By looking at the revenue picture, you’d think John St. was operating in some parallel universe to the economic downtown. The 12 months starting from August 2008 have been the best in the agency’s relatively young eight-year history: a 30.4% increase on revenues, which today are upwards of $15 million.
That impressive growth has come from some new, but mostly smaller accounts–including green electricity provider Bullfrog Power and frozen food brand Dr. Oetker. A larger chunk has come from existing clients, including AstraZeneca, Corby Distilleries, Maple Leaf Foods and Moosehead Breweries.
That may not be surprising; John St. has enviable client retention (zero defections in the last two years, just one of the many reasons Marketing awarded the shop Agency of the Year for 2008).
What is surprising is the kind of assignments the agency is winning.
For Maple Leaf Foods, John St. is collaborating on a high-profile product launch, which at least initially involves more strategic and product development work than it does pure advertising.
And while John St. is not on its official agency roster, Kraft Canada has hired the agency for new product work–an unusual move for the packaged goods giant, which rarely taps shops outside its agency pool.
“We are creating product [from the very beginning] all the way to the advertising,” says Arthur Fleischmann, John St. president. “We have a strong, large strategic planning group. Within that group, we have developed an innovation process that integrates the design, digital and technology teams, as well as research and product testing.”
A recent example of that “innovation process” is the campaign for Cracked Canoe, a new light lager from Moosehead Breweries. The slow-brewed lager launched this spring around the theme “An Ode to Slow,” with a hilariously satirical website, CrackedCanoe.ca–which included “fast-breaking news” headlines like “Speed metal band can’t keep up with their own sound”–and highly evocative TV and print ads.
Moosehead Breweries was so impressed with the work, it awarded its lager brand to John St. without a review.
“With Lager, we were looking for an agency that was very grounded and authentic,” says Matt Johnston, the brewer’s vice-president of marketing. “The work from John St. is straightforward, uncomplicated and very collaborative.”
And for AstraZeneca, aside from picking up more brands, John St. also completed the pharmaceutical giant’s new global corporate positioning and branding.
John St. has, over the years, been lauded for being a grounded, collaborative shop. But until recently, it was criticized for its weak online capabilities. No longer: digital production today accounts for over 50% of its total production. It is now working on interactive work for Maple Leaf Foods (which awarded John St. the assignment over two pure-play digital agencies) and Tetley, for which it will create a new website that will be used in 15 countries.
But true integration is what most excites John St. Fleischmann is particularly proud of The Wiserhood campaign for the Corby Distilleries’ brand Wiser’s Canadian Whisky. The multi-media campaign launched last October and did so well Corby gave John St. its Lamb’s Rum and Malibu Rum accounts as well.
On the awards show circuit it was another strong year, winning five Golds and two Silvers at the 2009 Cassies Awards, work for War Child Canada won Best in Show- Single at the Bessies, two Golds at the Marketing Awards (as well as the Andy Rodgers Public Service Award) and was shortlisted twice in Cannes.
John St. has undoubtedly had a terrific year, but the next two will really tell the rest of the story. Its first work for Moosehead Lager isn’t expected until April, and it’s unlikely we’ll see the results of the Kraft and Maple Leaf Foods product innovation assignments until well into 2010. The agency is also planning a major relaunch of the Zellers brand, but that likely won’t happen until 2011. John St. is no doubt up to the challenge–recession or no recession.
