2022 Winner
Media Leader of the Year
Devon MacDonald
Cairns O'Neil
Cairns O'Neil
When David Cairns and Sherry O’Neil were searching for a leader to build on the legacy of their now 11-year-old Toronto-based agency, they wanted to hire someone with broad experience, integrity and a passion for media. They found that person in Devon MacDonald, who joined Cairns Oneil as its first-ever president in September 2021. For Cairns Oneil, the timing was critical to help clients in their next steps through the pandemic and to further contemporize their media strategies.
It didn’t take long before the agency knew it had made the right decision: Within the first six months of 2022, MacDonald had led new business efforts that resulted in the agency delivering more than double its aggressive new business goal. These wins occurred through competitive RFP and direct referrals alike across the health, fintech, social and DTC sectors.
To differentiate itself, streamline its services and provide a made-in-Canada solution for clients, Cairns Oneil wanted to unite its internal performance and execution teams. MacDonald’s answer came in the form of a new ecommerce pillar that helps guide clients through a progressive development model, which includes an end-to-end experience from consultation to full build of an ecommerce strategy. The integrated ecommerce team delivers both online and offline strategies and executions supported by digital, search and programmatic teams.
Strategy and planning are MacDonald’s secrets to leading the agency. “Having support and input from my leadership team and sharing it with staff and clients regularly is critical. I also believe in making bold decisions and not straddling the fence – that just comes from a lack of clarity in strategy. I think about relationships with my teams, clients, media partners and creative partners in the long term too. No idea, deal or decision in the short-term that doesn’t benefit the long-term is worth it.”
To help its staff of 50 return to the office, he worked with company leadership to redesign it as a “Hub for Ambition.” With collaboration spaces instead of desks and an investment in technology to support hybrid working, he re-energized the bricks and mortar location and launched a flexible hybrid working model. MacDonald also zeroed in on another pandemic outcome: endless Zoom meetings. He introduced a “Find Four” program that challenged the agency to re-evaluate the need for so many meetings by finding four hours a week that could be freed from everyone’s calendar.
Diversity, inclusion and employee well-being have also been a focus for MacDonald since joining the agency. A working group was created to update the employee policies of the company with more flexibility around personal and sick days, along with an extended flex approach to scheduling vacations, including travel overseas combined with working remotely. In addition, MacDonald has initiated active membership and participation to support BIPOC communities. He’s also led the agency to become a signatory member of POCAM, a network from which members and communities are given
first access to roles.
The media industry has many challenges afoot, and the overall economy is a big factor. “We know that the brands that continue to invest in a downturn are the ones that have the easiest time coming out of it,” MacDonald says. “Talking with clients and their leadership teams about not abandoning their strategies is a massive challenge that we face.
“Continued fragmentation of audiences through cookie deprecation and continued advancements in streaming and OTT create new challenges in developing and reaching audiences. This makes corporate strategy all that more important as they face tough budget decisions and diminishing audiences.”
In the new year, MacDonald says the industry has work to do when it comes to the complexity of media and the technology that supports it by working with marketers and staff on continued education and rethink training for all roles.
For example, the role of the marketer leader – and the skills and knowledge they need to run their business – has changed, and agencies need to help them with it. “Measurement across all video requires a common solution that all media companies and agencies can adopt. This will help with a comparison of linear to digital to OOT, CTV and more, that the industry can have a consistent and clear discussion about.”
It didn’t take long before the agency knew it had made the right decision: Within the first six months of 2022, MacDonald had led new business efforts that resulted in the agency delivering more than double its aggressive new business goal. These wins occurred through competitive RFP and direct referrals alike across the health, fintech, social and DTC sectors.
To differentiate itself, streamline its services and provide a made-in-Canada solution for clients, Cairns Oneil wanted to unite its internal performance and execution teams. MacDonald’s answer came in the form of a new ecommerce pillar that helps guide clients through a progressive development model, which includes an end-to-end experience from consultation to full build of an ecommerce strategy. The integrated ecommerce team delivers both online and offline strategies and executions supported by digital, search and programmatic teams.
Strategy and planning are MacDonald’s secrets to leading the agency. “Having support and input from my leadership team and sharing it with staff and clients regularly is critical. I also believe in making bold decisions and not straddling the fence – that just comes from a lack of clarity in strategy. I think about relationships with my teams, clients, media partners and creative partners in the long term too. No idea, deal or decision in the short-term that doesn’t benefit the long-term is worth it.”
To help its staff of 50 return to the office, he worked with company leadership to redesign it as a “Hub for Ambition.” With collaboration spaces instead of desks and an investment in technology to support hybrid working, he re-energized the bricks and mortar location and launched a flexible hybrid working model. MacDonald also zeroed in on another pandemic outcome: endless Zoom meetings. He introduced a “Find Four” program that challenged the agency to re-evaluate the need for so many meetings by finding four hours a week that could be freed from everyone’s calendar.
Diversity, inclusion and employee well-being have also been a focus for MacDonald since joining the agency. A working group was created to update the employee policies of the company with more flexibility around personal and sick days, along with an extended flex approach to scheduling vacations, including travel overseas combined with working remotely. In addition, MacDonald has initiated active membership and participation to support BIPOC communities. He’s also led the agency to become a signatory member of POCAM, a network from which members and communities are given
first access to roles.
The media industry has many challenges afoot, and the overall economy is a big factor. “We know that the brands that continue to invest in a downturn are the ones that have the easiest time coming out of it,” MacDonald says. “Talking with clients and their leadership teams about not abandoning their strategies is a massive challenge that we face.
“Continued fragmentation of audiences through cookie deprecation and continued advancements in streaming and OTT create new challenges in developing and reaching audiences. This makes corporate strategy all that more important as they face tough budget decisions and diminishing audiences.”
In the new year, MacDonald says the industry has work to do when it comes to the complexity of media and the technology that supports it by working with marketers and staff on continued education and rethink training for all roles.
For example, the role of the marketer leader – and the skills and knowledge they need to run their business – has changed, and agencies need to help them with it. “Measurement across all video requires a common solution that all media companies and agencies can adopt. This will help with a comparison of linear to digital to OOT, CTV and more, that the industry can have a consistent and clear discussion about.”