Shawn King, one of Eastern Canada’s most successful and accomplished creatives over the last two decades, has joined National Public Relations as the PR agency’s ECD and senior vice-president in Atlantic Canada.
King got his start at Bristol Group in the early ‘90s, and earned national recognition as co-founder and creative lead for Extreme Group in the early 2000s. King stayed with the agency after its merger with Blammo in 2016 to form Arrivals + Departures, though he left in 2018 to work client side in the cannabis industry for a few years. He returned to the creative agency world in 2022, when he joined Trampoline.
King is joining an established creative team at National though his appointment underlines how traditional PR agencies are seeing opportunities to win more client work by expanding their service offerings. Just last year, National parent company Avenir Global acquired Halifax-based media agency Time & Space.
"The addition of Time & Space to our portfolio will provide our clients with access to the most comprehensive communications and advertising toolbox in Canada," said Avenir Global president and CEO Jean-Pierre Vasseur at the time.
"National’s collaborative culture, global network of skills and expertise, and the clientele are all big draws for me," said King in a release. “The lines between public relations, public affairs, and advertising have never been blurrier. That’s an exciting opportunity and National gets it.”
Some of National’s top accounts in the region include Tourism New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, and Medavie.
“Shawn joins an incredibly talented creative team, including creative directors Trina Tucker and Jon Richard, and we’re excited about where this team can take our clients and the impact we can have," said Kevin McCann, managing partner of National Atlantic.
National has also recently promoted Tanya Dipenta to vice-president and chief client officer, Lee Stafford to vice-president, web strategy, and Kristie Forbes to vice-president, marketing.
