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Behind The Scenes: The Extra Plate

Save the Children is an international NGO committed to advocating for children’s rights and supporting children in developing countries. When Save the Children Canada’s PR manager Kirsten Walkom tweeted that she needed an extra set of hands for a video shoot, I responded immediately and spent the day with their production team a few days later.

Many local celebrities donated their time to appear on camera, including fashion designers Adrian Wu and Jessica Jensen, nutritionist Joy McCarthy and Kiss 92.5’s Devo Brown. It was fun to hang out with them in between takes in Liberty Village.

Devo Brown (Kiss 92.5)
Devo Brown (Kiss 92.5)

Running into Madiha Aziz, a fellow volunteer and competitor at QMAC 2013, was a nice surprise! She says that helping out on set proved to be a good learning experience. “Before arriving on set, I did not know how much the impact of each dollar donated is to the children of Syria. I felt very blessed to get the chance to assist with the production of this video because it will create the much-needed awareness of the critical situation in Syria.”

Madiha Aziz and Wayne Smith (Toronto Argonauts)
Madiha Aziz and Wayne Smith (Toronto Argonauts)

Director Ian Barnett’s final product looks great, as it effectively captures stories about children’s fears to inspire viewers to support Save the Children. One key takeaway from the video is that donating only $40 to the charity can go a long way. Check out the video for The Extra Plate below and share your childhood fears on Twitter for a chance to win a prize!

 

Tuesday With Mitch Joel

Photo: Terry Fallis

Photo: Terry Fallis

On Tuesday I had a chance to connect with some industry peers and see not just any Canadian marketer, but one who’s so influential that he’s verified on Twitter! Mitch Joel, bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and president of Twist Image, was the featured speaker at the Third Tuesday meetup and he was awesome.

Surprisingly, the highlight of my evening was not the opportunity to meet people from Twitter in real life. It wasn’t Mitch’s jokes either (and there were a few). The best part of the event was the feeling I had when left. For the first time, spending two hours in a bar inspired me to be that girl sitting in the TTC’s red seats typing away. That’s why I like going to book signings – you always leave feeling inspired and last night was no exception.

Mitch made an interesting comment: “Writer’s block doesn’t exist. It’s bullshit.” From there, he went on to talk about how he likes to embrace the chance to write wherever and whenever he can, even if that means sitting on the floor at a conference.

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An Ode to Oreo

Oreo-Dunk-in-the-Dark

There’s a delightful quality to everything Oreo posts on social media. From the Super Bowl blackout to Father’s Day, Oreo creates content that seamlessly weaves in current events without ever seeming obnoxious or sales-y.

The photo they uploaded minutes after the Royal Baby’s sex was announced once again shows that Oreo’s a band who truly gets how to engage through social media marketing. Oreo is all about having milk and cookies. Therefore, placing milk, which is central to their creative, in a baby bottle in honour of the royal family isn’t a stretch. Instead, it’s cute and adds to the loveable quality of the brand and product that makes Oreo cookies a classic snack and childhood favourite.

oreo royal baby

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Behind the Brand: Fossil

It’s one thing to shop at Fossil and follow them on on Facebook or Twitter.

It’s quite another to learn more about the accessories brand from an insider.

Lori-2

Name: Lori Petteplace

Position: PR & Marketing Manager

Employer: Fossil

Education: Psychology, McMaster University

In 140 characters or less, describe your role at Fossil:

Out-of-box promoting and event planning to increase brand awareness, sales & desire of the brand while crediting 1 of our wholesale partners

How does Fossil foster creativity at the office?

Fossil has their finger on the creative pulse for their employees. We have an open and engaged idea environment, where ‘answers are in the room’ round-table discussions are common. We sincerely and actively pursue placing people in roles that suit their personality, creativity, talents, desires and ambitions.

Fossil works with many brands, but its partnership with Michael Kors seems to be the most well known. Why do you think Michael Kors watches are so highly coveted in particular?

Michael Kors has taken aspirational ‘Jet Set’ lifestyle and presented it to the fashion-conscious individual at attainable price points. Further, he provides a head-to-toe look emphasizing not only his apparel but also his finishing accessories – the statement watch, stacked jewellery, a handbag and footwear.

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Amber Mac in London

Twitter is one of the best websites around. Without it, I never would’ve connected with Amber Mac.

Why is Amber Mac so special? Well, Tony Robbins explains it best:

For all things social media and technology, Amber Mac’s got you covered. So when I was reading tweets on Wednesday afternoon and Amber posted about a keynote in London the next day, I froze. “London, ON” might as well have been written in bold neon font in caps lock because that’s how much those key words stood out. A few Google searches, emails and direct messages later, I arranged to attend her presentation at London’s annual EDCO conference.

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