Media People Podcast

It’s difficult to refute social media’s supremacy in the platform hierarchy. Brands are increasingly trying to find new & innovate ways to leverage social for audience engagement. And it’s exactly why they turn to today’s guest, Darcy MacNeil. Darcy is the Head of so.da—a full service, specialized, and award-winning social first agency. Darcy’s career started behind the camera as a clearance coordinator. This involved securing commercial rights to content so it could be legally integrated into programming. Her work led to a series of producing jobs before she moved into content marketing, joining agencies like UM and getting the opportunity to start Mindshare Canada’s Content+ department. Darcy MacNeil stops by to chat about growing up in suburban Toronto, playing ringette, why dance is such big part of her life, how a pop culture history class at the University of Victoria got her thinking about a career in media & journalism, and running one of Canada’s largest social digital media agencies. **Subscrib

Science has always played a role in marketing—whether it be focus groups, surveys, or any other form of research. But the marriage between the two disciplines has grown increasingly closer over the years. So much, that it has formalized the role marketing science plays in advertising. And PHD Canada has entrusted Matt Devlin, to handle this for their roster of clients. Matt is their first Managing Director, Marketing Science, where he’s responsible for connecting media investments back to their results. An Ottawa native, Matt left capital city to attend university in Toronto. But unlike most students who enter with a major, Matt used his first year to dabble in a variety of different classes before settling on a degree in Cinema Studies and Semiotics. After graduation, Matt relocated to the United Kingdom, taking his first media role at Zenith Optimedia’s London office. He moved back to Canada and continued with Zenith at their Toronto office. He was let go by Zenith, but picked up by PHD where he cont

You might know David Cairns as the co-founder of Cairns Oneil, but the agency he started with Sherry O’Neil back in 2012 is just one of the many companies he’s had a hand in founding. In fact, some of those agencies became the entry points for international holding companies looking to enter the Canadian market. For example, David’s first agency—David Cairns & Company, was acquired by Aegis and rebranded Carat. But if you look back at David’s passions and education, you would have thought a role in the creative world was forthcoming. A life-long artist with degrees in visual arts and education, David worked for two years as an art teacher in rural Prince Edward Island. David returned to Toronto and took a job as a Media Estimator with Ogilvy & Mather, and it was from there that his media career took off. David Cairns stops by to chat about growing up in Toronto, his passion for painting, working the late shift as a taxi driver, his career in media, and why every entrepreneur should have an exit strate

You could say a career in advertising was foreshadowed in Anthony Hello’s childhood. After all, two of his influences were fictional advertising executives–Angela Bower from Who’s the Boss?, and Darrin Stephens from Bewitched. Anthony was born, raised, and educated in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He moved to Toronto after graduating from the University of New Brunswick, landing an entry level role working on the Labatt Breweries account at Echo Advertising. Anthony went on to senior roles at The Hive, Mediacom, and Bensimon Byrne. During this period his career became increasingly focused on content marketing. Anthony married an American, and he and his husband decided to settle in New York City, where his career continued with senior roles at UMWW and the Mediabrands Content Studio. In his spare time Anthony is also a podcaster. He’s the producer and host of All The Boys, a podcast dedicated to telling the historical stories of gay men arrested on so-called morals charges, who were then outed in the pres

Running commentary on your profession can be daunting—especially on LinkedIn, where point-of-views can be read by your entire industry. But that hasn’t stopped today’s guest, Danny Weisman, from publishing his thoughts. Danny is the Group Media Director at Noble People—a New York-based creative media agency focused on new thinking and innovative methods. In my opinion, Danny is also one of the most open and curious media professionals on LinkedIn. His opinions are candid, and are mix of industry research along with professional and personal experiences. You can check him out on LinkedIn, but be sure to subscribe to his newsletter, Let Me Think, at letmethink.beehiiv.com. Danny Weisman stops by to chat about growing up in the New York City borough of Queens, the impact summer camp had on his life, attending university in Nashville, how a media director’s role continues to evolve, and openly sharing his opinions on the advertising industry. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** mediapeople.beehiiv

In a world where job hopping is normalized, it’s rare to meet someone who has spent their entire career with the same company. And it’s even rarer to hear about an intern working their way up to president. But this is the story of today’s guest, Caroline Moul. Caroline is the President of PHD Canada—the Canadian division of PHD Media Worldwide. Not only is she the president, but also a lifelong employee—going back to the days when the agency was known as HYPN. Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, Caroline moved with her family to the Toronto suburb of Oakville when she was a teenager. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the advertising program at Sheridan College. She joined HYPN on a media planning internship, and grew with the company as it was acquired by the Omnicom Media Group and integrated into the global PHD Media family. Caroline Moul stops by to chat about growing up in Africa, the differences between attending school in South Africa and Canada, and how having a fir

