One On On With Brett Marchand, Method & Madness To Acquiring Agencies Under Plus Company

[00:00:00] Dave Forde: Hey, it's your boy Dave Forde - The Connected One we are back again for something different. We got some big news that we wrote on our sites already- The Connected One, PR In Canada and Profectio. Canadian -based holding company Plus Company acquired US-based Mekanism for an undisclosed sum.

And we are here today to talk to the CEO of Plus Company - Brett Marchand. Brett's gonna give us a little more about the acquisition, what he looks for when he, when the holding company acquires other companies. So let's get right into it. Brett. Good morning. How are you?

[00:00:33] Brett Marchand: Good morning, Dave. I'm great.

Thank you.

[00:00:36] Dave Forde: Where are we fighting you today? Are you on Jeff Bezos yacht over in Cannes?

[00:00:40] Brett Marchand: No, no. I'm in Georgian Bay actually at my cottage, which I haven't, I've barely gotten to get to go up this year, cuz it's been a, a busy spring and it's very windy out there, but it's the most I can, I look out at what the group of seven would look out at when they painted their famous paintings.

So it's inspiration for me.

[00:00:58] Dave Forde: Are you calling yourself a Lord? [00:01:00] A God.

[00:01:01] Brett Marchand: Definitely not.

[00:01:03] Dave Forde: Because you know what you Plus Company has what over 20 agencies that are part of the group. So that's a pretty powerful position to be in.

[00:01:13] Brett Marchand: Uh, yeah, I mean, listen, almost all those agencies have been built by entrepreneurs and founders.

You know, which is the real, the real effort and the real, the real accomplishment, you know, that you're an entrepreneur yourself, Dave, And yeah, I'm, I guess I'm lucky enough to coach and steer that team of entrepreneurs and founders. And yeah, so I'm, I'm very proud of that.

[00:01:38] Dave Forde: Excellent. So with that said, can you tell us a little bit, a little bit more about your role.

[00:01:44] Brett Marchand: Yeah. And so I'm the CEO. And, I started as the, well, I started as a yeah. At Cossette when Cossette was a public company, way back in, you know, the, the, the late aught aughts. Um, yeah. And then I became the CEO of Cossette. I took over for Claude Lessard, and then. [00:02:00] Cossette morphed into what's called Vision-7 because we had a bunch of other agencies and we started to expand, a little bit into the us and the UK, including with Citizen our PR firm.

Um, and then we did a deal this September to actually amalgamate all of the, the agencies that were formally owned by Blue Focus, the Chinese strategic, and we put those all together. We refinanced it, we brought in CDPQ the, the Quebec, pension fund, as well as a big PE fund to buy most of it back from the Chinese.

And they picked me to be the CEO of that new group. So that's why it's 20, it's really a few big agencies, and a bunch of smaller ones. So the big ones are. Cossette, you would know Cossette and Cossette in Canada, which is the market leader, right? Uh, it's a big social media agency called We Are Social, which is in 14 countries.

It's Citizen, which is in multiple countries, our PR agency. Uh, and then there's a bunch of [00:03:00] other, very, very good ones, but smaller, but Mekanism will actually be one of the bigger agencies, the acquisition we're about to talk about, uh, in the portfolio.

[00:03:08] Dave Forde: What you guys made a big acquisition this week.

You guys acquired, uh, the, the us based creative as agency called Mekanism.

[00:03:17] Brett Marchand: Thank you.

[00:03:18] Dave Forde: So tell us, how did that relationship come to be? How did that acquisition come to be? You know, who courted, whom first.

[00:03:27] Brett Marchand: They were looking for, um, a new ownership and, and somebody who could help them grow cuz they were they're doing quite well.

So they reached out, we knew about mechanism, frankly, uh, on several levels because they're very good at social. So we are social, our social agency knew about them and was interested. But also we have a partnership with Horizon Media, the big independent in the us, and they work a lot with, with Mekanism.

So, um, and then also, um, our agency in San Francisco Eleven actually knows the [00:04:00] entire management team at, um, at Mekanism. So it was, we knew about them. It was. Pretty quick off the draw. And we started talking to them right after we formed Plus Company.. So, the timing was sort of perfect. And I got to know Jason Harris, the CEO, well, like we've spent a lot of time together over the last nine months, frankly.

[00:04:17] Dave Forde: Sure. And now, uh, as you said, Jason Harris is the founder of the agency and he founded that about. Just around 20 years ago and I believe they now have close to 200 employees and a very strong stable of, uh, name brand clients. So he's done a great job over the last, uh, 20 years.

[00:04:34] Brett Marchand: Yeah, they're founded in 2003.

He was actually founded by four people. Um, okay. And the first was actually Tommy means who was a creative guy. And then Pete Caban, Ian and Jason together. So it was four of them. And actually one of the most interesting things about them is that they, two of them are digital. So literally the flash days, you know, building, uh, doing flash production for people.

