When the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff schedule was announced on Oct. 5, fans were seriously disappointed with the afternoon start times. Particularly inconvenient was game two, slated for 12:45 pm on a Friday.
Justin Creally, co-founder of Toronto-based PR firm North Strategic, was listening to the radio on his way to work, hearing stories about fans who had waited more than 20 years to see a playoff game, but couldn’t go because they had to work. Once at his office, he got on the phone with his client, Canadian Tire’s chief marketer Duncan Fulton, who said the company was thinking about closing its head office on Friday so more than 5,000 employees could watch the game.
Sensing a big PR opportunity, Creally said, “let’s do it.” Canadian Tire CEO Michael Medline sent an email to employees, the company sent out a tweet, and the press — including CBC and Canadian Press — jumped on the story.
Turning a simple employee morale gesture into a national good news story was one but small victory in a year full of big wins for North Strategic, whose nimble and smart approach to PR has landed the agency on Marketing’s Agency of the Year list for the third year in a row. Not bad for a company that’s only been around since 2011.
But Creally, who co-founded North Strategic with Mia Pearson, says 2015 was the agency’s best year yet. North was named PR AOR for Twitter Canada and social media AOR for Tim Hortons. It also won PR AOR status for GoodLife Fitness, Transat Tours, Cadillac Fairview and Canada Goose, adding to an already impressive client roster that includes Samsung, Diageo and Airbnb.
While North does traditional PR, its social media and content offerings have given the agency a leg up. The agency’s video content division, Notch Video, helped the agency win the Tim Hortons account this year, according to Creally. “It’s one thing to tell a brand, ‘Here’s the type of content that you should create.’ And it’s another thing to say ‘Oh and by the way, we can take care of that for you.’ That’s what really separates us.”
That, and its results-driven, creative approach to getting clients’ stories told. In March, North Strategic launched a series of regional “Test Lab” programs as part of Canadian Tire’s “Tested for Life” campaign. For one execution, residents in Terrace B.C., one of the country’s rainiest cities, awoke one morning to find 1,000 sets of windshield wiper blades at the end of their driveways, available to be tested for one month.
In Charlottetown, P.E.I., which had just shovelled its way out of a harsh winter, 1,000 bags of grass seed were delivered to doorsteps across the city. The program generated more than 14 million earned media impressions, with both national and local coverage.
Then, this past summer, North Strategic rented an extravagant condo in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, decked it out with the latest Samsung electronics and invited influencers to host their own parties there. Guests were treated to food and drinks, and they could watch shows on the 80-inch Samsung SUHD TV. “The influencers themselves are almost the hero in that situation,” says Creally. “And, of course, they’re talking about the Samsung product.”
The results of all those ideas? Revenue has been strong, increasing 27% year-over-year for the first eight months of 2015, and the agency increased its head count to 55 from 48.
