The Canadian launch is part of the agency's wider growth strategy to expand into influential and culturally active social markets, where brands have the potential to connect with people in meaningful ways.
Canada has 25 million active social-media users (67 per cent of the population), according to We Are Social's 2019 Global Digital Report.
Its entry into the market is through the creation of a partnership between We Are Social and Vision7 International. Vision7 is a marketing services group, operating 12 agencies including Cossette, Citizen Relations, and Jungle Media.
The office will be led by managing director Coby Shuman, previously at Huge, and the agency is already working with global brands including Yokohama, Intuit and Lorex.
Shuman – who played a key role in building Huge's Canadian office, leading key client partnerships including Nike, Canada Goose, and Indigo – will report to We Are Social's UK chief executive, Jim Coleman.
Prior to working at Huge, Shuman held senior roles at SapientNitro and Ogilvy & Mather in London, New York and Toronto.
"Ambitious Canadian marketing leaders are hungry for disruptive socially-led, creative ideas. Our goal is to help them become more social," said Shuman.
"Canada's cultural diversity presents enormous opportunity for the international brands, homegrown global brands and our thriving start-up community to create a social value exchange with their audiences."
Earlier this year, We Are Social opened a Tokyo office, following its 2018 launches in Hong Kong and Madrid, and its majority acquisition of Dubai-based agency Socialize.
Coleman said: "[Canada is] a market we've been watching very closely and now, with Coby at the helm, we feel the stars have aligned. We're confident that our approach of putting social thinking at the centre of marketing will be hugely beneficial to brands in Canada."
