The Sid Lee Story

THE SID LEE STORY
Who we are and what we do
Dear readers, Our goal through this magazine is to share with our clients and collaborators a peek info life in our ateliers and, more importantly, the passion of the artisans that work in them. You will possibly notice that we call our magazines fanzines. The word fanzine comes from the combination of fan and magazine. A fanzine is a DIY artisanal publication created by a person passionate about a certain subject. Generally published at irregular intervals, fanzines are printed in small quantities and distributed to a select audience. We call our magazines this since they are done in a similar spirit of editorial freedom and exploration. Sid Lee artisans are free to create fanzines about their projects and interests which are then distributed to the relevant audiences. They are written, designed and printed internally. Many other Sid Lee fanzines present additional aspects of our organization: our work, our Sid Lee Collective incubator, the cities that we have ateliers in (Montral, Amsterdam, Paris and Toronto), etc. Feel free to ask for any of them or go online at sidlee.com for electronic versions and related videos. The Sid Lee team
NOM DE LA SECTION - 2 -
The sid lee story

Who we are and what we do
Sid Lee in a nutshell - 8 I was there! - Jean-Franois Fortin - 16 Heres to us! - olivier Moreaux - 20 No boundaries - Jean-Franois Bouchard & Bertrand cesvet - 22 Skype is the limit - niels van de Walle, harM sas & lukas derksen - 26 Post-it - PhiliPPe Meunier - 28 Organizing chaos - ronald tanguay - 32 Interviewer interviewed - laurent laPierre - 34 Growing family - Martin gauthier, george giaMPuranis, Ptula Bouchard & kariM kendJouh - 36 Sid Lee Architecture - Jean Pelland & Martin leBlanc -40 Sid Lee in Paris - sylvain thirache -42 Sid Lee in Toronto - vito Piazza -44 Creative nomads - alex Pasini, Julie Provenal -46 Are your palms sweaty? - Franois lacoursire - 50 Sex will get you anywhere - Ptula Bouchard - 54 Manager in for questioning - daniel Fortier - 56 Lunch is served - gianMarco colannino - 60 Contact - 62
Sid Lee in a N utshell

Here is a basic overview of our company. please visit WWW.sidlee.coM for more information about our team and tHe work we do.
basic information
Year founded: 1993 Number of professionals: 450 Ownership: Independent, privately held Area of expertise: Leveraging creativity to attain commercial objectives Websites: sidlee.com sidleearchitecture.com jimmylee.tv Ateliers: Montral 75 Queen Street, Suite 1400 Montral, Quebec H3C 2N6 Phone: +1 514-282-2200 Amsterdam Gerard Doustraat 72 1072 VV Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0) 206 623030 Paris 12, rue du Sentier 75002 Paris France Phone: +33 (1) 44 88 83 90 Toronto 55 Mill Street Building 5, Suite 500 Toronto, Ontario M5A 3C4 Phone: +1 416-421-4200 Austin Suite D-102 3601 South Congress Austin, Texas 78704 United States Phone: +1 647-283-3357
Contacts: New Business: jfbouchard@sidlee.com Human Resources: cv@sidlee.com Media Relations: media@sidlee.com
SID LEE IN A NUTSHELL - 8 -
wHo we are
We conceive and communicate brand experiences. Sid Lee develops brand experiencesby creating products, services and spacesand markets them through advertising, experiential marketing, branded content, and interactive communications. To embed brands, products, spaces, and services with more meaning and more resonance, we have assembled one of the most multidisciplinary creative teams in the world under one roof. Our group is led by a team of more than 25 partners. This democratized approach to management has allowed Sid Lee to recruit and retain some of the best talent in different fields. It has also benefited our clients by keeping teams decisional and entrepreneurial.
wHat we do
We offer commercial creativity services. Commercial creativity is how we define our service offering, since it encompasses all forms of businessrelated creative disciplines without the traditional boundaries and silo thinking between different crafts. What makes us unique is the fact that we have been refining this approach for 10 years, long before it was fashionable to do or say so. We modestly think we have gained a tremendous head start in this evolved way of managing brands. Broadly speaking, our services consist of helping clients conceive brand experiences (products, services and spaces) and communicate them (branding, advertising, interactive and experiential marketing). More specifically, our services include:
wHats our reputation

A few of the distinctions weve received Canadian Agency of the Year 2009 & 2010 Marketing Magazine Best International Agency in the World finalist 2009 Ad Age Agency of the Year Nominee (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) Strategy Magazine Canadian Interactive Agency of the Year 2005 One of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada National Post Best of Show (2001, 2004, 2006) Canadian Digital Marketing Award More than 300 creative awards from around the world
Conceiving brand experiences Architectural and retail design Entertainment and attraction design Industrial design Communicating brand experiences Branding Advertising Interactive marketing Experiential marketing Branded content
wHere we work
We work in more than 12 cities around the world. Our ateliers are based in Montral, Amsterdam, Paris, Toronto and Austin but our clients are based all over the world. Our teams travel regularly to North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to visit clients and work with suppliers. Our head office is located in Montral, an emerging international creative city that bridges North America and Europe with its singular mix of French-speaking culture and its multicultural fabric.
How we work
One of the most multidisciplinary teams in the world.
wHo we work witH

We work with like-minded people and companies.
We leverage the power of multidisciplinary thin- Sid Lee enjoys long-term relationships with topking by assembling artisans from different fields to tier clients in more than 10 cities around the world. an extent previously unheard of. Big, small, local or international, our ideal clients Here is a sample of the talents we have working as share one commonality: forward thinking. unified teams under the leadership of generalist thinkers: Art Directors Architects Strategists Industrial Designers Programmers Analysts Illustrators Editors Writers Screenwriters Producers Motion Designers Information Architects Interior Designers Graphic Designers Content Managers Experiential Producers Directors
COnCEIvIng
Brand Experiences
+ COmmunICaTIng
Brand Experiences
= COmmERCIaL
Creativity
Marketing Magazine,
2009/2010 Agency of the year
Keith Degrace,
red Bull canadas vice-President oF Marketing Theyve done some amazing creative work that theyve been recognized for, but the most important aspect of our relationship is that we really engage them in our business. They challenge us and provide us with different angles of thought, which is ultimately what you look for in an ideal agency partner, beyond just the straight creative.
Ad Age,
2009 Agency finalist for International Agency of the year
WHaT pEOpLE SaY

