Celebrating 10 Years of Partnership with Alexis Bronstorph and Kelsey Horne
Throughout advertising, and across all ranks, there exist strong partnerships. On LBB, there are plenty of stories about copywriters and art directors, executive producers paired up, and ACDs making magic together. However, a partnership of 10 years, in which both members started out as ACDs, before moving up the ranks and moving agencies - multiple times - as joint CCOs? Surely that’s a bit less common.
However, this is exactly what Alexis Bronstorph and Kelsey Horne have achieved. Originally meeting at TAXI, the pair’s partnership has stayed true throughout a move to Sid Lee, a return to TAXI, and in February 2022, the jump to No Fixed Address, where the two now work as CCOs. It’s a remarkable accomplishment - one that’s been filled with awards, including Cannes Lions, One Show pencils and Clios - and serves as a testament to the fact that in this industry, having a good partner can truly change everything.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Alexis and Kelsey, discussing the pair’s history, and exploring what the future holds for this Canadian dynamic duo.
LBB> How did you get started together? Tell us your story!
Alexis> Kelsey and I worked at the same agency (TAXI), but in different offices and locations. So, we had known of each other for years before we actually started working together.
They say timing is everything, and in this case, it really was. Kelsey was working in Amsterdam but was ready to move back to Canada, and I had just come back from maternity leave and was without a partner. All credit goes to our CEO at the time - Rob Guenette. He promised we'd make magic together.
Kelsey> Rob took yet another chance on us when we went back to TAXI and were able to share our first leadership position.
LBB> What were your first impressions of each other, and have they changed?
Alexis> Kelsey had just shattered his ankle, and although he was moving back from Amsterdam, he had to wait a couple of months because he couldn't even get on an aeroplane! So, when I finally met him, he could only wear the most comfortable white sneakers - this was pre-normcore days - and he had these little crutches. I just thought it was so cute, haha!
Kelsey> That first winter, I was always walking about 3 metres behind Alexis while trying to brainstorm! In seriousness, Alexis and I hit it off right away. We always enjoyed brainstorming with each other, we made (and continue to make) each other laugh, and we always enjoyed each other's company from the get go. There were just a lot of common interests, and it was good.
LBB> And since then, how has your partnership evolved?
Alexis> I believe that from the day that Kelsey and I started working together, our careers took on a new direction and trajectory. We really have a shared drive, ambition and work ethic. It was just inherent, and I really don't know if I would be here today without a partner like Kelsey. From my perspective, I feel so supported and championed by him every day, and after 10 years, it's nice to look back.
Kelsey> I have more grey hair!
I totally agree with Alexis. Fundamentally, our partnership has stayed the same. Whenever we go to a new shop, the first question we get asked is always, 'with two CCOs, how is this going to work?'. But one of the things that Alexis and I have never forgotten is what it feels like to be in those different roles in advertising. We started out as ACDs, learned to be CDs, and then learned how to be CCOs, but none of that has ever changed how we work together.
Most of the time, Alexis and I are on the same page, but as CCOs, we've found this way to organically get in and out of the work at different times, while also being able to know all of what's going on, even if we’re not in meetings together. One of us will take the lead on a client, and it’s just this organic thing that we sometimes can't even articulate. We're like, 'trust us, it'll be fine!'.
LBB> Ten years in the industry, across multiple agencies is a long time for partnership! To what do you attribute this longevity and success?
Alexis> We both approach the job with positivity. That might sound kind of basic, but we've both worked with enough people who’ve gotten stuck in the weeds to know it’s important. The job is tough, the industry is tough, and things change. You're riding high one minute, and the next, something goes wrong. But, every day, we both wake up excited to do this job, knowing how lucky we are to work in an industry where we get to be creative and work with funny, smart, brilliant people. I do think it's our shared positivity that has kept us working together, and I think it's an underrated characteristic.
Kelsey> We've always sort of had the same amount of drive, and let’s be honest, having to go at it alone is just not fun! It's a hard thing to do, and having someone with your back, that you can trust, and with whom you've always been on the same wavelength is invaluable. Alexis and I are constantly communicating, and that coupled with a shared ambition to do great work for clients are major parts of this too.