Yep a lot of people on this, [00:05:00] you know, listening to this probably won't know what that is, but, um, and then the other two were sort of traditional agency guys. Um, that was actually Ian well, no, sorry, Tommy. And, um, Jason, so yeah, it was sort of, kind of an interesting meeting of mines. Sure yeah, they've done a great job.

Like, as you know, they've got everything from Peloton to Quaker, to Silicon valley bank to they've done a lot of Charles Schwab, uh, work over the years. They're winning a lot of business. They just won the, the, you know, they just won a new. Betting app company, which I don't think they've announced yet. Um, so they're on fire.

[00:05:38] Dave Forde: So we're breaking news here. Love it. Love it. Tell us some more, tell us some more.

[00:05:43] Brett Marchand: Um, you don't wanna get me trouble?

[00:05:46] Dave Forde: What else can we talk about here today? So again, you talked about relationships, so it's, it's been, it's been something in, it's been something that would've happened for quite a while, because again, the two of you have always been crossing paths.

Um, but [00:06:00] how do you decide. That you're gonna acquire a company. What is it about a founder that makes you say, okay, this guy, these, these group of individuals, we wanna work with them.

[00:06:12] Brett Marchand: That's a very good question. You know, I mean, first of all, it starts with strategy, right. You know, and we had a pretty, we're pretty clear on what we were trying to do, particularly in the us.

And if you go back and read anything, I said, when we first announced the deal with CBC and CD Q a year ago in may, right. We didn't close till September, but we announced it in may. We said us and us scale would be a, clear. Clear priority. And it's not just, let's go buy stuff in the us by the way, cuz it doesn't work that way.

You know, we're very interested in, in replicating what we've done with Cossette in Canada, which is around what we call full funnel creative. Right. So not just doing the advertising and the social, even though that's critically important, but also being able to help them with their CRM, their one to one, their performance, media, and marketing, all of which, Cossette is very good at.

And there's not a lot of options for that in the [00:07:00] US. Um, you can't like to be Frank, you, you, you won't find a Cossette in the us that's, you know, does that all, all of that. So we needed to go find an anchor agency. And we were really interested in somebody who had strong digital chops. So back to my point about the founders being, you know, half digital, half advertising based.

Right. Um, but also we were looking for someone who was doing the kind of work that we admired, which, which clearly they were and the kind of clients, by the way, like you, you don't work for a Peloton. Um, if you're just, you know, an average agency to be frank. Um, so that, so that was first, first and foremost, second, we want somebody wanted somebody where we like the culture.

Um, the culture's super important for us because. We, we, we like to say that Plus Company like a volunteer fire department, um, you know, when there's a fire, you, you, you go help. Um, and you don't necessarily get paid for helping, uh, or at least off the [00:08:00] start. Um, and so because of that mentality, you really have to like the people that, you know, you're in the fire department with, and you want to collaborate with them.

And we really like their culture. Like they have a very. Listen first, um, they're extremely agile, which we like a lot. I got amazing feedback from their clients cuz I talked to all their senior clients about, you know, just how they lean in. Um right. And so that was really important. And then third is they care a lot about, they have this positioning called soul and science, um, which I really like, um, As, you know, soul being the brand and the positioning and their purpose, but science being the, how do you track how they actually drive outcomes?

Um, you know, whether that be downloads or subscriptions or sales or, um, and we think we can really help and they were clearly ready and are starting to lean in that direction. And that's a direction, you know, we're huge believers in. Those are really the three reasons. And then you go through like lots of due diligence and you make sure [00:09:00] there's no skeletons in the closet.

You talk to all the clients, as I said, and you do reviews on their management and like it's a pretty thorough process. Um sure. So that, yeah, that, that answer your question. I think that's that that's, that's, that's what we look for.

[00:09:14] Dave Forde: So probably fair to say that that Plus Company is looking or open to acquiring other companies in the future future being the next year to two years.

[00:09:23] Brett Marchand: Yeah, we are in discussions across many, some of them very early on some of them later stage all of them super confidential, cuz we have to assign, NDAs in each case. Sure. Um, but yeah, and we look at, I think I was just doing the math the other day. I think we, when I say look at, I mean we go through.

Management presentation and look at financials and have discussions, serious discussions with about 20 agencies for every one we acquire.

[00:09:53] Dave Forde: Wow. How do you know when it's a good time to acquire an agency? You know, if you look at it over the last five [00:10:00] years, the world, like literally the world has had so much change from an economic, from a social level.

What makes the right time to buy?

[00:10:12] Brett Marchand: Yeah, it, and, and it's a real challenge by the way, you know, especially when you look at markets and pricing and, you know, um, because when you, you know, when you do it an acquisition, it's an investment, right? So it's no different than buying a stock to some degree.

Although you, you have people that are coming with it and clients, et cetera. So it's much more complicated than buying a stock. Obviously, I think the first thing I'll say is I think clients need agencies more than ever because of the environment that we're in. Right. How do you navigate. All of the social unrest, how do you navigate the role that brands play in everything from politics to people's lives, to what's going on with, you know, black lives matter and other things.

