When Smak Media and Promotions Inc. was founded in Vancouver in 2003, it was an experiential marketing agency specializing in publicity stunts. The company made a name for itself by pulling off events for clients that got people talking. It grew steadily, and in 2005 it opened a second office, in Toronto.
In 2009, the company decided to diversify and began offering full-service media.
"[This involved] media buying and planning and working with a client and figuring out exactly what mediums they are going to advertise in," said Claire Lamont, Smak partner and creative director. "I would figure out what the plan is and go out and purchase it on behalf of the client."
One evening, Lamont was at an awards dinner and was asked to explain what Smak did, and she was at a loss.
"I just looked at her like a deer in headlights and I thought, 'How do I explain exactly what I do?'"
Lamont realized that if she wasn't clear on what Smak did, its clients must be really confused.
The company's bottom line wasn't suffering because of the diversification, but Lamont said clients and staff didn't have a clear vision of what the company was good at.
"People understood us for exactly what we used to do, and then we brought this additional service offering on and people were really confused about what we specialized in," she said. "It dawned on me that we had moved so far from the original plan that we needed to reel it in and go back."
In January 2013, the company moved back to pure experiential marketing and is no longer involved in full-service offerings. The result, said Lamont, has been extremely positive.
"Being armed with the right messaging and knowing exactly what our core competencies are, we are able to be present and take part in RFPs and things like that," she said.
"Not only has it actively allowed us to be concise about our message, it has allowed our entire team to truly embrace and understand exactly what we do and our core competencies."
On some of smak's best stunts: "We launched Movember in Canada. We worked with the Movember organization that was originally founded in Australia. We collaborated with them on PR to launch the idea of men growing mustaches in Canada. It's been a global phenomenon. [Smak's campaign in 2011 directly raised $42 million for Prostate Cancer Canada from 244,000 participants.] We also do cheese-rolling in Whistler for the Dairy Farmers of Canada, which is in its sixth year [on August 17]. There are 13,000 attendees at the event, all coming to sample Canadian cheese."
