Cairns Oneil Wins 2025 Global 100 for Canada’s Best Marketing & Advertising Firm

Cairns Oneil, a leading Canadian media agency, has been awarded the distinguished Global 100 — Best Marketing & Advertising Firm of the Year (Canada) 2025. This honor distinguishes the agency as a standard-bearer for innovation, transparency, and excellence in the Canadian marketing sector.

Founded on the principle that agencies should work as true agents for their clients, Cairns Oneil has rapidly established a reputation for crafting bespoke strategies that leverage the best technology and media—earning repeat business and trust from brands that prioritize outcomes and transparency.

Transforming the Canadian Media Agency Landscape

Cairns Oneil is widely recognized as a transformative force in the industry, credited with bridging the gap between large global networks and smaller boutique firms through a transparent, agnostic, and senior-led approach. The firm stands out for its refusal to engage in principal-based media buying practices, instead focusing exclusively on delivering outcomes and exposing all fees and costs to clients without locked-in media positions or media reselling.

“When we talk to clients about not having principal-based media buying, we realize that we may be the only real media agency of scale that still acts as a true agent,” the firm notes about their unique positioning.

Values That Drive Success

Cairns Oneil’s rapid growth—doubling in size over just four years—is attributed to core values of transparency, agnosticism, and integrity. These values are reflected in every aspect of the business model:

• Transparency: Full disclosure of all costs and fees to clients.
• Agnostic Approach: No locked-in media contracts; freedom to use the right platforms for each client.
• Integrity: Client outcomes take priority over agency commissions.

This approach has led an increasing number of marketers to switch to Cairns Oneil, seeking a “new way to use media to drive their business forward.”

Innovative Strategic Tools: Awaken, Orbit, and Nova

Technology and data-driven strategies are central to Cairns Oneil’s offering. The agency’s proprietary tools include:

• Awaken: A strategic planning process that considers the consumer from physical, digital, and emotional perspectives, uncovering opportunities for brands to connect meaningfully with their audiences.
• Orbit: A transparent, interoperable, audience-based buying system utilizing multiple DSPs, DMPs, ad servers, and a data warehouse to maximize flexibility, performance, and transparency.
• Nova: A creative optimization platform featuring generative AI that updates copy in real time, enabling personalized content at scale for client campaigns.

Serving Canadian Brands with a New Agency Model

Cairns Oneil’s ideal partners are brands interested in reaching and growing their share within the Canadian market—especially those seeking custom strategies and measurable results without hidden fees or conflicts of interest. The agency’s commitment to “senior-led” service ensures clients receive expertise at every stage, positioning Cairns Oneil as a trusted advisor in an increasingly complex marketing landscape.

Award-Winning Recognition

The Global 100 Awards are internationally recognized for celebrating excellence across industries, with a multi-phase process involving expert analysis and jury assessment. Cairns Oneil’s 2025 win demonstrates industry and peer recognition for their leadership, innovation, and trusted service in marketing and advertising.

Contact & Further Information

Brands interested in exploring Cairns Oneil’s solutions for the Canadian market can learn more at their official website or connect with them directly via LinkedIn.