BCP announced its takeover of Groupe Popcorn’s cinema media buying division this week. The bankrupt company’s reorg concluded in a referral agreement between the new partners that, while private, entails ‘working closely with newly formed Communications Popcorn to ensure a clear and smooth transition in servicing Québec’s cinema industry,’ the agency’s associate GM, Carol Ann Kairns, tells MiC.

‘BCP is a full service agency, and as such we have more of a holistic approach to media planning and buying, which we intend to implement with our new clients.’

Communications Popcorn picked up where Groupe Popcorn left off this week, providing full marketing, promotion, press relations and translation services with the same team in the same location, with BCP taking on Groupe Popcorn’s media buying division’s employees. ‘The BCP team have been quick to grasp the needs of our industry and of our clients,’ says Claude Chabot, president and managing director of Groupe Popcorn.

‘One of BCP’s key strength is its media planning and buying services,’ says Kairns. ‘The creation of this new division provides BCP with an opportunity to grow an inline development business plan.’

BCP was invited to present an offer to service the media planning & buying for Group Popcorn’s clients after the company’s main stockholder, Ad Express Canada, filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15. The series of events that led to the bankrupcy included Christal Films’ stopping all campaigns reserved through Groupe Popcorn and placing themselves under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act last May.

BCP currently serves local, regional, national and international accounts that include Biscuits Leclerc, Super C, CN, Tourism Québec, Canadian Forces and Procter & Gamble. In 2007, BCP was named Agency of the Year by Procter & Gamble.