There’s a moment between translating an idea from English to French and how it lands in Quebec when even a well-adapted line of copy isn’t enough. The words are right, the meaning holds, but the feeling isn’t there. To Quebecers, that misstep doesn’t go unnoticed.
“A lot of brands look at Quebec as just a language difference, versus our positioning, which is really about culture,” says Martin Archambault, founder and president of fo.ne.tik, the Montreal-based creative studio launched in April 2026. Built from the complementary heritage of The French Shop and Studio Edgar, the new entity brings together a 30-person team that produces, localizes and develops advertising, content and narrative projects for Quebec audiences, handling everything from creative localisation to recording, sound design and post-production. Its integrated model aims to carry creative intent through as ideas move into Quebec, while reflecting a broader shift toward more collaborative, interdisciplinary ways of working.
For years, much of the industry has approached Quebec through a translation-only lens, adapting finished ideas after the fact. But that model often strips away nuance and weakens the original intent. As audiences become more attuned to authenticity, the limitations of that approach are becoming more apparent.
“It can be easy to translate because there are tools available for that,” Archambault says. “But translating is just words. There’s no feeling or creativity behind it.” For fo.ne.tik, preserving that feeling is everything.
Quebec is a cultural territory with its own rhythms, references and internal diversity. “Quebec isn’t made up of just one big culture,” Archambault says. “The same as anywhere in the world, there’s the main culture, but there are many subcultures too. So, what might appeal to one person may not resonate with another.”
For fo.ne.tik, cultural resonance is not simply a matter of language accuracy, but of aligning tone, context, casting, sound and symbolism in a way that feels authentic.
To achieve this, instead of moving work through a linear sequence of departments, fo.ne.tik assembles multidisciplinary teams that collaborate simultaneously, allowing each discipline to inform the others in real time. “It removes a lot of boundaries and silos because all teams are at the table from the beginning,” says David Gagnon, operations vice president and partner of fo.ne.tik. “It’s faster, and ultimately, our clients and partners have access to more people and expertise than they would in a traditional setup.”
That structure also informs how the work is approached creatively. Central to this process is fo.ne.tik’s “five frequencies” framework – words, places, people, symbols and influences – which functions as a cultural calibration tool. Rather than applying a fixed formula, the team adjusts these elements depending on the project, audience and medium, so that each idea is tuned appropriately for Quebec’s cultural context.
“It goes further than just trends or behaviours. It’s like working with an equalizer,” Archambault says. “We’re not turning everything up, but adjusting different cultural frequencies, from language to territory and history.”
That level of nuance is supported by the studio’s team structure, which is made up of a multidisciplinary group of creators, producers and strategists from across Quebec’s cultural and subcultural mix. “It’s really important for us to make sure that our team represents every subculture we have in Quebec,” Gagnon says. By embedding this diversity of perspective into its process, fo.ne.tik approaches each project with a more informed understanding of the audiences it’s targeting.
The studio’s positioning as a partner rather than a vendor is equally deliberate. fo.ne.tik partners with many kinds of collaborators including agencies, production companies, broadcasters, content creators and brands, acting as an extension of their teams rather than a separate service layer. It contributes not only to execution, but to strengthening ideas as they evolve. That level of involvement is increasingly important as ideas are stretched across more platforms, formats and markets, shifting the role of cultural partners from simple adaptation to preserving the integrity of the work so it connects within specific cultural contexts.
For fo.ne.tik, getting the words right is just the beginning. The real measure of the work is whether it holds onto what made it effective in the first place, and whether it still resonates once it gets there, according to Archambault. “Our role is to make sure the work actually connects within Quebec’s culture.”
CONTACT:
Martin Archambault
founder and president
martin@fonetik.ca
