Bond Brand Loyalty, a Canadian engagement agency, announced that it has launched the XO Lab, a new division designed to drive dependable digital innovation and deliver breakthrough personalized experiences for Bond’s clients and their customers.
Based at Bond’s Canadian headquarters in Toronto, XO Lab brings together a multi-disciplinary team of data scientists, automation specialists, and strategy management experts. Working in concert with Bond’s proprietary platforms and strategic partnerships, XO Lab is poised to support the rapidly changing needs of global clients across many sectors.
Mike Gregoris, the newly hired Director of Digital Marketing at Bond Loyalty, is assigned to lead the team. Previously at ICF Olson, Mike has directed numerous marketing automation initiatives, and spent over ten years cultivating his skillset on both the agency and client sides of businesses, including Loblaws Companies Ltd. and Molson Coors Canada. Mike specializes in omni-channel CRM and is himself a certified Salesforce Marketing Cloud Consultant.
Marketers today have recognized the complexity of leveraging personalization. As a result, the purpose of XO Lab is to design strategies and digital experiences that exceed customers’ evolving expectations, while maintaining humanity throughout their journey with the brand. By removing data and organizational silos that often stall personalization initiatives, and by applying rigor and methodology, the Lab delivers experiences that drive the brand’s relationship with its customers—whether they are consumers, employees, people in the brand’s stores, dealerships, or branches.
“We’re dedicated to leading innovation in personalization through XO Lab. Nimble, on strategy, agile, and with rigor, we are committed to helping our clients engage with their customers in more data-driven, personalized, humane, and relevant ways,” says Bob Macdonald, President and CEO of Bond Brand Loyalty.
“Bond offers a place to scale what I’ve seen work in smaller environments, and it’s evident that Bond is committed to thought-leadership, the advancement of digital marketing, staying close to clients and customers, and new ways of working,” adds Mike Gregoris. “Bond marries the depth of a management consulting firm with the imagination of an agency that has the technical capabilities to deliver. I’m really excited to see what this hybrid team will do.”
The launch of XO Lab is the latest initiative by Bond, following a series of technology partnership announcements that complement its own Synapze Engagement platform and extend its capabilities with Salesforce and RedPoint. The company has also expanded its IBM Watson and Selligent integrations. Bond continues to strive on the foundation of other senior hires including Executive Creative Director Stephen Bennett, formerly at start-up Wattpad, TAXI, Juniper Park, and Grip Limited, to ensure continued leadership in digital personalization and delivery of creative, valuable experiences to clients and their customers.