Colour

For Colour president Chris Keevill there are no surprises in his firm’s recipe for success.

What are the key ingredients the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based marketing and public relations agency blends so well? Creative people, a client-centric philosophy, command of digital marketing and, in no small part, its setting— “Maritimers place a huge emphasis on story telling through comedy, music, film, art and theatre,” he says, “and story-telling is what we do.”

“Culture celebrates creativity,” says Keevill, who believes Halifax is emerging as Canada’s creative heart. He points to Nova Scotia’s long tradition of celebrating and nurturing its unique culture. “We employ a team of creative people—copywriters, designers, art directors, designers and PR professionals who are attracted to beauty and culture. So it’s no surprise talented people choose the Maritimes as a place to work and raise their families.”

That’s certainly the choice he has made. The single father of three, a business graduate of Acadia University who also holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business, returned to the Maritimes from Toronto in 2001. Prior to joining Colour, Keevill was president of Aliant Broadband Services, president and chief operating officer of FloNetworks and president of Medialinx (now Sympatico).

Colour copywriter Jonathon Smith is another returned Maritimer, born in Nova Scotia but raised in South Africa. He has found the skills he developed over the many years he worked in Johannesburg have translated well in Halifax.

“South Africa is a society in transition,” Smith says. “You learn to move quickly to adapt to change. You learn to cope with recessions and brown-outs and push the boundaries. Halifax has none of the social turmoil, thankfully. The warm people here, the emphasis on family, makes for an environment where creativity is nourished and flourishes.”

It’s the kind of creative environment that Colour fosters. The agency enters its clients’ world by using a suite of customized conversational and observational tools called ‘Closer to the Customer’. It’s a collaborative process of learning and discovery designed to provide real insight into client needs. The results are strategies that connect with their clients’ customers in ways that are truly persuasive and personal.

Keevill points to the firm’s Wheelchair Rugby campaign as an example of understanding their customer’s world.
Colour was charged with introducing Halifax to the 2006 Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championship, a sport that though burgeoning is not yet well known by the general public.
Before they could describe the sport the creative team needed to experience it. So, the account team strapped themselves into some wheelchairs and took on the local Nova Scotia team. The firm team took a beating.

This hands-on experience gave a unique insight into the minds of the athletes while allowing the creative team to capture the true spirit of the sport. The outcome was a campaign of posters and ads featuring gripping headlines and gritty imagery that were plastered throughout the city.

One of the posters hangs on Colour’s meeting room wall. It reads: After watching these guys you’ll think twice about parking in a handicapped spot.

As for the campaign results, well, a crowd of enthusiastic spectators enjoyed the sport, many for the first time, and print and broadcast media descended on the tournament seeking interviews with the warriors of the court. But perhaps the truest demonstration of the power of Colour's work came from one of the athletes: "I can tell the guys who made these posters are in wheelchairs," he said.

It’s that human touch that distinguishes Colour’s work, but the means of communicating insights keep changing. Keevill, who places Colour as a thought leader in digital and social media, says the way people consume media has changed dramatically over the past five years.

Recent events in Iran should remove any lingering doubt anyone has about the effectiveness of social media platforms as effective communications tools, he says. “The old campfire has died out and we’re building a new fire. There are few rules and the rules that do exist are not the ones that used to be in play.”

While new communication platforms and media will continue to affect the communication industry, Keevill says Colour’s guiding philosophy will remain: “Our success flows from getting close to our customer, from bright curious people asking questions and applying what we learn creatively.”