Jeremy Weisz 11:44
Pardon my French.
Thomas Magny 11:48
We, again, as a 360 agency, we have all the services here. So it needs to start at the beginning to the end. And what is very interesting about Camden or like a fully integrated agency is that we understand and we were able to forecast every step of the process versus for example, like a client that has a creative agency, a production agency, media agency, strategy agency, PR, so we are doing everything internal, which really gives us like an overview. So obviously, we need to start with an audit, we need to get some data, we need to crunch some numbers, we need to do some workshops with the clients with other people in the industry to really kind of bring that insight, right, we want to base our initiative on something concrete, something tangible that we’re going to be able to bring to the forefront. So that’s always the first phase, obviously, really understand what the clients want, because they know best. And we need to really get a glimpse and grasp what that is. And after this, obviously, there’s a huge part of strategy, we need to be able to really analyze where we’re going, which markets are we targeting, and how we’re going to be doing this, we have strategy director, that is incredible. We love to work with him all the time. Like it’s always a blessing to have him on the team. And after this, I mean, this is where I love is when the creative aspect is going to come into play. So based on the strategy, the insight, the angle, that we want to approach, how it’s going to be coming to life. So is it a big production? Where are we going, and this is something that is interesting, as well as that we are really sensible to the media. So what kind of touch point what is the audience? Are we going to, like traditional media, are we going to digital? Which format are we going to do, like, what is the consumer habits, so we’re kind of having all those talks all the time. And that kind of brings sensibility to like immediate team for a creative standpoint, vice versa. And after this, when the creative aspect, and the creation is done, this is how we’re going to be delivering. So like I mean, this is the media and the deployment, optimization, and so forth and so forth. And through all of this, you have one department that is extremely, extremely important is the account service, right? So the account service press is kind of like the extension of the client as well, like they’re talking for the clients and they’re doing the bridge with us. And we’re very fortunate to have an account service that are extremely versatile they are formed in media in creation strategy, so they’re really going to be able to help the client to do the best as they can and really be able to give them like the great insight right off the bat and not always talking to the team like they are formed into like that 360 aspect. And this is something as well that I really appreciate from Camden.
Jeremy Weisz 14:47
What does success look like for a company like that? From like, Selena, yeah, because there’s so many directions that this can go right in there. Yeah. They’re good trying to get in front of so many different people, because there’s residential, there’s commercial, there’s government, when you map out a campaign like this, what does success look like?
Thomas Magny 15:12
Well, there’s many KPIs. Obviously bottom line, you always want some conversion depends on which campaign you for taking, for example, like the implementation on the United States, the first objective is to get the word out there, it’s to get attention to be relevant on the market to be able to get a couple of market shares. Because it’s a long process, there’s many different competitors in their space. And we need to position the brand as a thought leader, that’s potentially the first milestone that we need to achieve after this, we need to be able to bring some concentration to it. And it’s a little bit like the ADA formula, right. But we need to be able from a new market with a big market like this, it’s a Canadian player, right, that brings, like their know-how, and their services and products into the US. So the first thing is awareness. And after this, we’re going to be bringing some concentration, and we’re going to be able to tackle conversion after. But the first one is to get the name out there and to position themselves as a thought leader as expert as well.
Jeremy Weisz 16:17
Yeah, I asked, because it’s a big undertaking, like, if a government’s doing a job, that’s probably a really long sales cycle. And it just is a tough undertaking. So, I guess that’s why they need you.
Thomas Magny 16:33
I mean, yeah. How can I say that, and this is going to be like a little bit more of like a bigger scale. But Camden, I believe that we’re doing the briefing on a lot of different mandates, were paid to make a difference, and not to maintain the status quo. For example, like Seleno here, has been fighting against Semmens, because it was the cheapest and the easiest solution for every government at every corporation, but like, now, they’re bringing a more sustainable solution that needs a lot of infrastructure changes, like digging into the soil, like changing the whole system. I mean, it’s a process, but it’s for better future. Right? So that isn’t always easy. It takes courage and audacity to challenge and push it at the right times. But we are paid to make a difference. And we want to work with brands that wants to make a difference, because this is where we’re good. And when we’re talking about good for us, we’re trying to bring that standard of good enough is not is not enough, we’re trying to hold ourselves at the highest standard across the board. And I guess our intrapreneurial core is really something that keeps us going and I mean, upwards.
Jeremy Weisz 17:46
Talk about what you’ve learned from the CEO.
Thomas Magny 17:52
Wow, maybe. Okay, brace yourself? Well, I’m not sure is, I would say I’m gonna give him a little tap on the shoulder here. But Mathieu is the reason that I joined Camden. He has an unmatched drive and an unmatched vision, which is a good reason why Camden is striving so hard, and it’s contagious. And it’s something that I really, really appreciate from us here. And, again, the 360 approach to fully integrate agency is not an easy beast to tap. So you need to be able to understand every part and Mathieu really have this holistic approach and understanding of the market of the services and how we want to bring Camden into a new space of agency. And that vision is something that really keeps us going. And that every employee, every piece of the staff executives are embracing on a day to day and that unity creates a lot of the strength of Camden as well. So in a nutshell, Mathieu brings this to the table a lot. And it’s and it’s amazing.
