on local business, he said.
“The goal is to build a business that is far beyond any kind of adaptation agency,” he said. “They want to have their own set of clients and their own recognition based on their work.”
John St.’s Quebec expansion is part of a recent wave of openings by English Canadian agencies in Montreal, including Union and DDB Canada. Rethink also recently announced its plans to expand east with the March opening of its Montreal office.
Clients are taking a “more concerted” look at Quebec, said Fleischmann, and are requesting “a deeper set” of services including more original content creation and strategic planning to better understand the market and its unique characteristics.
“The market is such that clients need to find growth wherever they can, and if they feel like they’ve exploited growth everywhere else in Canada, maybe Quebec is an area they haven’t put as much focus into in the past,” he said.
Fleischmann said the addition of retail clients such as Loblaws, Future Shop and Winners, all of which have a notable Quebec presence, has also helped make the market more viable for John St.
“What I’m seeing from retail clients is that their competitive frame varies quite a bit between French and English Canada, so those clients in particular are looking for us to step up our game in French Canada,” he said.
Fleischmann said there is also an abundance of high-quality talent in Quebec that agencies are keen to tap into. While much of the top creative talent in English Canada tends to depart for foreign markets like New York and San Francisco, Quebec talent tends to stay because of language considerations and an affinity for the culture.
“We’re starting to see it as this incredible hotbed of design and creative talent, and maybe others are thinking likewise,” he said. “It’s an enormous untapped pool of great talent.”
