Rethink
Rethink is an independent, owner-operated creative advertising agency founded in 1999, serving global enterprise brands with integrated strategy, advertising, design, digital, production, and PR services from offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal, and Brooklyn.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Rethink does
Rethink (legal entity Rethink Communications Inc.) is an independent, owner-operated creative advertising agency founded in Vancouver in 1999. It provides integrated full-service creative capabilities — strategy, advertising, brand identity, design, digital, production, and public relations — to major global enterprise brands. The agency's stated proposition is producing 'work the world talks about': culturally resonant, earned-media-driven campaigns supported by measurable client outcomes (e.g., Molson 'See My Name' generated 2.9 billion impressions and a 5.8% sales lift; IKEA 'u up?' drove a 36% YOY mattress sales increase).
Rethink operates from four offices across North America: Vancouver (headquarters at 15 West 5th Avenue), Toronto (720 King Street West), Montréal (55 Mont-Royal O. Ave), and New York (55 Water Street, Brooklyn). The agency is B Corp certified, employs 51-100 people, and is led by a founding-partner group (Chris Staples, Tom Shepansky, Ian Grais) alongside a CXO bench that includes National Chief Creative Officer Aaron Starkman, National Managing Partner & CSO Sean McDonald, CFO Andrew Monaghan, Global COO Caleb Goodman, first Chief Production Officer Jon Legere, and first Head of Business Development Brittney McDonald. The client roster spans retail (IKEA, Decathlon), beverage (Molson Coors), food and QSR (Kraft Heinz, A&W, Doritos), financial services (Scotiabank, Tangerine, Dayforce), travel (KAYAK, WestJet), restaurant delivery (Uber Eats), and music (Epidemic Sound).
Revenue is generated through professional services fees on a project and retainer basis, with pricing customized per client and not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, PE sponsor, or external institutional investment. Recognition includes ADWEEK's 2025 Independent Agency of the Year and multiple Cannes Lions, Clio, One Show, and Effie awards. The company has no disclosed productized technology, software platform, or AI capability; it is a people-and-ideas business competing on creative reputation and senior client relationships.
Rethink firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rethink
- Legal name
- Rethink Communications Inc.
- Website
- https://rethinkideas.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Rethink is an independent, owner-operated creative advertising agency founded in 1999, serving global enterprise brands with integrated strategy, advertising, design, digital, production, and PR services from offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal, and Brooklyn.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rethink industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Advertising Services
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430), Public Relations Agencies (541820)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Rebrand & Brand Refresh Programs (MPAAAEAJ)
Keywords
Where Rethink is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Rethink business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Creative Agency Services: Rethink generates revenue through creative agency fees, including project-based campaigns and retainer arrangements with enterprise clients. Services span advertising, branding, design, digital, production, and public relations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Rethink product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rethink is a full-service independent creative agency that develops 360° advertising, brand, design, digital, production, and public relations campaigns for major global enterprise brands. The agency partners with clients on a project and retainer basis, providing integrated creative ideas, strategy, and execution under one roof across its offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal, and New York.
Product overview
Rethink is a full-service independent creative advertising agency that operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The agency provides integrated creative services including 360° campaigns, strategy, design, digital, production, and public relations under one roof. Their work spans advertising campaigns (for brands like IKEA, Molson Coors, Kraft Heinz, Uber Eats), PR campaigns (for clients like FealGood Foundation, A&W, Miss Vickie's), and brand identity/design services (for Scotiabank, A&W, Decathlon). The agency is known for its creative ideas and has been recognized as ADWEEK's 2025 Independent Agency of the Year.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Creative Advertising Services Full-service creative agency offering 360° campaigns, strategy, design, digital, production, and public relations services to major enterprise brand clients on a project and retainer basis.
- Advertising Campaigns Creative advertising campaigns including brand platforms, multi-channel marketing campaigns, out-of-home advertising, and digital content produced for clients such as IKEA, Molson Coors, Kraft Heinz, and Doritos.
- PR Campaigns Public relations campaigns including earned media strategies and brand awareness initiatives for clients such as the FealGood Foundation and A&W.
- Brand Identity & Design Brand identity design, visual identity systems, and brand refresh services, including the global brand identity refresh and 'You're Richer Than You Think' platform for Scotiabank and brand refresh work for A&W.