Jeremy Weisz 19:17
Talk about culture. There’s four different offices globally, how do you maintain culture across the company?
Thomas Magny 19:29
So culture has been cultivated for a while now of Camden. We have people from France, we have people from Hong Kong, people from Quebec, people from Ontario. Obviously, like, I mean, as I said earlier, that difference of culture, from the ground up from the get-go, is what makes us unique. We’re not the only one, there’s tons of agencies that are the same in terms of this multicultural aspect. But it’s to be aligned to the same vision to be align to the same belief and the same values that are extremely well communicated by Mathieu and by like, the C suite. And, again, we need to be able to understand which kind of client we want to work with, what kind of difference we want to make, where do we want to go, it’s something that ties people together, if you don’t know where to go, you don’t know what to do. So that aspect has been well covered. And it’s something that keeps us together, obviously, we have weekly meetings, where we have…
Jeremy Weisz 20:34
Talk about that, because how was it communicated? Right, talk about what’s the frequency of meeting, what are the meeting that like, interoffice, external offices.
Thomas Magny 20:48
All the time, all the time, we’re talking all the time together, we have some exchange program for staff, you know, going into Lyon going to Hong Kong, or Hong Kong is an interesting piece. But people can travel, we’re talking to each other, like, you know, for example, like Lyon has very, like a specific skill set in creation, like, they’re the creative hub of the network, I’m going to say, we have, obviously art directors, copywriters, graphic designers, but we have very good motion designers, 3d art is down there. So for example, like, we need a 3d mandate. So we need some motion, we’re going to be talking to Lyon. So, like an art director from Montreal is going to be talking to 3d specialists in Lyon, we’re going to be sometimes, and this is something that I really appreciate from Kevin as well as, depending on what kind of mandate in which sector, we’re going to be able to create, like, as a squad team, like a tactic team, for example, like, if you have somebody that have a little bit of experience in the fashion industry. And if it’s like, in a Lyon or in Hong Kong, I’m going to be coming in, if it’s like, the more like, into the food and beverages in Montreal, we have, like, our DC Mitch, that has an extensive experience down there. So we’re going to be able to create, like him has the DC of the team. So we’re always working together. It depends on which mandate, so like, just in the day to day, we’re working together on the mandates, but like, we have weekly meetings for development for, like, the network vision, and we’re cultivated that on the daily. So I mean, it’s just the time zone that could be a little bit of an intense one, especially usually in Hong Kong to bear with us, late nights, with our weekly meeting, but we’re used to it now.
Jeremy Weisz 22:38
What was the decision to open a Hong Kong office?
Thomas Magny 22:40
It’s always been a dream of material market share, but I don’t know if you know a little bit about the Hong Kong market or not really? No, okay. So it’s a very interesting political situation down there in Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is a business hub that is unmatched. And it’s kind of like a satellite location in Asia, meaning that, yes, they’re in China, they have some rules to respect, obviously. But the brand on there have a lot of autonomy on their decision-making. So we have proximity with clients that for example, like here in Canada, or in Europe, we would not have because addition to like, the situation is so specific in their market, that they really need people that understand their market more than ever, like that goes for everything, but especially down there. So we’re talking with brands that are incredibly big, and we didn’t know that we were going to be able to talk with them and work with them so quickly. But as we have like this expertise on the market down there, we’re able to communicate with them. And Judy has been an amazing GM. She’s killing it. And it was ballsy 100% to open this during the pandemic, but again, we believe in disruption, and we believe in audacity and that was a good example of it.
Jeremy Weisz 24:18
What were and we didn’t even talk in the in the front of this conversation about you open office there, but also in the midst of the pandemic.
Thomas Magny 24:29
Yeah. Well, yeah, and at that point, like maybe Mathieu would be better placed for me to because I was not involved in like all the details of that transition. But I mean, everything has a timing right. So we met the right people we had the right connection at the right time. And for us, like you know, pandemic or no pandemic. It was the right timing and we just went right through it and there was no question if we’re not doing it or no or like, I mean, it was it was pretty intense, logistically wise, it’s something, but we made it and we’re super happy about it. And you know, it’s slowly but surely. But it’s our new baby Hong Kong has been like, what, two years now? A little bit more two years and a half? And I mean, it’s going very well. And we’re very happy to have made that move.
Jeremy Weisz 25:18
You said also Thomas, that there’s, you’re not allowed to say where but there’s another probably expansion under wraps? How do you decide whether to expand into a different region or city, or not?
