[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTbb6b1wzwg’]
There are few things I like more than saving money and Desjardins Insurance’s latest ad captures that sentiment well. In Better Things: New TV, a couple shopping for a new TV must decide which TV fits their budget. An electronics store like Best Buy is always filled with people looking for gifts, toys and practical solutions, so it’s a good setting for this story.
Name: Elliott Chun
Position: Communications Manager
Education: Visual Arts and Sociology, Western University; Public Relations, Humber College
Professional role model: Richard Branson. He’s a tremendous leader, showman and will one day take us up to space.
Favourite Best Buy purchase: My Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone. I never leave home without it and would certainly be lost without it.
In 140 characters or less, what is your favourite part of your job?
Working with an extremely talented group of people, publicizing everything Best Buy, including our vendors, community work and services.
What are your daily responsibilities as a Communications Manager?
I’m constantly discovering creative ways with my teams to promote and story-tell the fantastic things Best Buy is achieving in Canada. I also protect our brand and build campaigns to engage media and customers while identifying and building a community of advocates.
What are the perks of working at Best Buy?
There are too many to list! First off, the biggest perk is working with incredible people. I genuinely enjoy working regularly with a talented group of people. This includes the gifted team at our head offices in Burnaby, our stores, agency and vendor partners and our senior leadership teams. Secondly, as a guy who naturally loves tech and uses it to simplify and enhance my life, the staff discount comes in handy. Additionally, when I’m at the head office, I always appreciate having access to the subsidized, modern gym, as well as the B.C. trails, which are liberating when heading out on an after-work run. Lastly, the food services in our common areas at the head office and regional offices are a nice perk too.
Make room for another documentary about the obesity epidemic. In Fed Up, narrator Katie Couric walks viewers through history to explain why so many Americans are overweight.
In addition to featuring numerous interviews with professors, politicians and doctors, Fed Up chronicles the lifestyles of a few students. The students provide testimonials in between clips of them at home, school and doctor appointments.
In 1977, when a government report was released encouraging the food industry to manufacture food with less fat, food manufacturers responded by decreasing calories and increasing sugar. I like one doctor’s approach to explaining how consuming sugar affects our metabolism. “You can eat a bowl of Corn Flakes with no added sugar or you can eat a bowl of sugar with added Corn Flakes,” he says. “They might taste different, but below the neck, they’re metabolically the same.”
Photo Source: Toronto Grand Prix Tourist
Yonge and Dundas Square is a popular destination in downtown Toronto and therefore a prime location for companies that want to raise brand awareness among a large audience of pedestrians. No matter how often I shop at the Toronto Eaton Centre, I seem to miss some of the most exciting experiential marketing stunts. To compensate, I rely on YouTube and industry publications to get my fix and find out what’s happening.
Thanks to YouTube pre-roll, I discovered two cool campaigns that were executed recently by Koodo and Keurig. The alliteration of these brand names is unintentional, but noted.
Spark Sessions Marketing Director Jenny Jovanovic (Crazy Style Love)
The blogging world has become very saturated, so it was worthwhile spending the weekend at the second annual Spark Sessions conference to learn how to differentiate myself.
The opening keynotes by Andrew Sardone, Editor at Globe Style Advisor and Vanessa Craft, Beauty Director at ELLE Canada launched the event by describing bloggers as entrepreneurs. Vanessa inspired bloggers to become idea entrepreneurs and leverage our blogs to influence how readers think and behave. “Blogging is storytelling with a megaphone,” she said. Think about the power that comes with being a blogger and consider your future legacy.
Winnie Chan explored various legal issues that are relevant to blogging like CASL, disclaimer policies and copyright infringement. Though it was interesting to hear a lawyer’s perspective about what we do on WordPress, I would’ve preferred to see more visual examples of do’s and don’ts. Likewise, Maxine McDonald from Langton PR helped us understand which information is fundamental to include in media kits, but she didn’t show any examples of media kits she likes.
