Digital marketing agency, Olson, has promoted Mike Brown from vice-president of client services to president of its Canadian operations. He replaces Michael Carter, who left the agency at the end of the summer.
Brown joined the agency’s Toronto office in 2004, when it was known as MyThum and its sole focus was mobile marketing. He left in 2007 to join Artisan Complete, but returned to the company in 2010. The agency started to broaden its focus into other areas of digital in 2011, when Olson acquired it.
“Mike has played a huge role in our digital expansion in Canada,” said Olson CEO John Partilla, in a release. “He’s the perfect leader at the perfect time for our rapid growth there.”
The agency – which counts Ontario Lottery and Gaming, Cineplex, Molson Coors and Ontario Tourism among its clients – now focuses its efforts around six key areas: mobile and digital multiscreen, multichannel messaging, CRM and loyalty, analytics, social and content marketing as well as shopper marketing.
“Mobile needs to become a part of everything. Having a uniquely siloed mobile discipline was not really something that our agency should aspire to,” said Brown when asked what he hopes to achieve in his new role as president.
“My goals are to continue the process of broadening what we do in Canada beyond mobile but not to the exclusion of mobile,” he added.
The recently awarded CRM and loyalty assignments for Home Depot and Second Cup are a testament to the agency’s refocused efforts.
Filling Brown’s old role is Kris Matheson, who spent the last 10 years with Artisan Complete and three years as a board member for the retail industry association POPAI.
Also joining the agency is creative director Geoff Lee, who has held positions at SapientNitro, Proximity and MacLaren McCann.
