4Ps in a Pod

🙌 We had an incredible time chatting with Lisa Mack who is the VP of Brand at Telus! You know & love Telus as one of Canada’s largest telcos. What you might not know is that their ambitions span well beyond that into areas such as health, agriculture & sustainability. They’re on a mission to make the future friendly & have worked tirelessly over the past few decades to bring that mission to life. They’ve contributed $1.7 billion, including 2.2 million days of charities & community organizations since 2000 - more than any company in the world. 🤯Amongst other things, Lisa helps to infuse their social purpose across consumer touchpoints & has spent the past 10 years helping to build Telus into a beloved brand. Prior to that - she proudly spent time in advertising & graduated from Waterloo with a degree in Arts/Psychology/HR. In this episode - hear Lisa tell us (sorry, had to) about: how her team is continuing to evolve Telus’ brand platform (with the help from some cute critters 🦜🦁), the power of purpose, why she likens marketing to an ocean, her top career planning tips & the corporate buzzword that makes her cringe😅. More specifically, Lisa shared her thoughts on the following questions: How would you describe what you do to a stranger? (7:15)What was your marketing moment? (10:19) What do you think you gleaned from agency experience to set you up in this current role? (16:00)Can you walk us through that important decision to transition to Telus? (19:15) Can you share more context about Telus’ mission? (21:07) How do you inject that purpose into your communications? (25:43)How do you strike the balance between purpose & price value? (30:02)Can you share the story behind the Telus Critters? (33:23)How is your team structured & qualities do you seek in marketers? (40:55) We put her in the hot seat! 🔥(45:59) PS: Apologies for any audio issues on this one!

👋 We’re back with your regularly scheduled programming! A bit more tanned, confused (as to where the summer went) & here with a new mini episode! We chatted with Isabel Ng-Lai who is a Sr. Product Marketing Manager at the rapidly growing fintech - KOHO. More specifically, we heard Isabel’s story & tips on how she’s navigated major career moves. Whether it was a literal move to the UK or her recent move into a new role at a scale-up. As a quick reminder - in addition to long-form interviews with our incredible guests, we’re releasing short-form content that will answer the most burning questions that we receive from students/new grads. Have any topics in mind? Send us a message: 4pspod@gmail.com. 

🎙️👏 A few weeks ago we hosted our first LIVE podcast with the Queen’s Marketing Association! We debunked marketing myths, answered students’ most burning questions & had an absolute blast while doing it! We unpacked topics such as networking, career planning & everything in between. A big thank you to the QMA, our incredible panelists, and to the students that came out to listen! We had a blast.Stay tuned - we may be coming to a school near you for another live event... 👀

📌 We had an absolute blast chatting with Azadeh Attar who is the Director of CPG Partnerships at Pinterest.Pinterest has cemented itself as one of the go-to platforms to turn inspiration into action. Whether it’s searching for travel ideas, planning out a home reno, discovering a new recipe, shopping for a new outfit for anything in between. They’ve recently reached over half a billion monthly active users & continue to cultivate a positive space for users/brands. There, Azadeh actually joined as one of their first employees in Canada and since then, she has helped to dramatically scale their advertising presence in this market. Prior to Pinterest -  she spent 8 years at Google Canada & began her career in CPG at General Mills. In this episode - we chatted with her about her love for building from the ground floor, how she’s managed major career jumps, the biggest myths about marketing/sales, what is fueling Pinterest’s massive momentum, head-scratching “Gen Z” trends  & what’s on her vision board. 🔮More specifically, Azadeh shared her thoughts on the following questions: How would you describe what you do to a stranger? (8:27)What was your “marketing moment”? (11:12)How did you cultivate your passion for marketing at an early age? (13:55)Can you walk us through your career journey? (15:47)How have you managed major career jumps? (21:00)Why are you so passionate about Pinterest’s mission/ethos? (33:21) Do you have some recent examples of how brands have activated on the platform? (35:57)How has your team managed through a time of rapid acceleration in terms of the number of ad products you’re launching? (37:48)What are the types of opportunities available at Pinterest Canada? (45:24)We put her in the hot seat! (51:38) 🔥

🥵 In the fourth episode of our mini-series “The Cheat Sheet”, we share tips for all of the university students out there on how to how to keep your cool in the summer. We get it, the summer can get pretty heated. You might be trying to make a strong first impression at your internship, feeling the pressure of not having one or just feeling the upcoming school year looming over you. We’re here to share some tips on how to cool down, make the most of your summer & take the long view. As a quick reminder - in addition to long-form interviews with our incredible guests, we're releasing short-form content that will answer the most burning questions that we receive from students/new grads. Have any topics in mind? Send us a message: 4pspod@gmail.com

