In this edition of the CM Leadership blog series, Sylvie Bergeron, Marketing and Communications Director at Frima, interviews Stéphanie Kennan, President at Bang Marketing. They discuss the qualities successful marketing leaders possesses, from sticking to their convictions to making tough decisions; Stéphanie leads by example while staying humble. 

Stephanie enrolled in university and studied creative writing. Her dream was to write plays. Despite her love of theater, she soon realized that she was too pragmatic for the artistic world. She wondered what field could combine creativity and pragmatism. Marketing seemed like the best answer! She decided to switch and enroll in the marketing program, a field that would allow her to invent new things within a framework of targeted goals and constraints. She earned her certificate in marketing and began her certificate in advertising, all the while helping her sweetheart from college set up his business. She invested more and more time in his project, and it eventually became her schedule. They joined forces to create a marketing-communications agency specializing in B2B. Today, Stéphanie Kennan is president of Bang Marketing, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

Discussing with Stéphanie is an exciting time. Overflowing with energy, creativity and knowledge, she’s generous with her time, sharing the ideas and opinions she’s forged in her years of experience. She is also very active in philanthropy, the media with whom she collaborates on content development, and marketing conferences. The interview with Stephanie brought to light a number of interesting leadership insights.

Have a Vision

It’s not enough to seize opportunities. To develop a company’s identity, you have to find your niche and stick to your convictions. When Stéphanie decided to focus on B2B in 2003, it was a new concept. As an avant-gardist, she wanted to be the first to do something that no one else was doing and that could help the local economy. She insisted on the importance of B2B marketing for several years, pointing out that the success of B2B companies wasn’t just up to the sales teams. Although the market has been talking about it for about 5 years now, Bang Marketing is still the only agency in Quebec dedicated exclusively to B2B marketing. Her vision has allowed her to position Bang Marketing well over the years.

Make Tough Decisions

It’s not just about taking a stand; it’s about being honest about your statements. Especially in an agency context, it’s important to make the right decisions in order to keep your team engaged for many years. Bang Marketing succeeds by having many people working for the agency for many years. To achieve this, the agency has chosen to remain a boutique size, which allows them to choose their clients and work on mandates that interest them, with people they like, without making too many concessions. In the past, Stéphanie has ended client relationships because they made employees cry. She has also had to let employees go because they did not meet the agency’s standards. It’s difficult, but these decisions are a service to the team, to the clients, and sometimes even to the individual.

Lead by example

What’s important at Bang is to strive for excellence while having fun. Getting to excellence is difficult because there’s always a step to climb every day. In marketing, everything changes all the time. To strive for excellence, you have to make a serious commitment. But for Stéphanie, if it’s not fun, no one will want to do it. She makes it her mission to embody excellence by demonstrating the seriousness with which she approaches her work and by bringing enjoyment to her work every day. Her motto: Work Hard, Play Hard.

Set up structures and processes

To avoid getting bogged down in administrative details, to work intelligently, and to deliver the best work possible, it’s essential to set up a successful environment. At Bang, everything is ultra-organized. The agency has established clear processes and remains open to new ideas to increase efficiency and innovate to excel. The sharing of best practices is continuous through all-day communication channels. Recently, the use of a brand-new AI tool, LOOM, which one of the employees tried out, has improved the way briefs are sent out and has been a significant factor in Bang’s favour when a new client was looking for a new agency to work with.
In addition, one person has the role of mentor and follows up with all team members on a weekly basis. This role was created not only to monitor performance, but to take the pulse of what’s going well, what’s not, and what adjustments need to be made. Bang gives employees time for growth and development. If someone can’t do that, they can raise their hand and say they need time.

Stay humble

Being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility and the potential for misbehavior. When asked what her best advice would be for someone in their first management role, Stephanie says to remember where you’ve come from and make an effort to understand the reality of the people on the other side of the desk. Stephanie also does a lot of management by consensus. She brings a vision to the table and then sits down with the team to determine the steps to get there together. She believes that while it takes longer to get everyone on board, it also means that once you have consensus, you can move forward more quickly.

Delegate

In order to evolve as a leader, Stéphanie has chosen to take regular steps back. On Fridays, she clears her head, rejuvenates, and returns on Mondays with a broader vision and better ideas. Like many leaders, she has realized that when managers are too involved in the action, they can no longer play their role properly. Delegating operational tasks to trusted employees becomes essential.

Finally, in talking with Stéphanie, I realized that a leadership role goes beyond the company. A good leader has a 360° view. They inspire and move things forward beyond their own organization. Conversely, a poor leader who is unaware of their role and image in the company’s external environment may miss opportunities or harm the company’s reputation.

 

 

 

 

Sylvie Bergeron

Sylvie Bergeron brings over 20 years of experience in marketing and communications within the B2B professional services sector. Since January 2023, she has served as Director of Marketing and Communications at Frima Studio, focusing on B2B strategies to drive business growth and enhance market positioning, while also crafting brand-aligned communication strategies to establish a robust identity across diverse audiences. Prior to her current role, Sylvie held pivotal national-level positions contributing to the success of prominent organizations. At Addenda Capital and Oberfeld Snowcap, she directed comprehensive marketing and communication initiatives aimed at strengthening brand presence. Her tenure at EY as Relationship Marketing Manager for Eastern Canada was marked by initiatives that nurtured client engagement and fostered strategic partnerships. Sylvie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing and International Business. She is currently pursuing certification as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and has completed coursework in Project Management Professional. Throughout her career, Sylvie has been recognized for her collaborative leadership style and her dedication to leveraging innovative marketing strategies to achieve organizational objectives.

 

Stéphanie Kennan

Stéphanie has been the President of Bang Marketing since its founding in 1998. She specializes in B2B marketing for mid-sized Quebec businesses, focusing on strategy, branding, and web marketing. Along with her dynamic team of 20 marketers, Stéphanie is an enthusiastic presenter, regularly delivering specialized conferences to business audiences. She holds a marketing degree from HEC Montréal and is the author of the book “Mon site web chez le psy”. Known for her commitment to entrepreneurship, she has served on many boards of directors over the years, including the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and the Montreal Economic Institute. Her achievements and recognition include being named “Personnalité d’affaires au féminin” by Les Affaires, a finalist for the Prix Relève d’excellence HEC in the Entrepreneur category, and receiving the Businesswoman of the Year Award in the small business category from the Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec. Stéphanie’s outstanding contributions have also been acknowledged with the Prix du maire de Montréal.