Media People Podcast

Aaron Bronsteter - Producer, Talent Relations on the hit sports talkshow Off The Record, chats with us today. Aaron gave us so much to work with that we're going to break into two parts. In this episode Aaron chats with us about growing up in Thornhill, his time at Brock University and Humber College, and his early start in the industry that included roles at Cogeco Community TV, The Fan 590, and TheScore. Come back next Monday for Part Two.

What do you think is the highest accolade an individual in the media industry can receive? Is it a Cannes Lion? A Media Innovation Award? In my opinion, being referred to as a ‘Rockstar’ carries much more weight than any statue ever could. And that’s exactly how Marketing Magazine has described this episode's guest, Mitch Joel. There are many things you can call Mitch: from best-selling author to public speaker, to blogger, to podcaster to media agency president. The list goes on. Today we sit down with Mitch Joel- Canada’s rockstar of Digital Marketing to learn about life growing up in Montreal, working as writer covering the Canadian music scene, co-founding a record label, and being the President of Mirum, a digital media agency that started out life at Twist Image.

In this episode we have the privilege of chatting with Kiip’s founder and CEO, Brian Wong. Kiip is a mobile advertising platform that matches digital ads with reward-based moments. Founded in 2010, this relatively young company is turning the advertising world upside down with its unique offering. Brian ventured down to Silicon Valley to start his career after graduating from the University of British Columbia, at the age of 18. That right, I said 18- the same age when many students are thinking about applying to University. Brian chats with us about growing up in Vancouver, life as an accelerated academic, and what it’s like being CEO of your own company, at the young age of 24.

Blaire Appotive is the founder and owner of Ignite Consulting- a firm specializing in marketing solutions for small businesses and entrepreneurs. But before Blaire ventured out to become her own boss, she was part of Canadian media agency landscape, juggling omni-channel media campaigns for multi-national brands. Blaire chats with us about her past life in the media world, walking away from a this promising career to pursue an MBA, and why after finishing grad school, she decided to go out on her own.

Emigrating with his family at a young age from his native Honduras, Walder Amaya was forced to restart his life in a new country. But this would prove to be just one of the many challenges that he would turn into opportunities. Walder chats with us about moving to a new country, dropping out of high school to start his own business, and how chance meeting with an executive at Rogers Media, started him on a career path to where he is now Executive Vice President of International Sales and Operations, at Evolve Media.

Nikki Hawke is a staple in the Canadian media world. She’s held senior marketing positions at major companies like CTV, Canwest, Alliance Atlantis, and Corus. Nikki even spent time working for Showtime, in the US. But just as media is becoming digital first, so has Nikki’s career. She’s currently Vice President, Global Marketing for The Exchange Lab. Nikki chats with us about growing up in Toronto, attending university in Quebec and New York City, and the marketing differences between TV stations and digital media firms.

Corinne Copreni, the co-founder of Offtrax drops by to chat about her recent adventures driving from London to Mongolia, working in the Canadian media creativity industry, and why after getting a law degree in her home-country of Italy, she passed on taking the bar in favour of moving to Canada.

What's it like holding senior media positions on both sides of the Atlantic? We sit down with Hannah Savage- VP, Head of Strategy at Havas Media to chat about the differences in being a media manager in London and Toronto, her time working for a not-for-profit in South Africa, and growing up in a British military family.