“We want ideas that have voltage or stopping power – ideas that are executable in time to take advantage of a trend. It’s not just about where the data is coming from, but rather the lens we apply it to. “We’re looking to identify trends as they’re emerging,” she says, “to find those gems of cultural conversations that we can insert our brands into in meaningful and authentic ways.
And as it continues to grow and evolve, Shuchat says her 25-person team (split between Toronto and Montreal offices) aims to live up to the curious nature its new moniker suggests. Over the last year alone, Middle Child has won a host of new clients, including Diageo, Coca-Cola Bottling, DHL, Ilia, Youth to the People and Evereden. But we are the middle child who refuses to be ignored.” Often, this child is misbehaved and ignored.
MIDDLE CHILD DAY 2021 FULL
“The middle child is known as being curious, imaginative and full of wonder. So let’s introduce something new,” says Shuchat. It’s not who we are and it’s not giving out the right message. “So, we needed to move on from that brand. Images of colonialism no longer create the positive associations the agency is looking for. That’s a big part of why The Colony Project rebranded to become Middle Child.Īn extension of sister agency Citizen, the Colony moniker spoke to an ideal of one working towards the good of many, which worked when it launched in 2016 but not now. In a time of so much change, she says, it comes down to humility and honesty – and owning your miss-steps. “So you have to understand the bigger message and issues people care about – and that’s what’s going to help them relate to brands.” “People want to engage with brands that share the same values they do,” says Shuchat. For the latter, for example, the team exclusively employed Indigenous talent to tackle production, wardrobe, styling, music and photography.
Working with the PR firm, Sephora created authentic conversations around Diwali, Lunar New Year and the first-ever Indigenous Awareness Month campaign by working with people from those different communities. Last year, its “We Belong to Something Beautiful” campaign took it a step further by challenging racial bias in the beauty industry. For years, the retailer has invested in speaking to multicultural audiences. We want to do a campaign or social post.’ And, a lot of times our counsel will be: ‘Don’t do it unless you’re willing to make a long-term meaningful investment.”
“A client will come to us and say, ‘This is a big, sensitive issue – we want to put out a statement about this. In fact, the agency now often consults with clients on what not to do as much what to do. “There are different sensitivities than there were before,” says Shuchat, “and we need to be especially thoughtful in our counsel and what we’re doing to really make clients relevant.” Shuchat says Middle Child works to ID trends as they’re emerging – collecting insights that come from a cocktail of research, daily news and social listening, trend updates, collaborative brainstorms and dialogue directly with key audiences.Īnd while that might sound like table stakes for a PR agency today, pulling it off has taken a remarkable amount of skill and insight over the last 18 months – considering the global pandemic and a culture cognizant of social injustice now more than ever. It’s about understanding cultural conversations and being able to insert clients into them in a meaningful way. Ĭulture hacking is how Middle Child ( née The Colony Project) managing director Amanda Shuchat likes to describe her agency’s philosophy. This story originally appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of strategy.
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