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P'OSTERS TIOI PIXELS: THE EVOLUTION OF OUT OF HOME

MARIIICIE,TIING J'UlY 28, 2008· 9

Caoada {and possibly the worM). U is the mode] thaI Hermann Deininger, chiefnnalfketiflg officer for Adid!l!S Sport Style, called "groundbreikIDg" when in June he named Sid Leethe lead global creilitiive ag.~l1cy fon; the Adidas OrigiJ:l<lh cldhi.ng brand,

The account; em mased to be worth more than :$ 5 million 31l'lltmUy, is fl'lr~H~1' proof that the agency's repuhltionfor b,lendin:g trac.itiollal and nontraditional. creatl.ve Can be backed by intem<l,tiorml.quality strategy

"WE SEE OUIRS,ELVES AS SUP',EIRHEROES .. " IMeunier says. EveryonE! has un~\que' skJlilisr bu[ IlWhen wlin~ togetti,el~ we're amiazingly strongjJ,

cap~lcily. A year ago the dIds were cooking for 160. Now tl'lete are nearly 250 mouths to feed.

uckily, coffee is still availa ble. I gladly accept O!! cup and Cflrly it across the han to meet Philippe Mm.mie:rr, the sh,op's chief creative officer and ,co-founding partner. His office is di lIlly lit w.ith 111 I Moot-long desk nann in,g its length. 011 the large, round lampshade that 1l,1,ngS from the ceil ing there are more ovedappillgtFiangles. The wallsare covered in still'S"

"l work with 5~an\>~ Meunier mys, ":Everylhing that matters in theageney is bOSlf..-d. on triangles, TIe typic-a] agency crea.~L'!I'ity model is a triangk At the peak you hil.ve 111 creative director and below that <I copywr.iter and an ad director."

But Mellnier believes (bat "typicaJ" medel is insufficient to meet diel1.ls' modem needs, ]t's rooted in the 30-.sec0lld ~pot,. he SiJys., So Si.d Lee takes it a steIP' hll:~lt::I', To muslraf:e. he draM yet another star 011 his chalkboard door. Atthe peak isa creative lead, "nota cr'Mti\lle d~re(.:klr-bld always a seniorperson wbohas 2. holistic approach to I:he work." At tIle ne:>::t poi nt is '~le client. At the next is the aecount person, "Then, depending 011 the project, you lI~t!all}' alse have the writer; who is the voice of the brand, Somctirnes you have an af~ di]rector, but you {)OIILlid ha\lle :J fbflli designer, an ani'lll<ltor, an industrial de-signer, \vha~ever's neeessery"

and execution, Cirque du Solell, MCM Crand a.ndi Red Bull have 0111 benefited from Sid! Lee's eclectic skill set, as have ]QC.a] clients such as toto Quebec, Ga:l'. Metro and alcohol re-ltailer SAQ. ~Iihat de these clients see in Sid U'e that Toronto marketers seem to o!l'(lrl.ook7 Have they discovered the holy grail of 21st century agency life: integration?

By the time' l arrive. the employees have a.]re .. dy eaten breakfast. Fulltime chefs provide three mealsevery (]h,y for v.he grQUp o,f strategists, flash ammrutors and retail. designers that is sweUin,gooyoild the office's

A HlSTIORY' OF' sm LEE.

AC-IC~· O· ···R-'D··IN:--]O···· TO'- S·ID· LE--E-

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Jean-Francois Bouchrarol shares me higl1s andillows of hi's ag:ency's 15~year history

bearlfng ootfive imernaliiona'i shops

to a lalge

. of lJies.e1111ayaffs and the IOOrtilellSta'kE! .salary cuts to .keep tlhe shop a'i,\i'E. Tlli.e agency refocuses on traditionall adverlisrl1lg