- Digital & Social Content Digital content creation, social media campaigns, and interactive marketing activations across platforms for various brand clients.
Quantifiable outcome
- IKEA 'u up?' campaign drove +17% YOY increase in online visitation and +36% YOY increase in mattress sales
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Rethink
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Rethink technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Rethink partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- ProphetminorStrategic partnership supporting the Dayforce 'Tiny Briefcase' brand campaign. Prophet provided media strategy oversight for the campaign targeting HR and business leaders.
- Marvel StudioscoreLicensing partnership for the 'Heinz Cant Unsee It' campaign tied to Deadpool & Wolverine movie release. Leveraged IP and visual connection between character colors and Heinz product colors.
- Bibigo (CJ CheilJedang)minorPartnership to create 'ScrollSticks' - limited-edition chopsticks with touchscreen tips for the Bibigo dumpling brand. Campaign leveraged Korean culture popularity in the U.S.
- FealGood FoundationminorNon-profit partnership for the 'Walls of Honor' campaign honoring 9/11 first responders by replacing celebrity photos in NYC pizzerias with photos of living responders. The campaign generated 215 earned placements and 279M+ earned impressions.
- Penguins InternationalminorPartnership for 'Protest March of the Penguins' campaign turning tariff news cycle attention into penguin conservation funding through meme culture and migratory trek messaging.
- Black Women GolfersminorPartnership with Black Women Golfers as part of Golf Town's '400some' campaign. The group participated in a world record attempt for most golfers playing together.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Rethink competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Droga5: Independently operated creative agency producing culture-making campaigns for Fortune 500 brands. Closely comparable in positioning, creative reputation, and marquee client roster.
- GUT: Independent creative agency that has rapidly scaled globally with award-winning work for major brands. Comparable as a fast-growing independent pursuing culturally resonant campaigns and enterprise clients.
- 72andSunny: Independent creative agency known for culture-led campaigns and brand-platform work for major global brands. Directly comparable in agency model, client caliber, and creative-driven growth approach.
- Wieden+Kennedy: Iconic independent creative agency with global brand work and award-winning campaigns. Comparable as a larger-scale independent competitor pursuing cultural-impact creative for enterprise clients.
- Mother: Independent creative network with global offices producing brand campaigns for major enterprises. Comparable as a peer independent with similar integrated creative offering and award-winning portfolio.
- Anomaly: Independent creative agency operating with a similar model of integrated brand work for major global clients. Directly comparable as a mid-sized independent; notably, Rethink's new CPO Jon Legere joined from Anomaly after 14 years.
- Zulu Alpha Kilo: Toronto-headquartered independent creative agency producing brand campaigns for major North American clients. Closely comparable as a Canadian independent competitor of similar scale and award profile.
- The Martin Agency: Independent creative agency with deep brand-platform work for large enterprise clients (notably Geico). Comparable as a long-standing independent with strong CPG/retail portfolio and award pedigree.
Regional players
- Leo Burnett Canada: Canadian arm of Publicis-owned Leo Burnett network. Comparable as a Toronto-based full-service creative competitor for the same Canadian enterprise brand roster, though operating with network scale advantages.
Broad incumbents
- TBWA\Chiat\Day: Global creative network known for culture-led campaigns (Apple, Nissan). Comparable in pursuit of culturally resonant, award-winning creative work for major enterprise clients, though operating with broader network capabilities and scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rethink social profiles
Digital presenceRethink compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Rethink financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rethink leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Rethink funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rethink M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rethink
What does Rethink do?
Rethink is a full-service independent creative agency that develops 360° advertising, brand, design, digital, production, and public relations campaigns for major global enterprise brands. The agency partners with clients on a project and retainer basis, providing integrated creative ideas, strategy, and execution under one roof across its offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal, and New York.
Is Rethink a public or private company?
Rethink is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Rethink founded?
Rethink was founded in 1999. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Rethink based?
Rethink is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Rethink make money?
One revenue line is on record: creative Agency Services.
Who are Rethink's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Droga5, GUT, 72andSunny, Wieden+Kennedy, Mother, Anomaly, Zulu Alpha Kilo and The Martin Agency. Leo Burnett Canada is listed as a regional player. TBWA\Chiat\Day is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Rethink have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rethink.
What industry is Rethink in?
Rethink's product category is Advertising Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAEAJ, Rebrand & Brand Refresh Programs. Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 7311.