The headlines lit up everyone's computer screens today at the news of Bristol Group's demise. For 30+ years, Bristol Group has been a fixture of the Atlantic Canadian region. My first impression of them when I started Extreme was, "Holy shit, they are huge and even more importantly, they are connected!" Their size and rolodex was something I purposely chose to ignore day to day for fear that the intimidation factor would paralyze me and keep me from moving forward. But as time went on, I had the pleasure of meeting Rick Emberly on several occasions and he was anything but intimidating. He's a very dynamic and charming guy. I have always been a fan of him. If I saw any chink in the armour there it was the creative that came from the agency. I figured Extreme could find a niche by doing work that got talked about. It was a strategy that paid off and eventually all agencies found a nice equilibrium in the market focusing on our own respective visions. Fast forward a few years and the scene has changed dramatically. For evidence, tally the number of people working in the agency business today in Atlantic Canada versus ten years ago. Almost every agency employs a fraction of what they used to and several agencies don't even exist anymore, with virtually no new thriving start ups. Pork Pie Hat, SGCI and now Bristol are casualties of a shrinking market. Bristol saw this trend a few years ago and like ourselves, chose to venture beyond their borders in search of new revenues. Though personally, I never got expansion to Doha, Qatar literally halfway around the world, but I understand the prospects given it's (then) thriving economy and lack of agency presence, all of which made it attractive for Bristol.
Either way, having the guts to expand anywhere beyond Atlantic Canada is a move I applaud. I have witnessed the success of great Atlantic Canadian companies who didn't know any better than to stay put like Moosehead Breweries, McCain, Sobeys, Emera, Irving Group and a ton other smaller and recent examples. I would go so far to say more companies in Atlantic Canada could take a page from their book. But success from expansion comes with heavy risks... like these aspirations taking your business down. This is sadly the case for Bristol.
A comment someone made on CBC.ca about M5 taking on the "failed management from Bristol," particularly irked me. Let's put this into perspective: the ad business is insanely volatile at the best of times. You name me more than a dozen Canadian agencies that are still around after 30 + years. The point is, they went down trying to grow their business. For complicated reasons, it didn't pan out. I don't look at Bristol Group as a failure, as a matter of fact I feel quite the opposite after the run they had. Kudos to you Rick and company for trying to grow the region. We won't soon forget your legacy.