the agency ;31 lot 'o1llocall atremian

·12 JUlY .~8. 2.oos MAJR1KJElI'liNG

At SkI lee, thc:iS(J teams are called "ateliers," whicht:ronS:~ntesas "studic," but the translation has a production-house feel the company dis! ikt',s, Atelier.; arecreative teams that 31'C cushnnized to whatever the agency thinks a client neoos. h, an example', Meunier refers to Red Bul], which does li,~tle oil'iginal Call3diiaL'D ~,cl\l'e'fb,SDl~g, hut does build a 400-m.<:tre frozen do,wnhill racetrack every year flOr the Cnmlciian version of ils Crashed [CC extreme sports 'event, which has a slr-ongmdil1c component. Crashed lee's a~']ier" ~h!erefore, doesn't n~"{,'11 :111 art directoe; it has iml.lls;triil~ dl(,"S~gner:s and il1'ter.adh',e specialists. "We sec ourselves as superheroes.~ Mcunier says. Everyone bas unique s;kms, but "when we're togeth,er" we're arnazingly strong,"

To build that superberoteam, Meunier frequently travels to :inter· rmt.iolltll Sd100lstQ find the rightt"Jlentmix, In the atelies behind Meuaier's office--th,e; one currently worki f1_g 011 Adidas-I'vc already heard a j umhle of accents, ~ ln terms of advertising a I1d design [Canada is] okay," he el\plains. "But when you compere the oCJual!i Iy of the work ]11 Carmela to the etherlands or Pasadena, we're just on therim. ~f we want to be the best, we h1'l\1'e to hire the best"

There's no time L'O ilslaboul the spe~illc~ of Ac~das' il~elier. Meullier is l~"3ving: for Ql.lebec City where he'S: helping witi) the provincial eapltal's

4,OQlth amliversmy eelebradon. A!t, he rushes to his car" r cress the hall! to !'Ilee~ w,ith Bertrand Ccsrct, ~lgency chairm'I1~, who reclines in all (}Iffice chair wearing ablack T-shirt and [cans, Aim present is \ Martin Cauthier, who wears a blazer over his 'r-~hirl:-amlHcilns combo,

G'll1thier joined the ag(JI1C)f ill I99Q when it 'merged with hili digital shop, Stratego .. ,JdlOlllgh Sid Lee b(tg~11 as Meunierand co-founder J ean-Fr.11.ncois Bouchard's student vision of a. design-focused ad shop, Us global rcp'U~a!iollJ \vas b[~ilt onlline \"uth spectacular work (lOr the MGM Gmn(!l ill Las Vegas and Cirque dn Soleil,

"When we redid tile ill'(]ue du Solei] website eight years ago, we decided 1'(1 go <..,,<eqJwhere [m find an ~el1cy],.~ Joanne Fi]]ion, senior brand director for Cirque du Solei I,. tells me' a few days later on the phone, "We invitedpeople from England and cw York Cily," But FliUo!1 says she W~ls impressed hy the c'reativi ~y Sid Lee displayed at even the es.rly stages of the pitch. For e:l1ampie, the agency p'I'escnkxi her with a hand· m~lde,lla!1d\V;l'iUell book filled with notes and collages outlining their web s:tmtegy, "lt felt a lot closer to' the Cirque dll Soleil creative process in general [th:.m. their compeUtO:f51," Filllon exp]i1in~,

Sod lee won th.e website rede.sign, Ilansfofming CirqueD'LlSol~il .com from siaJtic links intQ <I portal for each ofCin:jlle'll s-even shows, The site