So, you know, and I think an objective third party, who's actually thinking about both the brand and, and their stakeholders and, and consumers. Is super [00:11:00] important. Like there's no better time. I was a client for a long time right now. I would be doubling down on my agencies, frankly. And, and actually you see it in our business because our PR business, particularly the, the, um, the advisory work we do around ESG and crisis management and, you know, those things is booming right now.

And, and I think that's why, so I think it's a good time. I think it's also a good time to sell your agency, frankly. Because even though some people might think, well, the market's down 20%, it's a bear market. Maybe you're not getting the right price, et cetera, et cetera. I actually think like now is the time to join, especially if you can join a group, you know, like ours or other groups that are, you know, aggressive and, and, and growing and helping.

With scale, but also helping with some of the things we just talked about, right? Like we have a, we have a pretty big internal coms and, and HR group that can help with, how do you manage when you know something, when there's a mass gun shooting at a [00:12:00] school, and how do you talk to your employees about it, et cetera, how do you, you know, we have training to help people think about those things and how you manage people.

So I also think it's a good time to actually sell your. Now,

[00:12:10] Dave Forde: That's also been an interesting thing. I'm not necessarily not necessarily gonna put you on the spot, but I'll more talk to it. And again, if you choose to answer, you can, but because there's been so much, I'm just gonna call without crap from a society standpoint over the last couple of years.

Again, you talk about the shootings should brand, you know, it's been interesting. See what, which brands do and don't get involved. And I got a, I should more brands be involved in talking about social justice, leveraging their social media channels. I don't know. What do you think?.

[00:12:41] Brett Marchand: Well, first of all, I think it's a, it's a, there's no one answer for any business or, or brand, frankly, because you know, it's, it's complicated, but I think in general, yes.

I mean, I think consumers want companies and brands to stand for something and [00:13:00] let's be honest, you know, corporations and brands have, have been having a bigger and bigger impact on how the world. Is run. like, and that's been true for decades. Right. So, right. And because of that, I think. Companies and their CEOs need to stand up for things like, listen, I, you know, now whether you do that in internally or externally, or just with your customers, I think is a really good conversation to have, because sometimes I think companies and CEOs rush to telling the whole world, when that's not necessarily the right thing to do, For a whole bunch of reasons.

You know, I, listen, I came up very strongly against, Wade versus Rowan. The decision that looks like is gonna come out from the Supreme court. But I didn't share that with the entire world because I didn't frankly think that that was, something that the whole world needed to hear from me, but I shared it with all of our employees in the us and Canada.

Right. And we talked about that. So, but I thought, you know, I think companies and brands need [00:14:00] to. I don't like the natural thing, Dave is to be on your back foot and to say, listen, let's not say anything because it's risky to say something, but I actually think you have to lean into these things and, and think about what is gonna be your position.

Who are you gonna share that with? And how do you do that? And, and again, I think agencies, this is a good time to hire agencies who understand how to do this, that can help you navigate through that.

[00:14:23] Dave Forde: Well, as you said already, you guys are looking to grow, but I got one more question for you. What types of agencies, what types of services are you actively looking to acquire?

And is it in Canada? Is it in the us where around the world? Are you now looking for

[00:14:35] Brett Marchand: Yeah, the US continues to be a clear focus. Um, so after Mekanism, we will start to focus on helping out with that, that funnel I talked about. So performance marketing and media, one to one in CRM. You know, there's a bunch of various, you know, digital development and transformation.

So we'll, you'll probably see a lot more from us in the us. We are interested also in PR because I think there's a bunch of other areas in PR. We're [00:15:00] very interested in, you know, tech, despite what's gone on with NASDAQ in the, in the short term over the long term is important and we don't really have a B2B tech practice in the us.

Right. We're interested in growing our ESG, consulting practice in the us. We have one in Canada, so you'll see us. Also probably make investments, whether that be acquisitions or, or just, you know, investing in people in the US. We're also very interested in growing out. We Are Social. You know, we are, social is just done exceptionally while it's now in 14 countries, social is going nowhere but up, and it's getting more sophisticated, right?

Social commerce, social CRM, what's going on with sports and gaming. Um, so you'll see us adding capabilities onto we are social on a global basis. So I would say those are the two key priorities, Canada, less. Only because we've got a very strong footprint in Canada. Um, we're more likely to invest in people and platforms and and, and other things than go out and buy by agencies in Canada.[00:16:00]

[00:16:00] Dave Forde: Okay. There you have it. The one, the only the man running plus company, Brett, I appreciate your time today. And for those agency owners out there, he said it himself. He's looking to grow. So, uh, get your books in order. Get your accounts in order. Give him a call, Brett. Appreciate your time. Yep.

[00:16:18] Brett Marchand: Thanks Dave.

Talk to you soon. Okay, ciao.