Erin Kawalecki, is an Executive Creative Director at DDB Toronto. Before rising through the ranks at DDB, Erin held positions at Juniper Park, Taxi and John Street, as well as freelance stints at Sid Lee and Red Urban. In this episode, we talk about the pros and cons of the remote working experience due to coronavirus, what positives some companies may take forward as we get back to the new normal, and how managing teams using constructive criticism is a skill that takes time and patience.

Erin Blaskie is a TEDx Speaker, Digital Marketing Instructor and Director of Marketing at Fellow - an app that helps managers better organize teams and their work. Erin is incredibly industrious. She started her own company at age 21, helping launch businesses for major league baseball players, Emmy-nominated actors, and multiple other 6-figure companies. Today, we talk about her passion for building brands from the ground up, how starting a new job during a pandemic has gone, the behind-the -scenes of talking at a Ted conference, and how being an entrepreneur can look cool from the outside but inside, it’s a whole other story.

Jeremy Miller is a Brand Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author and Founder of the brand building agency, Sticky Branding. Jeremy worked in a family business that was on the verge of closing before he discovered that it wasn’t sales that was the issue, it was branding. This discovery led to opening a brand consultancy, writing two books, and doing a lot of crisis management for clients. In this episode, we talk about his advice for businesses who are reeling due to the global pandemic, why companies should look within their own organizations for creative answers to tough questions, and how this unique moment in history is the most opportune time for new businesses and entrepreneurs.

Philippe Garneau is the President and Executive Creative Director of GWP Brand Engineering, a company he co-founded over 24 years ago. Philippe has penned some of the best work ever to come out of Canada, including the famous Signature campaign for Canadian Airlines, the launch of the Nissan Altima and Quest, as well as the long running ING campaign, “Save Your Money.” Today, he shares his views on how the industry is handling COVID-19, why leveraging human behavioural data leads to winning strategies and better creative, as well as his advice for anyone who wants to remain relevant in a business that can sometimes send people out to pasture a little too early.

Caroline Watters is a Stage Manager for the world’s most successful contemporary circus, Cirque du Soleil. Behind all the bright lights, death defying acts by performers and artful choreography, is an equally death defying choreography of real-time decisions the audience is never aware of. Today, we get to go behind-the-scenes to talk about the creativity required to keep a show of this magnitude on the rails, how knowing what you want to be early on has paved the way to Caroline’s success, and how simply asking can open the doors to your dreams.

Today we finally sit down with Michael Brenner, CEO and CMO of Marketer Insider Group. I say finally because this whole pandemic has thrown us off our game for a few weeks. Thankfully we’re back to the new normal with this Zoom interview. Michael Brenner is the former VP of Marketing at SAP and today is a globally recognized keynote speaker on leadership, culture, and marketing. He is the author of the bestselling book The Content Formula, and his work has been featured by The Economist, The Guardian, and Entrepreneur Magazine. A recognized expert in content marketing, he encourages companies and brands to leverage one of the most powerful tools in marketing currently. Today we get into how COVID-19 is affecting brand messaging, why it is a mistake to not recognize the context of the times we live in, and why content marketing would be better described as self-publishing.

Today we sit down with Craig Brownrigg, commercial director for Hobby Film. Craig started his career as an art director and writer, working at agencies like Cossette, MacLaren McCANN, Gee, Jeffrey & Partners, and Zig. Before slowly making his way into directing. Now he splits his time between Toronto and Los Angeles. Producing commercials that get people and brands to laugh. In this episode we talk about his transition from art director to getting behind the camera. His advice for those who want to do the same. And how to charm actors and DOP's to shoot extra scenes during their lunch hour. 

Gary Watson is a freelance Creative Director and Writer who has held senior positions at creative shops across the country, including Zulu Alpha Kilo, TAXI, Capital C and DentsuBos. In this episode, we tackle a subject that is increasingly top-of-mind with senior freelance staff. Namely, ageism and the impact of fewer intermediates in creative departments. We also get his sage advice for young creatives, the state of content marketing, and the things that inspire him creatively these days.

Steph Mackie is the Co-owner of the agency Mackie Biernacki in Toronto. Steph has held positions at a number of creative shops including Lowe Roche, TBWA Chiat/Day, Leo Burnett and other notables, before hanging a shingle herself. In this episode, Steph talks about her start following in her father’s footsteps, how cultural differences impact creative development  (she was once reprimanded for disgracing a tea bag while working in England) and how we view opportunities as risk when going it alone in business but rarely talk of the risk of not pursuing our dreams.

Alen Palander is the Creative Director and Lead Photographer of Palander Studios Inc. Alen began life as a lover and student of architecture but solidified his career as a world-class photographer while covering his travels visiting architectural sites across the globe. In this episode, we get into how he ascended from casual Instagram user to full-blown Influencer, how you should always remain true to who you are if you intend to be successful and the fine line between perception and reality when it comes to social platforms.