Toronto – January 27, 2010 – The anticipation is over. Redwood Custom Communications unveiled its new name today: Totem.

This marks a key stage in a process of evolution of the agency’s identity and vision, culminating in a complete rebranding. After a decade of development and innovation, North America’s leading custom media agency enters a new phase of industry leadership and growth, symbolized by the agency’s name change.

Totem Communications Group will begin its journey at the final stage of the evolution process, marked by the launch of a new website in March, 2010.

VISION QUEST

The re-branding process began in 2008, when Transcontinental Inc. entered into a partnership agreement with Redwood. “Redwood was central to our acquisition strategy for our Marketing Communications Sector — and it instantly put us on the map,” said Isabelle Marcoux, Vice Chair of the Board and Vice President, Corporate Development, Transcontinental Inc.

Less than a year later, Redwood celebrated its 10th anniversary and officially kicked off Evolution Redwood to forge a new vision for its future. In a release announcing the celebration, Redwood President and CEO Eric Schneider stated, “The new brand will be more meaningful to what the business is now, its positioning and where it’s going.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

For everyone at Redwood, the new name resonates on several levels. A totem, literally, is an object seen to have significance by a particular group. It has tremendous weight and power, commanding attention. “We love this name,” said Schneider, “because it articulates the essence of what we do. We create media brands for our clients that act as totems, bringing to life the qualities that consumers cherish most in our clients’ brands.”

The agency also unveiled a new tagline: Brand Stories. “This captures our strength in crafting the kind of messaging that engages customers on a narrative journey,” said Schneider. “Be it the subject line of an email, a feature article or a multi-page photo essay, the imperative of great storytelling is the core of our customer-focused approach. We’ve even created a new term to describe the craft employed by the talented staff who create brand stories: Marketing Journalists.”

FROM REDWOOD TO TOTEM: A NEW STORY BEGINS

The new website will be launched in March and will symbolize the agency’s new vision, new outlook and the exciting new benefits for Redwood’s clients. As Schneider explained, “It’s a clear focus on the fact that whatever we do must be welcomed by the consumer.”

Redwood will be remembered as a spectacularly successful North American category leader with a healthy roster of blue-chip clients. Totem will be known for building on that legacy. Fundamental to that growth is leveraging the power of marketing journalism to bring a unique level of understanding and insight to custom media solutions. Working with the combined resources of Transcontinental’s Marketing Communications Sector, Totem Communications Group will be poised to write the first chapter in its history with a clarity of purpose that informs every aspect of brand storytelling.

About Redwood Custom Communications (Totem Communications Group)
Redwood creates branded content and custom media programs by combining best-in-class journalism and marketing talent to build meaningful customer relationships and drive clients’ business objectives. Redwood has offices in Toronto and New York and is part of Transcontinental Inc.’s Marketing Communications Sector. Redwood’s North American clients include Procter & Gamble, The Home Depot, Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), Frito-Lay, Sears, Sobeys, The Principal Financial Group, Rexall, Mazda International, Aeroplan, Bank of America, Geico and more. Redwood has won over 170 national and international awards, including a total of 25 Magnum Opus awards for 2009. For more information about Redwood and to view our portfolio, please visit www.redwoodcc.com/evolution.

Media contact:
Joseph Barbieri
joseph.barbieri@redwoodcc.com
Toronto: 416-847-8548. New York: 212-896-3849