Canvas Worldwide, the world’s second-largest independent agency as well as the fastest-growing media communications and services agency in North America, has won the McDonald’s Hispanic Media Strategy business in a partnership with Lopez Negrete Communications. Following a competitive pitch process led by Ebiquity, Canvas Worldwide and Lopez Negrete were awarded all Hispanic media communications for McDonald’s within the United States, which includes planning, strategy, and consumer insights duties.

This exciting partnership led the agencies to create a bespoke branded entity known as “Navigation Blvd,” which will provide a consumer-insight driven approach to McDonald’s Hispanic Media Strategy. The agencies kick off their first campaign for McDonald’s in early Q2 of 2021 and are excited to be part of the solutions-driven to speak to this vibrant, young Hispanic market while also supporting McDonald’s ongoing partnerships and innovative product launches.

“Our mission has always been to create an agency that was better suited for the future,” said Canvas Worldwide CEO Paul Woolmington. “Our intention with this collaboration is to bring the best resources from Canvas Worldwide and Lopez Negrete Communications together, in a seamless partnership, that will help McDonald’s drive business results with the Latino audience in a way that meets the demands of the New American Mainstream.”

“Together with Canvas, we seek to break through old paradigms and siloed models in order to create a more workable, real-world model that is fueled by actionable consumer insights, relevant, real-time data and analytics, and most importantly, higher levels of collaboration,” said Alex López Negrete, President and CEO of Lopez Negrete Communications. “We believe this union is going to be a catalyst in transforming how media plays a vital role in multicultural marketing from a too-often oversimplified practice to a much more sophisticated approach that consumers deserve.”

The partnership between Canvas Worldwide and Lopez Negrete Communications will be known within the two agencies as Navigation Blvd, which is an ode to one of the most historically significant, vibrant neighborhoods within Houston, one of America’s most diverse cities. Canvas Worldwide will staff a majority of the full-time employees, while Lopez Negrete Communications will oversee Hispanic Consumer Insights. The delineation between the two agencies, however, will be invisible in serving McDonald’s. Canvas Worldwide and Lopez Negrete Communications have previously partnered to handle the media business for several McDonald’s co-ops.

Experienced media executive Laura Willis joined Canvas Worldwide to lead the Navigation Blvd. team from the Canvas Worldwide Chicago office. With a breadth of multicultural marketing experience, Willis is a Hispanic marketing advocate who has long championed the power of Hispanic consumers and believes multicultural marketing is a crucial element of business growth and central to brand health. 

Read more in MediaPost and Adweek.