Who We Are
As strategy, development and design experts,
we know our huge talent pool means nothing if we can't inspire trust in our clients, suppliers and staff.
We are diverse, yet coordinated. Hungry for new ideas, yet confident in who we are, what we know and what we've seen work. We’re based out of Winnipeg, Toronto and Portland, and whether our offices look out onto the Exchange District, the Great Lakes or Mount Hood, we love where we work and the work we do.
What We Do
In short, we collaborate, innovate and build. How? By being candid with our partners.
By asking them hard questions and by being unafraid if the answers mean we have to reinvent everything.
We believe this is how innovation happens, when ideas are allowed to merge and new ones are allowed to appear. The difference with Direct Focus? We also have the people, processes and equipment to back up these ideas and build them into something bankable. Our three locations, each with its own unique set of core strengths, function as a network of integrated expertise and support. From creative, media buying and display services to information technology, new media and channel co-op marketing, we’re there to help you connect on every level.
History
Since Day One, fifteen years ago, we have continually
expanded the range of our capabilities.
While some companies expand in response to new needs, we have grown in anticipation of new needs.
Be it investing big in new technologies, larger warehouse space or new offices in Winnipeg, Toronto and Portland, our goal has been the same: Have the resources in place to deliver on our ideas, so we can build every relationship with confidence.
It started with print. The strong reputation we developed with print production came as a result of our efforts to establish greater, more efficient distribution control. To this day, our early focus on distribution and materials management - our ability to know exactly whose hands our marketing materials are placed in - remains one of the key reasons we are able to take big ideas and transform them into big results. As print production techniques have changed, we’ve been on the cusp of emerging trends and have mastered both traditional means as well as digital – giving our clients a range of price points and technologies to choose from.
As our client-base grew, we relocated the heart of our operations to the heart of Winnipeg's historic Exchange District, where we transformed a turn-of-the-twentieth century building into a modern hub of marketing and communications. Everything moved under one roof: 35,000 square feet of warehouse space, 25,000 square feet of office space, Embroidery-On-Demand and Print-On-Demand capabilities, creative services, account management and an entire IT wing working to reinvent co-op advertising, inventory management and other integral digital marketing systems.
The best part? The cost efficiencies of locating all these services in one building are transferred directly to our clients.
Our new operations in Toronto and Portland transformed Direct Focus into a North American network of marketing ideas, support and services. These new offices allowed us to provide more focused, tailored support to our growing list of national and international clients.
At this point, we began to clean-up on international creative awards. With industry accolades in hand, some agencies might have rested on their laurels. We didn't. Instead, we doubled-down on IT and creative services, adding greater digital capabilities, in-house focus testing facilities, a photo studio, oversize printing and A/V production. These investments, combined with the over 100 people now working on our team, have made us the biggest and most diverse marketing and communications agency in the region.
Innovative ideas can't be forced, but they can be facilitated to a smoother completion. At Direct Focus, we've made sure our growth provides us with the widest base of coordinated services possible. When we promise our partners we'll deliver on our latest innovation, they can be assured we already have the tools in place to get it done. This is the crux of our commitment to client dedication, and the confidence at the core of every one of our collaborations.