TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

media aoy silver • Mediaedge:cia
On the leading edge
Marketers looking to cross
over from traditional media
into the new media vanguard
in 2008 did well to knock on
the door at Mediaedge:cia.
The agency helped Molson
Canadian and Coors Light
overcome low brand
acceptance and backlash in
the social media space (see
p. 87). In the first partnership
of its kind, the media shop
collaborated with Facebook
on two sponsored groups for
the brewer, sharing research
and resources to solve
age-verification issues
and gain insight into how
consumers use the space.
At the same time, MEC
underwent a signifi cant
transition of its own: former
president Bruce Grondin, an
industry veteran of 35-plus
years, passed the torch to
Bruce Neve, his colleague of
20 years, in May.
In the current risk-averse
economic climate, Neve points out
that the biggest challenge in his
new role has been continuing to
convince clients that there’s good
ROI in advertising in traditional
media, while harnessing the power
of new channels responsibly and
effectively.
MEC’s philosophy of “active
engagement” has equipped it
to take on this challenge with
aplomb, as has its investment
in proprietary research
to understand consumer
behaviour. “While this type of
environment breeds a lot of
84 STRATEGY November 2008
caution,” says Neve, “it can also
breed an appetite for some
strategic, smart risk-taking.”
And that’s where data comes in.
GroupM’s acquisition of
St. Louis-based search marketing
fi rm Outrider in February was
such an investment, and has
gone a long way to support
MEC’s approach with its clients.
Search engine marketing,
search engine optimization and
advanced search capabilities in
mobile, video, social and local
media have been integrated
into all of MEC’s offerings, and
according to Neve, the search
practice is growing like crazy.
“There’s lots of opportunity
in this country,” he explains.
“Search [here] is underspent, I
think, versus in the U.S.”
Investing in search and
digital has given MEC a better
understanding of social
media and user-generated
content behaviours – a major
accomplishment for the
agency in 2008.
That learning has also
enabled it to hone a position
on the cutting edge and exploit
the new channels for the
benefi t of clients like Molson
and Sears (see p. 86). “We’re
always looking for how to do
more with less and get better
results,” says Neve.
This momentum attracted
the attention of new clients
including Energizer Canada,
which joined MEC’s client roster
in October 2007.
“There’s been a really good
level of engagement,” says Kent
Hatton, brand group director for
Energizer Canada. “Our strategic
It’s fun when you’re involved
in a business that has a lot of
change, and you’re actually
inventing new ways of
doing things
thinking is well aligned, and
they certainly understand the
essence of our brand.”
As for the future, MEC’s focus
will be on continuing to diversify
its service offerings and further
understand and leverage new
media avenues.
“It’s fun when you’re involved
in a business that has a lot of
change, and you’re actually
inventing new ways of doing
things,” says Neve.
www.strategymag.com
BY JONATHAN PAUL
Left to right: managing partner Tracy
Bellamy; MediaLab manager Sharon
Dixon; managing partner Jef Combdon;
VP Michael Dougherty; president Bruce
Neve; SVP David Crammond; managing
partner & director Rodney Perry;
managing partner Niall Mulholland;
VP managing partner Alice de Boer
Location: Toronto
Number of employees: 112
Notable hires:
• Rodney Perry, managing partner,
director MEC Interaction
• Niall Mulholland, managing partner,
connection planning
• Cindy Worsley, communications
strategy director
New business: Energizer, Schick,
Playtex, Weight Watchers, Skyy Vodka,
Paramount Vantage