Very Polite Agency

Vancouver communications firm Very Polite was launched in 2017 by four former employees of clothier Kit + Ace, with the understanding that the quartet would play key roles in each project. “No matter how large the team gets, we're here to work alongside them,” says co-founder Andrea Mestrovic. “It was a huge factor in us starting it, and it's very exciting for us.”

It also means that the founders get involved in the day-to-day life of the company, which has six other staff–and that those employees are front-of-mind. “Our values are pretty simple,” Mestrovic says. “No compromises, creative output and creating a culture that enables our people to do their best work.”

That might mean excursions to the Vancouver Art Gallery, book and wine club meetings or, you know, a trip to Japan. “We do these themes for every year, and with that comes a field trip,”

Mestrovic explains. “The last one, in 2019, was emoji, so we took team to Tokyo, the birthplace of the emoji. It immersed the team in a very different culture, explored stuff from art to architecture. Everyone had a certain brand case study to complete.”

Last year was supposed to bring a journey to Rome around the theme of etiquette. For obvious reasons, that didn't happen, but the folks at Very Polite, whose local clients include toothbrush startup Brüush and real estate developer Westbank Corp., hope that 2021 and subsequent years will be more travel-friendly. “It's just one way we encourage and ensure our team is exposed to arts and culture and continually gets inspired,” Mestrovic says.