GroupM is rebranding its search marketing arm from Outrider Canada to Catalyst Canada, and combining services and product development with Boston-based Catalyst.

The name change is part of an ongoing push to unify the company’s search marketing services across North America and create one offering, said Rob Norman, chief global digital officer, GroupM, in a release.

Jeff Lancaster, CEO with Outrider Canada, is staying on with Catalyst and tells MiC the name change will not mean job losses among the approximately 50 staff at the division between its Toronto and Montreal offices in Canada.

“The change in our name is [because] we wanted to get a bit more consistency in terms of the offering that we are putting out to the marketplace,” he says.

As for where he sees search marketing going in the next 12 months, Lancaster expects to see a continued pick-up in adoption, with clients integrating search deeper into their media plans.

“We are starting to see more and more cases of people realizing that search marketing works, and it isn’t just an addition to people’s media plans now, it is a core pillar that people are using to reach prospects,” he says. “Canada has lagged in adopting the channel but that has picked up.”