yr,s; a

:f '2:0'- niiltt'\o(l

M'ARKETiIN'1l JlILY 21.1" ~OO8 113

yo,ur typ,ic'al

~~~I·I .. , I, .. • .. ' ! el1lplo,yee

'the Sid Lee way of thil1lldng: and u nSlo,IJ,pab!e

S- taIWI .. 9 00 an under.grad at McGill Ulli'l,l'emlty. EricAlplllr had never heard of Sid Lee. The20-year-(lld Texan as. after all, an admit~ math geek

Ilio was while ptll'SiLliing a doublem.ajor in mwketing and finl3.Tl.Ce !that h@' mGt Vilto PlaZ-'"MI. the agency's .senior partner in .char'g,1:: 01 business d@velopment For a schoolassignmBnt, AJper had to build a mood and presem iii. to ad a-gency reps and national b[anc! m.arlfleters, As Mper fOO.aJls, his pr~w,ti'on was "bru.t:al, m and one CQmprul'l exec· utive eve-n oolIed his id€las "lJ:nbeJiG'I,I'a.bly stupid. ~ But Pm:za stepped in to dafend Alper's ideas. and then heJped! get b1m, <m internshipat the agency:

Onoo inside Sid Lee'~pe[ didn,'t wBiSW ti_me makiln: " his f1!es~CIiI !ell Within two .... reeks he convinced chairman Bema!'lel Cesvet to fly rum to Las Vegas part of a presentation to C-suJ1;G Emeootives at the MGM Grand to pitch ideas for a new international pr~ect the hotel had jtlst giv€[I too agency_ ShortlY therealte:r, Cesvet says, "I got a can from 'these executives saying '1Nho is 'thls guy you SEmt me? He's amazing. Thank you.' H At that point, Cesvet thought Alper was a grad student in Ns l.a:te 2Os_ WhI3"D he lea.medthe truth. he- offered, the YO'UllQl talent a full-time position upon his graduation, Today, AJp~:r is .(I" stra~1c planner. ha.~ clients l~ke Ad!ldas and liAiiIler amlugn~ t,tra,'", _~---.

AI r says he ls anno eel w:ith ctle "s!.ald conventions" 01 mar ketmg , Of what. he calls: "the- obsession lIII'itlJi the realm of the 30-!i!tl!cond SJ;hlt", .PoopJe tl:lli:ik mth a. ,30-second ad, we create meooag:es we shonkl re;peat and. repeat We hit consumers O'!J'€l[ the head wJi~h it, Burt it's ml\i'1Bil abou~ creating meruUng fo:r people. It's TI8V@Iaboutsaying 'This product: reaD.y sucks. Let's ma.ke It better.' "

Thait aJttitud@'iswhy Cesvet chose Alper, alon.gwith. amative director ThnlY Bahiniki, to l1:etp write C'onvemat.ional C8pit<lI, his new book abcurt how people form I'llllaliionsmps 'Mth brands. '''We wanD2d w helP create meaning {or peop!€," says Alper. HI maw that sounds !ilea an arrogant tmng. to say. but we're social antm.aJ.s who ten stories about our consump" live experi'El"noes, Why' carn't WI3' cr-eate oomrumptir'rJIe ex,peri!S:IlCes UlOlJ: people wa~t to tell stories about?"

Now 22 ,,'ears old. the strategist forcsass a long career at Sid Lea, He l.mrss tfiit'hG can walk into any of th-e' 15 partne~s' oJfices to tal'· shop. "Th.e fuctdla"t we're working on ro::p@twnW;i] projects is SQID€:thing I can m@lgood about, Get~lngup art eight ill the morning. going to work, €:ven if mere's ,Ii\re feet of snow ou;t.s:ide, is something I can get, excited. about day in and dalY out because f know rrn not doing something that"s hollow. u - JL

has since evulved to indude ~I] the modern bells andwhlstles, and the professional rc131tionship has evolved, too, Sid! Lee now collaborates on in Cirqne'~ ma:di(eti ng, fro:m produN creation Ito advell:isifll.g,

Us recent redesign of the CiI<jIllC'S: cast.ing si te is a geed essmple of ~le company's digital. upJb.]"ill.gillig. like Sid lLce'sw'ebsil:es for MGM Grand and Toerlsmc Montreal, t:heres a swry being told withuut dialogue. Instead, it uses II blend of animation tedmology, live action and music to lead visitors through the site's: content.

