Sid Lee
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Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Creative services |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Key people | Jean-François Bouchard, Philippe Meunier, Bertrand Cesvet, Martin Gauthier |
| Products | Marketing, architecture, product development, industrial design |
Number of employees | 900 |
| Website | sidlee |
Sid Lee is an international creative services firm founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The company operates offices in Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Paris. Its services include branding, digital marketing, social media marketing, advertising, data analytics, architectural and retail design, and content production.
History
[edit]Founding and early development
[edit]The company was founded in 1993 in Montreal by Philippe Meunier and Jean-François Bouchard under the name Diesel.
During its early years, Diesel worked on advertising campaigns for clients such as Sleeman Breweries and the Pizzédélic restaurant chain.[1] In the mid-1990s, the agency began developing digital capabilities, including building commercial websites.
Bertrand Cesvet joined the company in 1997.[2] In 1999, Diesel merged with Stratège Media, and Martin Gauthier and Daniel Fortier joined the management team.
The agency also established a working relationship with Cirque du Soleil during this period.[1]
In 2007, the company changed its name from Diesel to Sid Lee to avoid confusion with the clothing brand Diesel. The name "Sid Lee" is an anagram of "Diesel".[3]
Expansion and diversification
[edit]In 2008, Sid Lee began working with Adidas Originals on global campaigns.[4] The company subsequently expanded internationally, opening offices in Amsterdam (2008) and Paris (2009).
In 2009, Sid Lee established Sid Lee Architecture, a division focused on architectural and retail design.[5] The division was founded by Jean Pelland and Martin Leblanc.
The company opened an office in Toronto in 2010,[6] followed by offices in New York City (2012) and Los Angeles (2014).
In 2012, Sid Lee co-founded C2 Montréal, a business and creative conference organized in partnership with Cirque du Soleil.[7]
In 2013, the company launched Sid Lee Entertainment, a division focused on content and experiential projects.
Sid Lee developed the "We The North" marketing campaign for the Toronto Raptors in 2014.[8]
On 6 July 2015, Sid Lee was acquired by kyu, a strategic operating unit of the Japanese Hakuhodo DY Holdings.[9][10]
In 2017, Sid Lee Paris acquired YARD, a French creative and production agency.[11]
In 2019, the company expanded its presence in the United States through the integration of agencies including Hornall Anderson, Infrared, and Red Peak. Digital Kitchen also became part of the organization.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Les saltimbanques de la pub". March 25, 2013.
- ^ "Bâtisseur d'image".
- ^ Kucharsky, Danny (December 11, 2006). "Who is Sid Lee?". marketingmag.ca. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ^ "Meet Sid Lee". adage.com. August 12, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ^ "Canada's Sid Lee Architecture Focuses on Brand's Physical Presence". April 9, 2012.
- ^ "Sid Lee: Comment diriger un groupe d'experts".
- ^ "La saveur montréalaise de Sid Lee". November 7, 2014.
- ^ "How 'We the North' came to define a team, a brand and a city". May 30, 2019. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019.
- ^ "How Montreal's Sid Lee hopes to shake up the status quo in advertising with help from its new owners". financialpost. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ^ McClellan, Steve (July 6, 2015). "Sid Lee Acquired By kyu". mediapost.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ^ Rittenhouse, Lindsay (October 19, 2017). "Sid Lee Acquire Paris-Based Agency Yard in European Expansion Move". adweek.com. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ^ Sid Lee appoints first U.S. CEO as it expands in the region. Archived 2020-01-26 at the Wayback Machine