Proof Strategies is formalizing its pivot toward a more integrated, team-based workflow with the creation of an internal group it’s calling Unified Marketing and Communications (UMC).
The UMC will combine Proof’s traditional expertise in PR and communications with its growing strategy, creative, digital and paid capabilities, says Andrew Kinnear, SVP and head of strategy with the agency. The group was devised by Kinnear and Kelly Olive, who is VP of the UMC group.
“A lot of this came about because of our expansion into new services and capabilities outside of what would traditionally be known as PR and communications,” he explains. “As we started bringing in these new capabilities, a greater need arose in terms of unifying them to deliver the best impact for our clients.”
Through UMC, the agency has built bespoke teams to work with its clients in a complimentary way, enhancing their own internal and partners’ capabilities. The strategy has already been used in work with the Canadian Red Cross, Next Generation Manufacturing, and other clients.”
Though the integrated agency approach is not uncommon in the industry – many agencies, both independent and within holding companies – have been pursuing it for years – Kinnear says not all have been successful in delivering integrated thinking.
“What we continue to hear is that the process is still… siloed,” says Kinnear. “There’s nothing more wasteful to a client’s budget than repetition of effort or expending effort into too many different directions. We think of UMC as the outcome of effective integration. It eliminates waste because we’re talking to the right person, in the right place, with the right message.”
Proof serves more than 80 clients, including Google, Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, Netflix, Audible, Kraft Heinz, Home Depot, Airbus and Visa.
