Simplii Financial has chosen Toronto’s Barrett and Welsh as its new multicultural agency, as CIBC’s direct banking brand looks to step up its efforts in reaching both international students and newcomers to Canada.

CIBC’s senior vice-president of brand and marketing Tammy Sadinsky said that Barrett and Welsh’s thought leadership and credentials will help the brand engage with both new Canadians and international students in “authentic and deeply meaningful ways.”

Barrett and Welsh will work with the rest of Simplii’s agency roster, which includes creative agency Broken Heart Love Affair (which won the business late last year), as well as PR agency Pomp and Circumstance, and media agency MediaCom.

In a release, Barrett and Welsh said that it will provide strategic, creative, and media-related counsel to “reinforce Simplii’s simplified digital services, enabling new communities to bank their way—any time, anywhere.”

Agency co-founder, CEO, and chief creative officer Gavin Barrett said that Canada attracted nearly 500,000 new immigrants in 2021, with another 1.2 million expected over the next two years. “This is where all the opportunity is,” said Barrett. “We intend to radically grow Simplii’s presence with our trademark: empathetic communications built on insight-rich, idea-first work.”

Simplii has made newcomers to Canada one of the planks of its business. Last year, it became the first Canadian bank to enable soon-to-be Canadian residents to use their international ID to set up their banking prior to arriving in the country, allowing for a smoother transition upon their arrival.

“This is an extremely exciting agency relationship that allows us to lead the way as a brand that truly serves Canada’s rich cultural diversity,” said Sadinsky. “With over 1.8 million existing clients, Simplii has introduced several new features and services to make digital banking simpler and more attractive for them and for new users.”