Toronto’s Eye Weekly has selected Rethink Toronto as its agency partner for a campaign to promote the upcoming relaunch of the paper, a dramatic overhaul that may include a change in the publication’s name.

Eye publisher and editor-in-chief Laas Turnbull approached one other agency in recent weeks, but decided on Rethink Toronto after several meetings with its management. The firm will be responsible for developing an advertising campaign to coincide with what Turnbull said will be a late spring relaunch.

“(Rethink) has a history of doing very innovative and effective work with modest budgets,” said Turnbull, who also noted that Rethink Toronto’s executive team, which includes former Dose.ca founding editor Pema Hegan, brings critical media branding experience.

“At a really grassroots level, these guys understand the direction we’re trying to move this brand.”

While the details of this change in direction are still being determined, Turnbull said the paper would shift away from its heavy emphasis on arts and entertainment coverage, redesign its print and website properties and possibly even change its name.

“We want to be a city magazine for 20- and 30-somethings in Toronto,” he said.

“Everything is kind of up for review right now. We’re looking at every part of the business and every part of the brand–what needs to go, what needs to stay and what needs to change.”

Turnbull said Rethink’s advertising campaign would likely involve print, television and online creative, with the newspaper’s print and web redesign work handled in-house.

“The changes are going to be drastic and I think the paper that is going to be launched at the end of the day is going to be something that Torontonians are going to love, and something that’s going to be very different from what’s currently out there,” said Hegan, partner and managing director at Rethink Toronto. “The campaign is going to be all about drawing people into the new Eye experience.

“The creative potential here is enormous and we have the opportunity to make a big difference in the relaunch of a pretty iconic Toronto media brand, so we’re pretty excited.”

Eye Weekly launched in 1991 and is owned by Torstar.