Bensimon Byrne has a new pitch, and it asks clients to do less.
The Toronto independent kept seeing the same brief. More objectives. More audiences. More activity. Less impact. So it commissioned Ipsos to survey more than 200 senior marketers across Canada and the U.S., then relaunched today as a creative intelligence company with a new identity, new services and a new vision: “Find Your People.”
Everyone agrees on less
The study — The End of Everything: The Focus Gap — polled 108 marketers in the U.S. and 104 in Canada. According to Ipsos, 91% agree that concentrating investment behind fewer priorities drives stronger returns. Nearly all of them, 95%, say their current plans reflect that philosophy.
Yet only 21% put 80% or more of their budget behind those priorities. And 89% say something stands in the way, from channel complexity to shifting market conditions.
“We’ve all seen the plan with 12 priorities. That’s not a plan, it’s a wish list,” says Laura Robinson, Managing Director and EVP at Bensimon Byrne. “Marketers don’t need a lecture on focus. They need justification to say no, and the evidence to back it up when they’re challenged.”
More is the default setting
When growth pressure hits, 79% keep chasing every objective. Meanwhile, 64% admit greater focus would have improved their results over the past year.
The instinct shows up in audience strategy, too. Asked how they’d pursue growth, marketers ranked more media spend and reach first and new audiences second. Going deeper with the core audience landed third — even though 94% agree that concentrating on a primary audience improves effectiveness.
Permission to say no
In theory, 93% of marketers surveyed are comfortable making trade-offs. In practice, 60% report that existing priorities are only sometimes, rarely or never deprioritized when new ones arrive.
The higher the title, the harder the no. Among those surveyed, 70% of VPs say they’re very comfortable saying no, compared with 52% of directors and 43% of the C-suite.
What would give them the confidence? Stronger performance data linking focus to results (45%), greater confidence in strategic positioning (39%) and clearer success metrics (38%).
Less, on purpose
That’s the gap Bensimon Byrne rebuilt itself to close. The new model combines human insight, data and creativity to help clients focus their marketing on the priorities that deliver results.
“Meaningful growth doesn’t come from reaching everyone,” Robinson says. “It comes from connecting deeply with the people who deliver outsized returns and ultimately, greater impact.”
The shift comes with three senior hires: Tatiana Isaza, VP, Brand & Growth; Chelsea Thompson-O’Brian, VP, Strategy; and Charlie Glassman, Creative Director.
A brand that commits
The new identity makes its choices and sticks with them. A looping monogram anchors a palette of oxblood, burnt orange, forest green, pink and navy. It turns up on dice, playing cards, a letterpressed coaster and a tote bag, alongside lines like “Unlocking what drives people” and “Empathy armed with evidence.”
“Insight and creativity have always been our starting point, but the brief has changed,” says Joseph Bonnici, Board Member and Chief Creative Officer at Tadiem, the collective Bensimon Byrne belongs to. “We’ve taken this moment of change to evolve with new capabilities, new leadership, and new services to help our clients say no with confidence and stay focused.”
After more than 30 years in business, the agency’s belief fits in five words: the few fuel the many.
Doing less is the easy part to agree on. Doing it on purpose is the pitch.
The full study is available at bensimonbyrne.com/the-end-of-everything. Findings are unweighted and reflect the opinions of survey respondents only.
Learn more
Bensimon Byrne
The End of Everything: The Focus Gap
Agency LinkedIn
Bensimon Byrne Instagram
Contact: le******@***********ne.com
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
