Pilot PMR has carved out a new creative director position and hired a Toronto-based author and illustrator to take on the role.
Sarah Lazarovic, a new media darling who has published an illustrated memoir and worked across web and print platforms, will lead the creative team starting June 1.
“Sarah’s appointment is not the start of something. It is an exclamation point on our evolution as a multi-disciplinary brand agency—an evolution that has been taking place over the last five or six years,” said Pilot founder and CEO David Doze in an email to Marketing.
Lazarovic, who earned top honours from the Globe and Mail for her 2014 book A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy, will be asked to “redefine” the role of creative director.
Doze said the hire is the result of a desire to create a team with a vision for the future. He said Lazarovic is a good fit, as she is equally “creative and analytical” in her work.
“At first, I was drawn to her energy and ability to communicate concepts in a way that people instantly understand and respond to. After getting to know her better, I have come to understand the rigor behind her work,” he said.
Pilot is one of several firms in Canada strengthening its creative teams. Doze said it’s important to stay flexible in an ever-changing market.
While he said “the overwhelming” response from the industry has been to add more services—with communications firms hiring advertising talent and vice-versa—Doze stressed that Pilot is using a different tactic.
“We know that complex systems require an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach. Our collective goal is always solutions—not services,” he said.
Doze said the company is currently working on the rebrand for The 519 — Toronto’s oldest and largest LGBTQ community centre — and the next steps include communications and branding support for a $100-million, LGBTQ-led rec centre slated for downtown Toronto.
