“Such Structure Is Clearly a Huge Advantage”: Jean-François Dumais Discusses His Move to Publicis Montreal
Publicis’ Montreal office made headlines last week with the appointment of Jean-François Dumais as chief creative officer. An established figure within the French-Canadian advertising scene, having worked on the likes of adidas’ ‘House Party’ and The North Face’s 'Question Madness', this announcement meant Jean-François had departed Sid Lee after 18 years – marking a major move for the local industry.
Describing the appeal of joining Publicis Montreal, the newly-appointed CCO emphasised several factors, including the agency being “a group clearly on the rise”, and the leadership team’s “collective drive to put strong creative product back at the centre of everything”. However, Jean-François’ arrival means he now has a big part to play in maintaining and building upon this, be it developing talent internally, shaping ideas, or ensuring that the work truly resonates with consumers. Not a small ask by any means, it’ll be worth watching closely to see how he draws upon his strong portfolio of leadership, design and storytelling skills to tackle these endeavours in the months to come.
To learn more about how he’s gearing up for this challenge, and the decision to move into a new position, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt caught up with Jean-François.
LBB> Obviously, the big news is that you joined Publicis Montreal, taking on the role of CCO. Congratulations! What does this opportunity mean to you, and how are you feeling right now?
Jean-François> Thanks! I feel great! I think it’s an amazing opportunity to be part of the momentum currently happening at Publicis Montreal (and obviously, worldwide). It feels exciting to be part of a team that’s really hungry to grow, as well as the contemporary creative landscape as a whole.
LBB> You’ve made the move after 18 years at Sid Lee. What made now the right time for this change? With this new chapter, what are you hoping to accomplish, both personally and professionally?
Jean-François> It’s a great opportunity for me to grow as a creative leader. I love helping people grow and seeing them win.
On the other hand, being able to be part of the creative community here and be on the ground, helping build campaigns and shape ideas, is something that generates so much satisfaction. It’s being in the action versus being behind a computer.
LBB> Coming into the position, what are your main aims and ambitions for Publicis Montreal’s creative offering? And how will you be working towards unlocking this?
Jean-François> We are lucky to work with so many iconic brands, so I think there’s opportunities to create work that connects with people through culture and innovation. I’m very excited about the fact that we’re in an age of reinvention, and how the line between ads and content is getting blurred, enabling us to bring more and more brands into that universe.
LBB> As someone who has been praised for challenging creative conventions and his strong creative vision, how would you describe your style? What can your new colleagues expect from you?
Jean-François> I came into advertising through a series of accidents, really. So, I’m not sure how much I’m consciously challenging conventions! I always describe myself as a ‘generalist’, as opposed to a specialist at anything. But I love brands. I love shopping. I love digging into them, yet staying naïve in a certain way.
My process is always to try and see how we can make things that people will truly care about. To me, brands are just another person in the room, so, ideally, we are able to connect with others in the same genuine way.
LBB> As someone who believes in instilling creative confidence in the team around him, how will you be approaching this? Where are you hoping to take things internally?
Jean-François> I don’t think there is a secret formula. I want to spend time with the teams and get to know the clients – especially what keeps them up at night. I’d encourage any leader to spend time with the creatives, brainstorm and be hands on. Share ideas and knowledge. Create a space where we can be creatively vulnerable. That’s the type of environment where all my favourite projects have been born, and so my goal is to try to recreate this for others and foster it.
LBB> Earlier, you highlighted Publicis Montreal as a ‘group on the rise’. Given that you’re joining at a time of momentum, how will you be working with your fellow leaders to build upon this?
Jean-François> I love working as a team. The holy trinity of business, strategy, and creative is such a cool trio, because they all require brains that are very differently wired, but driven by the same goal.
I’m not a big believer in over-protecting the creative process and hiding the work from the rest of the team. I like to bounce ideas that aren’t fully defined, make the team part of the process, and collaborate. In my experience, it makes everyone more engaged with the ideas, and helps design better solutions for our clients.
LBB> Speaking of leaders, what have the early days of collaboration been like? How are you finding things thus far, and would you say there’s a collective mandate guiding everything?
Jean-François> We currently all sit at the same table, literally, and I think this is the best way. We’re in constant communication, able to bounce ideas in real time, try stuff, fail, and try again.
I also think it’s super important that we all have the same objective – a North Star that makes us complicit and codependent. The momentum and immediacy really feeds this hunger we all have.
LBB> Of course, in the pursuit of this, you’ve got a large network of resources at your disposal. How are you finding working within the Publicis network? Are there any clear advantages you’ve noticed?
Jean-François> So far, I feel like I’ve only discovered the first layer of what’s available. That being said, I’m already excited about the potential of the opportunities these resources can create. In this age of agility, such structure is clearly a huge advantage.
Beyond resources, there’s also just a lot of cool humans at Publicis, and I’m excited to get to know and learn from them. I grew up as a creative working with people all over the place, so it’s exciting to collaborate on projects with the likes of Vini Dalvi (CCO) and his team in Toronto. Hopefully, this will eventually extend beyond Canada!
LBB> With all this in mind, where do you think Publicis’ place is within the Canadian market at the moment? And why?
Jean-François> Publicis has a bit of a challenger vibe. Everyone I’ve met is so hungry and motivated to do great work for our clients, and to make them shine. If we do our job right, then we shine too.
LBB> Finally, what should your new coworkers know about you? Is there anything fun you’d like to share?
Jean-François> I’m a bit of a hoarder. I was excited to come here on my first day with my deadstock TimBiebs tote bag, and was thrilled to discover some of Publicis/BCP’s old awards posted on walls. It’s pure vintage gold.
I think I’m also known for using a lot of analogies for just about any subject. That, and just now, I’ve learned from my new colleagues that I apparently type really loudly. Apologies in advance to everyone!