Here is a sample of what our clients and the press say about us
Guy Lalibert,
Founder cirque du soleil Two words: they rock.
Claude Foisy,
videotrons vice-President oF Brand ManageMent and content We can talk to Sid Lee about social networks, mobile apps, creativity in our sponsorships, traditional advertising, content integration everything. It would be much more difficult to execute at the same level without this kind of model. At the end of the day, we measure our success in sales. Sid Lee is not only cretive but also knows that what tey do is execute our brand mission and values to help customers experience and ultimately buy our products. And the results are there.
Lee Clow,
chairMan and gloBal director tBWa WordWide Theyre a very special kind of a new breed of advertising model. They understand the entertainment aspect of new media and are not just technologits. Theyre creative communicators, using a lot of different media to put brands out there with some very imaginative stuff. Theyre really growing the right model and I admire what theyve done so far. Everything now blurs together and I think its the reality of the future of our business. Anything that touches the audience is advertising. They come at it from a very different angle than we do but I believe theyre totally on the right track in terms of how you need to serve brands today.
Michel-Andr St-Jean,
saq director oF Marketing Wine is a lifestyle product so you have to be present in consumers lives not only in print, but online and mobile and Sid Lee was the driving force behind that idea. As a marketer, youre not looking at just what the next campaign should be, you take all the points of contact from a print ad to pointof-purchase into consideration. If you look at the brands that do it best, like Apple for example, the brand integration between their retail store and online offering is the king of consistency you aim for. And Sid Lee has been very good at that for us.
Nicole Vollebregt,
adidas vice-President gloBal Brand Marketing sPort style Adidas is a very diverse brand spanning hardcore performance to high-end fashion and Sid Lee has shown a willingness to embrace the brand and use it as the starting point of the creative. The work speaks more clearly now about who we are. This year we gave them Sport Performance and they were quick to prove to us that they understand how to bring that side of the brand to life as well.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY - 15 -
I was
there!
We Were the underdogs in the advertising World.
Jean-Franois Fortin is vice-President and Partner at sid lee.
Tell us your story I come from Quebec City and moved to Montral. I was working in the retail field, in the operations sector, for San Francisco Group. I was in charge of the male fashion department and thats how I first met Jean-Franois Bouchard, at a Les Ailes de la Mode boutique in Brossard. Jean-Franois must have been about 25 or 26 years old, and he bought himself a white Giorgio Armani suit for 1,500 bucks (laugh)! At the time, he was mostly the intellectual type, with his thick glasses, and he had chosen the typical actors suit. I never saw him wear it again after that! When I was looking for a new job, I contacted him and we made an appointment at his office for 7 a.m.! I wasnt quite familiar with Montral yet and I left home at 5 a.m., from Saint-Lambert, on the South Shore. I, of course, got there at 5:20 a.m. My girlfriend had given me notes on the graphic production chain and graphic design. I had time to go over them. I stepped into a somewhat disorderly building at the corner of Beaubien and Du Parc. At the end of a dusty hallway, I pushed the door open at 6:50 a.m., falling into the sound of jazz music, and Jean-Franois welcomed me saying (imitating him), how about an espresso? I was immediately charmed. We had a very pleasant conversation during which print production never even came up. I had more experience working in large organizations, but here, I felt at ease. The details spoke to me: I was touched by the offices, with the pool table, the baby-foot table, an open area, and a small espresso machine. You could already feel a certain culture, a collegiality. People spoke to each other. It was difficult to know who did what, since everyone pretty much did everything. I was really attracted by this and especially by the people who worked there. It was obvious that the firm didnt start out with muchnot really any
clients, money or even experiencebut you could sense its strong potential. I immediately noticed the huge contrast with the ad agencies I had visited in the past. Jean-Franois called me back that afternoon and invited me to come by for an entire day of tests on Word, Excel and PowerPoint. He then gave me a text on Generation X, which I had to summarize and then present in English and in French. Me, the guy from Quebec City My English wasnt that great. I invented a huge excuse to gain an extra week and have time to learn. I found books on the softwares I would be tested on. I borrowed a computer and practised every night after work. Finally, D-Day went off without a hitch. I didnt do my English presentation and I was chosen. Jean-Franois offered me a co-ordination internship, which I accepted. When I started, I was the twelfth employee. At the time, it was more of a design studio. We had barely started doing any advertising. Looking back, I realize we were actually a branding agency before the term even really existed. Besides Jean-Franois Bouchard, I was the only one working in the account group. Everyone else was a creative. Along with Philippe Meunier, we teamed up with very complementary partners. We acted like experts in fields we knew absolutely nothing about! Nothing was handed to us on a silver platter, but it enabled us to develop tools of our very own. At the time, we were the underdogs in the advertising field. We had C-class clients and we were attracting very courageous customers who were looking to stand out. For example, Sleeman beer: the biggest hurdle we had overcome in Quebec was that it came from Ontario. So we capitalized on this by using the boss as the spokesperson, even though he couldnt speak French. And it really worked!
I WAS THErE! - 16 -
We also made quite a few mistakes! Since none of us had ever worked in a firmnot even for ten minuteswe often reinvented the wheel or learned things the hard way I remember that, at the very start, Jean-Franois thought an account manager was responsible for the firms accounting. Lets just say we had a lot to learn! Luckily, right after me, very competent people like Bertrand Cesvet, Franois Lacoursire, Martin Gauthier and Daniel Fortier joined the team, which gave us a bit more rigour. I also remember that, 13 years ago, we had a webmaster. Honestly, besides playing video games, I dont know what the guy did, but at the time, we already believed in it. We were the only ones to believe in the Internet. What started off with 12 employees has now evolved to 400. I went through some great and some terrible times, namely when the interactive bubble burst and we had to let go up to fifty people. What stood out most in all that wasnt a matter of money, but rather the bonds we forged. Fifteen years later, were not tourtires from Lac Saint-Jean anymore, but the culture has remained! At the time, I was in charge of hiring everyone in the account group and what was most important wasnt necessarily their skills, but rather how they fit in. We were looking for people who would match our culture. And thats still true today: were driven forward by this cohesion that people have with one another. Its surely one of the secrets behind our culture. No one can reproduce it. Our love for the product is real and thats no bull. I changed along with Sid Lee, developed other skills, a raison dtre, and a new way of acting, too. I do less advertising now. I do Web, experiential and event marketing But Im sure that wed still hire a Jean-Franois Fortin with as little experience as I first had. We try to combine lots of people with atypical paths, to not cut our ties with themon the contrary. Looking back, Im not really nostalgic, even though the first years of my career were remarkable. At the beginning, everything had to be built from scratch. Now, were entering a new era, with very large clients. Its different. Its moving forward. Today, Id make the same choices again without a moments hesitation. If it were with the same people, Jean-Franois, Philippe, Bertrand and the others, Id do it all over again without looking back.
Sid Lees story
from 1993 to today
1993 _ Two students launch Sid Lee (called Diesel back then). First client: Greek restaurant around the corner. 1996 _ Bertrand Cesvet joins. He was one of the first clients. 1997 _ First large-scale campaign for Sleeman is a runaway hit in Quebec. Puts Sid Lee on the advertising map. 1998 _ Agency ventures more aggressively into interactive marketing and merges with Stratgo, an interactive Web firm (partners are still with Sid Lee 10 years later). 2000 _ Interactive grows exponentially, and Sid Lee wins Cirque du Soleil interactive assignment against 5 international shops. 2001 _ The .com collapse hurts Sid Lee badly. Partners forgo salaries to keep shop alive and decide to put more effort into advertising. 2002 2006 _ Sid Lee is back with a vengeance. Wins numerous advertising accounts (Loto-Qubec, Gaz Mtro, Tourisme Montral, IGA, etc.) and awards while being a leader in interactive. Interactive Agency of the Year in 2005. More and more assignments from abroad (MGM Mirage, Wines of France, etc.). Staff grows from 50 to 150. 2007 _ Sid Lee drops the name Diesel. Wins numerous new assignments in retail design, architectural design, advertising and interactive. Sid Lee Collective is launched as a creative incubator. Wins $20M Socit des Alcools du Qubec (SAQ) account. 2008 _ Sid Lee wins global adidas Originals account and prepares launch of Amsterdam atelier. 2009 _ Sid Lee opens a shop in Paris and is selected as one of the top 4 international agencies (Ad Age). 2010 _ Sid Lee now launches in Toronto, inaugurating a new office in the storied Historic Distillery District.
I WAS THErE! - 19 -
Heres to us!
having Fun is Part oF their culture.

was their creative approach. They were a bunch of happily crazy folks with a lot of audacity, but also with a realistic look into the future. They are bold visionaries. Their international success is proof of that today. Sid Lee is an incubator for strategies and creativity. You walk in, then walk out completely enlightened. is there a link BetWeen Wines oF France and the Parties that take Place at sid lee? _ Before working with them, they were already well known for their parties. I remember a memorable party they had organized at Stereo. There were dancers behind a large white veil who were playing with fire and then, all of a sudden, the veil caught on fire. I got really scared and asked myself, what kind of firm is this? Another anecdote about an intense moment with Sid Lee: we were at the kick-off party for Zumanity in Las Vegas, on the roof of the New York-New York hotel. Around 5 a.m., Bertrand Cesvet got me in a judo hold, just for fun. I flew right over him and fell flat on my back. He laughed, saying, I just threw a client on his back, I just threw a client on his back! Its part of their culture to have funtheres no hierarchy in that culture. Sid Lee enables individuals to express themselves. Theres a structure, but its not a traditional one. Individuals are respected for their expertise, regardless of their position. There is no notion of top to bottom. The communication channels are well respected.
Olivier Moreaux is President oF soPexa north aMerica.
you started doing Business With sid lee in 1997. can you tell us What tyPe oF Mandate it Was For? _ Well, my first pitch with Sid Lee was in 1996, for a product called Floc de Gascogne. The project never saw the light of day, but this initial contact was very interesting. At the time, their offices were on Saint-Paul Street and when you entered the building, you really felt a shift in dynamics. The president was referred to as the chief pump attendant. There was a Texaco gas pump at the reception, the front of a Mercedes sticking out of the wall in the conference room It piqued peoples curiosity, and thats why I went back to them. The first contract carried out was a Wines of France campaign in Ontario. We were looking for a firm with a global vision of Canada and not simply focused on Quebec, and Sid Lee had anglophones working in-house. The selected campaign was very strong, with nothing ordinary about it and with very deep black and white. Then, starting in 2000, we were looking for worldwide solutions for Wines of France. Were an international corporation based in Paris and we decided to create the interactive platform in Montral. We entered via the Web and then created the graphic platform, the brand and the identity in 23 languages. At the time, this was not a traditional approach. It was already one of Sid Lees strengths to have well understood the com and .com relationship and to have integrated these two. you Werent aFraid oF Working With PeoPle Who didnt have Much exPerience? _ What I saw in them
Jean-Franois Bouchard is the President oF sid lee While Bertrand Cesvet is its chairMan, senior Partner. they ansWer a FeW questions aBout their Journey at sid lee and Where the coMPany is heading.
reJecting No Borders BOun BetWeen disciPlines DaRIES and PeoPle.

