This is a guest post from WeUsThem Inc.
(Member since 2013)
When Faten Alshazly traveled from Halifax to Egypt to deliver a keynote in front of 6,000 delegates from 64 countries, she decided to make it a team-building exercise and bring along all of her employees.
They went diving in the Red Sea and drove ATVs through the desert mountains. They also launched a new web platform for NSCAD from the lobby of their hotel — increasing NSCAD’s recruitment numbers by 60 per cent.
“Who says you can’t do brilliant work while you are having fun?” says Alshazly. “We got a taste of what it was like to take a break and celebrate our collective success as an agency — and recharge as a group — but also continue to support our clients the world over.”
Alshazly is the Chief Creative Officer and Principal of WeUsThem Inc. — an international agency with a global client roster. The firm is known for its devotion to being “a family first, an agency second,” and has a policy where if someone needs to stay late, everyone stays to work as a team.
They’ve come up with creative solutions for tourism, healthcare, hospitality, academia, food and beverages, fashion and cause-based organizations. Alshazly says they’re “always working to build the next big beautiful authentic customer experience.”
They ran the Canada 150 campaign for Global Affairs Canada and collected birthday wishes to Canada from all over the world. More than 150,000 fond memories and emotional submissions were shared online and with the Prime Minister last Canada Day.
Alshazly says it’s important for WeUsThem to promote social good, which is why they built interfaces for youth justice and supports and worked on strategies for affordable housing. Just in the last year, they’ve been recognized nationally and internationally for their work in mental health and addictions, heart health and healthy lifestyles.
Alshazly herself was recognized as of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women this year by the Women’s Executive Network. It’s the second time she’s made the list and this time it’s for their Trailblazers and Trendsetters category.
She was also named the Female Executive of the Year in Canada by the Stevie Awards — which recognize women in business globally — at a ceremony in New York in late November. Alshazly says it was “a tremendous honour” to be celebrated with illustrious women from Australia, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America.
“This global award is a testament not just to my work, but that of WeUsThem,” says Alshazly. “It speaks to what we are doing to further business, but also our communities locally, nationally and internationally.”
About 80 per cent of WeUsThem’s client base is outside of Atlantic Canada, but Alshazly says the team’s happy to call Halifax its home base.
“We travel extensively, but at the end of the day, there is nothing like coming home and enjoying a hot cup of cocoa on the waterfront or walking down Spring Garden Road,” says Alshazly.
“We truly are appreciative of our home that provides for the fast pace of a faster city with the slow pace that we hope to have at home.”
They recently partnered with RBC and Cox & Palmer to provide a day of free consultations on marketing, advertising, PR and communications. More than 55 organizations attended Halifax’s inaugural AdFree30 in November, and Alshazly says it was wonderful chatting with them about their unique situations and offering advice.
The world of marketing is always evolving and she believes “navel-gazing can get you into a rut,” so WeUsThem has also focused on how they can offer something different.
“It keeps us always looking for new ways to deliver on organizational objectives and pain points we are presented with,” says Alshazly. “We see each project as a way to communicate differently, engage authentically, and positively quantify the measurable difference of what it means to work with WeUsThem.”
The agency is so committed to keeping things fresh and exciting that Alshazly says sometimes the challenge is getting their clients on board with their big ideas — and they may have to go with a more traditional approach.
“This balance of pushing the envelope, while staying within firm and strict guidelines, sharpens our minds to build solutions for every type of client,” says Alshazly.
She believes it’s this balance that’s enabled them to work with clients in 140 countries. Just this year, they have signed contracts to start work in Jamaica, Hawaii and Geneva, and they now work on every continent except Antarctica.
“We’ll get there, too,” jokes Alshazly. “We’re just waiting on the penguins to call back.”