“Our Clients' Successes Are Our North Star”: Christopher Law Discusses His Move to King Ursa
Some big news came out of creative agency King Ursa late last month when it announced that Christopher Law would be joining as partner and co-CEO. An industry veteran with over 25 years of experience across digital sales, media and marketing, working for the likes of Bell Sympatico, Cue Digital Media and Media Pulse, this move represents his first time on the creative side of the business.
So, just what does a hire like this bring to the table for King Ursa? As it turns out, quite a lot. In this new role, Christopher will be doing everything from leveraging his expertise in building transformative media models for impactful storytelling, to bringing new capabilities, processes, resources and people to King Ursa. It’s a broad scope, for sure, but it’ll all be in service of redefining how the shop’s clients connect with their audiences, across all respective categories. And, at a time when the industry is at a crossroads, and the gap between media and creative has never been in greater need of bridging, this appointment could be the start of a very exciting 2025 for the agency.
To gain more insight into what this process will look like, find out what brought him creative agency-side, and what the early days have been like, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Christopher for a chat.
LBB> Christopher, congratulations on your new position at King Ursa! What inspired the decision to join, and what does this appointment mean to you?
Christopher> The team at King Ursa and its ability to develop standout creative work was the first thing that inspired me to join the company. I also observed that the agency had a successful track record, and that members of the team equated their success with how their campaigns performed against client objectives.
Additionally, the values of Paulo Salomao (my now co-CEO) have always aligned with mine, which further solidified my interest in joining. A team that approaches a client's business holistically and has the tools to solve business problems with a truly integrated approach is hard to find.
LBB> Notably, this is your first position on the creative agency side. What made now the right time to come over, and what are you hoping to accomplish?
Christopher> Advancements in technology and the increased complexity of a client's business made this the right time to look for a partnership that enabled a holistic approach to client business, where everything is measurable and underpinned by data and tech.
As for the second question, I have watched the industry evolve throughout my career, both for better and for worse. Currently, I think we're at a turning point in how we support and partner with our clients. I admire the disruption that King Ursa has brought to the creative side of the business. It feels right to join them, add media into the offering, and create a foundation for growth through technology and innovation.
LBB> What have the early days been like? How’s the settling in period going?
Christopher> There's definitely a learning curve involved. I'm focused on establishing the media practice and evaluating the organic opportunities that are available, all while starting to chase growth. At the same time, I'm also building out how we apply data and technology to fuel efficiency and efficacy for both our business, and our clients' outcomes.
LBB> Let’s talk a little more about this. How will you be working to continue delivering unified, outcome-driven solutions across categories?
Christopher> The key words are 'unified' and 'outcome-driven'. These are critical to the success of a truly integrated offering. We define the problem, agree across all stakeholders on what those outcomes are, and pursue them relentlessly across all verticals of the business. Our clients' successes are our North Star.
LBB> As part of this, how will you be drawing upon your past 25 years of experience to bridge the gap between media and creative?
Christopher> A big part of my past has been developing and outsourcing tech to drive advancements in media delivery. I can now leverage that experience and my industry contacts to scale media and creative delivery across the agency using AI and martech. This will allow us to relentlessly pursue excellence. But, the good news is that King Ursa already has talented in-house team members who have already been in development mode for the last three years.
LBB> And how do you think your background on both the media and brand side has positioned you to redefine how brands connect with audiences?
Christopher> I've always believed that ‘connections planning’ is one of the most crucial areas to analyse and gain insights from. The best way to develop the relationship between a brand and an audience is by focusing on the points of intersection. Advertising, the media it's communicated through, and the environment it's experienced in, are all components of connections planning. I plan to continue to build up on this way of thinking by bringing new capabilities, processes, resources and people to King Ursa.
LBB> Of course, to make this happen, you’re collaborating with a very strong leadership team at the agency. What does this look like? How do you help bring each other’s output up?
Christopher> There are already engaging and efficient processes and programmes in place that encourage leadership growth and collaboration. Through internal practices, executive team members are encouraged to support and respectfully challenge everyone to up their collective game, as well as contribute to exercises in appreciation and gratitude for efforts from colleagues.
On top of weekly initiatives, regular strategy sessions and workshops are on the calendar. In fact, the executive team will be participating in a two-day offsite at my house in Prince Edward County this week.
LBB> You have a lot of experience in building transformative media models. How will you be using this, plus your ability to leverage data, to accelerate King Ursa’s marketing approach?
Christopher> In addition to some tactics mentioned earlier, learnings from past successes, strategic contacts forged over the years, a tight vision, and true passion are all required for bringing to life an innovative vision like this.
King Ursa already has a unique approach to data collection and analysis, going beyond the traditional ways of getting to insights. I plan to expand that process from a media and media performance perspective by adding knowledge and bringing new partnerships, among other things. I believe this will help King Ursa by completing a larger and unique proposition puzzle.
LBB> With that in mind, can you tease what we can expect to see with the new USP and agency branding, expected to release later this year?
Christopher> We're excited to have landed at a powerful and unique articulation that supports our mission. Although I can't share much yet, you might have gotten a small taste from our ‘coming soon’ web page.
LBB> Finally, moving back to you, is there anything you’d like your new peers to know about you, or fun stuff you’d like to share?
Christopher> Being an avid offshore sailor, I have learned many lessons that have come to serve me through life. One of my favourite quotes that has helped me deal with many things, both personally and professionally, is “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” That’s by Jimmy Dean.