hoW did you guys Meet? J.-F.B. _ More than ten years ago, I had a meeting to show our portfolio to a company located deep in the Quebec countryside. When I got there, I realized that another important beverage company was also headquartered in the same remote area. From its parking lot, I cold-called Bertrand, who was heading marketing there. To my surprise, he immediately agreed to meet me. When I got to his office, he was in a meeting with several collaborators but interrupted everything to look at our work. I thought it was a real sign of interest on his part but I later found out that Bertrand cannot sit still in a meeting for more than 20 minutes. I was simply a welcome distraction in his usual chaotic meeting management! B.C. _ I did like your stuff, though. We ended up working together and we came to realize that we had a similar vision of the future. What Was your vision at the tiMe? B.C. _ We believed that agencies did not get what was coming. In the 60s and 70s, agencies used to act as beacons to guide their clients into the future. We felt that this leadership advisory role had been lost over
Blow up
borders
Mix the
unmixable
the years. Therefore, our aim was quite simple: we wanted to anticipate and provoke change to be ahead of consumers and marketers instead of the omnipresent lagging that we observed in traditional agencies. J.-F.B. _ This was both very wise and completely naive! With our youthful energy, we did not realize how much of an effort we would have to make to deliver on such a bold ambition. We had to take huge risks. Talking the talk is one thing, walking the walk is a different matter entirely. B.C. _ The matter was further complicated by the fact that most of us had never actually set foot in an agency! Plus, our clients were not exactly top-tier When I joined, Jean-Franois and Philippe had assembled a motley crew of greasy spoon restaurants, plumbers and the like Needless to say, we had a lot of account collection to do. J.-F.B. _ Those very humble beginnings were very formative. We realized rapidly that it was much easier to criticize what others did than to do better. The truth of the matter is that our work was not that good at the time. Other agencies probablyand rightly sohad a good laugh at some of our attempts at reinventing the wheel! But the underlying thinking was sound and
NO BOUNDArIES - 22 -
slowly brewing. Through good and bad times, we remained focused on the approach we had chosen And we perfected it. What Was this aPProach? J.-F.B. _ The first thing we realized very early on was that consumers think differently than agencies and many marketers do, even to this day When is the last time that you, as a consumer, said, oh, great piece of direct marketing while opening an envelope on your doorstep, or this is clever interactive marketing when visiting a website, or nice direct-response 30-second ad while watching TV? Consumers dont think like that. To them, those are all interactions with a brand. They dont categorize or compartmentalize like the industry does. Therefore, our core idea was to be customer-centric and embrace whatever means we had to in order to connect with consumers. J.-F.B. _ In 1995, we were amongst the first to truly embrace interactive, for example. In 2001, it almost killed us, but we refused to let go of the expertise even when we were bleeding badly. We could have gone under but we knew that consumers were into the Web even if clients and financial markets were temporarily trying to get out of it! Today, it represents a staggering 50% of our staff. B.C. _ Two things have defined how we work today: a complete rejection of the traditional silos and boundaries between disciplines and a refusal of the advertising-centric model. It took us almost ten years to effectively mix disciplines as varied as interactive, architecture, industrial design, advertising, design, and many more. Our strength lies in our ability
to put together teams of multidisciplinary talents led by strategists with a holistic vision. Most agencies today say they do that because it is in vogue but they do not have those 10 years of painstaking mistakes and continuous improvements. Some clients have said to us, others say the same thing as you do, but you have actually done it. Needless to say, thats music to our ears. What is sid lee today? B.C. _ People have a hard time categorizing us. Evolved ad agency? Multidisciplinary design team? Interactive Web developer? Creativity corporation? Innovation consultants? It is a bit complicated to box our company into a current field. But it is rather simple to explain what we do. Essentially, we do two things: we help clients conceive brand experiences and we market them. We strongly believe that companies must embed their products, services and spaces with more potent storytelling. What we are saying, in effect, is that the product itself is part of the message and that communication specialists should be instrumental in crafting more meaningful experiences that consumers will want to make a part of the personal narrative to drive word-of-mouth. In a world of diminishing mass media efficiency, this is becoming more important than ever. The days of churning out undifferentiated products and buying your way out of trouble with mass media are simply gone. hoW do you do that? J.-F.B. _ To develop brand experiences, we leverage brand strategy, experiential marketing as well as ar-
chitectural and industrial design. When it comes to marketing products and services, we assemble all of the communication skills: advertising, design, interactive, and experiential marketing to name but a few. We define our services as com mercial creativity. It is the best moniker we have found to describe what we do. Basically, our aim is to offer all forms of creativity that can help corporations attain commercial objectives. It is a departure from the current state of affairs. Right now, when corporations need business-related creativity, they go to separate firms for architecture, industrial design, branding or advertising. Some of those professionals are not versed in marketing and do not use the understanding of consumers as the starting point of the process. The end result is incoherence in the brand experience. To be fair, I must admit some clients avoid such incoherence by acting as the connecting glue between the parts but thats a tall order and it often fails. hoW do you Manage such a diverse grouP oF talents? B.C. _ Our core competency is managing diverse creative talents. We believe creativity is a team sport and we act accordingly. For each assignment, a team is assembled to fit the task at hand. The team is led by a strategist and creative director who act as generalists. Then, the required specialized talents are brought togheter. Therefore, a writer might be matched with a director, a multimedia artist and an architect if the assignment involves creating branded interactive projections in a hotel,
for example. As many as 50 project teams can coexist since our 120 creative professionals (out of a staff of 250) belong to a number of different teams, depending on their skills. This way of working has allowed our clients to benefit from holistic thinking and to steer clear of egodriven creative types. Jean-Franois once said to a very talented guy, you are possibly one of the best players I have seen. The young man was obviously flattered by the compliment and beaming at the thought of the beloved awards he felt he had won single-handedly that year. Then, Jean-Franois added, the problem is you play golf and we happen to play hockey here. Eventually, he quit. Whats next For sid lee? J.-F.B. _ The company is becoming more and more multicultural and we now work in more than 12 cities around the world. We now have close to 20 languages spoken and we hire great people from all over the globe. It has already started to transform our culture. We need the simultaneous translation services when we do our agency-wide training sessions! I think we havent even begun to feel the impact of what I call internationalization from within. New ideas will flourish, different sensibilities will impact our view of the world, and new ways of doing things will emerge. I think thats fascinating. B.C. _ I think change is whats in store for us. We have a quasi-obsessive thirst for change. When things are going great for us and the sailing becomes smooth, we try new things. I hope we will challenge the status quo for as long as we exist.
SKYpE is the LImIT

