In With the New: Introducing the Fresh Faces of Mint

For Mint, the independent creative agency based in Toronto, the story of 2022 so far has been one of growth. Thanks to its increasing reputation for campaigns that drive cultural impact, the agency began the year with a slew of new clients. Building on established success in 2021 with YouTube Shorts, Hershey’s, and Lindemans, Mint has now added Hendrick’s Gin, Circuit, and Swiss Chalet to their list of clients, among many others. 

In order to keep up with the expanding client portfolio, Mint’s staff is expanding alongside it. At around the start of the summer, the agency welcomed account executives Isha Pelrine, Tremayne Gomes and Ron Vendrov, account directors Gigi Rabnett and Andreea Vernescu, copywriter Jeff McQuarrie, and account coordinator for XM Tonisha Delaunay. 

With such an influx of new talent, LBB caught up with each of the hires to find out what makes them tick - and why Mint is proving to be such a popular destination for great creative minds. 

Isha Pelrine, account executive, XM

For Isha, it hasn’t taken long to find inspiration having joined the team at the start of the summer. “It’s been so engaging and it feels like we’re expanding at a mile a minute”, she says. “The XM team is just getting back into the swing of things, and most of us are new to the agency, so it is really unique to go through the onboarding experience at the same time as everyone else. I think it has allowed us to really play to our strengths and we have found a great groove this summer!”. 

In fact, Mint’s expansion is coming around at a fascinating time for the future of experiential. As Isha explains, the gradual end of the pandemic era has resulted in an undeniable shift in the way experiences are both created and enjoyed. “I think that we definitely saw a shift in the way brands communicate. Consumers want to be spoken to in an authentic tone, and are quick to call BS if they feel like a brand is pandering”, she says. “The way we consume media has also shifted, trend cycles changed so rapidly, and lots of traditional boundaries have been broken. Brands that really leaned into this generated a ton of buzz and saw increased buy-in from a younger audience, while those that were slower to adapt lost a lot of momentum”. 

At Mint, then, Isha will be helping to ensure that her clients don’t fall into that trap. Fittingly, it hasn’t taken her long to start creating memorable work inspired by the agency’s focus on cultural relevance. “One of my favourite events that I have worked on at Mint so far was a Pride activation for White Claw in partnership with Yohomo”, she recalls. “It was so inspiring to work with an organisation that had such a clear vision, and the way the activation came to life was so organic and fun to be a part of”. 

Above: White Claw’s activation with Yohomo saw the now-iconic seltzer brand offer free tickets to Toronto’s Love On Top PRIDE party.

For more inspiration, Isha is never afraid to look around at Toronto’s creative scene more widely. “This might sound funny, but I love to engage with activations run by other brands that I don’t work on”, she says. “It’s amazing how much is happening in the city this summer. I feel like every weekend there is a different pop-up or activation, and it is always so interesting to experience things as a consumer as opposed to coming from behind the scenes”. 

Gigi Rabnett, account director, XM

“I have had an eye on Mint, cheering from the sidelines, for years”, says Gigi. “Mint’s legacy is in XM, and I’ve always sort of known I’d end up here. The country is not that big and if you want to dig deep into XM, joining the agency that does it best is a milestone”. 

Happily, inspiration is never far away for the account director. “I’m constantly told that, in another life, I would have been a journalist. I am curious to a fault, and simply love conversations”, she explains. “I voraciously consume content - from educational podcasts to the strangest side of TikTok to old magazine articles. I work in events, so I of course do typical market research (scrolling Instagram for new and cool vendors, keeping up with industry work), but so many of my creative event concepts are inspired by seemingly mundane experiences: conversations with children, recently, have been my favourite”. 

And the result of that inspiration has been a career littered with impactful campaigns and activations. “A program I look back on, that makes my heart swell with pride, is Casey House. We launched the world’s first spa run by people living with HIV/AIDS, to dispel misconceptions around contracting HIV/AIDS through touch”, she recalls.

Beyond that, however, Gigi is never afraid to look admiringly at the work of others. “The type of XM program I look at and say ‘I wish I thought of that’, is something like Tinder’s ‘Pride Slide’”, she says. “In 2019 Tinder produced a 30-foot ‘Pride Slide,’ with ‘Slide Into Your Senators’ written down the side. The length of the slide represents the 30 states that didn’t have anti-discriminatory laws protecting the LGBTQ+ community. Simple, effective, smart, and impactful”. 

At Mint, Gigi is looking forward to continuing to make an impact in the experiential category. “I’d say I’m most excited about getting to inject new life and continued creativity into experiential - a medium often considered ‘traditional’ - but, in my opinion, the most effective marketing tool”, she says. 

Andreea Vernescu, account director, Ads

As far as Andreea is concerned, she’s joining Mint at a time when the company is on the crest of a wave. “I’m looking forward to working for a challenger agency that’s going to do big things with some very talented people”, she says. 

It’s a time, too, where the relationship between people and brands is at an inflection point. “Things have definitely changed and will continue to do so as the workforce goes to a more hybrid workframe”, observes Andreea. “People that have moved out of the city will have longer commutes and people more broadly will no longer be privy to the same type of engagements with brands as they once had been accustomed to”.  