Marketer, educator, podcaster, & founder—Darian Kovacs stops by to chat. Darian and I talk about growing up in the border town of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, studying art education & visual arts at the University of Victoria, his time as a youth worker in Surrey, and his entrepreneurial endeavours which include Jelly Digital Marketing & PR Agency, the Jelly Academy, and Marketing News Canada. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** https://mediapeople.beehiiv.com/subscribe **Listen & Subscribe** www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Ron Tite, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Church+State stops by to chat. And what a conversation we have. Even if you’ve never met Ron, there’s a good chance you’ve come across his content. Apart from being the CCO of Church+State, he’s an in-demand guest speaker, published author, and very active on social media. What makes Ron’s content both unique and refreshing are his honest opinions on a wide variety of topics concerning, marketing, advertising, and business. Ron Tite stops by to chat about growing up in Oshawa, why he studied Phys Ed in university, how working for a business school was just as good going to business school, and a creative advertising career that includes founding of the award-winning agency, Church+State. www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Out-of-home media has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Much of this can be attributed to the proliferation of digital signage and the convenience of purchasing inventory via programmatic platforms. We’ve come a long way from manually placing posters in transit shelters. And today’s guest, Stephanie Gutnik, is helping accelerate this change. Stephanie is the Global Chief Strategy Officer at Billups—a leading global out-of-home tech company reinventing the way brands and agencies approach planning and placement. But a career in advertising wasn’t part of her original life plan. Stephanie had her sights set on broadcast journalism. That is until a summer internship left her second-guessing that goal. After graduating from university, Stephanie took a role with News America Marketing’s Montreal office, working on direct mail, couponing, and in-store media solutions. From there she moved to Broadsign, working her way up to VP of Business Development—and with it a move to New York City. Stephanie would g

Coming from a family of scientific and mathematical academics wasn’t enough to deter Kaaveh Shoamanesh from pursuing a career in entertainment. And he wasn’t about to let something like university, which he attended for an entire month, get in the way. After leaving university, Kaaveh packed up at the age of 18, moving south to Los Angeles to kick off his career. He started as an on-air personality, hosting an entertainment news show produced for the global Persian community. Kaaveh then moved into producing and talent management, working with the likes of HGTV and Netflix. At HGTV he worked on the popular real estate renovation show, Love it or List It, handling brand and product integrations. He’s taken 21 years of product placement experience and founded Plaiced, a platform enabling advertisers to reach their target audience within online community groups. www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Jed Schneiderman, Episode 22 guest returns to the podcast. When we last chatted with Jed, he was taking us through his early life and career leading to the founding of Tapped Mobile. Since then, he’s sold Tapped Mobile, and is now the country Manager for Jebbitt—a platform that helps brands collect more data by driving customer personalization efforts. But Jed hasn’t stopped there. A couple years back he co-founded the M2T Collective—a rotational program that gives recent graduates and those looking for a career change the opportunity to experience four different companies within the marketing, media and technology space. And then there’s Jed’s most recent project—CleverHire, a curated job site for marketing, media, and adtech professionals that integrates candidate videos into the recruitment process. www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

What was your Achilles heel in school? Essays? Presentations? Tests? I was never strong at exams, so I had put the effort into my course work to salvage a decent grade. But this is where Universal Design for Learning comes in. The goal of UDL is to provide students with the options to learn for themselves in ways that make sense to them. At the forefront of bringing UDL to the classroom is today’s guest, Danny Smith. Danny is a professor at George Brown College, educating students in the college’s marketing and advertising program. But this Ottawa-area native almost missed his calling to teach. When the concurrent education program at Trent University passed on Danny’s application, he chose to study mass communications at Carleton University. This led to a career in marketing, which led to a career in education administration, which would eventually pave the way for Danny’s teaching career. Danny Smith stops by to chat about growing up in Nepean Ontario, a marketing career that includes the Sales & Me

The title “producer” is everywhere in show business, but what exactly does a producer do? It’s a bit of a loaded question as responsibilities can vary, but it’s a question that today’s guest, Jodie Davis, will answer for us. Jodie has spent over 20 years in television, and there’s a good chance you’re familiar with his work. This includes many of the major Canadian awards shows such as the Juno and Gemini awards. He was entertainment producer on Toronto One’s The A-List, before getting the chance to executive produce ET Canada. Jodie Davis stops by to chat about growing up in Uxbridge Ontario, simultaneous attending both York University and Seneca College, a producer’s collective duties, and what it’s like producing Canada’s biggest entertainment news show. www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

