There are many models for how agencies work with clients: some operate at arm’s-length, and others bring their agency partners right into the kitchen—which is exactly what the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) did when it selected M^cMillan (McM) as an extension of its own internal team.

As its “inexternal” agency, M^cM helped the CPhA rethink how they position themselves within the Canadian health care sector, and then developed a bold new brand to help them communicate it.

“During the agency selection process, a couple of things really differentiated M^cMillan from the other agencies,” says Justin Scanlon, V.P. Growth & Chief Digital Information Officer. “In addition to our work as an association representing the pharmacist profession, we’re also Canada’s leading provider of drug and therapeutic information, providing critical data and insights to the larger pharmacy eco-system in Canada. They got that and were able to translate our values, our mission and our products into a fresh and dynamic new brand. The inexternal agency concept also allowed them to truly understand us as an organization while leveraging their strategic, creative and production resources.”

The timing couldn’t have been better either as CPhA was in the midst of developing its long-range strategic plan, and the new brand, which launched March 11th, would act as the perfect vehicle to announce their new direction as an organization.

“The entire brand design system is built around the notion that CPhA is bringing the world of pharmacy together,” remarks Jared Young, M^cMillan Creative Director, “and we communicate this by using very simple visual language. Getting to simple is actually rather hard. We are proud of where we landed and pleased to see the overwhelmingly positive response to the work.”