S~Uing with Gliluthi.er :.1 nd Cel1'l'et, talking a bout h.ow they wen Adidaili ,it's c~e<l[ theyve tll"cn~ aele5lloilS from dleir dEgit,a1 past and illl.plel,j"u:mt,ed tlliem across everything they do.

~ Itstarted three years ago," Cesvet SiI}iS, rocmn~ ng hrn .. he fisst got in tow::-h with the shoe and apparel company. "There was 11 t'Onk:n;mce On a boat ill. New York that cost $50,000 to attend_ Ma.k,elers come, drink champagne and have' to meet wi.1:lh sevenvendors for half an

SilO IlEE HOOKED UP WITIH ADIIDAS DURIINIG A, MEEJ-AND ... GREET on a boat in New Yor-k that cost the a.gency $50,0 00.. Ma rt~11I GauthieG ~he shop'S VR at first thought it was ,211 scam

hour each, Marlinthought it \"'a~ <1. seam," Deciding to court AdidOl~, Cesvet brought <I \~jh itc paper he WlIS \\fQrki~lg on called "Conver.m· tiona] Capital ~ wh ieh he's si nee turned into a hook (lobe released III is summer by FT Press). Cesvet hadl''l] vc'IY intellectual conversation" abQJ]t :tt with the Midas u,]l. but flew back ro Mcntreel cm.pt:l,.hllnded_ "Mflr~]n~m~lghl we'd just biowil fin}' grm:nd"

few n.-iOnth,s la~er, however, Cesvet go~ a. call from Adi(bs A:lnerica.

Thonglh its Ofigina.b brand already had an AOlR. r~d1iti{)lm:hip with Adi.(]h'l:s· overa]] creative age-flC}'. Ainsterdmlll'S lSO, i'~ was looking to \1,\011:1; \:vitl':t othel:S. Rather than pitch with nportfolio and an ,awaros list Sid tee bralnstorracd new ways fOT Orlglnals to expand. The' ideas piqued the interest of Aducl!oo t:l'ii~CU~U\lles. but it was the presc:nl11ilion methodlhat r~~anf held ~heilr ,alitentioll, :s id l.e.e created ;3 halhn,'ay-long o(l,]I"ge of ideas 011 a scroll of metre-wide canvas. N ott only W'<JS it an overwhelming vlsnal representation of where the' brand. could ,go, the size ,of tile scroll raade !It an attention gmbbeL Senior A~Mas executives came out of their offices to see it 1.1 nrol'lcd if I th,e l1all.

Those same executi ... es walked 'IWOIiY widl "Conversationul Capital" iil~n,"'~r haJnds and! a few wce~ later Sid Lee'began working on rerJii aetivafions fm Originak "nult led to a can from the head offiee in Cermany, which i.1I turnled to pi1llr!:icipalion in tlheglob,ll pitch to redesign the Aclic1as Orj,gillltlls retail store. TodilY, Sid Lee's storeconcept is up and nnnPling in New Yool Cit}'; and the tenlp.]ate is bcing exported around the world_ rom there, the Germanhe<ld office got Sid Lee involved ln t.he launch of the Denim by Diesel clothing I Dlle. an~l i[~ January the agency wi!] take the creative 'reins for Origi:rml's g]o'ba] 1)l.ilfol'lH from 1.80_

For Sid lee, the account win comes i1t111e lPcrfl:ct time. Originalsis beimg pr'ep;ped foil' I?Jooo] deployment .. N. the ltHges~ part of the ,oompony's Sport Styl,e ~Iivf slon (wl~ leh also ~ Ildudt"~ thefashion-foeused Y3, brand), Origmals has seen its marketing budget expand drastically lill.is year ]1} preparation ('Of a massiveconsurner outreach Shlirii ng in .2<009, PHwio~l.Sly,. ottargeled Itrencl:rotlin!g niche markets lI!oolly in Europe and Asia, accorc]illg to Nicole VoUebregt, vice.president, global brand marketing OItAdida.s, Sport Sti)~le.''The .5'tyle d'iivisiofi wlll look 1:0, in the next eoeple o:f yeOlrs, expa ndevcn fu[~]er in reach a couple of demos