Thomas Magny 25:38
So, there’s many ways to do it. It’s either you want to partner up with an agency that are already existing, you want to open up an office from the get-go? There’s many factors out there. First off, is the compatibility of our DNA and the market? Is our portfolio is going to be irrelevant down there, is it an extremely clustered market? What is the added value for us to go there? We’re not the type of okay, we’re just going to be opening in the office down there because like, I mean, we want to send a signal isn’t going to be liquid, it isn’t going to be profitable. And are we going to have fun in this market? And in the scenario of like a fusion acquisition, for example, if we’re partnering up with other agencies, I would say the most important thing is the shared vision. Are we going to be able, like I said, like, obviously, there’s going to be like, some complimentary aspect, like, your team is complimentary across your portfolio of clients, you guys, the financial makes sense. There’s like the market, there’s so many different things. But the main thing is the human fit. Are we going to be able to work together for five, 10, 20 years? Are we aligned into the same mission to the same vision? And are we going to have fun working on a day to day because we’re working on a day-to-day basis with everybody? So and I think this is what creates value, and I think like this is creates value for us and for our clients. So I think this is the big thing to really narrow down is, are we aligned human-wise, are we sharing the same vision? Is it clear? Are we excited to work together? For like a fusion acquisition standpoint, I think this is the main point. Yeah.
Jeremy Weisz 27:36
You mentioned mission and vision a few times, which kind of bleeds into client fit, working with the right clients. And that mission and vision allows for a decision tree, right, anyone could make decisions based if you’re looking at the North Star. So talk about client who’s a fit, and who’s not a fit.
Thomas Magny 28:07
I would say, a client that are open to audacity, a client that is open to be challenged a client that is open to creativity, that’s to me good starters, to see if there’s a good fit for us. We want to challenge the status quo, we want to bring something different on the table. And if we’re just doing the same formula that has been doing I mean, hopefully, there’s a lot of money on the table. Because we’re not the type of people that just wants to do the same thing bring the same formula that has been done, we’re challenged to outdo ourselves and to be able to bring something different to the table. So I would say like a good fit would definitely be a client that is open that wants to be challenged, that wants to want to be pushed forward. And we really love I was talking a little bit earlier about the account service team that we have here that are extremely agile and versatile. They’re going to be the one that is going to be okay, you know what we’re going to be able to work together and we’re going to be able to create some magic they’re going to be able to flirt right off the bat. So this is something that is extremely important for us but after this I mean there’s many different sectors that we’ve been working with but like a good fit for us more in a pragmatic way would be a client that wants to change something in their market. We’re calling this a little bit of a above the challenger brands, clients that want to disrupt a little bit their sector and trying to bring some more market share their way in a different approach. For example, like, you know, it’s a challenger brand is not just a number three or four. It’s not a position. It’s a brand that wants to bring something different in their sectors. And this is the type of client that really stimulates our teams. And I think this is something that we’re looking forward, obviously, like, I mean, this is the holy grail. Everybody wants to work with them, I think. But this is for the past couple of years, we’ve been positioned ourselves with that type of clients. And it’s really the type of clients that stimulates our team. And that brings the best out of us.
Jeremy Weisz 30:34
First of all, Thomas, I have one last question. Before I ask it, just thank you for sharing the stories and some of your expertise and advice. People can check out camdenadvertising.com, to learn more. And my last question is just resources, the resources, it could be books, business, marketing, advertising, it could be also mentors, whether it’s actual mentors or distant mentors, what are some really good resources people should check out?
Thomas Magny 31:11
Resources like what kind of Camden can bring to like newcomers, like staff to?
Jeremy Weisz 31:18
I mean, if it could be books like external books that you’ve learned over the years on marketing or advertising, or mentors, as you kind of went through your career. You mentioned the CEO. What are some of those that you’d recommend people to check?
Thomas Magny 31:40
Well, I mean, I think there’s so many different books, but there’s two. There’s two that kind of stunned me like, I’m a creative director, right? So I mean, I tried to study the psychology and how people are thinking and how to be engaging, right. But first off is called Sapiens, it’s the evolution of human. In a nutshell, it’s a big book, but it’s something that…
Jeremy Weisz 32:04
I’ve heard great things about, multiple people have mentioned.
Thomas Magny 32:08
It’s not related directly to marketing, but I mean, it’s really bringing your eyes of like how the human is evolving and their habits and how to interact with them. And it really brings a perspective that is extremely interesting on our species. And the second one, I would say, is potentially The Purple Cow from Seth Godin. Seth Godin has been a marketing god has been, but it’s how to really narrow down a differentiation on the market for your brand for your company. And it’s perfectly explained, I’m not going to be Sapiens by Yuval. But the did the Purple Cow is something that every marketer is whichever in which department you are, should read 100% to be able to push your difference forward for you and for your clients, for agency for everybody. And in really in a nutshell, it’s a small book. It explains it perfectly. But I mean, Seth Godin said good things, but this is something that kind of changed my life in terms of my approach.
Jeremy Weisz 33:12
I love it. Yeah, Purple Cow. We’ll pull it up in a second, but check it out with Seth Godin Sapiens. And I just want to be the first one to thank you. Thomas thanks for sharing your expertise, and we’ll see everyone next time.
Thomas Magny 33:28
Thank you so much for having me. Take care.
