Leo Burnett is finishing a strong year with a grande finale, after being named AOR for Starbucks Canada.
“We were impressed with the thinking and approach from the Leo team, showcasing a strong understanding of the essence of our brand,” said Deborah Neff, vice-president, product and marketing for Starbucks Canada, which operates 1,400 locations across the country. “There was a strong connection between our teams, and we are looking forward to growing our love and connection with Starbucks customers together.”
“We were impressed with the thinking and approach from the Leo team, showcasing a strong understanding of the essence of our brand,” said Deborah Neff, vice-president, product and marketing for Starbucks Canada, which operates 1,400 locations across the country. “There was a strong connection between our teams, and we are looking forward to growing our love and connection with Starbucks customers together.”
Ben Tarr, president of Leo Burnett Group Canada, said they were thrilled to win such an iconic brand, and will begin work on Starbucks on Jan. 1, with Martel et compagnie (Leo Burnett’s Montreal office) handling work for Quebec.
“Starbucks awarded Leo Burnett for their in-house production capabilities, as well as their strategic approach to localize global brands to better resonate with the Canadian customer,” he told The Message.
Starbucks also works with Spark Foundry for media, MSL for influencer marketing, as well as Edelman and Media Profile for PR.
Leo Burnett won the business after a competitive pitch process managed by Stephen Argent of Listenmore.
“What we discovered during the pitch was how much passion and love there is for this brand and how there is a huge opportunity here for Starbucks to play an even bigger role in peoples’ lives,” said Tahir Ahmad, chief strategy officer, Leo Burnett Toronto.
The Starbucks win comes at the end strong year for Leo, in which it added five other major accounts: Pizza Hut, TD Bank U.S., President’s Choice, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, and Sun Life.
“[W]e have great people and a great strategic and creative product offering that puts people at the heart of the work,” said Tarr when asked about possible reasons for all the new business.
“Our new partners are all keen to deepen and make new connections with their customers and that’s what we love to do. To use creativity to strengthen the relationship between people and brands.”