All signs, then, point towards a period of cultural flux during which clear-minded agencies such as Mint will aim to apply their experience-first philosophy. For Andreea, however, it’s also important to avoid becoming so wrapped up in the industry’s bubble that you lose sight of the wider picture. “To stay creatively engaged I try and make sure I can disconnect completely”, she says, “either by going for a run or walk outside”. 

Jeff McQuarrie, copywriter

For Jeff, the opportunity to join Mint represented a great chance to grow. “I think I knew from the beginning a team like this would be perfect to learn from and create some killer work with”, he tells LBB. “There’s such a great range of experience and backgrounds here at Mint, that it creates an atmosphere that’s exciting and palpable”. 

Broadening that out, when it comes to inspiration Jeff has always turned to the work - and that’s not about to change at Mint. “I love work that is so obvious it makes you go ‘wow, that’s good! I wish I thought of it’”, he says. “I love work that’s smart but simple. I love work even more when it’s reactive”. 

And it doesn’t take the copywriter long to land on a perfect example of that approach. “KFC’s response to their chicken shortage with FCK was one of my favourites”, he says. “They took an epic disaster and found a memorable, ownable way to do damage control”. 

Above: KFC’s iconic response to (somewhat amusingly) running out of chicken in 2018 was especially memorable. 

Like Andreea, Jeff also sees the value in taking time to recharge your creative batteries. “I turn off my phone and absorb as much as I can in the physical world”, he says. “It’s a great release and I often find inspiration in the strangest places”. 

Above anything else, the copywriter can’t help but come back to what he does best: Writing. “I also try to carve out time to write for myself, not for work, as a reminder of why I originally fell in love with writing”, he says. “I’m currently working on a children’s book about a balloon that travels the world when a little girl lets him go. No deadlines or expectations. Hope to finish it some day before my kids are teenagers and don’t care anymore”.

Tonisha Delaunay, account coordinator, XM 

Since joining Mint, Tonisha hasn’t wasted any time in hitting the ground running. “I have the pleasure of working with an amazing team, and every day brings a new challenge, a new opportunity to produce something great”, she says. 

For some creatively-minded people, inspiration can be found in constraints - working out how to make the most of what you have available. But, whilst Tonisha remains happy to rise to any challenge, it’s when the barriers come down that her creative spirit comes alive. “Projects with creative freedom inspire me the most. With these projects, anything I can think of is possible and most of the time, the execution is always better than I could have ever imagined”, she explains. “It's also the challenge of resourcing and finding practical ways of turning ideas into reality and into something tangible. Seeing what was initially a thought of mine, executed in real life and admired by others, is my greatest inspiration”.

For an example of that vibrant philosophy in action, Tonisha points to the Crop Over Festival season in Barbados. “The events, the costumes, the music, the people, the vibes - I love everything about it! But I've always been most intrigued by the 'how' and I've been lucky enough to get a preview of behind the scenes working with one of the biggest and most popular band for their band launch”, she says. “A band launch specifically, is the ultimate exemplification of creativity; from the costumes, to the makeup, to staging, lighting, sound, models, photoshoots, etc; so many moving parts, all coming together to turn a fantasy into reality”. 

Above: Barbados’ Crop Over Festival is a constant source of creative nourishment for Tonisha. 

Today, however, brands are arguably operating in a more turbulent landscape than ever before. “The pandemic has most definitely shifted the way we experience brands, it forced many brands to think outside the box and take more creative risks”, says Tonisha. “The traditional rules of brand-building are better served as a guide, rather than as a ‘cookie-cutter’ solution. The best experiences are those borne out of spontaneity and taking risks (responsibly, of course)”. 

Ron Vendrov, account executive, Ads

For Ron, linking up with the team at Mint represents an exciting step forward in his career to date. “I’ve been working in marketing ever since I got out of college and I’ve always been trying to find a way into the Ads space”, he says. “With Mint I’m finally able to explore a new side to my career and I’m so excited about Mint’s mission - to impact culture through influential and effective campaigns”. 

Accordingly, when it comes to creativity Ron is prepared to think big. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of something that influences a brand so deeply that it becomes ingrained in the culture of the city or the country - like Sid Lee’s ‘We the North’ campaign”, he says. “Being part of something with that kind of longevity and impact is incredibly important - not to mention, exciting - to me. It’s super exciting to me to be working with the brands Mint creates for, as I finally get to be a part of work that is fun, intentional, and influential”. 

Above: Sid Lee’s epic We The North campaign for the Toronto Raptors is a source of influence for Ron. 

As part of an agency with a focus on experience, however, Ron is keeping a focus on what makes Mint’s brand of creativity so unique. “People have been - for lack of a better term - starved of experiences for two years”, he notes. “I’ve always firmly believed that experiential marketing and experiences as a whole are what drives the most ingrained sensations marketing has to offer”.

Ultimately, Ron sees the ending of the pandemic as the end of a creative chapter - and the beginning of a new one. “I truly think that we are entering a new era of experiential that will prove to be among the most lauded and award-winning, as agencies across the industry pull out all the stops and really build some long lasting, memorable, and meaningful experiences”, he says.