July 23
The Toronto office of creative shop Huge has a unique presence at the Tour de France this year, as the designer of a new elite cycling helmet. The Scott Split Plus was worn by Daryl Impey when he won Stage 9 last week, and will be available for non-Tour de France calibre cyclists in September.
Designed by Matt Hexemer and Victor Bogatch, the helmet was created to provide optimal aerodynamics (or “aero gains” in cyclist parlance). Huge has another layer of innovation still to come: “A hardware device attached to your helmet [that] connects to a display allowing riders to see the real time effectiveness of their body position for aero gains.”
CAA’s Orion Travel Insurance has launched a new awareness campaign to help Canadians navigate and understand the essentials of travel insurance. The campaign consists of 10 animated videos that break down the fundamentals of travel insurance. All of the videos are being distributed on social media.
The first three videos, released today, explain the different types of travel insurance, how to use emergency medical insurance, and the most common benefits included in travel medical insurance. A study conducted by the Travel Health Association of Canada earlier this year found that 17% of Canadians who have purchased travel insurance are unsure what their policy covers.
July 22
With the opening of its second standalone cosmetic dermatology location, The Beauty Clinic by Shoppers, Shoppers Drug Mart is running a social campaign called “Second Glance.” Videos running on Facebook and Instagram show people who are thrilled with how they look, thanks to The Beauty Clinic.
Created by The Mark, the campaign includes educational content about specific services, like dermal fillers and wrinkle reducers. According to a release from the agency, the goal is to “Reveal to Canadians they right to feel more beautiful. And that they now have a professional, state-of-the-art, and—most importantly—trusted option for cosmetic dermatology.
Virtue Worldwide, the creative agency from Vice, has hired Morad Reid Affifi as director of business development for Canada. Affifi was most recently managing director and director of business development of artform media group, working on clients such as Oxford properties, LCBO, Thompson Hotel and Riocan.
Virtue also hired Allison Miceli as account director. Miceli has worked both client and agency sides, most recently at Diamond Integrated Marketing on TD Canada Trust, and TD Bank U.S. At Virtue, Miceli will help lead the Sephora Canada account.
Tricia Allen is the new president of media agency M/Six Canada, replacing Kerry Mitchell. Allen was most recently North America managing director of IPG’s Orion Worldwide.
“Tricia is an accomplished media world insider with an impeccable grasp of the Canadian marketing landscape and strong experience building standout agency businesses,” said Jess Burley, global CEO of m/Six, in a release. M/Six is jointly backed by GroupM and The&Partnership.
Hill Street Beverage Company CMO David Pullara has departed the Toronto-based company following a re-organization. Pullara announced what he described as an “amicable” separation on LinkedIn Monday. A marketing veteran whose career includes stints with Pizza Hut, The Coca-Cola Company and Google, Pullara joined the alcohol-free beer and wine company in April 2018, ahead of the company’s anticipated move into cannabis-infused beverages later this year.
He was responsible for the #HillStreetChallenge marketing campaign in January, which invited Canadians to give up alcohol for the month to raise funds for the Arthritis Society of Canada and Prostate Cancer Canada.
Pullara said that he plans to take the rest of the summer off before searching for a senior leadership role where he can use his experience to grow a business. “I remain excited about senior roles in the cannabis industry, but I also see roles in the media, technology, retail and fin-tech industries as very appealing,” he wrote.
