Kevin McHugh Is Ready to “Demonstrate the Greatness” in Dentsu Creative Canada’s Strategy Practice
It’s been a busy few weeks for Dentsu Creative Canada’s Kevin McHugh. Not only did he find time to share insights on the Super Bowl (not once, but twice), but he also – more importantly – was announced as the agency’s new CSO, moving up from the VP, strategy position and taking over the shop’s strategic offering.
But just what does this mean, both for Kevin, and Dentsu’s presence in Canada? In some ways, more of the same – this new role is one he describes as a culmination of the work he’s already been doing, combined with lessons learned along the way. Yet, the new CSO is eager to push harder than ever before, seeking to unlock new opportunities and drive transformation for the agency’s clients. Whether it’s through utilising the network’s wealth of proprietary insights, bringing in more people to expand offerings, or leaning on the talent around him to deliver truly transformative creativity, the roadmap for the coming months is clear. Brand potential needs to be connected to business impact, competitive advantages have to be gained by understanding people better than anyone else, and Dentsu Creative Canada must demonstrate the greatness in its strategy practice.
To learn more about all of this, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Kevin for a chat.
LBB> Kevin, congratulations on your new position at Dentsu! What does this appointment mean to you, and what are you hoping to accomplish?
Kevin> Thank you! To be entrusted by my peers, clients and the network is both a great honour and responsibility.
To answer the second question, my personal and professional mottos are the same: ‘Be great’. (And if you can’t be great, at least be helpful).
LBB> What have the early days been like since stepping up from VP, strategy? Has your day-to-day changed dramatically?
Kevin> I believe that a promotion is a recognition of the value one is already delivering, so in reality, there wasn’t a moment where everything changed. Where I am now is a culmination of the lessons learned, advice I’ve been given, and the talent I’ve observed over the years.
I suppose the biggest change in my day-to-day is having more opportunities to pay it forward. There’s more exposure and profile that comes with the role, so it’s led to more opportunities to apply the things I’ve learned, support others across a broader scope of functions, and demonstrate the greatness in our strategy practice.
LBB> You’ve mentioned having a very future-focused vision for your new role. Can you tell us more about this? How will you be guiding Dentsu Creative Canada’s strategic offering to fit the demands of 2025?
Kevin> As a network, Dentsu is evolving to accelerate growth in more places and spaces across the customer value chain. Clients are asking for more innovation, strategy and digital transformation, and in our most recent global CMO survey, we learned that leaders want to innovate, but don’t have a clear approach as to how to do it. A simple need emerged: to connect the potential of a brand to business impact.
In order to deliver on that need, our ambition is to unlock a competitive advantage by understanding people better than anyone else. We sit on an impressive amount of proprietary insight – including a consumer omnibus that tracks more than 10,000 behavioural and attitudinal attributes – that enable us to deliver a unique, data-backed perspective of consumers and the cultural/competitive context in which they live, and apply that to all our strategic, creative and technological solutions.
LBB> Building on this, where do you think Dentsu’s place is within the Canadian scene at the moment? What are the obvious next steps for the agency this year?
Kevin> Whether we’re talking about our own industry or the industries we serve, growth is harder to come by, and many of the potential sources of growth left are accessible by anyone and everyone. So, we’re taking the thing we output – creativity – and re-tooling it to be used in a way that unlocks growth in more places and spaces.
We call it ‘Transformative Creativity’.
‘Transformative Creativity’ is the application of our greatest talents and expertise, combining transformative ideas, craft, communities, tailored insights, thoughtful experiences and innovative technologies to create solutions that impact people, business and society. I intentionally use the word ‘solutions’ here, and this is the most exciting part – we’re setting ourselves up to offer a unique packaging of creativity that plays at the intersection of marketing, technology and consulting. We’re already operating this way with many of our existing clients – our next steps are to scale this way of working across the network to create more cross-discipline opportunities.
LBB> Something you’ve highlighted is understanding the role brands play in people’s lives, and then using this to build new points of connection between commerce and culture. Why is this so important to you?
Kevin> Brands are a complicated culmination of perception and experience, constantly oscillating between setting expectations and delivering on them. This is further complicated through the way(s) brands can connect with people – it’s neither a one-way conversation, nor is it done through consistent channels or tactics. But one constant through it all is that the most successful brands today are successful because of what they do, not what they say. Getting to a simple, crisp behaviour or role a brand can play in people’s lives, ironically, helps brands better navigate a very complicated and competitive relationship with consumers.
LBB> And how will you bring craft and technology together to help further this mandate?
Kevin> If strategy’s responsibility is to define a brand’s role in the world, craft and technology are what give a brand a visceral identity and personality, helping brands show up in more authentic, relevant, personalised ways.
LBB> Of course, you’re not doing this alone – you’ve got a great leadership team around you, including Stephanie Gyles who is taking on your old position. What does this collaboration look like?
Kevin> Stephanie is blazing her own trail at Dentsu. Since joining in August, she’s quickly established herself on many important mandates, has introduced fresh new ways of thinking, and has been a source of inspiration and leadership within the agency.
The way Steph and I work together is no different than anyone else on the team; I see collaboration as more of a partnership where we can support each other’s inherent strengths and develop each other’s skillset. Whether it’s through Steph or others on the team, I’m always learning from them, and I hope they’re learning from me (but you’d have to ask them).
LBB> Equally, you have the advantage of the network’s resources at your back – something you touched on earlier. Can you tell us more about what this will allow you to do in your role?
Kevin> Beyond the amazing array of talents, skills and capabilities within the network, we own the largest agency benchmark in Canada, which holds more than 10,000 attributes that gives us insight into Canadians, representative nationally, provincially and in key groups. This study helps us better understand consumer attitudes, behaviours and connections to global brands. When agencies are all pulling from the same syndicated sources of data, our proprietary benchmark study gives us a unique perspective into Canadian consumers, enabling us form a unique perspective of the consumer and build a solid foundation of insight to craft strategies from.
LBB> Finally, moving back to you – have you taken the time to celebrate your new position? How are you embracing the title of CSO?
Kevin> Spending the last 15 years working with and looking up to great strategy leaders, I always revered the CSO role, but had a hard time seeing myself in it. So, it kind of feels like learning to ride a bike as a kid – the thought of it feels daunting, but once you get on and ride, the whole experience feels equal parts rewarding, thrilling, and oddly natural.
