After eight years as president of Toronto creative agency Union, Subtej Nijjar decided he wanted to lead something else.
Nijjar was named the new president of Mosaic on Thursday, two days after it was revealed he was leaving Union, with Catherine Marcolin replacing him. “It was an opportunity for me to do something different, to get some change,” said Nijjar of his move to Mosaic.
The change seems significant, moving from a mid-sized (by Canadian standards) agency well-known for strong creative advertising to a large multi-office marketing agency with a reputation for experiential and shopper marketing.
But that reputation is out-of-date, says Nijjar, who expects to formally start his new job in early November.
“One of the opportunities is helping to make sure the Canadian industry sees Mosaic for the strengths that it has,” he said. “It’s more than live experiences, it’s connecting consumers with brands at the point of point of meaning. So it’s in store, it’s digital, it’s essentially every touchpoint that we have as marketers to connect consumers with brands. That’s what Mosaic works on.”
The release announcing the hiring of Nijjar says his appointment marks the start of “a new era for the agency, in which it will further integrate its business, providing end-to-end marketing solutions for clients.”
“As an experienced agency executive, Subtej understands exactly how to harness continued success and turn it into business growth,” said Stephen Kremser, head of Mosaic North America. “We are delighted to have him join Mosaic and bring his innovative, forward-looking vision to our team in Canada.”
While the pandemic has put all in-person events and experiences on hold, Mosaic has already been embracing digital and technology, said Nijjar. “That’s just going to get amplified, moving forward.
“I think, across the board, what COVID has done, is just accelerated the pace at which we need to come up with modern solutions. And those modern solutions may be smaller live experiences that are more one to one, or they may be broader digital experiences that give people the ability to share and connect over a brand.”