sid lee Brings its oWn vision, Which is not dutch.
skyPe intervieW With niels van de Walle, harM sas and lukas derksen. niels and harM Joined the ranks at sid lee in aMsterdaM tWo years aFter their dutch colleague, lukas, BecaMe a MeMBer oF the Montral teaM, aFter having decided to Move in Pursuit oF a Pretty queBecker. migrants and students. Over the last five years, it has become home to many artists and small businesses. Were the first international agency to set up shop here, with a very different approach. The spaces are very small, between 30 and 45 square meters. Our office will occupy 600 square meters, which is very rarely seen in this neighbourhood. Lukas _ In the centre are the boutique, the gallery and the bistro and our offices are all around. Its an open space for everyone. Well be working in front of the public, which is very unusual. Well be able to brainstorm in the gallery while visitors read a magazine. dutch design is aFraid oF no one. hoW does sid lee Plan on standing out? Niels _ Sid Lee brings its own vision, which is not Dutch. Yes, Amsterdam is a creative hub, but our offer is still completely unique. It is a combination of disciplines on a level that is not standard practice here and thats what makes the difference. do you really Bike to Work? Harm _ I have two transportation modes. The first is a small boat, which I use to get to the office by way of the water canals and the other is my bike. Niels _ As for myself, I have three ways of getting around. The first is my bike, the second, when Im late, is my race bike, and the third is a large bike with seats for my children. Lukas _ I must be the only Dutchman who hates bikes. My friends mock me, but I prefer my car. Maybe thats why I live in Montral! Why choose aMsterdaM as the First Foreign oFFice? Harm _ There are three reasons, I think. The first reason is that the Montral firm wanted to offer new opportunities for its talents, in order to keep them. We can offer them this experience here, at the other end of the globe. At the same time, Amsterdam has a large pool of tremendous talent, which makes creative exchanges between offices possible. The second reason is that Sid Lee already has clients in Europe, such as adidas and Cirque du Soleil. A local presence will therefore be very useful. The third reason is purely based on the meeting we had, on the feeling we shared. It has nothing to do with any development plan. Whats most surprising are the similarities between Quebec and Holland. We are used to dealing with very different cultures, such as between the Dutch and the Germans, or the French, all less than one hour away. But we feel very close to Quebeckers. We are two emerging countries, we are used to travelling, to setting up shop in foreign countries. Lukas _ As for me, I was very happy to be able to visit the family! But seriously, we had wanted to work together for years. What Will your oFFices look like? Harm _ I dont think its ever been done in the past. Its an office but also a boutique, a gallery and a bistro. The district were located in is exceptional. Its called De Pijp (the pipe); its a sort of Latin district in Amsterdam. It was very popular 10 years ago and was mostly inhabited by im-
SkYPE IS THE LIMIT - 26 -
SkYPE IS THE LIMIT - 27 -
Philippe Meunier is creative chieF and co-Founder oF sid lee.

(Each of his answers comes with a Post-it note on which he sums up his explanation.)
IT
Post-
What does coMMercial creativity Mean in your Work? _ Simple. Ill draw it for you on a Post-it in just a sec. Commercial creativity is having ideas and bringing those ideas to consumers. Until recently, people in our industry just had to create ads, but now, clients have to come to us a lot earlier in the process. We jump in the game sooner and start by defining the idea behind the product or service. Then we design the product, the packaging and the environment in which it will appear (such as the store it will be displayed in). Only then do we start work on the mass and interactive communications. The brand should always be presented consistently, using a unique approach and the same kind of language every time. That way, the different specialists working on the project wont each interpret the main idea differently. At Sid Lee, all the disciplines get involved, but they always tell just one story. are all Brands ready to get on Board With you? _ They should be. Currently, the biggest problem is that consumers are han-
ded messages that are very watered-down. Competition results in copycat products in the different categories, and we lose the DNA of a brand. Too many signals are sent. When you align all these signals, you help consumers understand the foundation of the brand. As companies become increasingly global, they get copied, which makes it hard for consumers to understand their values. A company thats done a great job is Apple. From their brochures to their interface, they always use the same font. From the design and the engineering to the stores and the ads, everything revolves around the same story. One of the worst examples are American car companies. They put 32 models on the market and each has a different intention. Consumers dont know who they are dealing with anymore. Their cars dont have much personality. Why is MulticulturalisM iMPortant? _ For me, the creative group is like this enormous garden. We can plant a row of carrots next to a row of potatoes next to a row of turnips. Carrots will
POST-IT - 28 -
POST-IT - 29 -
always be carrots, but the smells of the different vegetables combine and the soil changes. Culture is transmitted and new flavours are created. The fact that we have people from around the world at Sid Lee generates a new culture. We make a point of putting these people together to invent something new. Without this multiculturalism, we would not produce the same quality work. It would be impossible. Why do you have such MultidisciPlinary teaMs? _ Multidisciplinarity is directly linked to com mercial creativity. It allows us to approach problems from different angles. The typical advertising trilogy creative director, copywriter and art director tends to always see issues from the same angle. When you work with an industrial designer, architect, historian or clown, you get radically different points of view. Classical communication work always produces the same cake. Sometimes its a banana cake, sometimes strawberry or maple If were lucky its chocolate. But its always a cake. In our case, though, someone around the table will suddenly suggest making souffl. Then everyone starts talking to each other, saying, it looks like a cake, but its not a cake. Its really good! This is what brands need. This approach is a big plus. And the time is right for us to do this. Where do you recruit eMPloyees? _ Like all good farmers, we first look to see whats growing locally. Montral is chock-full of talent. We go to the creative schools at all the universities around here: UQAM, McGill,
Concordia. Then we combine these folks with staff from elsewhere. Weve had a lot of people come up from the United States and France, due to the fact that it is easier to get them work visas. We looked at the best schools: Pasadena Art School in Los Angeles, Creative Circus in Atlanta, Miami Ad School, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons, Portfolio Center. And since last year weve also done some scouting in Europe at cole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, Hyper Island School of Digital Media in Sweden and Konstfackskolan. The Internet lets us view creative portfolios from around the world and is a huge help to our recruiting process. We like to seek out unknown species from the U.S. or Europe and try to cross-pollinate them with our local species to get new types of creatives. Its kind of like California wine. They use French grapes, but since their growing conditions are totally different, the American vintners crossed their local grapes with the foreign ones like alchemists to make an all-new kind of wine. Thats what were doing here at Sid Lee. Whats an atelier? _ Its a new working approach for the creative process at Sid Lee. French for workshop, an atelier is a place where ideas are born. Its where we put things up, we draw, we ask questions. Our atelier space is about 60 square meters, with a maximum of 6 people stationed there. Each individual has to bring a specialty to the project. There is a centre table that the different specialists sit around. Then we literally place
cross-Pollinate our local sPecies to create neW tyPes oF creatives.

