Toronto interactive agency Trapeze is crossing the border to open an office in New York City after winning three new “major” Canadian accounts at the beginning of 2009.
The new clients remain anonymous, but Mike Kasprow, vice-president and creative director, said they are in the retail, packaged goods and telecommunication sectors.
“They’ve given us a substantial amount of work over the transom for at least the next 12 to 24 months,” Kasprow said.
Andrew Cherwenka, vice-president of business development, has been operating out of Manhattan for two months. He is overseeing the transition of the agency’s U.S. accounts to that office, as well as pursuing new business.
Founded in 1999, Trapeze built its reputation by designing websites for several Hollywood movie studios.
It currently lists Paramount, Fox, MGM, Universal and CBS in its client portfolio.
It also has a ongoing relationship with Disney, for which it developed a ticket widget for several of its websites.
“We’ve always had a huge mix of U.S. clients,” said Kasprow. “But we’ve never really had a presence down there. Being able to free up the development resources to be down there to further build out those clients, and gathering opportunities from the U.S., made it the right time for us to do it.”
Trapeze wants to have five people in the New York office by the end of the year. It is currently sharing offices and resources with Ito Partnership, a brand and creative strategy agency, through an informal arrangement.
Kasprow will split his time between the offices, but plans to eventually hire a New York associate creative director.
