Axel Dumont and Brian Cuddy
Cossette Media has made some big changes lately in its leadership team, as well as in the integration of a Responsible Media Solutions group. The company says it all has to do with its mission.
“Our mission is to make media matter. We established that mission two years ago, but as we went through the pandemic, we haven’t done as much as we would have wanted,” Axel Dumont, president of Cossette Media, tells MiC.
That’s all about to change.
“Going into 2023, we are looking to make our mission visible to our clients, to our partners, to the industry and to our people,” says Dumont.
From a client perspective, it’s about ensuring that the companies that matter to Canadians continue to grow and thrive. On the partnership side, it’s about building effective investment strategies, explains Dumont.
“For the industry, it’s about our relentless pursuit of evolution – evolving our best practices and industry standards to drive results. We’ve invested a lot of time with the Canadian Media Directors’ Council on the Canadian Media Manifesto to influence change in the industry,” Dumont adds.
Finally, from a people perspective, the company has focused on creating authentic and meaningful connections between brands, their audiences and Cossette Media talent.
All of these elements of the agency’s mission have led to the creation of a Responsible Media Solutions group, spearheaded by SVP Brian Cuddy.
The group aims to leverage the agency’s mission in a more concrete way.
“Cuddy designed our entire responsible media strategy, so it was only natural for him to lead that group,” Dumont adds.
As part of this new group, the agency has launched the Purpose Marketplace, a digital media offering designed to create matches between publishers and advertisers to ensure client presence in high-quality media environments.
“We are very keen on proving that being in the right digital environment actually adds value and is cost-effective for our clients,” explains Dumont.
This group is also testing, measuring and offsetting carbon emissions with some clients in the digital advertising space.
“The group gives our team a mindset shift and offers a meaningful opportunity to change behaviors,” adds Dumont.
To help drive these changes, Cossette Media has also hired Andrew Butts as SVP, business leadership. Butts will ensure the initiatives launched by the Responsible Media Solutions group stay at the forefront of the agency’s client work.
These moves come after a year where Cossette Media has essentially doubled its analytics and insights team under the leadership of SVP Kristin Wozniak, and where the agency’s Quebec talent has been recognized industry-wide – including wins at the Canadian Cannes Young Lions competition (Tristan Bonnot-Parent), Prix Idea (Nour Derouiche) and CMDC YA Awards (Karolanne Theroux).