the problem in front of them and they try to solve it. The walls have charts and screens with wireless access. So its primarily a physical space inspired by the greats of the Renaissance who shared atelier spaces with their young apprentices. Everyone participated, but the work was signed by the head of the workshop. After each project, we take down the atelier and put up another one. Theres always a beginning and an end. People are nomadic. Our creative work has four phases. The first is planning. The leader of the creative atelier, the strategic planner and the account director work together to delimit the territory, much like archaeologists do. If you go into the atelier during that phase, youll notice that the walls are covered with images of global developments in that category, as well as whats being done in other industries. For the second step, which is creation, six members of the creative team are called in to pick through the ground for rocks, which represent ideas. During that phase, were just down to paper and pencils. Then we choose the best rock and each specialist goes to work in their area of expertise. We push the idea and put together a presentation, which is laid out on a long scroll. At that point, we invite the client to the atelier so they can come and see what weve done. Then, in the third phase, we bring in the computers and do the design. Finally, when everyone agrees, we go into production. Thats how the rock is cut to become a diamond. Whats the story Behind your Postit sketches? _ Its such a small and simple thing, and you can only write one thing on it. In communications, if someone is able to understand an idea on a Post-it, its a good idea. For me, it helps summarize my ideas, whether its a management issue or an ideation process. Once a year, I give everyone in the creative team a Post-it with a drawing or a word on it. Its supposed to remind them of their goals. Its simple, its clear, its sticky Its perfect!
POST-IT - 30 -
POST-IT - 31 -
Organizing CHaOS
What is your exact title at sid lee? _ Im a jack-of-alltrades. At one point, Jean-Franois Bouchard had given me the title of omnipotent technician, as a joke. Its a big name, but I feel more like a jack-ofall-trades. Its what I do best. What is your role? _ I take care of the order and the mess in the company, which is very well organized in terms of processes, but often chaotic where the workspace is concerned. For example, we had set up a temporary room for a large international project. There were 12 employees, who mustve spoken 8 languages, all working in this room. I have no idea how they were able to understand each other! At first, everything was all neat and tidy, and then the chaos set inholes in the walls, fruit thrown all over the place, pistachio shells, Smarties and orange peels on the floor. People were letting themselves go creatively, so I had nothing to say, except that I had to make sure that they were happy and that the work was moving forward. But we still had to maintain some type of order, to keep them under control, or things couldve gotten even worse.
theyre over the toP. they have great ideas, But theyre all over the Place.
Ronald Tanguay is a Jack-oF-all-trades at sid lee. with documents is lying around on the floor, we need to know if we have the right to throw it out, archive it or shred it. The information cannot be disseminated just anywhere. It has to be kept a bit of a secret. But I havent encountered any such incidents yet. Were in a sPecial sMall rooM right noW. could you Please exPlain Where We are? _ The famous Collectivo room. It looks like the crooked house at Belmont park, back in the day. Its a small chaotic room with a door thats too low and everything the creative staff needs to create to their hearts content. The room, which was very nice at first, became an exceptional workroom, so I no longer take care of it, housekeeping-wise, because we like its messy look. There are crooked shelves, walls punctured with holes, splashes of paint Its kind of wild, but the creative staff appreciates it.
that Means the rest oF sid lee is too neat and tidy? _ No, the firm isnt too neat and tidy. Theres always something stirring up somewhere. The people work hard and things never stop around here. They call it an atelier. I think its the right term for it, even if it means that I keep tidying the place up Who is Messier, the creative staFF or the consulting all the time! staFF? _ The creative staff. Theyre over the top, they have good ideas, but theyre all over the i heard they Write Just aBout anyWhere _ Yes, on place, like Marie-laine Benot, the art director. the white boards, on the blackboard doors, on the In her small space, she works 7 days a week, windows From time to time, we have to remove 12 hours a day, I think. I always see her here when whats written on the windows, so Im the one I come over during the evening and on weekends. who cleans them. But I always ask for permission Her desk is complete chaos, but theres a personal before erasing anything, even if its been there for order to it. Ive never touched it, even though its four or five months, just in case. the busiest desk in the entire company, and Im very proud of her, because I believe its an organi- Who exactly is sid lee? _ A very cultivated teenager. Crafty, bursting with imagination and energy. zed mess for her. She knows her way around it. Kind of like a delinquent graffiti artist. Yeah, sid lee isnt aFraid oF esPionage? _ If a box filled thats about right.
Interviewer
In 2007, Laurent Lapierre, Ph.D. and holder of the Pierre-Pladeau leadership chair at HEC Montral, did an interview with one of Sid Lees leaders. When it saw how in-depth and accurate the text was, the team realized that Laurent Lapierre and faithful sidekick Jacqueline Cardinal were peerless interviewers, because of their passion for the ties between creativity and entrepreneurship. A seed was sown. What if the duo were to explain the companys history and thinking to new recruits?
interviewed
Laurent Lapierre Ph.d. made up of the combination of 15 firm partners, who shape Sid Lee into what they collectively want it to be. This aspect appealed to us, regardless of how many potential readers the book had. That said, they tell me its a best-seller at Sid Lee! What struck you? _ Sid Lee seemed to be a new kind of organization. The leadership it displays as an organization does not come from a single leader who can mobilize his troops, as could be described in a traditional biography, nor is it the outcome of several stakeholders working in the same sector in different companies. Instead, it comes from coordinating individual leaderships that are exercised on an ad hoc basis by the creators and artisans in a single firm. Thats quite rare.
What is the Book Who is sid lee? _ Its a big iconic book, almost 150 pages long, that plunges the reader into the Sid Lee world. It is unique because there is only one copy of it and its kept under lock and key in a special room. The artisans who join Sid Lee read it over the first two days at the do you like Being intervieWed? _ Not at all. I like it firm. Its a bit of an initiation ritual. the other way around! Why did you agree to Write a Book that Would only have one coPy? _ We were particularly interested in the case of Sid Lee: it represents group leadership
a rookie iMMerses herselF in sid lees culture and thinking By reading Who is sid lee?
INTErvIEWEr INTErvIEWED - 34 -
INTErvIEWEr INTErvIEWED - 35 -
family
Martin Gauthier
is a vice President and senior Partner.
Growing
George Giampuranis
is creative director and Partner.
Ptula Bouchard
coo, Partner
Karim Kendjouh
is vice President technology and innovation and Partner.
Make it Work!
Martin, George, Ptula and Karim pose for Montral photographer Carl Lessard to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sid Lees successful marriage of technology and communications.
GrOWING fAMILY - 36 -
in 1999, your coMPany, stratgo, Which sPecialized in interactive coMMunications, Merged With sid lee. Was it a Marriage oF convenience or love? Martin _ Both. We were discussing to get together with another company that wanted to buy Stratgo, purely for financial reasons. At the time, companies in this field were too expensive. They were overvalued, but people wanted to invest. Sid Lee had more appeal for us because we had been working together since 1998 their arguments were all about passion. But the reality was they needed cash. So they went to seek funding from the Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec. This made a marriage of convenience and love a possibility. But without the passion, we would have looked elsewhere. Ptula _ Sid Lee has not made any acquisitions since then. We realized how lucky we were that the marriage works! Thats very unusual and very precious. Without our passion and shared values, I dont think it would have worked. All of Stratgos leaders are still totally involved in the Sid Lee family, in one way or another. is coM and .coM Making For great kids? Karim _ That was the name we gave our approach: a blend of mass media and interactive communications: com and .com. To achieve this, we needed a process, just like infertile couples need regular treatments if they want to have kids! In the beginning, it didnt feel natural. It was totally dichotomous.
the Worst MeMory oF your Marriage? Martin _ Black Friday in 2001, total .com crisis, we had to lay off about 50 people. The situation drove us to this divorce. We didnt want to do it. We loved our employees. Wed created a beautiful family. Having to break it up was agonizing. Karim _ A few days later, Martin came to see me, saying, Karim, there are no more interactives! It was an incredible shock. Then we bounced back. Ptula _ Lets just say that my the ProJects sid lee Puts out, do human resources baptism by fire they reseMBle their creative dad almost burned me alive! or technological MoM? Martin _ If the technology is What are you Most Proud oF? more transparent, that means Karim _ Having joined Sid Lee the creativity component in- just out of curiosity and look at creases. We tell our teams, make me now. Ive come a long way, it work! Its a big challenge for us, achieved all of these successes. for programmers, for the pro- Martin _ Im really proud of duction team. our communications, with the George _ We always start with partners and with the employees. a creative idea. We never begin Just like a couple, thats what with a technological concept. gets you through the rough spots. Who is the neW generation? Martin _ We have people who come here, between 19 and 21 years old, whove always lived with video games and computers. Whether they work as
Martin _ Every cell of the com and .com child had to be put together using test tube technology. George _ Yes, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, we end up getting natural results. You know, some couples struggle without getting anywhere, then when they back off a bit, bang! It works. Now, we blend the mass media and interactive universes without a second thought. Martin _ It took a lot of aggressive therapy. It took years before we were able to succeed in creating our first baby. Now, Sid Lee is one of the only organizations in Canada or even the world that has a completely hybrid culture: 50% of our people come from digital and 50% from mass media sectors. Karim _ We really have people in both fields who work naturally, in an inspiring way. The project leads are at ease in both areas: interactive and mass media.
creative types, in consulting or in architecture, they already have all the key concepts. They even challenge us. They were born with a video game controller in their hands. Just think, before, we had to train employees on PowerPoint or explain how to use a browser! Karim _ Web 2.0 is essential. Blogs, community, participation its a given.
Architecture:
What are your roles at sid lee architecture? _ We are both associate architects in the firm we kind of sit at the head of the locomotive that is Sid Lee Architecture! What is your vision For sid lee architecture? _ Were looking to create an all-encompassing firm with Sid Lee Architecture, and this vision depends on ideas and input from different disciplines that converge toward the architectural core. We see our discipline as an art form in itself, but we believe architecture should remain in the service of people and not the other way around. This approach has propelled us to create experiences that are immersed in and around the user. We are also concerned with architecture as a communication tool, because we feel that in order to serve and benefit people, we must communicate our ideas and experiences. Why did you choose to Partner With sid lee? _ Because Sid Lee is a creative agency, and one of its strongest assets is its ability to communicate that creativity. Over the years, we have always
sid lee noMad