As a marketer, overseeing a national brand can be a demanding ask. But leading no fewer than six? That’s a separate challenge altogether. And that’s exactly what the day-to-day entails for today’s guest, Cheryl Gresham. Cheryl is the Vice President Marketing, CMO for Verizon Value—a division of Verizon Communications serving value-conscious consumers looking for the flexibility of prepaid wireless service. Born, raised, and educated in Seattle Washington, Cheryl packed her bags after graduation, heading south to start her marketing career in Los Angeles. And what a career it has been. Prior to Verizon Value, Cheryl held senior roles at companies that include Initiative, Coca-Cola, Taco Bell, Mattel, Google, and TikTok. Cheryl Gresham stops by to chat about growing up in Seattle, her time in the agency world, working for some of the biggest global brands, and leading marketing for Verizon Value. www.mediapeople.ca https://www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

In May of 2022, Becca Lucas Lord resigned from her role as VP, Director of Client Services at Wunderman Thompson. She was ready to explore new opportunities that complimented her recent agency work. That sabbatical lasted all of three days before she was asked to return in a consulting role. When you look at the breadth Becca’s resume, it’s easy to see why they wanted her back. Besides Wunderman Thompson, Becca’s career includes time at Cohn & Wolfe, Sequentia Environics, Twist Image, and Mirum. She has worked on all categories from automotive, CPG, pharmaceuticals, and even petroleum pipelines. Becca Lucas Lord stops by to chat about growing up in London Ontario, why she took a year off from university, her career journey from coordinator to VP, and the decision to move into consulting. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

You'll be hard pressed to find a more eclectic resume than Ryan Ladisa’s. Ryan has worked in broadcast, out-of-home, digital, programmatic, and creative. He’s worked for agencies, big corporate conglomerates, and specialised ad tech vendors. He’s slung media space, sold cross-platform solutions, led departments hunting for the latest innovations, and helped innovative companies find their foothold in the Canadian market. And we can also add entrepreneur to the list. Ryan was Freshii franchisee number 1. This was back when Freshii was known by its former name, Lettuce Eatery. Ryan Ladisa stops by to chat about growing up in Toronto, studying Creative Advertising at Seneca College, and his extensive media career that spans both the agency and vendor side of the business. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Cynthia Rubino—CYTRINE CONSULTANCY Founder, advertising educator, and mental health advocate returns to the podcast. The pandemic forced everyone to adjust personally and professionally. For CYTRINE CONSULTANCY, this meant putting more emphasis on mental health services. If you’re a professional, you probably embraced zoom calls in sweatpants. And for many of us, not having a daily commute was a plus. But if you’re a student? Well, virtual lectures and group work sapped all the interpersonal benefits that come with the classroom. Something that Cynthia saw first-hand while teaching. Cynthia Rubino stops by to chat about the current state of mental health and wellness in the advertising industry, how it’s impacting our students, and her recently launched Masterclass series. And if you haven’t already, be sure to jump down to Episode 37 to catch our first conversation. You can find the link in the episode description. Link to Cynthia's first time on the podcast --> Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/z5dbu34j A

Whether it be in the classroom, through her podcast, or her self-published meditation journal—teaching is a big part of Shaelah Pirie’s life. A native of Porcupine, Ontario—a village of maybe 3,000 people, Shaelah studied political science at university, but pivoted into television writing and production after graduation. Her first breaks in media included promotion and production roles on The Distinguished Artists Series and Canadian Idol. Working in television is far from a 9 to 5 gig. 14-hour days are normal keeping you from family and friends. And as a new mother, Sahaela moved into teaching to have more time with her daughter. But her role has an educator grew beyond the classroom. Shaelah's taken increased authorship of her career. She’s focused on bringing meditation and wellness to parents and children. Helping them deal with personal trauma. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Starting a media company used to be an expensive and bureaucratic endeavour. It usually required buckets of money, a team of lawyers, and even a CRTC license if you were looking to break into TV or radio. But the internet brought down those barriers, giving new media companies a chance to challenge the old guard. And one company in particular, The Peak, is doing just that. The Peak was created to provide Canadian professionals with the news they need. They cover business, tech, and any other important stories of that day. It’s a news site, but also a collection of newsletters and podcasts. And all of this is available at readthepeak.com. On this episode we have The Peak Co-Founder and CEO, Brett Chang, stopping by to chat. Brett speaks with us about growing up in Toronto, his previous entrepreneurial ventures, working in public policy at Uber at time when the legacy taxi industry was very hostile towards both Uber and its employees, and successfully starting a new media company in a very competitive ecosy

Sales & Marketing – two departments that at any time, could be working in harmony or at each other throats. And today’s guest, Jennifer DeFrenza has had a seat both tables. Jennifer is the VP of Marketing for Surex, a company offering insurance products for consumers and businesses. Before moving into marketing, she had a successful career as a media sales professional for companies such as Rogers Media, The Weather Network, and Expedia. Jennifer DeFrenza stops by to chat about growing up in Toronto, completing most of the 8th grade in Red Deer, Alberta, and going from chasing marketing dollars to controlling marketing budgets. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/