Our Story We're called Rethink for a reason

When we founded Rethink in 1999 we realized the last thing the world needed was another ad agency.

That's even more true now. Today’s digital media world means people are active participants in all forms of marketing— not simply passive observers. This is forcing the biggest transformation in advertising in the last 50 years. Business as usual just won’t cut it.

Right from the start, we designed Rethink to be an ideas company, not an ad agency. We express our ideas through all forms of communication, so when we talk about advertising and design, we’re also thinking about online experiences, store designs and staff uniforms. 

Our primary role for our clients is to create work that gets talked about— with customers, with staff and in the press. In our experience, getting talked about is the first step in getting results.

The agency rethought— now in Toronto

While our headquarters are in Vancouver, our scope is truly national. Many of our clients do work right across the country— in both English and French.

To handle work in the Quebec market, we’ve had an account manager and creative staff on the ground in Montreal for several years.

Over half our business is currently headquartered in Toronto. To help service these clients (and new ones), we recently opened a full-service office on Spadina Avenue. Led by a new generation of digital leaders, our Toronto office has a growing team and full access to the rest of Rethink’s creative, strategic and production resources. To find out more about our Toronto team, click here.

Low overhead means more creative thinkers

When you walk through our doors, you’ll find everyone in the same open-plan offices, with desks by Ikea. Our overhead is significantly lower than traditional agencies. We use the money we save to invest in smart thinkers. In fact, we have one of the highest ratios of writers, art directors and designers of any agency anywhere. This means our clients get better ideas and more hands-on attention.

We’ve also eliminated the “silos” that plague traditional agencies. We don’t have separate divisions for design or online. Our specialists in these areas sit with the rest of our creative department.

Rethink has fewer layers and less bureaucracy than most large agencies. In most cases, one account manager handles a project from top to bottom, from advertising to design to online. You get one dedicated person instead of a revolving door of new faces. And that means greater efficiency and accountability.

We put profit at risk over results

We believe communications partners should be far more accountable for achieving results for clients— by putting their profit at risk. That’s the idea behind our Rethink Rebate. Once we agree on a fee with a client, we set part of the money aside (up to 5 percent). Our clients then create a set of criteria, based on hard sales numbers and other measures. Based on our performance, we’re paid all, some, or none of the rebate. Every year, we have more money tied up in rebates than we pay in rent.