Purpose

Our Purpose

Vision Improve everything we touch every time we act. 

We make ourselves invaluable by embracing the future without fear to produce targeted, differentiating branding and communications of lasting value for the community that we, our clients and consumers all belong to.

Mission To move people 

Barrett and Welsh is not in the branding or advertising business but in the moving business. We move people to act and react, to respond and remember, to respect and represent, to change themselves or others, or to hold firm for the principles or loyalties that serve our shared humanity best.

Method We put ideas first to make ideas last.

We do this by ethically and sustainably creating unforgettable, unexpected, long-lived ideas that stimulate social and behavioural change, inclusion (especially of visible minorities and persons with disabilities), acceptance and progress, and which are rewarding for consumers and marketers alike.

Values Business as a force for good.

 

The Multicultural Marketing Alliance of Canada - proof of purpose

Barrett and Welsh is grateful to be working on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, Anishnabeg, Chippewa, Haudenosaunee and Wendat peoples, on Treaty 13 and Williams Treaties lands. We are a purpose-driven, inclusion-focused branding and advertising agency and a Charter Member of the Multicultural Marketing Alliance of Canada

As a certified B Corporation®we are driven by a triple bottom line: people and planet are the equals of profit. Certified B Corporations are businesses that balance purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. B Corps form a community of leaders and drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good. In addition to being a certified B Corporation, Barrett and Welsh has been recognized as 2019 Best For The World honouree from among its B Corp peers. We were recognized on three separate Best For The World 2019 honour lists: Changemaker – we were ranked among the top #BCorps for impact improvement. Governance – we were in the top 10% in the world for good governance and for how our mission is built into our DNA. Workers – we were in the top 10% in the world for how we treat our people and for our inclusive hiring practices. (As of spring 2021, our workforce is 85% IBPOC, and our senior leadership is 75% IBPOC).

B-Corp certification logo - proof of purposeB Corporation's Best for the World 2019 Honourees

Naturally, we commit ourselves to diversity and inclusion in our own supply chain: vendors from equity-seeking communities or social purpose enterprises compete equally for our business. As of spring 2021, 48% of our vendors are PoC/Visible Minority, 30% are local businesses, 21% are women-owned and 18% are newcomer-owned. We invite female directors to compete equally for our video/TV production opportunities. Between spring 2020 and spring 2021, all external production contracted by our agency was awarded to BIPOC-led production houses, featured IBPOC talent and was shot by IBPOC directors or photographers. 50% of the treatments we received were from women directors and 100% of our productions were led by women producers.

As a rare Canadian branding and advertising agency where visible minorities own the majority of the company, we are a CAMSC-certified Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier. Unsurprisingly, we specialize in communications that create inclusion for minorities and promote urban sustainable development. We built Talent with Disabilities, Canada’s first disability-friendly talent platform to enable PwD talent to be found and cast in commercials and are a Dear Everybody Agreement signatory. We created the Multicultural/Minority Canadian Talent platform on Facebook in 2016 to combat the gross underrepresentation of visible minority talent in Canadian film television commercials video and theatre. The platform has hosted 100s of diversity-friendly or minority-first casting calls since its inception. Our employees are asked to obtain Ontario Human Rights Commission Accessibility for Ontarians certification. We are committed to employment equity and diversity in hiring and welcome all qualified candidates including women, indigenous peoples, visible minorities, persons with disabilities and persons from sexual minority groups. As of spring 2021, our staff is 85% IBPOC and we are over 60% IBPOC-owned.

Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council certification logo - proof of purpose

Our work directly relates to six of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals: no poverty, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and peace, justice and strong institutions. 

For underserved minority customers, whom we serve with culturally sensitive (and often foreign language) communications, the outcome is access to information and services that are difficult or impossible to access. For underserved customers with disabilities, whom we serve with mobility- and ability-sensitive communications, the outcome is an increased awareness of disability needs. For clients, our services allow an increased visible representation of minorities of colour and people with disabilities in their communications. Our work respects and acknowledges diversity in all its forms, and helps our clients connect with and engage these audiences on a deeper level, by being perceptive, empathetic and truly inclusive.

Our specialty practices

We are one of the leading agencies in the world in our three specialty practice areas: multicultural, transit and economic development. We are the most awarded multicultural agency in Canadian marketing history and one of the world’s few agencies specializing in transit and economic development branding and marketing. 

Based in Toronto, we serve a list of blue-chip and impact clients who are as passionate as we are about doing world-changing work every day. We have created award-winning work for clients like Nia Centre for the Arts, Allstate, Bell Canada, City of Brampton, Creative Spirit, Diageo, Dish Network, Looking at the Stars, Procter and Gamble, Rogers, Sobeys, TD Bank, Unilever, Viva, VivaNext, Walmart, York Region Transit and Züm. We have produced branding and advertising in every product and service category: financial services, transit and transportation, public service and nonprofits, political advertising, packaged goods, transit/transportation, government, media and entertainment, telecom, technology, alcohol, retail, cars and food and beverage.

The ideas we produce for our clients always come first. Before corner offices. Even before morning coffee. Even when they come at the end of a page.