Art director and designer Nicholas Bujnak goes to work every day at the same ad agency in Toronto, but only until he’s finished covering for employees away during vacation season. After that, he’ll go somewhere else, or more likely to a number of places as he works on a slew of advertising projects all at the same time.
Freelancers such as Mr. Bujnak have long been a significant engine of the ad industry, sweeping in to add creative heft to a pitch for new business; helping to run hard at a client’s demanding deadlines; or simply covering for other employees on leave. Agencies navigating a fluctuating business have always needed extra hands on deck occasionally, but at numbers that may not warrant keeping them on the payroll permanently.More recently, however, there has been a growth in reliance on freelancers in the ad business as the nature …