5 Minutes with… Candace Borland
A bilingual native Québecoise, Candace Borland grew up on a dairy farm near Montréal, but is now the CEO of Anomaly Toronto. Joining as one of its first employees in 2012, she has significantly influenced the agency's team, culture, and impressive client portfolio. With 15 plus years of experience across diverse sectors, she has successfully managed major clients like AB InBev, MINI, Nike, Kraft, BRP, SportChek, Hershey, Capital One, Amazon, and Diageo. Apart from her professional achievements, Candace was recognised as one of Canada's top '40 under 40' in 2021.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Candace to discuss everything from her roots in advertising to the ways in which she keeps herself informed and on the cutting edge of the industry.
LBB> How did you get started in advertising? Tell us about your story!
Candace> The elevator version; after starting my education in health science and realising that scalpels and bed pans weren’t a fit, I found my way to marketing and consumer studies, as business was my native language (since it was dinner table talk, having been raised by small business owners).
While I was interested in business, what really fascinated me was the psychological aspect – the drivers of human behaviour. After working in Canada and abroad (UK, Australia, South America) across a few tangential industries; sales (please don’t ask what I was selling…), promotions, experiential, and as an entrepreneur in my family business, I wanted to get closer to creative idea conception.
LBB> How did you feel about advertising while growing up? Was this industry something you always felt destined for?
Candace> Not really. I actually thought I’d end up working in agriculture (a story for another time). That said, I was always a dreamer, an idealist, and someone who appreciated the immeasurable potential brands had for impact at scale, so while I wasn’t destined for it, I saw the possibility in it. (And I was one of the girls who cut out Janet Champ ads from magazines and hung them in my bedroom growing up).
LBB> Candace, I learned that you recently hit 10 years at Anomaly. Congratulations! What has your experience been like, and how it developed and changed in that time?
Candace> Great question! Anomaly’s mission is, and has always been to be ‘the acknowledged change agent in the communications industry’. To truly be a change agent demands curiosity, relentless optimism and ambition, grit, and a great measure of future focus. Anomaly is inherently in an evolutionary state, yet has stayed true and unflappable in its values. Some recent validation: Anomaly Toronto was named Global DE&I AOY by Campaign magazine in May. This one meant a lot, and proves our positioning.
When Anomaly launched in Toronto, 11 years ago now, it was the new kid on the block, connected to the NYC powerhouse. I joined as employee number eight, an account director on BMW MINI. A decade later, Anomaly Toronto embodies the same challenger mindset and energy, hunger, bold entrepreneurial spirit, obsession with excellence, effectiveness and culture that they did the day the doors opened, but now is a proven entity - a global agency in a world-class talent market with an outstanding team, roster of international and domestic client partners, and over a decade of indisputable results.
I’ll admit I’m a person who gets bored easily, but Anomaly’s unrelenting drive, its principles, the incredible talent it attracts, and its obsession with beating what we did yesterday is what has kept me stretched and engaged all this time. Nearly 11 years later, I’m still genuinely excited for what’s next!
LBB> Building on this, what are your main aims and ambitions at the helm of Anomaly?
Candace> Starting my career, I moved from small town Québec to Toronto, but assumed I’d need to leave Canada to have an impact on a global stage. However, quickly, Anomaly established itself uniquely as a global agency based in Toronto (half of our work at any given time is based outside of Canada). With that, my focus is simply on continuing to make us great – building on an internationally compelling creative and strategic offering rooted in effectiveness, and doing so in a way that propels the industry forward by including all voices and experiences. Connected to that aim, I’m focused on figuring out how to sell what is most compelling about our world class talent market to the rest of the world.
Beyond this, Anomaly was first introduced to me by founding partner Jason Deland as a true meritocracy, and ‘a platform for incredible talent to come and do the best work of their lives’. As a woman in the industry, that’s precisely the type of playing field I was looking for. My aim and commitment as the leader of Anomaly is to continue to innovate Anomaly to its full potential, ensuring we remain that platform for talent, and the best possible business partners for our clients through skills, experience, and unique and innovative models and offerings. While we’re recognised for disruptive, innovatively shaped creative answers, we really are obsessed with the business challenge, and that’s core to who we are, and who we will always be.
LBB> As CEO, how would you define your leadership style and values, and what factors have played the biggest influence on this?
Candace> My leadership style is transparency, encouragement and modelling behaviour. I try to set a standard for a spirit of excellence in what I do, but I’m human first. My experience at Anomaly throughout the years was one of openness to new ideas and ways of doing things where almost any bold idea I brought forward was quickly adopted if I agreed to lead it. As such, I find a lot of joy in providing that same type of opportunity for the team – it should be a ‘yes’ first, and I encourage everyone to come and make Anomaly better than they found it. I fundamentally believe we have the power to change the world, so if you accept the mission, you’ve got to be ready for a great measure of that!
