Connelly Partners to launch West Coast office

As the industry continues to be riddled with mergers, layoffs and questions about returning to the office, Connelly Partners is looking to grow into a more global independent agency by expanding its offices and offerings. The agency, which opened its first office in Boston in the late 1990s, is planning on launching its first West Coast office. Nadine Cole will take on the role of managing director of the new office while retaining her role as president of VRX Studios, a content creation studio that the agency acquired in 2021. VRX will also be an offering under CP West. See all of the Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards winners here CP West will focus on servicing the Pacific Northwest and West Coast region, where it hopes to help companies in that part of the U.S. launch into Canada. The agency has yet to announce where exactly the new office will be located, but it plans to open the office by the end of the year. The agency, which has 150 total employees, also has offices in Boston, Vancouver and Dublin. “There’s an interesting gap in the market on the Pacific Northwest side and down into San Fran and LA with agencies being able to help American companies launch into Canada,” said Cole, who previously spent over 13 years with Canadian agency Cossette. Connelly is already working with a “big” U.S. apparel brand that is looking to expand into Canada, according to Cole, who declined to identify the brand. The work is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2024. The agency’s other recent client wins include furnishings and decor company Grandin Road, clothing company Carhartt and nonprofit organization Cure Childhood Cancer. Its West Coast team has already signed five clients, including fruit chip brand Chiwis and CloudCare, a product by tech company CloudMind that acts as a virtual companion for people who suffer from dementia. CP recently led the creative for an investor video for CloudMind. The agency declined to identify the other three clients. Along with the new office, Connelly is also planning to expand Zoo Digital, the Dublin-based digital agency that it acquired in 2022, into the U.S. later this year. The agency will act as CP’s digital offering. As a result, Scott Savitt, a senior partner at the agency, is being promoted to chief digital officer, after previously serving as director of digital. “There’s a pretty good market at that mid-tier digital agency level,” said Steve Connelly, president of CP. “I'm not stupid or arrogant enough to think we’re going to go chase Digitas or Sapient but in that mid-tier for somebody that is looking for end-to-end solutions from people that aren’t just going to sell them the work, but also do the work. And then if I [the client] have questions that extend to advertising, strategy, media, it’s all in this one place.” Also read: Behind Connelly Partners’ TikTok work The offering will go by Zoo North America as it looks to raise awareness of its brand in the U.S. One challenge is differentiating itself from other companies that share the same name in America. Another company, Zoo Digital, provides cloud software-based services centered around subtitling, dubbing and more for the TV and movie industry. Connelly is also formally announcing the launch of CP Education, an offering dedicated to servicing education clients. Gene Begin, previously the chief marketing officer of Wheaton College, is the current lead of the offering as managing director. The need for the offering, which has been running for about a year, came as the agency grew its education client roster from two to around eight over the past few years. Clients include City Year, Year Up, and the University of Limerick. “Education is a fertile market. It’s a market that is in dire need of creativity. It’s also a market that’s in dire need of finding individual positioning platforms,” Connelly said. These changes come after the agency launched its health offering in 2021. While CP West and Zoo Digital are under the larger Connelly ecosystem, both operate under their own P&Ls. “They’re seamlessly integrated, but they’re not financially integrated,” said Connelly about the different verticals. “My previous agency was owned by Omnicom. I’ve done this dance, I know what happens. Creativity gets marginalized, staffing gets marginalized, and learning gets marginalized." The structure allows the agency to remain aggressive, Cole added. The agency has conducted 11 acquisitions since its inception. Earlier this year, Connelly Partners took home Ad Age’s award for “Best Agency Culture.” One of its perks is a CP abroad program that allows any employee to work from any of its offices for up to three months. This program will be expanded to its West Coast space as well. Connelly, however, doesn’t want its perks to be misconstrued for not being business-savvy. “We’re not just wicked nice. We will kick your ass and smile as we help you back up. But I think that second part of it tends to get discounted sometimes,” Connelly said jokingly. “We’re national, we’re real, we’re relevant, we’re big, we’re investing, we're aggressive. Oh, and we’re nice people.”

Connelly Partners to launch West Coast office

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