For Touché!, the tagline “Fueled by data. Driven by creativity” isn’t just a nifty catchphrase. Some of the agency’s best work over the last year clearly demonstrates a clever combo of innovative creative and even better targeting. Case in point: Touché secured its place in the Media AOY awards for the third year in a row largely thanks to three campaigns: Wilson’s “Bugs Out!,” BRP-X’s “Uncharted Playgrounds” and Atmosphere’s “Camping Rituals.”

“They are great examples of how we use the global tools created by the network and leverage them locally to create impactful, data-fueled media campaigns,” explains Touché managing director Samantha Kelley.

“Omni, our people-based marketing platform, combines two key components: an identity graph (future-proofed because it is people-based, yet entirely privacy compliant and non-reliant on cookie-level data) and an inventory graph (a comprehensive marketplace of media inventory). It was at the core of the audience creation for these three campaigns, and it doesn’t get any more targeted: bug-infested neighbourhoods, mud lovers and camping rookies and veterans.”

All three campaigns demonstrate how creative, data and strategy can come together to create breakthrough campaigns. And that’s nothing new for the agency. Touché has prided itself on redefining what creativity means for over a decade now.

“We recently reviewed our most-awarded campaigns over the last decade,” says Kelley. “In 2010, our first internationally acclaimed campaign featured heated transit shelters [covered by] a toque. Fast forward to this year and our award show headline was Wilson’s “Bugs Out!” that used the power of predictive analytics.” Knowing where bug infections would happen before they were a problem allowed the brand to be on the spot with its messaging before its competitors were even warming up.

Touché isn’t just adapting to innovations in media, she says, it wants to lead them. And that comes down to talent and how well they are supported. The Touché clan has access to initiatives such as an internal mentorship program – which recently saw more than 40 mentors and 90 mentees sign up – or training programs like OMGcoach and U2THEMAX, which help each team member continue to develop their hard and soft skills at every stage of their career.

The agency also recently launched a unique recruitment and retention campaign backed up by employee testimonials.