INSIGHTS

Read our lips.

National Blood Donor Week + The Power of Happy Endings

Authentic storytelling and sweating the small stuff drove powerful results for Canadian Blood Services’ National Blood Donor Week campaign. Here’s how real stories and real emotions inspired action.

4 Lessons We Took Home From DesignThinkers 2024

In the bold spirit of continued learning, we attended the DesignThinkers 2024 conference to nerd out with the best in the biz. Check out the key takeaways from some of the country's most skilled design minds and what's in store for the industry.

Why Our Remote Agency is Never Going Back to the Office

Embrace the remote work revolution and discover how flexibility enhances productivity, supports diverse talent, and fosters a positive company culture. Explore strategies that redefine work-life balance and create an environment where everyone thrives.

How A Holiday Campaign Helped Triple Blood Donations

Discover how this integrated media campaign helped triple holiday blood donations for Canadian Blood Services. Explore the power of authentic storytelling and strategic media placement that drove impactful results and saved lives.

How Not to Become a Copywriter: 6 Unverified Tips

Explore the accidental journey to copywriting success with insights from unconventional experts. Learn how unrelated degrees, random career paths, and a dash of imposter syndrome can lead to creative breakthroughs.

Branding for Gen Z, according to Gen Z

Gen Z: authenticity police, moral compass wielders, brand critics extraordinaire. Marketing to them feels like approaching the cool table at the cafeteria, but they’re also largely on the right side of history. We consulted consumer trends, social listening data, and our fabulously talented and gracious Gen Z interns on what makes Gen Z tick, and what gives them the ick.

No "soft" skills: How women in leadership crush it every day

As a woman-owned Ottawa ad agency*, we notice, think and talk about how our current environment differs from our old normal: the masculine workplace. Men have had a several-decades-long headstart in shaping culture, and women are still underrepresented in positions that drive organizational strategy today.

Accessible design quick wins for your audience—and for your brand

In the spirit of progress, not perfection, we're sharing some web design elements that you can easily adapt to improve the accessibility of your digital spaces.

6 Great Reasons to Quit Your Resolution

Discover the pitfalls of resolutions and embrace authentic changes you won’t want to quit. Join us at our upcoming virtual “Practical Gratitude” coaching event to dive deeper into sustainable strategies for a fulfilling year ahead.

7 Things About Donating Blood We Wish We Knew Sooner

Explore a fascinating listicle revealing lesser-known facts about Canadian Blood Services, from the importance of O-negative blood to the intricacies of stem cell donation. Learn about the organization's role in eligibility criteria, plasma donation, and more!

Why Audience Personas Matter

Audience personas are Marketing 101: you describe a person, and how they relate to your brand. You give them a name. Yes, the person is fictional, but done correctly, audience persona work has very real benefits to your brand strategy.

Taking the Business Leap to the Four-Day Workweek

We all know work-life balance is good for workers, but is it good for business too? Is it too good to be true?

Why Original Photography is Better than Stock

Sure, there are billions of royalty-free photos out there, and now you can AI generate ‘photographs’ too. But do you really want your brand to have the type-casted ‘diverse group of colleagues high-fiving in a boardroom’ feel? This month, we look at how (and why) to create amazing photography using real people.

What’s a BOLD Session, and Why Your Brand Needs One

An ill-defined or uninformed brand identity can make it difficult to be efficient internally, or resonate with your audience. For complex problems, we present a BOLD solution...

6 Refreshing Brands Marketing to Real Women

Marketing to women shouldn’t be hard: we’re just about half of the population, and we represent an even bigger proportion of household purchasing power.

How to Start an Agency when the World is Ending

How we moved from the corporate creative slog to a team worth grinding for.

3 Ways to Make the Most of Feedback to Your Creative Agency

We all know effective feedback is essential to making projects happen. So how do we keep feedback clear, collaborative and constructive? We’ve got insights to help the team on both sides of the brief.

High Profiles: How Our Team Does Weed

Hear from six women working and purchasing in the Canadian cannabis industry, our favourite products and most loathed misconceptions.

Ruthless Empathy: Cutting to the Core of Your Brand

We’re asking the hard questions that make authentic, effective branding solutions. First: who is your audience? And why should they care?

3 Ways Your Branding is Discouraging Gender Diversity

As the visual team behind ICTC’s report “Gender Equity in Canada’s Tech Ecosystem” we learned a lot about the strategies employers can implement to attract, retain and support entry and mid-level talent.

The Runaway Bachelorette Budget

Move over, avocado toast! Turns out the most fiscally irresponsible habit among women aged 25-35 is being friends with other women who are getting married.

Think Outside the Booth: Trade Show Guiding Principles

A cannabis marketing agency’s guide to showing off at a trade show, complete with our five favourite booths at Toronto Lift&Co. Expo.

Find your Niche so Your Niche Can Find You

When it comes to brand awareness, speaking clearly to your specific audience is more effective than trying to be heard and understood by everyone.