architects
Jean Pelland and Martin Leblanc are associate architects at sid lee architecture.
favoured an approach that brings together multidisciplinary professionals from various fields of expertise. This kind of approach stems from a desire to create narrative, rather than sculptural, architecture. hoW do you see architecture today? _ Architecture has always been held in high regard, but it is changing right now as it tries to be contemporary while maintaining its traditional benchmark. Architecture is looking for an identity and a purpose. It is also seeking humanity and real human contact. Our firm is looking more and more to communicateto find places and ways to communicateand we try to fulfill this through architecture. Which Buildings in Montral insPire you? _ Any building that embodies a shift or progression, like the Orange Tulip, Habitat 67 or Silo No. 5. We are much more inspired by a building with a strong, unique identity than simply aesthetic beauty. Why do you alWays dress in Black? _ Were dressed in black?
DID YOUNOM SAY MULTIDISCIPLINArITY? DE LA SECTION - 40 -
DID YOUNOM SAY MULTIDISCIPLINArITY? DE LA SECTION - 41 -
sid lee
in Paris:
a startuP Where Working Feels good
Sylvain Thirache is the director oF sid lee in Paris hoW does a tagger BecoMe creative director? _ By chance. Ive always loved art. Before, I would express myself through tags, which are a form of graffiti. Then I discovered graphic arts. I took some classes before landing in advertising. I worked for several agencies. Each time, I was the one to up and leave. I had a thing for quitting jobs (laughs). Last year, I left DDB Paris to take a break and think about what I really wanted to do. Why did you choose sid lee? _ Because Sid Lee seemed to have its head on straight. I was sick of working at soulless agencies. I really wanted a change. Sid Lee was a revelation of sorts. I emailed JeanFranois Bouchard, president of Sid Lee, to tell him I was interested in meeting him. It just felt right. What do you think sets sid lee aPart FroM other agencies in Paris? _ Everything! Sid Lee is very different from other agencies because it really is a one-stop shop. A lot of agencies claim this, but few of them actually are. I cant think of another agency that provides architecture services. Nor a research and development department like Sid Lee Collective. Plus, French agencies dont have international clients they work for the French division of the larger company. Whats your role in Paris? _ I do a bit of everything. I manage the office, which means I take care of the clients, administrationand plumbing! (laughs)! Were only 10 employees who just finished setting up shop, so everyone has to pitch in. Whats your vision For sid lee Paris? _ I want to position Sid Lee as a very human agency. Even if were just a little startup where everyone works their butts off, I want the atmosphere here to be pleasant. I want to respect the fact that my employees have a life outside of the office. I want to stay true to the Sid Lee model created in Montral.
SID LEE IN PArIS - 42 -
SID LEE IN PArIS - 43 -
sid lee Toronto :

an oFFice next door
Vito Piazza is Managing director oF sid lee in toronto and Partner What Was your role at sid lee BeFore Being naMed general Manager oF the neW toronto oFFice? _ Im a partner at Sid Lee. Ive been with the agency for over 11 years now and have 16 years of national and international experience. I manage teams for different accounts. I oversee the quality of my teams work and offer support, from strategy to creative. What do you think sets sid lee aPart FroM other agencies in toronto?_ We chose to set up shop in the Distillery District, an iconic, nontraditional part of the city. Were surrounded by boutiques, artisans, small restaurants, but not by other agencies. Were inspired by raw creativity, and its everywhere here (in ideas, environments, people). Its right on par with our philosophy and our mission as a commercial creativity firm. What is your vision For sid lee toronto? _ Wed like for our agency to be inspired by the local culture, by the diversity here, all the while keeping an international and North American perspective. This applies as much to the standards of our work as it does to the clients we take on and the people we employ. We look for creatives who are super-passionate and talented, regardless of where theyre from. This multiculturalism brings a lot of interesting perspectives to the table. you noW call toronto hoMe. any cool discoveries?_ Toronto is very multicultural, with every culture out there represented. I have a lot of fun exploring the city. Ive discovered Italian grocery stores where you can buy stuff you wont find anywhere else. The other day, I bought agnelli siciliani pasta, like my mother used to make. Talk about a trip back in time! do you ever go to niagara Falls? _ Not since tying the knot!
Creative
Alex Pasini has Been Working at sid lee For seven years.
nomads
Where are you right noW? What are you doing? _ Im in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, at the adidas head office. Its a small city in the middle of the countryside. Im here for three mandates: a In the modern economy we evolve in, our teams content project, a brand follow-up and a review travel the world to meet with clients, collabora- of their brand architecture. tors, and suppliers. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such opportunities to discover Where are you FroM? What did you do BeFore Joining new cultures and be exposed to so many diffe- sid lee? _ Im from Montral. When I did my masrent ways of doing things. It is also a bit of a vir- ters at HEC, I was paired with a Belgian guy who tuous circle: the more you interact with other had a lot of offers in Europe, so I sent my resume cultures, the more you become relevant as a glo- to London. But since I was still a few months away bal creative partner, and the easier it becomes to from completing my thesis, I wanted a summer hire people from all over. We now have people job first. So, I met with Franois Lacoursire from from 20 different nationalities that speak al- Sid Lee and I started my internship. most as many languages Meet some of our mile high colleagues. Whats your Present role? _ I supervise the strategists and I work closely with our clients. Basically, Im here to think! What does a young strategist FroM Montral have to oFFer on the international scene? _ I offer what people often tell me: you look European, but
you sound American. Montral is halfway ble. I find that really positive. Were hiring more between two cultures. Weve got European va- and more people from abroad. lues and American practicality. Why do you travel so Much in the age oF the internet? _ What countries do you Work in? _ Germany, the U.S., The Internet allows us to establish contacts all England and Holland, mainly. over and to keep in touch with our clients. But we still need face-to-face meetings. Human contact Whats your Favourite hotel in london? _ Even though is always important, especially during the critical its a bit of a clich, I like St. Martins Lane, which stages of a project or on key dates. Technology was designed by Starck. Its gorgeous. has its limits. Whats your Most trauMatic Business triP MoMent? _ Where do you go on vacation? do you go see your Getting off a plane in a wheelchair. Mother? _ No, I go to China, to Vietnam These are completely different experiences. My last trip Whats your Favourite Business triP MoMent? _ We was to Croatia. were working on a new Brazilian concept for MGM Mirage in Las Vegas, so I got to go to Rio you have enough Points For all that travel? _ Well, I de Janeiro to see, understand and explore the es- collected 120,000 points last year. That helped. sence of their culture. in terMs oF the MulticulturalisM at sid lee, What does it Mean? _ The senior partners at Sid Lee are very Qubcois and thus Sid Lee is really a Montral company. But what I admire at this agency is its international vision. For the last 18 months, all the meetings have been held in English, since there always seems to be an American, British, Dutch, Indonesian or Chinese person at the ta-
Julie Provenal Works on the cirque du soleil Mandate. Where are you right noW? _ We had a meeting in Macau, so we decided to make a short stop in Australia, because the Dralion show is opening there soon. you coMe FroM Beauce, an agricultural region in queBec. do you Miss the FaMily FarM? _ Not really, but I like to go back and connect with things that are real. I like to contemplate my fathers fields, which stretch as far as the eye can see. It really helps me in my work to know that my little village is there. When I was growing up, my parents always taught me to make do with whatever was available. These practical values keep me grounded. do you Work For cirque du soleil only? _ Yes. Exclusively for the last five years. hoW can you ProMote a shoW in las vegas or Macau iF youre FroM queBec? _ Every time we launch a new show, there are different market factors to consider, a new culture to understand and absorb. In China, Cirque du Soleil is not very well-known,
whereas in New York, where we launched Wintuk, the public already knew who we were. Sid Lee is able to bring an open mind and an excellent understanding of the Cirque brand to the table. We adapt each time, but not too much. Were able to do so while respecting our client and their new market. You have to strike the right balance. hoW Many countries is cirque du soleil in? _ In the next few months, Cirque du Soleil will have shows in 26 cities in North America, as well as Germany, England, Australia, China, Belgium, Austria, Korea, Spain, Japan, Taiwan and Switzerland. hoW Many airline Points have you collected in the last year? _ 40,000. Its great! What Business triP MoMent aFFected you the Most? _ Tokyo will always be the most powerful. Culturally, seeing the way the Japanese work to prepare for a launch its so different from the way we do it. Everything needs to be documented, outlined, organized. Its a huge challenge and an incredible experience at the same time. Its not something a tourist would ever see. hoW does Montral Figure in all this? _ Were really
lucky to have a microcosm of each country in Montral. Because we have open minds and a sense of well-being, were comfortable no matter where we are. With Montral as our base, its easy to get around everywhere else. your Favourite Place in vegas? _ In the O theatre, during the show.
are Your palms Sweaty ?

