For National Coffee Day (Sept. 29), Tim Hortons is selling clothing and mugs inspired by its most famous menu item. There are hoodies and sweatpants ($30.30), T-shirts ($20.20) and mugs ($10.10), all of which come in the colour of a Tim Horton’s Double Double coffee.
Tim Hortons is calling it the “Drip Drop Collection,” selling the items through a special site with “fresh options” available every 20 minutes, just like its pots of coffee. All proceeds go to Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.
PR agency The Colony Project has rebranded as Middle Child. What’s in the name? According to the announcement: “The middle child is long known to be imaginative, full of wonder, sometimes (okay, often) misbehaved. Notoriously under-the-radar, we are the middle child who refuses to be ignored.”
Publicis Media Canada has promoted Véronik L’Heureux to the role of executive vice-president, managing director of Spark Foundry Canada.
“I’m thrilled to help write the next chapter of Spark Foundry’s evolution,” said L’Heureux, who was previously managing director, Publicis Media Montreal. “We’re a brand with a very unique, start-up mindset operating within the powerhouse of Publicis Media. We’ve built a strong foundation since the launch of Spark Foundry in the Canadian market in 2017, and we have big ambitions for the future.”
Publicis Media also announced the departure of Bettina Heimrath, who had been EVP and managing director. “Bettina led a successful rebrand of Spark Foundry and has driven operational excellence throughout the business,” said Alastair Taylor, CEO, Publicis Media. “We’re grateful for Bettina’s efforts and wish her the best in her future endeavours.”
OKD Marketing has merged with Brandfire Marketing to become Evolve Agency Group. The new agency has 80 employees, with offices in Burlington, Markham, and Hamilton, servicing more than 100 active clients.
“Our shopper-focused viewpoint is key to our strategic and creative direction,” said Rob Levy, executive partner, Evolve Agency Group and president, Brandfire Marketing. “Applying this lens to the evolution of cross-platform marketing, as well as both online and in-person customer experience, is what differentiates us.”
Cheekbone Beauty—the Indigenous owned brand that recently won the IDEA competition—has been picked up by Sephora.ca. The beauty retailer will carry a curated assortment of Cheekbone’s Sustain collection.
“Joining their incredible platform allows us to further amplify our mission to create spaces of representation within the beauty industry for Indigenous youth,” said Jennifer Harper, founder and CEO, Cheekbone Beauty, which has been working with Sid Lee to develop its brand including new packaging.
“Ensuring representation within our brand offering that is reflective of Canada’s rich diversity is also central to our mission of creating an inclusive beauty experience and sense of belonging for everyone,” said Jane Nugent, Sephora Canada’s Senior vice-president of merchandising. “We know our clients will be thrilled to discover all that Cheekbone Beauty has to offer”.
Outpost379 has bolstered its creative and account teams with three senior hires.
Arthur (Artie) Shah joins as CD, reporting to ECD Rick Kemp. Shah will join the agency’s management team, and take over day-to-day management of the creative department. Senior art director Elsie Fehr also joins the agency to oversee its expanding design studio. And Jenni Cowdy has joined as VP client service and a member of the management team. She reports to president and founder Paul Hickey.
SodaStream Canada has named two AORs. Edelman Canada will handle PR and influencer marketing, while The Garden is the new strategic and creative agency. The agencies worked together earlier this year to launch the collaboration between SodaStream and Bubly.
“We look for partners who think creatively and help us drive innovation in our category,” says Kyle Millar, head of marketing for SodaStream Canada. “After working with The Garden and Edelman this year, it couldn’t be clearer that they’re the right partners to add to our marketing and communications bench. Together, we’re excited to keep tapping into the love for our brand and take it to the next level.”
Edelman Canada and The Garden join OMD, which handles media strategy and buying for SodaStream, and Praxis, which handles the brand’s social media community management.