Canvas Worldwide's Newest Offering Caters to Brands with Big Ambitions, Modest Budgets

quotWe wanted to create a sort of media lab for brands looking to do more with their dollars and for those who are willing to get creativequot explained AG leader Phil Sloan Canvas Worldwide39s Senior Vice President and Business LeadThe group was created about a year ago after Canvas39 New Business team met with a potential client that seemed promising but didn39t have a large enough budget for the fullagency treatment Canvas didn39t want to turn them away so AG was bornLike a utility player on a sports team Sloan noted that his team can do it all for clients They39re not operating on the sidelines but alongside a client in the trenches AG digs into every aspect of media planning buying and marketing alongside clients to handle whatever needs doingThe team positions itself as an incubator and media lab It39s staffed by a small team of media veterans with brand and agency experiencequotWe behave more like a marketing department than a media planningbuying groupquot Sloan said quotThat means we also consult on product pushes sales promotions creative development and sales channel strategy We39re deeply involved in the micro of planning media buys but also the macro factors that our clients wrestle with every dayquotIn a short time the group has grown to serve a half dozen clients in the retail higher education pharmaceutical and technology verticals The clients are typical quotchallenger brandsquot or companies taking on more established competitors or clawing for market share explained Associate Director Katherine AndersonquotThey want to grow and increase awarenessquot Anderson said quotThese are brands that are being outspent by competitors or they39re starting from low awareness levels We help them find opportunities they might not otherwise considerquotTo do that AG will stretch their clients39 dollars and offer innovative solutions They typically utilize digital and social media and sometimes deploy creative tactics like street teams and street art when appropriate The idea is to generate buzz that raises the client39s profile without spending big bucks Anderson saidAs a media lab the AG team avidly tests newer digital and social platforms The group finds the best platform by combining a client39s ambition with first and thirdparty research quotWe are really led by where their target market is and we39re all about making sure we39re reaching them in the right placesquot she addedWhen it is appropriate AG activates other media channels including outofhome streaming video audio and linear TV quotWe39re constantly experimentingquot Sloan notedRecently the group worked with a retail client that wanted to reestablish its brand and attract a slightly older teenage demographic quotTheir issue was partly 39How can we be more inclusive as a brand39 and 39How do we modernize our brand and our approach to the market39quot Sloan recalledTo plan the retailer39s comeback campaign AG relied heavily on data research and testing Because the client39s target consumers spend most of their time on social media and multiple devices quotwe were laserfocused on socialquot Anderson said For social AG created shortform videos that were whimsical and fun To make sure they got consumers39 attention they focused the advertising before and after the crowded holiday shopping seasonquotThe biggest key to that success was being nimble and making sure they were top of mindquot Anderson saidAs its clients grow the AG team plans to flex with them If a client starts to have more complex or extensive needs they could graduate to the larger Canvas agency but the AG team hopes to keep them closequotOur clients are our kindred spiritsquot Anderson concluded quotWe39re all entrepreneurial We39d like to think that won39t change as they grow bigger and grow their budgetsquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Canvas Worldwide's Newest Offering Caters to Brands with Big Ambitions, Modest Budgets

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Alli Romano

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Canvas Worldwide's Newest Offering Caters to Brands with Big Ambitions, Modest Budgets

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