Taxi has formally launched Taxi Commerce in Canada, adding its strengths in creative and brand transformation to the data, tools and processes of VMLY&R Commerce.
Taxi Commerce will offer a range of services, from retail strategy and shopper marketing, to ecommerce, social commerce, and experiential marketing. It launches with a three-person leadership team of Marjorie Mackenzie, strategy lead (top left in photo); Peter Roberts (bottom right), business lead; and Joanna Moberg (bottom left), account lead. The division will report into Taxi Canada president Emma Toth and CCO Graham Lang.
The traditional world of shopper marketing has been transformed by digital, said Toth. That has resulted in a much different consumer journey, where brands have more conversion moments and opportunities. Taxi Commerce’s focus is on adding creativity to those moments.
“There are some interesting creative opportunities when we’re looking for those moments to speak to consumers in a real way,” said Toth. “With Taxi’s history of ground-breaking and strong creative product, we’ll be able to bring that creative commerce piece to the fold potentially better than some of our competition.”
Taxi said that working with brands like Canadian Tire, Reitmans, Telus and Leon’s have helped it build and hone its retail marketing expertise, while VMLY&R says commerce has been “one of the fastest-growing capabilities” for the network globally. (See the VMLY&R sizzle reel below.)
“With the potential of Commerce to now take place across the entire consumer journey, we are seeing an emerging imperative for brands and retailers to bring greater creativity to the moment of conversion,” added Beth Ann Kaminkow, global CEO of VMLY&R Commerce.
Just using the term “commerce” instead of “shopper” helps shift the conversation to best align with the modern consumer world, said Toth. “That change of lexicon, we hope opens up a lot more in clients’ minds about where and how they can engage.”
While Taxi Commerce is formally a new division for WPP in Canada, the network has had a VMLY&R Commerce presence since it merged Geometry in late 2020.
