Laurie Gelman went to Ryerson University and built her career as a Canadian media personality. Now Laurie lives in New York with executive producer Michael Gelman and their two daughters. She just launched her 3rd book with a star-studded party.
Browsing Tag
Ryerson
Name: Jason Cassidy
Position: Community Manager
Education: Political Science and Journalism, St. Thomas University; Professional Communication, Ryerson University
Professional role model:
Amanda Nelson was my supervisor at Radian6. Similar to myself, she began as a journalist and turned those foundational skills of writing, editing and storytelling into an up-and-coming role based on content creation and management. I admire her because of what I learned under her guidance, but I also really aspire to work in a similar role.
In 140 characters or less, why should Canadians eat and drink at Jack Astor’s?
Jack Astor’s offers delicious food in a fun, unpretentious setting served by a team of infectiously energetic and pleasant people.
Which menu items do you recommend for first-time customers?
Without hesitation, the Holy Smoke BBQ Burger or The 10oz South American top sirloin steak. Insider tip: order the Jack’d n Stack’d garlic cheese fries on the side!
What do you love about Jack Astor’s food?
About 95% of the menu is made in-house. The Cluckin’ Fresh Chicken Fingers, for example, begin as a boneless, skinless chicken breast. They are then massaged for 2 minutes, chopped and breaded twice for extra crunch. Fresh is best and I don’t think we do a good enough job of communicating that—myself included!
It’s one thing to “Like” a store on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
It’s quite another to learn about how Zellers uses social media while in Liquidation mode.
Name: Jennifer Zedic
Position: Director of Marketing – In Store and Social Media
Employer: Zellers
Education: Fashion Marketing and Merchandising, Ryerson University
Favourite Zellers purchase: Pure by Alfred Sung knit scarf (I liked it so much I bought 5 different colours!)
Professional role model: Heather Reisman – Indigo: I love how she has taken the book store and made it a shopping experience and how she did not back away from technology when it threatens the business, but instead embraced it. She has built a strong and reliable brand and owns the market in Canada.
What makes Zellers a uniquely Canadian store?
History and memories only found in Canada make Zellers a uniquely Canadian store. The fans’ comments from our Facebook page talk about their experience with Zellers growing up in Canadian communities and how the great Canadians who work at those stores made a difference in a lot of their lives.
How has the marketing department’s role and responsibilities changed since learning that Zellers stores will close?
The marketing team is focused on continuing to build great flyer deals that our customers are expecting. We have pulled away from other forms of marketing, such as TV, radio and specialty print but maintained our flyer program and invested heavily in social media. For our Liquidation stores, we are using an extensive amount of ROP’s in local markets to highlight the weekly deals to the customer.
How does Zellers decide which social media channels are worth the investment?
Social media strategy for us is to provide information to the community on what they want to hear about as it relates to Zellers. We chose to invest in Facebook since it is the best way for us to communicate to our customer on a more personalized level and to the largest audience.
It’s one thing to “Like” a retailer on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
It’s quite another to learn about who promotes which clothes belong in your closet.
Position: Styling Sample Coordinator
Employer: Sears
Education: Fashion Communications, Ryerson University
Favourite blogs: Worn Fashion Journal, The Man Repeller, Jak and Jil, Garance Dore, Style Rookie, ModCloth, Refinery29
Favourite mobile app: The Collection – New York Times Fashion
Style icon: Iris Apfel, Jackie O, and my Grandmother
Professional role model: Grace Coddington (Creative Director of Vogue), Alexa White (of W) and ModCloth.com founder Susan Gregg Koger
In 140 characters or less, why can we be optimistic about the future of Sears?
Sears is focusing on gaining back the trust of its customers. It’s a matter of getting back to basics, and putting value and quality first.
What do you enjoy about working for a retailer, rather than a fashion designer or magazine?
Working for a retailer was a big to do on my fashion professional checklist for a number of reasons. I think that the experience I have had in working from both other perspectives was not really fully developed until coming into this environment. Seeing how initiatives get put into place in this kind of world is so different. I like this environment because it pertains to the realistic expectations of shoppers. Fashion magazines are about taking clothes and making them into a story to portray a theme for the season. And working for a boutique fashion designer was geared towards pleasing a very particular kind of customer and style. In this world of mass retail we also develop and market brands and a story or theme for the season, but the customer base is so much larger that I felt that it was extremely important to me in my career to understand that relationship as well.
Sears in particular was enticing for me to work for because it presented a lot of opportunity for growth within company. As a company Sears is very nurturing of its own talent – there are programs in place like the Future Leaders Program for Buyers that trains and develops the skills of employees.
It’s one thing to “Like” a brand on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
It’s quite another to learn about who responds to the brand’s media inquiries.
Name: Keith Marnoch (@kmarnoch)
Position: Director, Media and Community Relations
Employer: Western University
Education: B.A.A. – Journalism (Broadcast) Ryerson
Favourite blog: Touchdowns and Fumbles
Favourite mobile app: Voxer (Walkie Talkie) / Scanner911
Professional role model: David Gergen, CNN political pundit, former Presidential Adviser
Most memorable on the job experience at Western:
While I have only been here for just over a year, I think being a part of the announcement that one of our leading researchers, Dr. Chil Yong Kang is moving to human clinical trials with his HIV/AIDS vaccine is memorable due to the overwhelming international response that the story received.
In 140 characters or less, describe the atmosphere at work when Western’s name change and re-branding was announced to the public:
Excited about the change, realized some would need convincing, rationale when explained gets positive reaction.