A number of agencies across the country celebrated milestones in 2021, we caught up with Gayle Robin, Partner & Co-Founder of StrategicAmpersand as part of our Agency Anniversary series. 

When you started StrategicAmpersand, did you think you’d be here 30 years later?

Well, 30 years is a very long time! We never questioned our viability or value, but my partner Miles Pollock and I marvel at how fast 30 years have flown by.

What’s one thing you wish you knew before you started your agency?

Agency life is cyclical. You win clients and lose clients; the market can be fickle. It’s important to always be evolving.

What’s been most surprising about the journey so far?

The two greatest surprises and blessings have been how long most of our staff have stayed with us and become family, many with career tenures exceeding 20 years! The second surprise is how long our clients remain dedicated and loyal to our partnership. One client was with us 26 years!

If you could go back in time, what’s one piece of advice you would give yourself 30 years ago?

Always hire and rely on people smarter than you!

If there’s one thing you could improve, what would it be?

We would bring back the professionalism and social graces of how people used to do business: better communication, honesty, integrity, returning emails and phone calls, never ghost people, be candid about expectations, decisions and results.

In looking back, have you seen many changes in the industry over those years?

The biggest change, which makes us smile, is how in the last 10 years PR agencies have tried to pivot to become integrated marketing communications agencies. Many have struggled convincing clients that they really do have expertise beyond PR services. But that’s been our ethos and model since we started in 1991. We haven’t had to expand our services through trial and error, acquisitions, partnerships or organically because we’ve always been an integrated marketing communications agency. We have also seen the growth of speciality agencies. For many years we were one of the only independently owned technology-focused agencies in Canada. Lastly, while content has always been king, the massive volumes of content we’re all producing and consuming, the shrinking Canadian media landscape and the proliferation of social media as a source of news and content have changed everything by increasing the velocity, noise and disposability of content.

Marketplace Listing – You can learn more about the agency by visiting the StrategicAmpersand profile in our Marketplace, for past campaign coverage, additional interviews and news about the agency.

Is your agency celebrating an anniversary this year? Let us know.