Franois Lacoursire is vice-President and senior Partner at sid lee. What does a strategist do all day? _ Try to understand things. Things in general. Situations our clients are in. Understanding their clientele and the relationship between the two. I do a lot of listening, then I try to link the bits and pieces together. so, its Pretty cereBral? _ Yes, but I also like to ask practical and concrete questions. You have to be able to think abstractly, but you also have to be able to come back down to earth. you like it When your clients get sWeaty PalMs. Whats that all aBout? _ Its a way of saying that we should always try to do things that have never been done before. When you do something for the first time, you can either be comfortable, uncomfortable, or panicking. If youre comfortable, youre probably not doing something thats really new and you wont have new results. The sweaty palms thing is a way of illustrating the fact that you have to do something different responsibly, with calculated risks. does the sWeaty PalMs aPProach scare your clients? _ Not at all. It reassures them, which is a sign that the uncomfortable zone has wide enough margins. If clients can keep one foot rooted in their comfort zone, they wont fall into the panic zone. in case oF Panic, Whats the Best strategy? _ The first thing you have to do is determine why the client is panicking. You have to recontextualize and try to understand why the decisions they were
ArE YOUr PALMS SWEATY? - 50 -
comfortable with up until that point are suddenly making them panic. Often, the situation hasnt changed, but their relationship with it has. You have to isolate the problem. Was the panic caused by a concrete fact or a perception? do you reassure your clients in those situations? _ Our job is to help our clients live with a certain level of doubt and make them feel confident that they have chosen one of the best ways to achieve their goals even if there are some risks involved. Because today, doing nothing is a lot riskier than taking risks. since you caMe to the coMPany in 1999, sid lee has changed radically. hoW? _ What we do today is nothing like what we did in 1999. Back then, we were talking about interactive (and had been for a while), but now we also look at things like interior design, architecture, industrial design, interactive and installations. And yet, our role is still the same. Companies have business objectives and clients, and we want to reach their customers with various stimuli. These stimuli used to be advertising communications. Today, they could include a physical space or a product. You have to remember that the relationship with commercial stimuli has changed, too. do you aPPly the sWeaty PalMs strategy to sid lee? _ Absolutely. I apply it to myself, to Sid Lee and to my clients. Our agency has undergone countless transformations and none were achieved without risks. all sPecies have to adaPt in order to survive. consuMers change very quickly. do strategists essentially have to Mutate to keeP uP? _ We have to invest in research and development. For example, everything we do at Sid Lee Collective is research and development. We do it to gain a better understanding of how certain production processes work, how certain products are built and presented, and what the reactions are. We also do it for ourselves. In terms of physical space, we started with our offices in Montral. We also try out interactive ideas on our sites. We take risks in the way we present our agency. hoW Far do you think you can go in reinventing yourselF? _ Its never-ending. The young people coming to Sid Lee have a starting point that is similar to the place we arrived at after so many years. Its like Sid Lee is a bridge: by the time you fin ish painting the far side, the first part needs painting again and you have to start over. While some people may be resistant to change, we thrive on it!
doing nothing is a lot riskier than taking risks.

you have a Finger in every Pie, in several diFFerent Fields. youre alWays changing. isnt that dangerous? _ Absolutely not. In the past, being versatile was equated with being superficial and people preferred specialists. Nowadays, though, the cycles are much shorter: the products, the types of media, the values these change overnight. Being able to work in many fields is key, as is being comfortable with change and the unknown. But you still need sPecialists: Flash develoPers, coPyWriters, etc. _ Yes, but not too many at once. If we have to hire a lot of specialists for a multidisciplinary project, we lose agility. It waters down peoples sense of ownership on the project. We lose control. When youve got different specialists, each sitting in their respective corners, none of them will carry the project to term with as much intensity. Everyone has to be working with the same idea in mind and there should be only a subtle nuance for each domain. Today, peoples areas of expertise are increasingly mixed, and we work with each other more. Were getting closer in that sense. If you are able to work in several common areas, work gets done more effectively. are coMMunication strategists essentially Frustrated creatives? _ The assumption behind that question is that the only way to be creative is doing pure concept development. And thats a limiting view. Were all born with creative abilities that we have to express. When we mixed everyone together at Sid Lee, we really started something new. We put all the disciplines together. This collective process, with all the different back grounds coming together, helped set our imaginations free. iF thats the case, isnt strategy a grouP eFFort? _ Yes. There are always strategic decisions in the process. Whether were looking at the budget or a change in production, there are strategic choices to make. A change in the deadline is a strategic choice. Were always making strategic choices. And we always put creativity at the forefront. nice conclusion. (Laughing)
any where
Sex will get you
the Way PeoPle act in Bed is hoW they act in their lives.
What aBout aBroad? hoW are you recruiting internationally? _ We travel a lot, go to the schools. With Skype, its easy to see people. In communication, what is said represents only 7%. Non-verbal communication accounts for 67% while tone of voice is 25%. When were almost certain, we have people come in to check out the agency. We choose them, but they have to choose us, too. Its not just one-waythat wouldnt work. For keePing your talent, What assets does sid lee have? _ To keep a firm dynamic and strong, people have to want to stay. Everyone can provide that. By respecting them, stimulating them, giving them the space they need, thats how we keep them. If someone wants to leave, we cant force them to staythat generates bad energy. We often say that we want to manage human beings, not human resources. I think people see the difference. lastly, do creative tyPes have a sPeciFic kind oF sexuality? _ The way people act in bed is how they act in their lives. If you eat spaghetti with tomato sauce and big meatballs five times a week, dont expect your mattress to catch fire! If were creative in life, we explore, take risks, well be the same with our sexuality. You cant have a boring sex life if your life is exciting, thats for sure. So Im not worried about the creative types. (Laughing).
Ptula Bouchard is coo and Partner at sid lee.
What is a sexologist doing at sid lee? _ I did my bachelors and then masters in sexology. Then I went back to La Pocatire, where Im from, to work in my field. Two years later, I was missing the city. I came back to Montral and took some courses in IT management. A friend, Martin Gauthier, hired me for his company, Stratgo, to handle accounting and human resources. In 1999, we merged with Sid Lee, but I kept on doing counselling in sexology in the evenings, until five years ago. is there a connection BetWeen your educational Background and your current Work? _ They are not so far apart. In counselling, we appraise, we listen and we help. Thats what I do at Sid Lee. I appraise skills during interviews. I see whether theres a cultural fit. Then I listen and help them professionally. In therapy, its longer, more personal. In an interview, I can quickly become close to people. What is the key hiring criterion at sid lee? _ Bertrand Cesvet names three important values at Sid Lee: humanity, humility and doubt. I agree with him, and Id add one more: generosity. Im first and foremost looking for human values. You can acquire skills, but a personality is harder to work on. Its like a couple: when you have the same values, it works well.
SEx WILL GET YOU ANYWHErE - 54 -
SEx WILL GET YOU ANYWHErE - 55 -
in for questionning
Daniel Fortier is director oF Financial oPerations, senior Partner.
Manager
We take the lead, We lay our cards out on the taBle.

