Creative and media agency Mekanism has merged with Canadian agencies Jungle Media and Camp Jefferson to create Mekanism Canada. Mekanism operates out of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York and its clients include Amtrak, Peloton, Lenovo and Charles Schwab.
According to a news release, the fusion with fellow Canadian-headquartered Plus Company agencies, which operate out of offices across Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, will triple Mekanism’s digital, media and technology capabilities.
Mekanism Canada will be led by new president Peter Bolt, former president of Camp Jefferson and director of business development and integrated solutions at DDB Canada. He brings more than three decades of experience in building boutique agency offerings in Canada. Meanwhile, Brooke Leland, who most recently led Jungle as president and was SVP and general manager at Cossette, will assume the role of president for Mekanism Media Canada and spearhead media. Leland will drive the acceleration of Mekanism’s integrated media capabilities, encompassing strategy, planning and buying across Canada.
Bolt tells MiC that the merger comes as suite of creative and media offerings are increasingly in demand from clients.
Pictured left, Peter Bolt, new president of Mekanism Canada. Pictured right, Brooke Leland, who will spearhead media at the agency.
“The proliferation of media channels and the need to make every dollar count for brands demands a more integrated, agile agency partner that can seamlessly bring creative and media closer together to drive business impact,” Bolt says, adding that clients that are already doing this have an advantage.
“Insights, creative and media plans that work in tandem to connect brands with audiences deliver stronger outcomes,” Bolt says. “This will only be accelerated as AI gives us a deeper understanding of attribution, requiring even tighter integration.”
Camp Jefferson and Jungle have already found partnership success over many years, most notably integrated offerings for clients like Koodo, Public Mobile, CAMH, and Medcan.
“[Clients] love that we work in lock step, aligned on results, ensuring not only a smooth experience, but amplified creativity and media innovation,” Bolt says.
He add that Mekanism was inspired by the opportunity to build a modern mid-sized integrated agency powerhouse with bilingual and cross-border market expertise, as more brands look to align breakthrough creativity and full-service execution along the entire customer journey.
Leland says the integration was agreed upon to fulfill what the group’s clients need today.
“We’re not doing this in response to other mergers, we’re providing an alternative for brands looking for agency partners independent of the big holding companies,” Leland says. “The benefits of an integrated model shouldn’t be reserved for clients of the biggest network agencies. Getting a nimble, hands-on agency partner delivering fully integrated, bold, innovative solutions is what we’re bringing to the market.”