Regarding my values, in no particular order: integrity, truth, progress, empathy, and spirit of excellence. Fortunately for me, the company’s values align deeply with my own, and I hope I reflect them in the decisions I make, the vision I set for the company, and in my day-to-day actions. Finally, I’m not sure it’s a value as much as a personality trait, but ‘levity’? Let’s not forget, this is supposed to be fun (like, a lot) and I lead the charge in not taking ourselves too seriously.
LBB> An effective leader is always seeking opportunities to learn. What important lessons have you learned during your time at Anomaly, and how do you keep the agency on the cutting edge?
Candace> This could be a whole interview itself! So, here’s the elevator version of how I am currently seeking learning:
- By far my greatest classroom: travel.
- Being future-focused, Anomaly invests in studying the big maps; the macro analysis that gives us an informed hypothesis on future-state, distinct insight and context to current trends, and consumer behaviour (among other things) this is foundational in our approach and strategic decision making.
- As a network, Anomaly is committed to learning and democratising critical information to both invest in the development of our talent and keep us cutting-edge. One of the ways this manifests is through Anomaly DNA, our global proprietary learning platform (born in Toronto!). DNA is a hybrid of live sessions and a video library that comprises hundreds of modules, from our best strategic and creative cases, newest initiatives, our philosophies, emerging tech and trends, and important cultural subject matter.
- Pushing towards a future state, Anomaly has a commitment to leadership and expertise in web3. I am fortunate to be on the global steer committee for web3 and emerging technologies. I'll admit this is the most fast-paced and steep learning I’ve experienced in my career, but with everything I learn, the criticality of understanding the developments and implications is only reinforced.
- Scarcity of time has made me an audiobook ‘reader’ (books/podcasts). I seek out subject matter I need to learn (or unlearn), and for biographies of people I admire. If you ‘become like those you spend the most time with’, spend time with Bozoma. I also still get The Economist in print, which, in fairness, I didn’t realise was so lame until this last season of ‘Succession’ (Just call me cousin Greg).
LBB> With all this in mind, what recent pieces of work from Anomaly best embody the amalgamation of these values, and why?
Candace> I’ll pick three:
1. The integrated Budweiser and HDA ‘#TapeOutHate’ initiative.
2. Our brand strategy, identity, and the communications to launch the Chadwick Boseman Foundation for the Arts.
3. The recent communications campaign for Stella Artois Global
Why? Because they are an external manifestation of our values, and exemplify what Anomaly does best: impactful, bold, breakthrough, effective, multi-channel work with exceptional craft.
LBB> On a personal level, notably, you were recognised on Canada’s 2021 ‘40 under 40’ list! Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share on this recognition?
Candace> It was an incredible honour being recognised among this outstanding group of change agents, and I’m in awe of my fellow honourees. Importantly, this group are not only change agents in their respective industries, but they are truly committed to making an impact in the community and country at large. I look forward to remaining connected to this group, and finding ways we can work together, now and in the future.
LBB> Speaking of the country at large, what are your thoughts on the Canadian ad industry as a whole, at the moment?
Candace> We have an exceptional concentration of talent in Canada who have differentiated and valuable experience given our market context (values, demographics, multi-lingual, agility, resourcefulness, regulatory, etc.). My observation is that the events of the last few years exacerbated industry trends, and that at the moment, there is a lot of downward pressure. What we’re seeing in response is an increase in offerings within a domestic market that currently lacks the correlated increase in opportunities. To this end, I see a massive opportunity for the Canadian industry to identify our unique points of difference, to not only progress and elevate our domestic industry, but to attract much more international opportunity. Canada has exceptional professionals, thought leaders, perspectives and values. The world could use a bit more Canada, so let’s make it clear, captivating, and easy for them!
LBB> What do you like to do outside of work? What helps you destress after a long day at the office?
Candace> Travelling is an obsession, and the most immersive way I learn and reboot. I love to drop myself into cities where communicating/navigating is the challenge of the day! I can’t last very long without visiting the Scottish Highlands, and I seek out some form of adventure every year (my grandmother used to say I got all the Scottish roving genes). This past winter was glacier trekking in Patagonia (18 kms with a 22-month-old on my back), last fall was hiking in the Arctic Circle in Norway, and the next one is currently in the works.
I am also a farm girl and I always will be, so I remain involved in my family business in the agricultural industry and, despite 16 years of living in Toronto, still consider my farm in Quebec home.
Beyond that, I require quality time with my husband, son and close friends. And of course, finally and most importantly, I’m a person of faith. That’s where I go for motivation, grounding, direction, and pretty much everything else.