D.F. _ Is this going to be brutal? Cop _ Heh, heh Full name and profession? D.F. _ Fortier, Daniel, VP Finance at Sid Lee. Cop _ So, you work for yourself! D.F. _ That too, but its not the first time. I had a few companies before this. Believe it or not, I started as a graphic designer. Admittedly, I do a better Cop _ Hmm VP Finance, what job with numbers than with exactly does that mean? paintbrushes but I like creaD.F. _ It means that, among tive people! other things, I manage the companys finances, operational pro- Cop _ What do you do diffecedures and budgets. Also, Im rently than other agencies? often asked for my opinion on D.F. _ We really look ahead to investment projects. And since see whats coming next. We do a theres a lot of that going on at good amount of planning. If you Sid Lee, Im kept pretty busy come visit us, youll probably these days. just see the creative exuberance in the air, but in the shadows, Cop _ Who do you work for? theres actually quite a bit of D.F. _ Sid Lee. structure behind the apparent jumble of ideas. I keep the brainCop _ Who is Sid Lee? iacs in line. D.F. _ Its Its the agency that Cop _ What can you tell us about Cop _ Who owns this agency? your acclaimed proprietary maWhos your boss? nagement system? D.F. _ Its a lot of people About D.F. _ Its a project and finanfifteen people. Five or six senior cial management system that we partners and a bunch of others. developed over the years. We made it ourselves because the Cop _ Five or six senior partners? existing systems didnt effectiD.F. _ Id say six. vely support our business model, which is very different from the Cop _ Err It doesnt look good classical advertising-driven apif the VP of Finance doesnt proaches. These days, we use know exactly how many senior the system to draw a lot of stats. partners there are. Are you one Project managers have access to of these partners? numbers in real time for all our D.F. _ Yes, yes. projects. They can see whats
MANAGEr IN fOr qUESTIONNING - 56 -
working well, whats working not so well, etc. And clients can see whats happening with their assignments, globally or projectby-project. Cop _ How is your management style unique in this multidisciplinary environment? D.F. _ We built this system so that we wouldnt have to manage each discipline differently. The tool is simple. It allows us to keep tabs on all activities, from advertising to technology to interior design, and so on. Thats the main advantage to our approach: it manages multidisciplinary projects. Weve even been asked if wed sell the system, but we want to keep it just for us.
Cop _ According to our files, youve had no lawsuits in 15 years. How do you explain that? D.F. _ Oh, boy I think its because we take the time to talk to our clients and our suppliers. Thats our strength. We go and chat. We try to find the source of the problems, and we try to keep these to a minimum. Were also a little lucky.
Cop _ The president of your company studied Law. Do you think theres a link? D.F. _ Hmph. Given all the years that have passed, I think his abilities as a lawyer are close to nil. In fact, before becoming a creative, he worked at a big firm and even they didnt want him after a while! I dont even Cop _ Whos Rudolf? think he could find a job appealD.F. _ The first name of the ing parking tickets. One things guy who invented the Diesel for sure: theres no way he would engine. Its the name of our ma- wear a lawyers gown. chine, our management system. Cop _ Whos Plato? Cop _ What does transparency D.F. _ Yikes! Plato is the guy mean to you? whos been programming our D.F. _ In our management ap- Rudolf database for the last 15 proach, we prefer to say what years. Hes been around since needs to be said. We take the Sid Lees beginnings. He made lead, we lay our cards out on the versions 1.0 all the way up to 4 table. Everyone appreciates it. and higher. Weve made a lot of improvements to the platform Cop _ What did you do to be in the last five years. named one of Canadas 50 Best Managed Companies? Cop _ People call you The InD.F. _ Ernst & Young and the visible Hand. National Post awarded us this D.F. _ Thats all right. I like it. title at a national competition. I feel like God. Everywhere and Its a little ironic, because we yet invisible. had some major management problems the following year! Cop _ Full name and profession? We were hurt by the .com crisis D.F. _ Fortier, Daniel, VP Fiin 2000. I sprouted my first grey nance at Sid Lee. hairs that year, but I also learned some important lessons that are still relevant today.
MANAGEr IN fOr qUESTIONNING - 59 -
is served
are two different groups: the early- a bit, but they use it anyway. In risers and those who get there at no time they become experts. the last minute, around 9:30 a.m. Its the drug of choice here. But all the beans are fair-trade. and What haPPens BetWeen Meals? _ We prepare surprises, like after- What does sid lee do to the Waistnoon snacks. Were a big family. line? _ Its not my fault! I dont Seeing 300 cookies disappear in force them to eat every last bite! three minutes thats some- But many do gain weight. A lot thing! We put the cookies out, of employees eat all three of gianMarco colannino then take cover. Its a cookie- their meals here, five days a is the cheF at sid lee. week. About 80% of the promonster combat zone! he serves uP haPPiness ducts we use are local and orgain the Bistro. Whats your Favourite thing to nic. We make a point of limiting cook? _ Anything thats fresh and junk: we only serve hamburgers seasonal. I draw inspiration from about once every six months Seeing the best ingredients available at (though, when we do, people go nuts for them). We regularly orany given time. 300 cookies ganize wine and cheese events disappear in do designers tend to Be vegetarians to get people to unwind. The three minutes or carnivores? _ Carnivores! But next day we tend to serve shewe also have a handful of vege- pherds pie, Qubcois-style, with tarians that we make alter- a layer of sweet corn. thats natives for. We know our emsomething! ployees well. Today we served hoW green are you? _ We use biopork roast, so we had something degradable cleaning products, and else for Jews and Muslims. Eve- the take-out containers are recyclable. Our kitchen is 95% green. hoW does the sid lee kitchen Work? _ ryone is happy. It starts with a free breakfast. There are 15 kinds of bread, What dishes do PeoPle crave du- so Basically, sid lees Main draW 10 kinds of cereal Its all-you- ring cold queBec Winters? _ Slow- is its kitchen. _ Lets just say that can-eat. Breakfast is the first cooked dishes, like meat and some of our partners and supgathering of the day. Then we bean stew, veal blanquette, beef pliers are pretty envious. move onto lunch. An average of flank The kind of thing youd 150 of the 400 staff members eat find in a regular bistro. In the sum- What organ is the kitchen in sid lees Body? _ Head and heart, lunch together. And soon the mer, the meals are a lot lighter. both. It helps give you good kitchen will be open at night, too. People will be able to eat hoW Many kilos oF coFFee do you go ideas, it helps keep you functiondinner there or take it to go. through every Morning? _ Twen- ing properly, it helps you feel Were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ty litres of regular coffee. Plus good and stay alert. A creative two kilos of ground espresso mind in a healthy body. does BreakFast get PeoPle into the beans for our big Wega indusoFFice earlier? _ Yes and no. There trial machine. It scares employees
Lunch
LUNCH IS SErvED! - 60 -
Sid Lee is a member of Montral.ad. sid lee Wants to thank Writer Andr Marois for his work on all of the articles of this fanzine and photographer Roger Proulx for his versatility. Special thanks to the security guard at 75 Queen Street. contact inForMation Ateliers: Montreal 75 Queen Street, Suite 1400 Montreal, Quebec H3C 2N6 Canada Phone: +1 514-282-2200 Amsterdam Gerard Doustraat 72 1072 VV Amsterdam The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0) 206 623030 Paris 12 rue du Sentier 75 002 Paris France Phone: +33 (1) 44 88 83 90 Toronto 55 Mill Street Building 5 , Suite 500 Toronto, Ontario M5A 3C4 Canada Phone: +1 416 - 421-4200 Austin Suite D-102 3601 South Congress Austin, Texas 78704 United States Phone: +1 512-444-3533 Websites: sidlee.com sidleearchitecture.com jimmylee.tv
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The Sid Lee Story

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The Sid Lee Story

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THE SID LEE STORY

Who we are and what we do

The sid lee story

Sid Lee in a N utshell

SID LEE IN A NUTSHELL - 8 -

wHats our reputation

SID LEE IN A NUTSHELL - 11 -

wHo we work witH

SID LEE IN A NUTSHELL - 12 -

WHaT pEOpLE SaY

WHAT PEOPLE SAY - 15 -

We Were the underdogs in the advertising World.

Jean-Franois Fortin is vice-President and Partner at sid lee.

Sid Lees story

from 1993 to today

having Fun is Part oF their culture.

Olivier Moreaux is President oF soPexa north aMerica.

reJecting No Borders BOun BetWeen disciPlines DaRIES and PeoPle.

SKYpE is the LImIT

SkYPE IS THE LIMIT - 26 -

SkYPE IS THE LIMIT - 27 -

Philippe Meunier is creative chieF and co-Founder oF sid lee.

cross-Pollinate our local sPecies to create neW tyPes oF creatives.

sid lee noMad

DID YOUNOM SAY MULTIDISCIPLINArITY? DE LA SECTION - 40 -

DID YOUNOM SAY MULTIDISCIPLINArITY? DE LA SECTION - 41 -

a startuP Where Working Feels good

SID LEE IN PArIS - 42 -

SID LEE IN PArIS - 43 -

sid lee Toronto :

are Your palms Sweaty ?

ArE YOUr PALMS SWEATY? - 50 -

ArE YOUr PALMS SWEATY? - 51 -

doing nothing is a lot riskier than taking risks.

ArE YOUr PALMS SWEATY? - 52 -

ArE YOUr PALMS SWEATY? - 53 -

Sex will get you

Ptula Bouchard is coo and Partner at sid lee.

SEx WILL GET YOU ANYWHErE - 54 -

SEx WILL GET YOU ANYWHErE - 55 -

We take the lead, We lay our cards out on the taBle.

MANAGEr IN fOr qUESTIONNING - 56 -

MANAGEr IN fOr qUESTIONNING - 59 -

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