Leo Burnett is raising a toast to its newest account win, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).
The Toronto-based agency was one of three agencies shortlisted in a review that was handled by the Advertising Review Board (ARB), beating out Cossette and Winkreative. Blammo was LCBO’s previous agency of record, an account it held for more than 12 years.
LCBO is working on a new brand strategy and “thought it was time to bring a fresh perspective to our brand,” said Charan Bhogal, director of integrated marketing, marketing and consumer insights at LCBO.
“We have admired [Leo Burnett’s] work for a long time and we wanted an agency that had a broad range of expertise, from strategic capabilities to depth of digital experience and a really strong creative side,” said Bhogal.
The LCBO was particularly impressed with Leo Burnett’s work on IKEA, which the agency presented during the review process. The agency “brought forward a compelling mix of clearly thought-out strategy, an ability to tap into what motivates people and what’s meaningful to an audience and turn it into really engaging and dynamite creative,” said Bhogal. “To me, that was a great mix and the evaluation panel really felt the same way about it. And so they came out clearly ahead of the others.”
“We’re particularly thrilled that the kinds of things they needed in their new agency partner really spoke to particular strengths that we have, so we just see a wonderful fit between what they need and what we’re great at, which makes it a terrific assignment to work on,” said Dom Caruso, president and COO at Leo Burnett.
As part of its new brand strategy, LBCO is opening up new channels of communication and seeking “new ways to engage with our customers,” said Bhogal. To start, LCBO will launch its social media presence on Facebook and Twitter next month.
Bhogal said Leo Burnett’s creative work will debut next year.
ZenithOptimedia is LCBO’s media planning/buying AOR. The media account was not under review.
