Republik: A “nature cure” for a digital brand marketing agency

© Guillaume Vincent

Montréal marketing agency Republik decided to spend this past summer in Mont-Tremblant. The goal was to provide its staff with some fresh air in wonderful, natural surroundings. The initiative also provided the production teams with a chance to rediscover the joy of creating together…with a view of groundhogs, deer and the boreal forest.

In early July, Republik opened a temporary office in Mont-Tremblant for the summer and rented a nearby chalet able to accommodate small groups of employees who could, taking turns, come and enjoy the region. Baptized Republik 46N, referring to the 46th parallel on which the town of Mont-Tremblant is located, the summer base was a way to test out the effect that nature could have on the team’s creativity.

“To create, you have to have some enjoyment. And here, we enjoyed ourselves,” states Vincent Fortin, agency president. “The people here are super cool and the outdoors is incredible. It makes a huge difference when your employees go have supper on a weeknight kayaking on a lake or they start their day after an earlymorning expedition fly-fishing on the Diable River. It’s another world,” he says emphatically.

Vincent Fortin, agency president. © Guillaume Vincent

The notorious Friday the 13th

After the announcement of the lockdown of the people of Québec, the management team of Republik formed a crisis bubble, just like tens of thousands of the country’s entrepreneurs.

New procedures to optimize telework were put in place. In addition to daily calls with the members of his team, Vincent Fortin worked to take their pulse during personalized calls.

“I noticed a real difference between the attitude and motivation level of those who were stuck in the city versus those who had been able to escape to the countryside,” Vincent explains. “So I realized that we were clearly doing well up north. It was really two different worlds.”

An unexpected dream becomes reality

It was a difference that Jenève Gervais could truly appreciate. Comfortably installed from March on in her parents’ country chalet, she was surprised when one morning she saw her colleagues exiting a car a few steps from her temporary home.

“It’s no secret that I would have absolutely loved to stay and live here,” says Jenève, content editor for Republik for the past three years.

“The access to nature is fantastic. It was like a dream come true when they opened this office just steps from our chalet. It was really terrific to be able to see my colleagues again while keeping this access to nature.”

Space to think

For François-Olivier Thibault, the agency’s creative director, the experience was able to give him and his team an opening onto a freeing, inspiring horizon. “It provides space to think,” as he refers to it. “It does you good to be able to look away and rest your eyes on natural surroundings, a horizon less oppressive than the one you see in town,” he notes.

“We all know the famous notion that inspiration arrives in the shower, but in nature, you multiply those opportunities. I believe that all our employees would be thrilled to continue the experience. It was one of Vincent’s dreams,” François-Olivier adds.

“He’s been dreaming for some time of finding a solution that would allow our creative teams to work in nature when they’re in layout, writing, retouching, etc.”

“It was time,” Vincent adds. “I saw a space for rent in the Old Village and the only thing missing was a chalet that could accommodate small groups of employees. The moment the health safety measures allowed three households to gather under the same roof was the triggering element,” he concludes, emphasizing that the love affair between Republik and Mont-Tremblant is far from over.

 

Guillaume Vincent430 Posts

Rédacteur et journaliste de profession, Guillaume Vincent a fait ses armes au sein de l’agence QMI. Il s’est joint au Tremblant Express en 2014. Promu en 2017, il y assume depuis le rôle de rédacteur en chef et directeur de la publication. / A writer and photojournalist by profession, Guillaume Vincent won his stripes in the QMI agency. He joined Tremblant Express in 2014. Promoted in 2017, he has been editor-in-chief and co-publisher since then.

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