In this Member Spotlight, we hear from our Canadian member agency Cundari - a creative performance agency redefining how brand and business outcomes connect in today’s marketing landscape. As the industry shifts from brand as message to brand as experience, their perspective highlights a critical change agencies can’t afford to ignore. This interview offers a timely look at how combining storytelling, data, and real-time insight is shaping the future of brand building, and what it takes to build brands that not only resonate, but perform.

How would you describe your agency’s positioning and the way you create value for clients?

Cundari is not a traditional agency — we are a creative performance agency built for the digital age.

For more than 46 years, we’ve helped motivated organizations connect brand storytelling with measurable business growth. Today’s marketing environment demands more than great ideas; it requires ideas that perform. Creative Performance blends data-driven insight with compelling content to ensure every piece of communication is designed to drive engagement, conversion, and business impact. 

Our proprietary Connect the Dots™ methodology integrates strategy, data, media, and creativity into one seamless system — eliminating silos and ensuring that every idea is both emotionally powerful and performance accountable.

For our clients we create value by:

• Turning complex mandates into clear, compelling brand narratives
• Using AI, analytics, with test and learn to inform and optimize creative execution
• Designing campaigns where creativity is directly linked to measurable outcomes such as engagement, conversions, and growth

Research consistently shows that creative quality is one of the strongest drivers of campaign effectiveness and financial impact. 

We don’t just build brands; we build brands that perform.

What is one major shift happening in your market right now that agencies can’t afford to ignore?

The biggest shift is that “Brand” is no longer just what you say — it’s what people experience and share.

In the past, brands were often built through broad awareness campaigns and emotional storytelling that defined what a brand stood for. Today, the digital world has transformed that dynamic. With AI, digital engagement, and advanced analytics, brands can now understand audiences at a far deeper level — in real time.

But while data reveals behaviour, it is great Creative and strong brand thinking that generates meaning and memorability.

Consumers now encounter brands across dozens of digital and physical touchpoints. Brand perception is shaped not just by advertising, but by the entire ecosystem — from content and social engagement to website usability and personalized interactions.

The brands that will lead in the future will combine powerful creative storytelling with data-driven insight, ensuring every interaction reinforces a clear, consistent, and emotionally resonant brand experience.

Can you share a recent project you’re particularly proud of? 

One campaign we’re particularly proud of is Dempster’s “Made by Canada.”

Challenge
Bread is one of the most commoditized categories in grocery retail. With increasing private-label competition and limited differentiation on shelf, Dempster’s needed to reassert its relevance and reconnect emotionally with Canadians while reinforcing its Canadian heritage.

Approach
We created “Made by Canada,” a national brand platform celebrating the farmers, ingredients, and communities behind Canada’s favourite bread.

Rather than focusing solely on product features, the campaign told the story of Canadian wheat farmers, and the everyday role bread plays in Canadian homes. The creative platform was designed as Creative Performance, built to work across television, digital video, social media, and retail environments — ensuring emotional storytelling while enabling measurable engagement and optimization.

RESULTS

The brand repositioning and campaign execution delivered strong business and brand performance results:

• Secured exclusive new listings with major retailers, including Walmart Canada.
• Packaging appeal increased significantly, with visual appeal scores rising from 47% to 73% (top box).
• Campaign performance:

• 3.5 million Instagram impressions
• 10 million Facebook impressions
• 11 million total campaign impressions

• CSR impact: The “Buy a Lunch, Give a Lunch” initiative led to the donation of 1.8 million slices of bread to 17 food banks across Canada.
• Industry recognition: The CSR program won Bronze at the 2019 Shopper Innovation Activation Award.
• Positive sentiment: Canadian farmers praised the campaign, feeling represented and proud.
• Business turnaround:

• $ Share up +0.6% VYA
• Volume shares up +6% VYA
• Net sales grew +5.6% VYA

This marked a full turnaround for the Dempster’s brand, revitalizing both consumer connection and retail performance.

A final testament: Dempster’s Global Top Management Meeting of Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bakery multinational, held in Quito, Ecuador, named Dempster’s the winning case for best business growth in the world.

What does a great partnership look like to you in 2026?

A great partnership in 2026 is built on shared ambition, transparency, and agility.

The most successful client–agency relationships operate less like vendors and more like team, working toward the same growth agenda, aligned on business objectives and what success truly looks like.

Great partnerships require open and honest dialogue, with direct access to senior decision-makers and a shared commitment to solving problems together.

In practice, that means:

• Clear KPIstied directly to business outcomes
• Shared dashboards and real-time visibilityinto performance
• Open exchange of information, ideas, and expectations
• Timely feedback and access to key stakeholders
• True collaboration across teams — not working in silos
• A willingness to challenge each other and explore new possibilities

And perhaps most importantly, great partnerships remember that building successful brands should also be energizing and enjoyable for everyone involved.

Tell us something unexpected about your agency.

A defining moment for us was realizing that creative excellence alone wasn’t enough.

Early in our journey, we won major awards — Cannes, Clio, Mobius, Cassies, global recognition — but what changed our business was embedding measurement and accountability into every idea.

That shift fundamentally changed how we operate.

Today, every concept is built to be creatively inspiring and commercially accountable.

Unexpected fact: despite being over four decades old, we operate with a start-up mindset — continuously evolving, integrating AI, investing in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) leadership, and mentoring the next generation of talent.

Longevity has taught us one lesson: relevance is earned every day.

Find out more about Cundari at cundari.com