Making their mark at Brandish
To borrow a stock market term, it’s fair to say Brandish is bullish on RRC Polytech.
Among the 35 staff at this young and growing Winnipeg branding agency – it was founded in 2015 – are 10 RRC Polytech graduates.
And they’re bringing serious skills in communication, design, and strategy to the table in helping clients shine and Brandish itself earn national recognition.
Case in point: Alexandra Martin (pictured above), a 2015 graduate of the joint communications program through The University of Winnipeg and RRC Polytech. An Advertising major, she gained experience in copywriting, project management, and business intelligence with several local agencies. A chance meeting with Brandish co-founders Lee Waltham and Derek Elliott at a conference led to her joining the agency in 2017.
“Including me, there were just four of us,” she said. “As the company grew, I started to lead the brand discipline as a whole—consulting on research, strategy, creative, or campaigns. I’ve been fortunate to hire some strong people to build a team.”
Now the Director of Brand at the agency, Martin enjoys helping clients bridge the gap between their brand and their customers.
“We love to partner with organizations ready to transform themselves,” Martin said.
“Today, telling an effective story is so essential. Strategic thinking and research come first. It takes time to get it right.”
The Brandish story will surely include a highlight from the summer of 2022. In June, at its national conference in Winnipeg, the Canadian Public Relations Society announced its annual awards recognizing the best public relations and communications management projects.
Brandish took home first place for Agency of the Year (Medium size).
As Managing Partner, Lee Waltham expressed his appreciation in accepting the award.
“We’re really proud of our team. They continue to bring amazing energy and do amazing work. And we’re all just very excited about this award.”
Martin agrees.
“We’re a hard-working group, so it’s nice to see the recognition. It helps us understand we’re on the right track. Only a few years in, it means a lot.”
In 2022, Brandish produced work for national organizations including Robertson College, Wawanesa Insurance, Tune Financial, and more.
What’s effective for Brandish and its clients, Martin said, is that Brandish focuses on an exchange of value, rather than tracking time and billing accordingly like a traditional advertising agency.
“It works for us because of how we set ourselves up. We didn’t want to put up a lot of barriers to collaboration.”
That set-up includes a four-day workweek. As well, staff have the autonomy to work how and where they choose, with the goal to produce their best-possible work.
“We’ve seen more value (with the shorter week) with no impact on our output. It gives people freedom and flexibility to come to work feeling like themselves – open-minded, creative, and rested. It leaves room for some life administration.”
For Martin, that can mean spending time with her mom, or walking her dog, Sookie, before jumping onto a call. (Martin adds that she and her partner recently got a puppy, Augie.)
Whether it’s an in-person presentation to clients at the Brandish office on Main Street, or collaborating via technology to connect with colleagues in Toronto, Martin draws on what she learned at RRC Polytech.
“It was an amazing two years. The friendships, relationships, and fun made it an experience I never wanted to let go of. We were coming up with creative solutions as a team. There was a lot of whiteboarding and brainstorming in our program and I know it was the same with graphic design.”
Chris Samms, Senior Art Director at Brandish and Graphic Design grad (2009) shares a similar thought.
“There was definitely a strong focus on practicality. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it would translate into doing what I love at an agency that competes on a national level.”
From the same graduating class in 2015 as Alexandra Martin, Cleo Curtis, Communications Manager for Brandish, sees the strength in their numbers.
“One of the best parts of working at Brandish is the people. I’m lucky to work at a place where I learn so much from my peers everyday. Our team is stacked with (RRC Polytech) alumni, and I believe RRC Polytech gave us the foundation to be successful at Brandish.”
Profile by Randy Matthes (Creative Communications, 1993)