WPP’s Grey Canada Moves Where?
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
It was most interesting to see the Canadian arm of international Grey Group, part of WPP, recently open an office in Kitchener, Ontario.
Whereas most international ad agencies tend to open and expand their offices in Canada’s biggest cities; Grey – which already has offices in Toronto and Vancouver – has apparently been keeping its eye on the high tech hub of the Kitchener-Waterloo region where some 750 high tech companies – including firms like Christie Digital Systems and Research in Motion – reside,
The award-winning Grey Canada (which took a Gold at Cannes) intends to offer global marketing capabilities to digital media startups in the region. We see it as a smart move, considering that Canadian and global ad agencies are fighting to find and earn new business in their highly competitive markets.
The new branch in the heart of Canada’s Technology Triangle appointed Beth Cotter as business director for this office. The new GreyKW office is located in The Communitech Hub: Digital Media and Mobile Accelerator, in the Lang Tannery building, in downtown Kitchener. This location puts GreyKW in the centre of Canada’s thrust for achieving digital media excellence through innovation.
“This initiative is very exciting because it allows us to explore new business opportunities in a very vibrant region within Canada,” says Ann Nurock, president and CEO, Grey Canada, Toronto. “The region of Waterloo has a thriving business community with a range of industries that can benefit from the global expertise that a company like the Grey Group can provide. We are keen to become part of and support the business community in the region.”
The key driver for opening this regional office was to be part of the excitement generated by the Communitech Hub which opened on October 7. This location offers a very dynamic component for Grey Group’s expansion into the region. As part of the Hub community, Grey’s team will be working directly with startup companies, to assist them in creating their marketing strategy and establishing sales opportunities. The global marketing experience plus the strategic and creative excellence that Grey is known for is expected to be of great value to entrepreneurs and companies throughout the region.
Cotter is a long time resident of the Kitchener-Waterloo region and has over 18 years marketing, communications and branding experience, working exclusively in that area with B2B companies. She began her agency career at Quarry Communications in Waterloo, then worked as a brand strategist with MFX Partners. She also worked on the corporate side with Manulife Financial in Waterloo and recently with Christie, where, as a marketing manager, she helped establish sales development initiatives in an effort to grow the Visual Environments division.
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