While on a trip to Exumas, Bahamas in December 2017, Kyle and I were both working remotely for separate companies and spending the hottest part of each day and many late nights working side by side on our laptops.

Kyle was working in corporate as Head of Marketing and I was working as Creative Manager for a boutique marketing agency. As we began discussing the dilemmas we were facing internally and within the marketing industry, we began to strategize easier processes for marketing effectively.

The idea of working together professionally hadn’t ever crossed our minds; as most people will agree opening a business with your significant other is a big commitment and one that can often go south (no pun intended). But when we found ourselves working across the table from one another daily discussing ongoing campaigns and the latest social media algorithms, we thought this might actually work—remarkably, we didn’t want to kill each other.  

You could say our setting that trip was the true inspiration behind the name and vision of Colada Marketing. The carefree, breezy lifestyle of the locals seemed so far away from the daily grind of marketing in downtown Toronto. We thought if only marketing could be that easy—nothing about marketing is on island time. That being said, it was essential to us that whatever marketing company we created kept that island feeling for our then-future clients. 

After many long walks debating and throwing around a lot of rubbish ideas, we settled on the name Colada Marketing with the slogan “The perfect blend of brand awareness and marketing solutions.” I quickly drew up a concept logo the night before we flew home.