Initiative Canada has been on a hot streak. The IPG Mediabrands agency won seven new clients over the last year, including giants like Unilever and Volvo, representing just under $90 million in new business assignments. Last year, the media agency won new business with the likes of Air Canada, Intuit and Destination Toronto.

Over the past year, Initiative Canada has won 56 awards, including a 2024 Gold in the Media category for Agency of the Year and seven strategy Awards (including the Grand Prix) last year. Beyond that, it has been recognized as the number-one media agency in Canada by the World Advertising Research Center (WARC) on its 2025 Media 100 list. Globally, it jumped 15 spots to rank 14th worldwide.

“It’s been a pretty hot last 24 months,” says Chris Gairdner, VP and head of creative partnerships with Initiative. He attributes that streak to the agency’s focus on building a “strong and inclusive creative culture… this relentless focus on craft and seeing creativity as a differentiator.”

“We’ve been on this journey to redefine the media agency role and move it from follower to leader,” he says. “Media often plays second fiddle to creative, and I think a lot of agencies have internalized that. There is a bit of an inferiority complex sometimes in media. At Initiative, we believe media is magic. We’re trying to make it just as exciting as the creative.”