LBB> Building on this, how would you describe your styles as leaders, and why do they compliment each other?
Alexis> I think there's a few things. For me, Kelsey has a way of assembling the right team and the right cast for projects - where everyone really gels together and has that shared ambition of making world class work. He's also got such a keen eye for craft, design and execution, and those are some of his biggest strengths as a person and partner.
Kelsey> Alexis has a lot of great strengths! Her ability to find talent has always been something I've been really thankful for. We have these young teams that we're finding, they're amazing to work with, and it's been great to see them move up in the industry. Her ability to sell the work is also incredible. I often go off of feeling, whereas Alexis is able to articulate the idea down to this one point.
We're also both not night people, so we know when the other person needs to come in with the energy. After all, projects in our industry can take months, and to keep up that energy is tough. Having two people who can come in at different points is a saving grace. It keeps us fresh, and allows us more time to think about the work. We're really good at that dance, where we trade in and out while figuring out the best solution for the job.
LBB> Do you ever have creative disagreements? And if so, how do you resolve them?
Alexis> It's odd, but we don't have many creative disagreements. Sometimes we don't see eye to eye, but we tend to resolve it by just leaning toward whoever has more conviction. We trust each other and our sensibilities so much that we don't really argue about creative.
Kelsey> Arm wrestles!
But, seriously, even from the start as a young working team, we didn't bicker or anything like that. We just get each other and it works out!
LBB> You've made joint moves to a few agencies. What did the discussions look like when you're deciding where and whether you wanted to go, and what drew you to No Fixed Address specifically?
Alexis> We decided long ago that this job is only fun and fulfilling for us when we do it together. So, when Dave Lafond, the CEO of NFA, called us, we came as a duo. Without skipping a beat, he said, 'I love duos', and that was that.
In terms of the work, we complement each other in many ways, one of which is the fact that we pull different levers. It’s never really been a question of whether we would continue to work together as we got more senior. It works well for us, and I think it does at No Fixed Address
Kelsey> NFA is also such a cool shop. It's been a year, and we're thrilled to be here; there's so much momentum and so many really smart, creative, and great people across every discipline. That's really what drew us. It felt like a modern offering for an agency and has absolutely lived up to everything we hoped for. Dave has an absolutely amazing reputation in the industry, and for us that was very appealing. At NFA, the work does level up because people are heavily and actively involved. You can sit in a room and really hash it out; everyone's an expert, and it's great.
LBB> What are you trying to accomplish at NFA? And how are you working together to achieve it?
Alexis> We always say that we want to do work that has not been done before. We love creating work and watching teams put work out into the world, and the goal is to assemble the best team in the business and make the best work of everyone's careers.
I often think back to working under Zak Mroueh, who ran our department when we were juniors at TAXI. We learned a lot, and now, almost every single one of those creative teams is running an agency - somewhere in the world. That is just so outstanding, and our goal is to replicate that success. In 10 years, we want our teams to do the same thing. We always say to them, 'Hire us when you're the CCO of a shop!'
Kelsey> Building on what Alexis said, she and I value the mentorship aspect of the job. It's great to see teams doing work that gets out of the bubble and solves problems. We want to encourage that, and to help them reach their goals as teams. In fact, that's exactly what Alexis and I do. We will meet once a year and set our own goals of what we want to accomplish - determining our trajectory for the year - and we haven't lost that since we started working together.
LBB> In the spirit of yearly goals, what’s coming up for NFA in 2023? Is there anything you’re excited to tell us about?
Alexis> A few weeks ago, we and our client The Jensen Project took over the sky in Dallas and Houston, TX, to educate folks on how sex traffickers recruit women on social media for the ‘Sky Trafficking’ campaign. The writing escalated through the four stages of trafficking: luring, grooming, coercion, and exploitation. Last week, our beautiful spot for the Canadian Real Estate Association went live for the new brand platform and campaign - ‘Together We’ll Make Home Happen’ - celebrating REALTORS’ close relationship with its clients, and showcasing its ability to find a home that’s as unique as their needs, quirks, and personalities. It's one of the first pieces of business we pitched when we got to NFA, so it's really fun to see our first piece come out into the world.
