Tyler Chisholm is the CEO of clearmotive, a Calgary-based marketing firm that has expanded to Toronto.
What is clearmotive and what does it do?
Chisholm: clearmotive is an independent marketing agency with offices in Calgary and Toronto. We’ve been around since 2008, servicing both large national brands and mid-market local companies.
We’re made up of subject matter experts with deep experience in strategy, brand planning, creative development and production services.
We’d like to think of ourselves as different to the other creative agencies out there. Everything for us is based on what’s best for the client and their business. This approach has worked for us in establishing long-standing business partnerships, collaborating without any hidden agendas, and ensuring effective marketing, faster with less spend.
How has business been?
Chisholm: Since we launched in 2008, a lot has changed with regards to the advertising industry and the marketplace in Calgary and Toronto.
We were fortunate to land a large national client (Honda Canada) early on and they’ve proven to be an anchor client for us throughout the years.
Obviously, there’s been ups and downs in the Western market. The recent downturn has been tough on our industry, however we’ve found that our client-first and results-focused approach has served us well and helped us weather the storm.
There’s no arguing with results during tough times and the added scrutiny placed on marketing teams during downturns can be incredibly intimidating. The reputation we’ve built with clients and our past results has allowed us to be a trusted partner in supporting during these tough times.
Why have you decided to focus more efforts on the Toronto market?
Chisholm: Toronto is the largest market in Canada and our biggest opportunity for agency growth. When assessing the Toronto marketplace and our industry competition, both large and small, we identified whitespace, in part, because of our unique agency approach.
Initial conversations with new clients in Toronto has been overwhelmingly positive. For us, Toronto is a key component for our agency growth in the months and years to come.
What’s your philosophy when it comes to clients and the services you offer them?
Chisholm: We alluded to this earlier, we take great pride in being client-first and results-focused. It’s not uncommon for other creative agencies to say the same thing, however the reality is that most are focused on awards and their own profit and loss.
Our approach differs in that we’ve created, in alignment with our internal team, a network of best-in-class partner agencies to ensure that we can always bring the right solution to bear for our clients – independent of our bottom line or in-house capabilities. We build the team that our clients need to ensure effective marketing, faster, with less spend.
What’s your vision for the company?
Chisholm: Our focus is on becoming the first agency to focus on and offer best-in-class marketing operations solutions. In other words, everything that encompasses and affects a marketer’s world – specifically, people, process, and technology.
As we all know, the advertising, PR and media industries are in a time of great change. Our goal is to become a new kind of agency partner that offers unique capabilities tailored for the modern marketer – helping them navigate the increasingly complicated and fast-moving marketplace.
Interview by Mario Toneguzzi, a Troy Media business reporter based in Calgary.
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