“Lots to Be Proud Of": GUT Toronto’s Journey from Pandemic-Launched Agency to Canadian Contender

When GUT opened its Toronto office back in March of 2021, the industry was in a very different state. Canada, like much of the world, was still in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic, which meant that all of the challenges associated with it – rudimentary remote working models, financial turmoil, etc. – were in full, panic-inducing effect.

Needless to say, this wasn’t ideal launching conditions. Despite the Toronto office receiving the backing of the rapidly-growing network – then four years old – and launching specifically to serve as AOR for Tim Hortons, things were frantic. Recruitment was done entirely remotely, with the agency looking to hire 45 people in the span of roughly four months. There also wasn’t a physical office space yet, which meant nobody met in person until September… almost a year after hiring its first employee, and seven months into its tenure. All in all, it was a “challenging time”, reflects managing director Ryan O’Hagan.

“I remember going into shoots with contingency plans should anyone involved get covid-19 and be prevented from being on set,” he recalls. “There was a near constant debate over whether people should be masked or indoors, because we couldn’t predict what the regulations would be once the spots eventually aired. We were sending raw Timbit ingredients to LA with cooking instructions in order to get Justin Bieber to taste and approve the flavours for ‘TimBiebs’.”

Nevertheless, the team got by. Guided by a network-wide principle that ‘GUT doesn’t open offices, but agencies with the ambition to become the best in their market’, the shop put everything into focusing on Tim Hortons, ensuring such an iconic brand received the commitment and attention it deserved.

This is precisely what happened. In the following years, Tim Hortons achieved 18 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth, and moved from Canada’s number 50 ‘most trusted brand’ all the way to rank one in 2024. And, in the process, GUT Toronto began to earn clout, landing additional clients and building a reputation for being one of the best brand stewards in the country.

“We’ve learned that it’s a little bit like that Sinatra song: ‘if you can make it on Tim Hortons, you can make it anywhere’,” says head of strategy Amy Badun. “The volume of work and complexity of the Tim Hortons business requires an orientation that is flexible, fast and deeply collaborative. It’s a way of working that has proven to be extremely transferable to other clients’ businesses of any size, and across industries/verticals.”

What It Takes to Win

Over the past four years, GUT Toronto has gone on to work with the likes of GoodLife, Casper, Tinder, GUND, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, Google, Mike’s Hard and Stella Artois. Business opportunities which came through a combination of existing relationships, referrals, and pitch wins – as well as the aforementioned Tim Hortons success – according to head of accounts Natalie Street, from the first opportunity, the agency did everything in its power to justify prospective clients’ decisions to reach out.

“Every client we work with gives us a new opportunity to prove the power of brave creativity,” she emphasises. “Each brief, regardless of category or scale, challenges us to see things differently, push boundaries, defy category norms and expectations, and find ideas that move people. That approach, more than any one client or campaign, is what’s built our reputation as a creative office.”

Equally important, however, would be bringing in figures capable of delivering on this aspiration. Aside from Amy and Natalie, over the years, GUT Toronto bolstered its leadership team with the additions of head of operations Jared Tredway, head of production Aimee DeParolis, and, in a June 2024 move that made waves, former BBDO chief creative officer Max Geraldo.

“Max brought over 20 years of experience from some of the most iconic agencies in the world, having worked in Brazil, the US, as well as Canada,” Ryan notes. “With 87 Cannes Lions under his belt, he is one of the most awarded creatives in the country. His experience, energy, and ambition have had a significant impact on GUT Toronto.”

Upon joining, Max would lead a restructure of the creative department to help drive focus on creative excellence, whilst imparting lessons from his own experiences. Done with the intention of better shaping the agency’s rising talent, Ryan adds that this, alongside the other leaders’ contributions, has helped the shop deliver to a higher standard with greater consistency over the past two years.

“Each of [the leaders] brings a unique perspective and expertise to the table, combined with a true team-first orientation,” he continues. “It’s cliché, but GUT Toronto really is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Another critical milestone would come with the launch of Glory, GUT Toronto’s very own integrated production offering. Launched in 2023 with the purpose of providing clients with a single, GUT-led vision from brief to in-market, this investment would prove a game-changer, doubling in size in the years since, and expanding to reach more than half the network’s offices worldwide, and counting.

“Glory offers a wide range of services across both graphic production and motion, spanning editorial, online, versioning, motion graphics, animation, content capture, digital, print, QA and more,” explains Aimee. “We produce high-quality assets at pace, delivered and deployed at scale, with the ability to customise workflows and models to meet specific client needs.”

While all this might sound like on-paper showboating, Ryan asserts that the results speak for themselves. Brand-wise, Tim Hortons has won two Cannes Lions (its first ever), and was the only QSR to win at the festival this year. GoodLife Fitness has driven record memberships since teaming up. Mike’s Hard has returned to growth. And, Casper has exceeded all its campaign benchmarks.

Meanwhile, on the agency side of things, this success has manifested itself in a simple proof point: year over year, since launch, GUT Toronto has seen and maintained steady growth, without exception.

“We’ve benefitted a lot from GUT’s global reputation, where we’ve been perennially recognised as one of the best in the industry for most of the last decade,” Ryan admits. “However, locally, there is lots to be proud of (even if we still have a ways to go). Not that we’d accept any more than partial credit for [the brands’] success, but as your clients go, so goes the agency.”

Waking a Sleeping Giant

With a new year just around the corner, GUT Toronto’s leadership has put some real time into considering what the agency’s next moves should look like. Not the type to let success blind them, according to Ryan, the team has agreed that come January, the first priority is raising the bar, across the board.

“Every year, we try to outdo ourselves creatively and deliver for our ‘gutsies’, who are the lifeblood of our agency,” he emphasises. “Next year will be no different. It’s about raising the bar again. We’re focused on the kind of work that moves culture and makes people feel something real. There’s a lot brewing behind the scenes, and while we can’t share details at the moment, let’s just say the next chapter is going to be our most ambitious yet.”

However, Natalie caveats that this isn’t going to come from simply pushing GUT Toronto’s employees to grind in absurd fashion. While she admits leadership will always be tough on the work, ready to challenge teams and encourage people to go above and beyond as needed, treating people with kindness, respect and integrity has always been paramount, with the understanding that together, there’s always a collective hunger for more.

“The way we define our ‘people-first’ culture is that we are going to work hard every day to put our people in a position to do the best work of their careers,” she continues. “We’ve found that aligns pretty well with our growth and ambitions, as well as that of our talent.”

With this as a North Star, it seems GUT Toronto is positioned not only to live up to local expectations, but ones initially set by the network itself. Now a valued contributor to GUT’s multi-office offering – something always envisioned by founders Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio – it’s fair to say that despite the tumultuous start, this expansion project has truly stuck the landing.

“I feel the Canadian industry is going through an incredible moment, punching well above our weight, and GUT Toronto is very much part of that movement,” says Max. “We’re inspired by that momentum just as much as we hope to inspire it. In a time when there’s so much cynicism about our industry, we’re growing, thriving, and believing. We want to keep being a breath of fresh air.”

With that in mind, Ryan is eager to invite adland – both locally and internationally – to keep an eye on what’s next. Reflecting on the past five years, he describes the agency as “a bit of a sleeping giant”, adding that he’s genuinely excited to show the world GUT Toronto’s next chapter.

“We’ve built a strong foundation, but there is still a lot we want to say and do,” he concludes. “So, with the pace of change in our industry, we’re being intentional about defining our place and how we show up in 2026 and beyond. Ultimately, we were and still are focused on growth, and building towards an even brighter future.”