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Interviews

Behind The Scenes: Mighty Cruise Ships

Mighty Cruise Ships on Discovery

Mighty Cruise Ships returns to the Discovery Channel tonight for its second season and I had a chance to chat with Executive Producer Karen McCairley. Find out more about the production process below and see which celebrity she wants to travel with in this special Q&A.

How does your show attract and engage with viewers (like myself) who have never been on a cruise?

Mighty Cruise Ships is the only show of its kind in the whole world. We take all the preconceived notions viewers like you may have about cruise ships and set the story straight!

It’s not all big buffets and cheesy lounge singers – we focus on what it takes for the hard working staff aboard each vessel to pull these trips off time and again. We pull back the curtain and focus on the big technology and navigational skill it takes to dock these ships in very interesting and oftentimes difficult ports. We spend time in the engine rooms, bridge, galleys and behind the scenes of the huge mainstage productions that happen aboard these ships.

Put it this way, even the people who work for the cruise lines are oftentimes blown away when they eventually see our shows.

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Behind The Brand: Town Shoes

Crissi Town Shoes

Name: Crissi Giamos

Position: Director of Public Relations

Professional role model:

Mary Symons, luxury publicist and president of Mary Symons Communications. Everything this lady touches in PR is done with perfection. She oozes elegance and class. My nickname for Mary is “VVVIP”.

In 140 characters or less, what is your favourite part of your job?

The fast paced environment and how each day differs. The best part? Shoe shopping of course—one pair for the photo shoot, two pairs for me.

What are your daily responsibilities?

Fuelling the business of the Town Shoes Limited banners by consistently garnering meaningful targeted media impressions and driving sales, of course. This is ongoing daily, working with media, influencers, stylists, television stations, fashion shows, events, photographers, shopping centres and the country’s tastemakers.

Which tools or software do you use at work?

Microsoft Office 365, Cision, Meltwater, MRP Data

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Behind The Brand: Canadian Football League (CFL)

Brodie Lawson

Name: Brodie Lawson

Position: Video Content Coordinator and Host

Education: Media, Information and Technoculture (MIT), Western University

Professional role models:

I have so many—too many to list! I love Katie Nolan who is hugely inspiring and represents where this industry is going—she is amazing. If you haven’t checked her out on Garbage Time on YouTube (on FOX in the USA), you should! Her stuff should be required viewing for women looking to get into sports broadcasting. For more traditional broadcasting, I look up to Sam Ponder who works on College Gameday. Her job (from an outsider) consists of working live on set with tons of fan engagement, doing in-depth interviews and sideline reporting. It’s a cool job and she kills it! She also speaks and writes candidly about working in sports, which I deeply appreciate.

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Behind The Brand: Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG)

Michelle Dias

Name: Michelle Dias

Position: Marketing Manager, Public Relations & Communications

Education: Media, Information and Technoculture (MIT), Minor in Philosophy & Writing Certificate, Western University; Corporate Communications, Sheridan College

Professional role model: Sheryl Sandberg. She is the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, an author and the “Lean In” activist. In learning about Sheryl, I see many parallels in her bold personality and ambition with myself. Her drive, work ethic and message of advocating for one’s self are traits that I have adopted in my own career.

In 140 characters or less, what is your favourite part of your job? 

Working with passionate hoteliers from across Canada to promote IHG’s brands. The hospitality industry is always open; it’s very exciting.

What are your daily responsibilities? 

My goal at the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is to promote our Canadian properties through creative marketing, public relations and social media campaigns. I work with a very talented corporate team across the globe and various agencies to tell the IHG story of: outstanding hospitality, marquee brands and Great Hotels Guests Love.

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Q&A With Dustin Brown, Co-Creator Of The Brief

Dustin Brown

Toronto-based advertising and communications agency Elemental recently launched a four-part web series called The Brief. Dustin Brown is a partner at the agency who co-created the series.

Why did you decide to make a web series about agency life?

We have always tried to do promotional pieces about the agency to either attract new clients or new employees, bring on new talent and [create] stuff to show our clients what we’re capable of doing. We have run some campaigns in the past and then when one of our new copywriters came on board, he was a director and had the background. I had toyed around with making a full-length series once upon a time and he had some ideas about how to do a web series, which I had never really explored. We brought these two things together and created these shorts and we just had fun with it. From there, it grew into this four-part series, which is great.

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