we're not cunefllly 'hiUillg," she says '01] the phone from Cexrnany. And after O[iginals gets its first mass marketing push, Mgda~ is read}rlng ~wo new style brands as well-more opportnaifies for Sid Lee ..

Vollcbr~gt has been involved with Sid Lee since the' partnership began. ''They'rcreilJI1y not ::l1tladverl"iL&ung agerlcy,,~ she Sill'S. "]t sounds cliche, but they really are an idea ag.(lllclf. We g,mre them a problem: \:vc"re chtlilging Our marketi ng, we're after <I differcnt consumes, \'IIe want a diff'ex,ent approach he'Hl are the markets we want to focus on, and here are the challenges in fhosc markets, They look a]1 that in and cams back with solutions dlat not only solved business needs, but were i nteresting .and frush t'Or a yOlmger I;·OI1~nme., [t wil] work glob.m.ny. ~

SiULllg on Ilre couch in his office. agelli[:Y president Jean-Francois Bouchard is trying to put into words exactly how 111:5 shop fUllctiQn~ as all "idea agency." Be talks about being "silo-free" and how different uuib; don't have diff'C·r·elll' P+.Ls. It's the same words I hear at most other agencies, but perhaps ~he di£[<crenoe ]here ~;S tha~ tJle people on ~'iC groulluI gel it, teo.

This becomes clear once fm finally given a glimpse of one of the Ailidas atel iers ill seden, A dezen young crellti.ves crowdaround a doodlecovered fa ble to discuss how they're going, to pitch their still-t.op"secre't project 1:0 the se:IIllo1' partners. This ~I:elier works dirfM:tly under MeUJ1D,eF; they are his inie:r.natio:naJ, 51taf-sbiaped agency medelcomc 1:0 liCe .. AI11.ong !hem are <I D uteh prcfesser of desigo, all intem Fr-om Paris. .11 strategist from Texas and a handful ofMon:tre:'l.1cn; wi~h design backgro\m(_ls_ There is nO mention of 'f'V" radio or print, yet the preleet touches mult.iple

Ad&daslJr;ancl~ and will ce:rrnin~y gd' the industry ta~.killg ifit g:elz client iIlYp:ro~'a1. liN prospective launch date is in 20 ~ 2.

Where oll1lcr agencies aee tryillg to convince I:h,eir dicnls of a ;00- degree, med'ia-agllostk outlook. Sid Lee has already got a list of eredentials as kmg as Monlrea]'s Old Port. Yet, there is one market they have yeito cm,ck.

~We 11m) it interes;~ing." Bcuehacd says, "that we're based in Montreal and geUin.g calls from Asia, Europe, the U, S. and South Arnerlea, And yet I can't remember the last lime we got aeall from Toronto." lu F urope and Asia, comparnes search gl.obaUy for agencies. "The only place where this doesn't seem. to be ha~pe'[li[lg is Canada. ]f~ deprcssing.'·

. lnce I'm from Toronto,. Bouchard ,a_S;ks me why the city's multinational clients only hire lbmntoa_gel1cies. Maybe if.s the lingering beJieHlat Montreal agencies only translate for the Quebec market; I ,:my. Maybe w~ the centre-of-the-unieerse sJerootype that 1O:r,Qlnlo ean't shali:!e_ In the end, we can't come up w.ith an answe~l1-wt s:alis:fies, bllt Bouchard doesn't appea. upset, "'We ju:stfind it weird that oronto seems Looo waiting for 'UIS to do \vhat Cossette and Taxi. have done in moving there," he .rolfS ..

.of course, Sid Lee ;$ opening a. 5!f.'cOInd office this yeaT'-lbrtlt irs in AI1l;s~erdarn. as a E.uropean talent l:irap and a home-away=from-hmne :For teams baveJling to meetwith Adides ilnd Clrqoe du Solei!.

nest not hold your breath, Toronto. Sid I ee likesdoi11g business i.1s

OWI1 way_ Its Inrernational clients seem. to like it, ~(]Q_ m

MARKETIM:G JULY .~8, ~OOS Mi