The Alberta Market. Re-posted from AgencySpy

Thanks to our pals at AgencySpy for posting our editorial. Alberta's a great place to live and work. They help us share that fact.

Alberta is a tough market. Talent that starts here seldom stays. We're continually bleeding great creative people into Toronto and Vancouver. When talent leaves it makes it harder for local shops to hang on to great accounts.

Our market is home to two massive communications providers: Shaw and Telus and Westjet, an extremely successful airline. All of which have agencies of record out of our market.

But we're not suffering. There's a serious digital pedigree here. We're home to Critical Mass, who recently moved offices to accommodate their 300+ sized team in Calgary. Evans Hunt has had explosive growth. Two years ago they sported a team of 12. Now they have more than 40.

Boutique shops like Sajak&Farki dazzle blue-chip accounts like Toyota with their playful interactive work.

Earlier this year MacLaren McCann Calgary won Mark's – a national clothing retailer – keeping the account in Calgary.

Alberta is the birthplace of iStockPhoto & Veer. Some might even argue the micro-stock market as a whole.

There is no shortage of jobs. Almost any agency you might call is hiring. It's rare to hear of big layoff news. It was a surprise when Veer closed its Calgary office in January. All that talent!

Of course many got snapped up right away. Or they joined Uppercut. A creative studio founded by 18 of the Veer alumni.

Here's a little peek into the happenings of Alberta:

• The well awarded agency, WAX in Calgary recently posted four open positions in a day. Something's going on over there.
• Trigger Communications' Creative Director, Patrick Doyle left earlier in the year to focus on sustainable businesses and donate time to causes as a freelancer.
• Watermark lost Mark's as the incumbent to MacLaren McCann. But turned around and picked up Edo Japan, a national restaurant chain.
• Studio Dialog revamped their website. It sounds mundane until you see how ridiculously great their work is.
• Audio production shop 6° is up for an Emmy for their work on ESPN's Monday Night Football Season.
• DONOVAN Creative wins EEDC achievement award
• Karo won a "tourism Oscar." The Diamond award for its Travel Alberta video, "(remember to breathe)."
• Foundry's founder, Zahra al-Harazi, was named Chatelaine's woman of the year

The Alberta Egotist covers advertising, design & interactive in Alberta Canada.