CEO Mike Sutton points to the firm’s “breadth and diversity of what a creative solution looks like” as the reason clients are knocking on Zulu’s doors.

“Clients tend to see us as an innovation agency,” thanks to work like the prototype school desk it created for D2L, the AI-led experiential platform it developed for Sephora, the NYC fire hydrants that it turned into mini water parks for non-profit Street Labs, and the experiments it conducted on how music impacts spending for Interac. “What I’m hearing from brands is that a lot of what we create doesn’t look like the quintessential creative solution,” adds Sutton.

Innovation also comes from the agency’s expertise in the digital and social realm, which it’s been fine-tuning for a couple years now, working closely with Snapchat as its official production partner for its augmented reality (AR) lenses. Zulu produces lenses for Snap’s brand partners, like Disney, Hulu and Starbucks, so that the experiences are tailor-made for Canadian audiences. “We’re Canada’s first production partner for Snap. Nobody really knows that,” says Creative Chairman, Zak Mroueh. “But we’ve produced over 100 lenses in the past year.”