Victoria’s Tartan Group has merged with Britain’s Beattie Communications Group, with plans to operate four offices in Canada and a team of 12 staffers.
Beattie Tartan will be chaired by Kevin Roberts, chairman of the 31-year-old Beattie Group.
The Beattie Group has 130 staff working in 12 offices in the U.K. and Ireland. Locations include London, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow.
Roberts was previously the CEO of New York-based Saatchi and Saatchi, an internationally known communications and advertising company. He also served as president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola Canada.
Deirdre Campbell, Tartan founder, will be the new company’s managing director.
“Our goal is to become the most admired integrated creative communications agency in Canada,” she said.
Beattie Tartan will have offices in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
“Together with Beattie, we have created a formidable digital-led PR, marketing and creative team,” Campbell said, adding that the company is anticipating extending its expertise beyond tourism and into sectors such as health, retail, education and technology.
Tartan clients include Destination Canada, the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada, the Adventure Travel Trade Association and the David Foster Foundation.
“Canada will be the springboard for our growth globally. It is a forward-thinking country, stable and diverse,” said Laurna Woods, chief executive officer of Beattie Group.
“We are already planning a major recruitment drive for top digital, PR and social talent across Canada, but especially in Toronto and Vancouver, by building on Canada’s strong economy.”
Roberts spoke last year to an audience of master of business administration students in the Sardul S. Gill Graduate School, part of the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at UVic. In his presentation, he compared the current pace of change with “greased lightning” and said that in this world, “leadership is going to be everything.”