Another one worth discussing is actually one of our longest-running clients at NFA: Questrade. The company had been running a series of spots for the last five or six years, and we took a big pivot which came out at the end of December last year. That was a big piece for us, representing a great client partnership as well.
One other thing we're excited about is the Terry Fox Foundation work. The Terry Fox Foundation is an awesome client and landed Ryan Reynolds as a spokesperson. Terry Fox is a Canadian hero, and it was a really cool thing to work on. Registration opens up on April 12, so make sure you sign up!
Kelsey> It's important for us to ensure that all the work has a unique look and feel. We've always been very cognizant that we don't have a single look for our own work - we want to feel different, and it has to evolve. We know how fast this industry changes, so we're always making sure that we're on point with seeing what trends and platforms are coming or going. We're constantly chatting on the weekends, seeing what's out in the world, and discussing how we can apply what's out in culture to our clients' businesses.
LBB> In the same vein, what are some of the major projects that have defined your partnership?
Alexis> One of the first pieces we did as CCOs was for United Way. It was called ‘#UNIGNORABLE’, and at that time it was a big swing for us, but it was a big success for the agency and the client.
Kelsey> ‘#UNIGNORABLE’ was a good example of how wherever we've gone, there's always things to be learned - both the positives and the negatives. When we made that piece, we had just come from Sid Lee, where design is fully ingrained into their culture. We learned a lot from being over there, and when we came over to TAXI, we brought that with us - just making sure design was infused into all our work.
Beyond that, it also led to an opportunity for creative problem-solving. Even while making the first one, we were like, 'how are we going to follow this up?' because of how our brains work. We had some great teams who came up with the beautiful idea of the ‘The #UNIGNORABLE Tower’, which was so different from the first year's campaign. It was a fully digital idea, it was very inventive - we used AR in a different way - and it was a good example of getting the right partners and everyone humming along perfectly.
LBB> What are your thoughts on Canadian advertising at the moment, and how are you helping steer NFA’s place in all of that?
Alexis> It's a running theme amongst everyone working here in Canada, but I think we punch above our weight. Our budgets are small, our country is small, but we have big ideas and big ambitions. I think it's awesome to see work from other agencies that get outside the Canadian bubble, and at NFA, the agency's ethos is that there's ‘no fixed approach’. You see that in everything from our 'Sky Trafficking' campaign to OOH for DoorDash. Anything goes, and for us, that's a really cool place to be. It's a very inventive agency, and that's what we love about it.
Kelsey> As an advertising community, it's nice when we lift each other up. Alexis and I were chatting about that beautiful spot for Ikea that Rethink did with the troll, earlier this year. It's beautiful, world-class work, and we all need to be able to be honest and lift the work up, both within Canada and outside of it.
LBB> In all your time working together, what are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from each other?
Alexis> Kelsey makes fun of me, but it's really funny and makes me laugh!
But genuinely, I’ve learned so much from him. Kelsey has always set the bar for the work we produce. He's also great at bringing a team together, although that might be because he was a foreman in his old life. Sometimes you've got to treat the agency like a construction site. Start building!
Kelsey> Alexis is absolutely right, we have a lot of jokes about each other.
But one of the biggest things I've learned from her is that if we just worry about the work, everything else will be fine. When you're young and navigating this industry, it’s very easy to become worried about titles, but Alexis has always been very grounded in the idea that the work is what really matters. Because of that, I now believe that everything else will work out if you're doing great work you feel proud about.
Also, we just have a lot of fun together. This industry is tough, but we can always go through it and make each other smile. We push each other to get out of our comfort zones. Even a couple of weeks ago, I don't usually go to advertising shows or award shows, but Alexis was like, 'you're coming with me!'.
It's good because our partnership still feels fresh even after all this time, and honestly, the beauty of our partnership is we get paid to bring our imaginations to life together.
