Strategy - Agency of the Year

Sonya Agnew

Sonya Agnew is director of marketing with Concord, Ont.-based Durex Canada.
Agnew earned an MBA from the University of Western Ontario, and began her career in category management with Loblaws. She later moved into consumer packaged goods marketing, working with a number of companies, both traditional and non-traditional. She has been heading up marketing at Durex for the past five years.

Favourite advertising:
1. Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ford Mustang "Oil Change" TV spot, by Young & Rubicam.
2. Labatt Breweries of Canada, "Out of the Blue" TV campaign (first Stanley Cup execution), by Ammirati Puris Lintas.
3. Kraft Canada, Kool-Aid outdoor campaign (side-by-side billboard execution), by Young & Rubicam.

General comments:
"My overall impression was that, for the most part, the campaigns were well targeted against their respective audiences. Humour was widely used in many campaigns - and used well. As there were so many ads I liked, it was difficult to choose just three."

Roger Kestell

Roger Kestell is vice-president, marketing with Vancouver-based Chevron Canada.
Chevron is a regional petroleum refining and marketing company, serving the transportation and resource industries. It is the number one gasoline marketer in B.C., with a market share of more than 20%.
A graduate of London University, Kestell immigrated to Canada in 1969, joining Chevron as a marketing analyst. After several marketing assignments, he was transferred in 1977 to Chevron in San Francisco, where he was involved in planning and retailing.
Kestell returned to Canada in 1983, and was appointed the company's director and vice-president of marketing. In this capacity, he is responsible for all aspects of the business, from the refinery gate to the customer.

Favourite advertising:
1. Finesse Shampoo, "Letter" TV spot, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
2. Daimler Chrysler, "First Love" TV spot, by BBDO Canada.
3. RadioShack, "By the Pool" TV spot, by Young & Rubicam.

General comments:
"The calibre of all the agency presentations was extremely high. Palmer Jarvis DDB stood out for the following reasons: "They understood the client and what the client was trying to achieve. They defined target groups and, through research and focus groups, attempted to fully understand the consumer. This rigorous pre-planning allowed development of a shrewd strategy and ended with excellence in execution. There was a strong sense of real life and real people in all five of their campaigns. The creative was amusing, entertaining and got the message across - and the results followed."

Ian MacDonald

Ian MacDonald is director of marketing for Montreal-based Dairy Farmers of Canada, a private sector organization owned and directed by Canada's 24,000 milk producers.
MacDonald has spent his entire career in the Canadian food marketing business. He started with Maple Leaf Foods before moving into the dairy industry, where he has held marketing and advertising positions at the provincial, regional and national levels. In his current post, he is responsible for a broad generic marketing program that includes consumer mass media communications, retail promotions, trade relations and market research activities.
A graduate of the School of Business Administration at the University of Prince Edward Island, MacDonald is a member of the Publicité Club of Montreal, the Association of Canadian Advertisers and the International Milk Promotion Group, based in Brussels, Belgium.

Favourite advertising:
1. Chapters.ca, "Bed Springs" radio spot, by BBDO Canada.
2. Cantel AT&T, "Anyone can get a cell phone" TV spot, by Gee, Jeffery & Partners Advertising.
3. Ford Mustang, "Oil Change" TV spot, by Young & Rubicam.

General comments:
"What is obvious when seeing so much advertising material in a short time is the positive impact of a clear and single-minded strategy that is molded into brilliant creative across several media. Let's not over-think what we do."

Ryan Mugford

Ryan Mugford is senior marketing manager, kids, teens and e-business with Nabisco Canada. In his five years at Nabisco, he has managed the relaunch of Bits & Bites and several cracker brands, and has been responsible for the development of the kids' umbrella snacking destination, "Planet Snak." Mugford has spoken at events organized by the Candian Public Relations Society and the Institute for International Research, and appears frequently in articles in the industry press.

Favourite advertising:
1. Labatt Breweries of Canada, Labatt Blue "Airplane" TV spot, by Ammirati Puris Lintas. ("Instead of the standard beer commercial, showing the ideal party that you want to be at, but never could . . . Labatt has taken those same hopes and dreams of today's young adult beer consumer - sex, music, excitement and risk - and created a spot that somehow makes all of this seem possible.")
2. Lever Pond's, Vaseline "Italian Meal" TV spot, by Ammirati Puris Lintas. ("This campaign focuses on the very powerful insight of what it feels like to touch and be touched . . . While that insight alone will provide Vaseline with material for the next 20 years, the creative development of using a young boy's accidental and then amorous touch of an older woman is genius.")
3. Chapters.ca radio campaign, by BBDO Canada. ("I am a firm believer that creative impact and budgets are absolutely linked: Often the more impactful the idea, the less money is required to effectively communicate the idea. The Chapters spots, with their juxtaposed sound-bites, made you listen, understand and be entertained . . . ")
4. Panasonic Canada, print campaign, by Gee, Jeffery & Partners Advertising. ("Best tagline in a print ad: 'Memory of an elephant, speed of a jungle cat, soul of Ted in accounting.'")

Sandra Palmaro

Sandra Palmaro is director of marketing and corporate communications with Microsoft Canada.
Palmaro began her career in the advertising industry in 1980, and has worked in both media and account services at various agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, Enterprise Advertising and Baker Lovick.
She joined Microsoft in 1992 as advertising and public relations manager, and has held a variety of sales and marketing management positions over the past seven years. In her current role, Palmaro is responsible for both product and corporate marketing, as well as marketing services, which includes Web initiatives, events and marketing vendor management. Palmaro is also a member of the board of directors for Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada.

Favourite advertising:
1. Labatt Breweries of Canada, "Out of the Blue" TV campaign, by Ammirati Puris Lintas.
2. President's Choice, "The Way Things Should Be" TV campaign, by Ammirati Puris Lintas.
3. Chapters.ca, radio campaign for movies and music, by BBDO Canada.

General comments:
"I was really impressed with the range of styles and approaches, and with the overall high quality, regardless of budget."

Vince Wong

Vince Wong is marketing communications manager with Dominion Directory Information Services, Canada's second largest Yellow Pages publisher, in Burnaby, B.C.
Wong joined Dominion Directory in 1993, and has worked in a variety of positions, from product marketing to advertising. His current role includes responsibility for advertising, event marketing and public relations.

Favourite advertising:
1. Sun-Rype Fruit To Go TV campaign, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.
2. Labatt Breweries of Canada, "Out of the Blue" radio campaign ("Telemarketer" and "Deck Removal" executions), by Ammirati Puris Lintas.
3. Insurance Corporation of B.C., "Walking" TV spot, by Palmer Jarvis DDB.

General comments:
"Great examples of out-of-the-box thinking for some very traditional clients and product categories. In particular, Ammirati Puris Lintas and Palmer Jarvis DDB have uncovered incredible insights which have led to powerful, engaging creative."