The Agency: Tradition meets innovation
For many businesses, the option of outsourcing marketing communications (marcoms) and public relations (PR) expertise has become an integral part in being able to tell their story. PR and marketing are playing an increasingly large role for companies looking to expand their reach and target the right audience. Better yet, agencies are giving companies the opportunity to tap into the skills, perspectives, and experiences of a full team of PR professionals, without the stress of an extra salary on their team.
One such agency is Calgary-based, and aptly named, The Agency, founded in 2009 by Managing Director Arleigh Galant Vasconcellos after returning from three years in London, UK and nine years in Ottawa and Whistler respectively. Known across Alberta and Canada-wide as a go-to PR and marcoms agency for innovation companies, The Agency crafts big picture strategies based on a granular understanding of their clients’ audience and intel.
From building communication strategies, creating top-notch content, and managing public relations activities, to populating social media channels, implementing marketing activations, and managing thought leadership, The Agency has become one of North America’s leading boutique firms. Over the past two years, they won the Bulldog Stars of PR ‘Best Boutique Agency’ Silver Award, second to firms in New York City in 2018 and Newport Beach, California in 2019.
TECHNOLOGY SWEET SPOT
Vasconcellos founded The Agency out of a sheer fascination with technology, innovation, and companies that think differently. She started her career in PR in the late 1990s after realizing her passion for storytelling at university and has worked with big brands including Virgin, Whistler Blackcomb, Tourism Whistler, and World Travel Market as well as global leaders and governments.
“I've been in the PR world for a long time. When I did my degree, we didn't really have specialized PR programs. Most of our focus was on marketing and journalism, and my fellow classmates kept asking ‘why do you want to be in PR?’ I think it was because I love storytelling, so PR was a way to still be really involved in both journalism and the business side,” she explained.
As Vasconcellos embarked on her PR journey after university, she made the trek to Whistler, B.C., which became her first training ground. Working with Whistler Blackcomb and Tourism Whistler, she solidified her passion for PR and made the move to London where she headed up PR for Virgin Holidays and Reed Exhibition’s World Travel Market, among other big-name brands. “That’s where I think I really learned about PR, what it is and what it does. The UK and London, in particular, is really the epicenter for PR. I grew my career there, getting to work on global campaigns and programs, which was pretty amazing.”
Arleigh Galant Vasconcellos, Managing Director, The Agency
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Calgary being her family’s base, Vasconcellos decided to move back to Calgary in 2009 to be closer to home, but there was a catch – she wanted to work in technology.
“I wanted to do my own thing”, says Vasconcellos and so, she followed her gut. “I just went for it, and figured if it didn’t work out, I’d go and get a job – it’s now been almost 12 years and I’d say I’m probably a lifelong entrepreneur and company builder.”
Based in Calgary’s burgeoning tech ecosystem that includes startups, support organizations like StartUp Calgary, and funders, The Agency’s tag line says it best – for innovators. It’s The Agency’s focus and drive towards the innovation and tech scene has that has been key to the company’s rapid growth, most notably in 2020 when the business had to double its team.
“We help innovators tell their stories, to the right people. We embrace the challenge of working in the B2B space and finding unique ways to get in front of audiences and help our clients stand out amongst their competitors.” And it’s taken a unique skillset to do this, which is why The Agency team is made up of a wide variety of expertise. With team members from the corporate sector and oil and gas, all the way to former TV journalists, Vasconcellos says their Calgary-base has led them to securing top talent for the business.
“We’ve got a really great team behind us. We're all working together towards the same goal which is to spotlight and highlight all of our clients and make sure they're getting the results they want. We strive to be proud of the work we do.”
DIVERSITY AT THE CORE
According to Vasconcellos, Calgary has shone in its willingness and ability to create and grow diverse sectors outside of just oil and gas. By working hard in recent years to not place all of its eggs in one basket, Calgary has shown itself to have its fair share of unique offerings within its ecosystem. “I admired Calgary’s ability to not try to be the next Vancouver or Toronto, but to be its own city.”
“A really important thing to remember is if you try to be like someone else, you’re never going to be yourself.” Vasconcellos applies this motto to everything she and her team does too.
And it’s not just the professional expertise Vasconcellos feels is the city’s unique selling point, it’s the lifestyle offering also, and has been one of the most notable draws to the city for The Agency’s team, some of whom joined the company from abroad.
The city’s unique placement and the ability to escape for a weekend, spend time in nature, but not too far from home, means team members can switch off – Managing Director included. “For me, I get a lot of mental clarity and focus from my weekends in the mountains,” says Vasconcellos.
It seems people have figured out Calgary is a really great place to build a career, and a life too.
“I’ve always admired Calgary’s ability to be its own city.”
BURGEONING BRAND ROSTER
Over the years, The Agency has worked with some truly innovative companies, both Calgary born and bred and further afield. “We have been fortunate to work with clients who are true innovators in their industries,” Vasconcellos said.
“Through connections in the media and over the years I’ve always wanted to see the Calgary innovation and tech ecosystem keep growing and get recognition. Whenever I can I talk to journalists about what is happening here, with the ecosystem and companies, whether they're clients or not. The fact we've got more tech companies than we've ever before that are starting to scale is exciting.”
With the work The Agency has done over the years, Vasconcellos and her team have had a front-row seat to watching Calgary’s tech ecosystem grow and grow, becoming one of the world’s most desirable cities for tech innovations. Through trials and tribulations and a bit of patience, many companies in the sector have gone on to have great success – and Vasconcellos says she is proud to have played a part in some of these stories from the early days.
For example, within the business world, startups valued at over $1 billion US are called "unicorns.” After a recent lucrative deal, Calgary is now home to a few of these mythical creatures. Tech firm Benevity recently landed a $1.1-billion US deal with Hg Capital LLP, a British private equity firm that will buy a majority stake in the company. Impressive stuff. As well, Neo Financial just announced the biggest Series A for Alberta and is on its way to becoming another unicorn, or narwhal if you’re from Canada.
Brands The Agency has worked with to build marketing and communications strategies include everyone from government policy makers and venture capital firms, to innovative technology companies in the agtech, IOT, app development and wearable tech space. But outside of the nine to five (and inside it), The Agency is also about giving back and offering up the team’s time to contribute to the innovation ecosystem. From holding storytelling workshops for the likes of Junction, AccelerateAB, and Accelerator, to working closely with YYC Tech Gives on event promotion and offering up marketing advice to 321 Growth Academy – Vasconcellos and her team are generous, sure, but to them it’s about the bigger picture - helping tell Calgary’s story to the world.
RIDING THE WAVE WITH DISRUPTORS
“It’s amazing to see companies like Benevity and Shareworks by Morgan Stanley, continue to scale. And hopefully one day we will have a few more unicorns to add to the list.”
“There are also companies growing in vastly different sectors as well, like Blue Sky Hemp Ventures in the ag tech industry, or Virtual Gurus, a startup working to give employment opportunities to marginalized communities,” said Vasconcellos.
Companies within Calgary are also creating a huge demand for skilled people with a variety of different skill sets, from software developers, to project and product managers. “The more companies whose growth and potential are visible, that’s what's really important to the ecosystem.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Amidst a global pandemic, The Agency has experienced exponential growth and scale, and Vasconcellos wants to see that growth and momentum continue. “We’ve got aggressive targets. Part of that is to continue to do great work for our clients and continue to expand our reach and network in terms of locations that we work with.”
“Even though we are based in Calgary, we've always been quite international in our scope, and because of my background and a lot of our team’s experience, to continue to do that would be fantastic.”