DDB Canada Appoints Lance Saunders EVP, Managing Director

NEW YORK, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- David Leonard, President and Chief Operating Officer of DDB Canada, today announced the appointment of Lance Saunders to the post of Executive Vice President (EVP), Managing Director, of DDB Canada's Vancouver office.

Saunders joins DDB Canada from Campbell Mithun in Minneapolis, where he gained valuable leadership experience as Executive Vice President, Director of Strategic Planning.  Prior to that he had an impressive 20-year tenure at Leo Burnett in Toronto, where he last served as Senior Vice President, Managing Partner, Planning Director.

"After an extensive international search, we have selected Lance as the ideal choice to bolster the agency's strategic planning expertise and lead our Vancouver operation," says Leonard. "His innovative thinking and drive to uncover insights that inspire breakthrough ideas will significantly increase our muscle in strategic planning."

As EVP, Managing Director, of the Vancouver office, Saunders will be responsible for people development, creative product and new business development.

Saunders has provided his strategic planning expertise to many top brands across several categories, including tourism, packaged goods, retail, financial services, beverage and telecommunications.

"With the communications world rapidly changing, today's communications plans are about driving people to take action, rather than passively take in our messages," says Saunders.  "Today's winning brands are driven by the power of their unique world perspective.  It's a fundamental shift from saying things at people to doing things with and for people.  Our job is to uncover what makes a brand remarkable to get people to want to engage with, participate in, be advocates for, but most importantly to take action on behalf of."

A sought-after thought leader, Saunders has spoken at various Canadian universities and colleges and is an annual instructor at the Miami Ad School on planning, brand positioning, research and ideas.

About DDB Canada

Named Strategy's 2009 Agency of the Year and Top Creative Agency, DDB Canada is the most creatively acclaimed, internationally recognized marketing communications agency in Canada. Known for advertising that generates significant results for clients, DDB Canada is a "total communications company" whose fundamental belief is that creativity is the most powerful force in business. DDB Canada has offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. The agency's integrated groups include: DDB Kid Think (youth marketing), DDB Public Relations, Tribal DDB (online and interactive), Karacters Design Group, Rapp Collins (direct), Radar DDB (social media marketing) and DDB Hodes Recruitment Communications (recruitment marketing).

About DDB

DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc (www.ddb.com) ranks among the top five consolidated advertising and marketing services global networks, according to Advertising Age. Consistently one of the most creatively awarded networks globally, DDB was Campaign's 2009 Global Network of the Year, the Spikes Asia Network of the Year, and captured both the Cyber Grand Prix and Film Craft Grand Prix at the 2010 International Advertising Festival in Cannes. With more than 200 offices in over 90 countries, the DDB Group helps grow the value and influence of leading brands around the world. We believe that creativity is the most powerful force in business, allowing us to develop the ideas that people want to play with, participate in and pass along. We call this Social Creativity, which results in ShareValue, the powerful combination of influence within social communities and tangible business performance. DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC).

SOURCE DDB Canada