Outrider Canada Rebrands as Catalyst Canada

GroupM announced on Wednesday that Outrider Canada, the search marketing arm of GroupM Canada, will now go under the moniker of Catalyst Canada. The move aligns the search agency's branding with others in the portfolio.

GroupM announced on Wednesday that Outrider Canada, the search marketing arm of GroupM Canada, will now go under the moniker of Catalyst Canada. The move aligns the search agency’s branding with others in the portfolio.

GroupM is WPP’s consolidated media investment management operation, serving as the parent company to agencies including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, Mindshare, Catalyst and Xaxis.

It’s more than a simple renaming. In the announcement, GroupM said that the rebranding would create a single cohesive offer in the region and combine the expertise of the two units.

Jeff Lancaster, CEO of Catalyst Canada, would not divulge specifics. He told ClickZ, “It’s a bid for us to achieve more consistency in going to market. We’ve built innovative practices in the United States and Canadian marketplaces operating under different brands for the last few years. This will unite the practices we have across North America.”

Lancaster said an increasing number of his agency’s clients want to engage across multiple markets, and more are looking for specialists in search. “It used to be, [search] would get wrapped in with the media or creative agency. Now advertisers recognize that search is a specific discipline, and there seem to be a lot more specific engagements for search,” he said.

“Unite” does not mean consolidation, Lancaster said. Catalyst Canada will maintain its full infrastructure, including client services teams, technology teams and billing.

And yet, “The teams will become a lot more collaborative in terms of developing offerings. Right now, we have product teams on both sides. Now, we will get a lot more collaboration in terms of taking that to the next level,” Lancaster said. “It’s just getting our product teams together.”

When asked what steps Catalyst was taking to achieve that collaboration, he said, “I can’t comment, but there are some things to come.”

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource