Acknowledging the increased importance of strategic thinking in developing what it describes as “better-informed” creative, Cossette has made a series of new hires at its Toronto office.
The hires include a new vice-president of strategy, Sarah Thompson, who was most recently manager of social media with Corus Entertainment.
In this role, she established Shaw Media’s social media centre of excellence, supporting the media company’s various brands and properties including GlobalTV, Food Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Slice and Showcase.
Thompson’s resume also includes digital and social media roles with Mirum, Networked Insights and Women’s Executive Network. Her work has spanned a variety of industry categories including financial services, retail and beverage alcohol.
Lisa Hart has also joined the agency as director of strategy, arriving from Trevor/Peter Communications. Hart’s resume includes stints with Leo Burnett and Tribal DDB, where she worked on brand strategy for high-profile clients including IKEA, Yellow Pages and McDonald’s.
The agency has also tapped Olio Navrotska as senior strategist and Fernando Aloise as strategy director. Navrotska was a freelance CRM consultant before joining Cossette, and also worked at FCB on accounts including OLG and Purolator.
Aloise was previously with DentsuBos, working on brand strategy for clients including Toyota, Sleeman, Sapporo, CAMH and Constellation Brands (including Wine Rack stores, Naked Grape, Sawmill Creek and Bodacious wines).
Cossette has integrated the new hires into a single group, with chief strategy officer Jason Chaney saying in a release that it intended to create an “industry-leading, next generation of strategic service” for clients.
Chaney said the hires reflected a wider trend being driven by client demands and the need for new approaches to problem solving. “We need people who straddle all the areas of digital, social, data, CRM, strategy and creative, and we need to find ways of cross-pollinating their thinking and their expertise.”
