5 Minutes with… Allison Ballantyne
A seasoned leader who leverages a unique blend of brand building creativity and operational savvy to unlock a brands growth potential, Allison Ballantyne has just finished her first year as the president of john st.
Holding deep advertising and marketing experience across categories, including CPG, Telco, B2B, QSR and government, she’s demonstrated a consistent passion for nurturing top talent and integrated teams, leading to award-winning campaigns for effectiveness on an international level. This doesn’t stop locally either. With a reputation for sharp thinking, Allison has successfully driven brand and product growth for major Canadian names - from Doordash and Boston Pizza to No Frills - all enabled through her commitment to consumer insight mining, product differentiation and human storytelling.
To learn more about why this is important, and find out where she’s planning to take john st. in her second year at the helm, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Allison for a chat.
LBB> How did you get started in advertising? Tell us your story!
Allison> If I’m being honest, I sort of fell into advertising after getting my business degree. Back in the day, business schools focused on consulting or finance jobs, which sounded nice, but not that exciting. Then, one day, I got to meet an ad guy. He was electric! He was looking for someone who really understood their client’s business, and I had worked at McDonald’s since I was 15, so they thought I would be a great account person working on that business. It was like jumping into the deep end not knowing how to swim – I learned a tonne, quickly, and fell in love with advertising.
LBB> Congratulations on finishing your first year of presidency at john st.! How has your experience been, and what’s changed since you first took on the role?
Allison> Thank you! I can’t believe it’s only been a year. When I took over as president, my mandate was to reimagine john st., which was scary and exhilarating all at the same time. john st. has an extraordinary creative pedigree, and our desire to be one of Canada’s best creative shops hasn’t changed. But advertising has, and we needed to evolve our business to deliver clients modern solutions that can truly drive their business. In order to do that, we had to take a long, hard look in the mirror. And then we got to work. We re-aligned everything. Simplified our operations, forged new strategic partnerships, invested in new capabilities, and doubled down on our relentless pursuit to be unignorable. We’ve come a long way in a short time, and it’s just the beginning. We have amazing momentum. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.
LBB> Building on this, what are your main aims and ambitions for john st. in the coming year and beyond?
Allison> Our ambition at john st. has always been to make our clients' brands unignorable. Putting our clients at the heart of our creative ambition is why I joined john st., and it’s why we attract phenomenal talent. That ambition will never change. But, like I said, the advertising landscape has undergone transformational change, and that is what we’re focused on now – driving unignorable ideas within modern context. The consumer journey isn’t linear anymore. We need to leverage data and technology in a meaningful way to create customised content that connects brands to their desired audiences or interests. And, we need to do that at the speed and scale clients expect. It’s a lot, but that’s what makes it exciting.
LBB> An effective leader is always looking to learn. What are some of the most important lessons of your career, and how do you apply them to the work you do today?
Allison> Oh, good question! I think one of the key things I’ve learned is to have patience. It’s not the sexiest lesson, but it’s an important one. If you can give yourself, an idea, your client, or the process a bit of space and time, it’s amazing what can happen. And patience really comes down to trust. So, learning to trust yourself and others around you is key.
Another lesson to learn is having compassion. I look to Brené Brown’s definition, which is basically empathy without judgement. My old boss would always say, ‘Let’s try to see if from their point of view’. It’s incredible how quickly that shifts your perspective. From there, you can engage in better conversations, find better solutions, or simply be supportive.
Finally, have fun! It’s advertising after all. Yes, it can be stressful and overwhelming, but it’s truly soooo fun. And when we’re having fun, the work naturally follows. I’ve seen that time and time again.
LBB> With this in mind, how would you define your leadership style?
Allison> As a kid, I played a lot of sports, so I was exposed to different leadership styles at a young age through my coaches. That informed much of how I lead today, which is very goal-oriented and mission-based. I believe in the power of teamwork. I think execution excellence is a key to success. I’m driven by the pursuit for better. And to get better, it takes discipline, optimism, openness, and flexibility. You also must put the reps in. I’m the kind of leader where I would never ask someone to do something I haven’t or wouldn’t do myself. And I try to lead with humility and humanity. I think that’s what galvanises an organisation and creates the trust to do great things together.
LBB> You’ve mentioned using consumer insight mining, product differentiation and human storytelling to create meaningful business. Why is this important to you, and how do you utilise this to help lead john st. successfully?
Allison> I grew up in agencies where the most interesting creative ideas were strategically grounded. That kind of work inherently has a view on the world that is different, but true. It doesn’t matter if it’s a brand, product, consumer, or cultural truth - when told in a human way, you’ll get an unignorable idea that helps a client's business grow. It’s kind of that simple. And that’s what we aim to do at john st. over and over and over again.
LBB> Equally important is nurturing young talent. How do you facilitate this, and lead by example to build strong creatives?
Allison> Yes, talent is everything. And we have amazing talent at john st., I have to say! For me, when nurturing talent, I try to accentuate someone’s strengths and neutralise their weaknesses. ‘Always fanning the flames’ as one of my colleagues would say. The best boss I ever had did this for me, and it was the greatest gift.
I also try to create new opportunities for talent, in order to help them stretch and grow. I think we get the best work when people are curious, trying stuff, and naturally challenging themselves. When someone says to me, ‘I haven’t done that before’, I say, ‘That’s exactly why you should do it!’.
LBB> Now into your second year of presidency, is there any exciting news you can tease for the near future?
Allison> Oh yes, I love this question! We have some very exciting news to share later in the fall with respect to creative leadership. We are a creative shop after all, and any great creative shop needs a great creative leader. We have found someone amazing to come lead the next evolution of john st.’s creativity. I can’t wait for this person to start. It’s going to be transformational. I really can’t wait. Did I say that already? I’m so excited! Stay tuned.
LBB> Finally, what do you like to do outside of work? What helps you destress after a long day at work?
Allison> I’m a tennis fanatic. But I hurt my knees recently and I’m in rehab until I can get back on the court. So, in the meantime, my husband and I got a dog. I’m obsessed! Her name is Lily. I haven’t taken her into the office yet because she’s still a puppy and loves to talk (AKA bark). But, I’m eager for her to contribute to the office vibes. She’s a real gem.
