The Pivot with Ken Evans

Every politician knows the importance of careful listening. But how do you ensure you're hearing everyone – not just those whose voices are the loudest?

A self-proclaimed optimist and community advocate, Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford has harnessed the power of social media to create a solid connection with constituents from all different backgrounds. However, addressing complicated and nuanced political issues, especially in the often black and white digital landscape, is not a responsibility he takes lightly.

On this episode of The Pivot, Brad tells our host Ken Evans about the importance of a strong communications plan, and how he ensures he is meeting the needs of all the members of his community.

When your number one marketing tool is taken away by a global pandemic, how do you make sure your product ends up in front of the right people?

This week on the Pivot Ken is joined by Tony Ayala, President of Queen Street Bakery. With a background in finance and a passion for food, Tony brought Queen Street Bakery products into 1000 grocery stores across Canada, and 200 in the US. Tune in to hear how he used creative thinking and community spirit to grow the business and do some good.

As communicators, we can't stress enough the importance of storytelling. That's why we sat down with a master storyteller herself, Colleen Stewart, President of Perfect Pitch, and author of The Story Compass! Storytelling is key for businesses to achieve their objectives and Colleen shared some great tips on connecting with your target audience to get your key message across. The most important takeaway? Start with the "Why" before the "What". Good leaders know how to capture their audience from the get-go because once an audience understands "why", they'll be asking "what" and "how" themselves.

In the latest episode of The Pivot, we are joined by Branick Weix, CEO and founder of Aryeo, to take a deeper dive into real estate marketing.

Branick is the CEO and founder of Aryeo, a company created with the mission of streamlining access to marketing content across the real estate industry for photographers, agents, and brokers. With a strong background in entrepreneurship and photography, Branick shares his thoughts on the marketing of real estate and shares insight that allowed his practice to flourish despite the changing needs of realtors and their audiences throughout the pandemic.

In 2021 we've seen many organizations move forward to adopt inclusion and diversity into their key pillars. They are increasingly trying to build and create a space where their employees who are black, people of colour, indigenous and/or LGBTQ2+ can feel a sense of belonging and genuine inclusion. This does not just mean having a seat at the table but having valuable input.

What steps have these organizations been taking and how can we all work to offer diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplaces? In this episode of the Pivot, we are joined by Anne-Marie Pham, Executive Director at the Canadian Center of Diversity, and Inclusion (CCDI).

As the world continues to move towards increased accessibility and reliance on technology, the best marketers are looking at changing trends and reliable data to better cater their strategies towards target audiences.

How has research changed since the world shifted to increasingly more virtual spaces?

Find out in the latest episode of the Pivot, where Ken is joined by Lisa.

Lisa Covens is Vice President at Leger, the largest Canadian owned market research and analytics company in Canada. With over two decades of experience focusing on research for the purpose of public relations campaigns, Lisa shared her insights on changing trends in research and analytics.

In a year that has brought on new challenges for industries across the globe and completely changed the way we work in teams; has the way we lead changed? And what does it take to be an effective leader today?

In this episode we are joined by Alain Hunkins to open the curtains on leadership in 2021. Alain is the CEO of Hunkins Leadership Group and recent author of Cracking the Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders. With 20+ years of leadership coaching under his belt, Alain shares his insights on how leaders can build collaborative workforces, why leaders must make their implicit assumptions explicit, and how intention plays a role in more effective leadership.

In the past year and a half, the growth of TikTok has been explosive, with Generation Z dominating its user base. Many have turned to TikTok as their main source of entertainment during the pandemic, and now brands are starting to catch on.

Angela Nader, Head of Beauty and Luxury Partnerships at TikTok joins us in this episode to discuss how brands can be successful on the platform, the companies she feels are doing it right, and how brands need to shift their marketing strategies to cater to well-informed and well-researched Generation Z.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by Angela in this episode of The Pivot are entirely her own and have zero affiliation with TikTok and are not representative of the views of the company.

Some may have the perception that the "marketing" of DEI initiatives is – by default – performative… but is it?

As discussed in previous episodes, marketers and communicators need to have a seat at the table, this is especially relevant when it comes to DEI efforts. How can brands effectively tap into the expertise of marketers when it comes to marketing DEI?

Tune in as we discuss this and more with Susan Diaz, CEO and Editor-in-Chief at c+p digital and Rohini Mukherji, Vice President of Integrated Communications at APEX PR. Susan and Rohini co-host the recently-launched podcast, ABCDEI, which explores the topics of diversity, equity and inclusion through stories of distinct and powerful lived experiences.

Any brand's effort to gain public trust and maintain its reputation is a never-ending cycle, and if the last year has taught us anything, its that communicators need to have a seat at the table. As we continue to navigate a global pandemic and ongoing social justice issues, marketers and communicators have risen to the challenge in an effort to adapt to the situation quickly, and help inform decisions to maintain public trust.

In this episode of The Pivot, we chat with Russell Baker, president of IABC/Toronto. Part of his mandate is to modernize the Toronto Chapter – by placing an emphasis on data to help inform decisions. Tune in to hear the discussion on Russell's mission to modernize the profession, the IABC's DEI initiatives, and his key learnings on being a communicator during the pandemic.