Smaller Agency finds innovative ways to brand within a highly regulated sector.
Smaller Agency recently wrapped up a strong first year that saw it produce design-led work for a client roster largely built around beverage alcohol, cannabis and new to market brands.
The marketing parameters for the cannabis space are narrow and tightly regulated, but Smaller Agency has been able to navigate the space with a wave of design-led work for its client Color Cannabis that includes a lavish holiday cookbook called Add a Little Color to Your Cooking, as well as an attractive colouring book designed to capitalize on the growing adult colouring book phenomenon.
Recipes start with the foundation of how to make your own cannabis infused butter or oil, followed by some unique recipes using the butter and oil practically and safely – as over-consumption in the edibles space can be a major concern.
Smaller Agency’s work over the past year has also included a reinvention of the country’s largest volume wine brand, Peller Family Vineyards, and an elegant, minimalist brand design for one of its newest clients, Doseology Sciences.
The agency has also added a new Calgary-based cannabis company to its client roster, and will help the company develop, design and launch three new cannabis brands and more than 40 new products in the coming months.
“We always look to build creative work that we’re proud of, regardless of the client’s budget or timelines,” said Noah Barlow, Founder and CEO of Smaller Agency. “We find comfort in the constraints -whether they are timing, budget, branding or category related, constraints are where we do our best work, mainly because we’re small. We don’t ever see that as a weakness. It helps us innovate, react and implement new thinking. Being small means we can be nimble and adapt to changing market trends and latest thinking. It also means we can work more directly with our clients to see these projects come to life together.”
Smaller Agency recently opened a second office in Kelowna that will enable it to better serve Doseology, a wellness company whose products harness the medicinal properties of mushrooms. The office will also serve as a central hub for Smaller’s existing clients in Vancouver and Calgary, as well as other local start-ups, and enable the agency to offer its expertise in alcohol marketing to the many wineries scattered throughout the Okanagan region, said Barlow.
Smaller Agency also continues to grow its staff, with the recent additions of Paulina van Schaik as director in Toronto, and art director Robbin Parcker. Barlow will now divide his time between the agency’s two offices.
Its Toronto office also continues to grow through a combination of existing assignments with Andrew Peller, Grolsch and Asahi, as well as the recent addition of Starseed Medical, an assignment that includes assistance with the development of trade tools for medical cannabis clients.
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