Dentsu Aegis-owned digital agency iProspect Canada has announced changes to its executive team as it adapts to the ongoing shift in the marketing landscape away from traditional advertising and towards digital and social.
The agency, which is part of UK-based iProspect, said Guillaume Bouchard would remain in the CEO role, but with a broader mandate overseeing the vision and culture of the Canadian division.
Nicolas Hamel has been promoted to president from chief operating officer (COO), and will be in charge of more departments including finance, human resources, information technology and client services and delivery. Remy Leclerc becomes COO.
“We did a big think of who is the best at doing what,” Bouchard told Marketing.
He said the changes better positioned the agency to deal with the steady increase in spending on digital marketing among most brands today.
Bouchard said about 5-10% of a brand’s marketing budget was earmarked for digital and social channels a few years ago. That number has since risen to about 50% or more today, and could climb to nearly 100% for some brands by 2020, Bouchard predicted.
“We are positioning ourselves to be at the centre of the operating model,” Bouchard said.
“These changes will allow the agency to facilitate innovation and growth, while maintaining its focus on responding to the needs of existing clients,” the company said in a release.
iProspect has grown to about 100 employees in Canada, serving clients such as Home Depot, Microsoft, General Motors and Air Transat.
The company was formerly NVI, the largest independent digital agency in Canada, before being acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network to launch the iProspect brand in Canada in 2013. iProspect Canada has offices in Montreal and Toronto. The executives are based in Montreal.
iProspect has more than 3,000 employees worldwide.