🏅Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Summer Games - we had the pleasure of chatting with Kelley Tessier who is the Director of Marketing Partnerships at the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). The COC has been on a mission to transform Canada through the power of sport. They’ve brought this mission to life by supporting athletes to compete on the biggest stage, uniting Canadians across the country behind a shared passion & inspiring the next generation to fall in love with sport. Kelley’s team is sprinting towards the finish line in order to help over 30 partners activate throughout the Games. These partners span across almost every industry - including Lululemon, Canadian Tire, RBC & Sobeys to name a few. Prior to joining the COC, Kelley’s career path has been fascinating with jumps between industries (tech/telco to sports) but also countries (hint: down under). We chatted with her about why she likens her role to being a host at a party, the inspiration behind Lululemon’s Team Canada kit, how a snowstorm sparked a major personal move, her gold medal advice & what game she hopes becomes an Olympic sport (we may have pushed for pickleball 😅). More specifically, Kelley shared her thoughts on the following questions: How would you describe what you do to a stranger? 8:13What was your "Marketing Moment"? 10:28How did you get your start in Marketing? 12:15How important is it to you to work at Canadian brands? 15:45How have you managed inflection points in your career? 17:27What does your role look like and how do you work with COC partners? 20:45How do you maintain the COC brand consistency while supporting your partners? 26:17What are some other elements of your "partnership pitch" when looking at prospective partners? 30:26Tell us about the Canadian Olympic Committee's new "Brave Is Unbeatable" creative platform. 33:11How do the Olympic athletes play a role in telling the story of the COC brand? 37:09How is your team approaching a post-pandemic Games? What has your team learned from the last two Games? 40:53How do you build flexibility into your Marketing operations during the Games? 43:13We put Kelley in the Hot Seat! 48:48

In this episode, we stepped into the mind of one of Canada’s most celebrated creative leaders: Carlos Moreno, a Partner & Chief Creative Officer at Broken Heart Love Affair. Over the past three decades work, Carlos has helped brands of all sizes win over the hearts and minds of consumers across the country. This work has not gone unnoticed and has been recognized on the global stage. To name a few: Carlos has won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity (the Oscars of advertising), been included in the Top Ten list of Art Directors globally, was listed as the top Creative Director in Canada on multiple occasions, and helped two of his former agencies reach “Agency of the Year” status in Canada. Carlos is nowhere near finished. He co-founded Broken Heart Love Affair in the middle of the pandemic and his agency's refreshed approach to advertising is already making a major impact. Amongst other things - we chatted with him about why he fell in (and out of love) with aspects of the industry, what he believes makes (or breaks) creative, how his team helped Sick Kids reach the most ambitious goal in Canadian healthcare history, his advice for upstart marketers & thinking about the monkey on the skateboard (yes - you read that correctly). More specifically, Carlos shared his thoughts on the following questions: How would you describe what you do to a stranger? (4:49)What was your marketing moment? (6:30)How did you enter into the agency world? (16:23)How are students entering it today? (18:52) Can you walk us through the rest of your  career journey? (21:33)Why did you start the Broken Heart Love Affair? (35:29)How are you co-existing with such a talented team of leaders? (39:09)What is your agency’s philosophy? (41:39)What advice would you share with clients to be better partners? (44:00)Can you walk us through the iconic Sick Kids VS platform that your team created? (47:07)What are you looking for in up and coming creatives? (54:50)We put Carlos in the hot seat! (56:50)

We recently chatted with Harry Hothi who is a Product Marketing Lead at Wealthsimple. 💸Wealthsimple has been on an incredible run since they were founded a decade ago. What started off as a robo-advisor has blossomed into one of Canada’s leading fintechs that enables everything from filing taxes to trading crypto. From their witty campaigns to affordable products - they live out their mission of making finance accessible for 3 million Canadians (and counting)! Harry’s been on quite the run himself. He was recently recognized by “The Peak” as an Emerging Leader that is shaping the marketing industry in Canada. He’s been at Wealthsimple for 3.5 years & has helped to drive awareness/adoption across multiple products. Prior to that - he spent the majority of his career in digital marketing working at organizations such as Loblaw Digital.  In this episode - we chat with him about how he made the move from out West, what’s fueled Wealthsimple’s meteoric rise, his experience launching crypto, the worst piece of financial advice that he’s ever received & why the Leafs are (not) winning this year🫣.  More specifically, Harry shared his thoughts on the following questions:How would you describe what you do to a stranger? (7:38)What was your marketing moment? (10:08)Can you take us along the journey of your career? (12:00)What is the north star that drives your career decisions? (20:18)What is the role that mentorship has played for you? (22:19)How do you keep a pulse on digital marketing trends? (26:17)How has Wealthsimple driven hyper growth? (29:00)How is your team simplifying Crypto for the average consumer? (31:41)Can you walk us through the end-to-end process of Product Marketing to bring a product like Crypto to market? (36:09)How does the Wealthsimple team coordinate Marketing strategies when there are so many products to talk about? (41:05)Tell us about the skills and experiences that would make a successful product marketer. (43:21)What type of pride do you feel working for a company like Wealthsimple? (46:46)We put Harry in the hot seat! (50:55)

In the third episode of our mini-series "The Cheat Sheet", we tackle the daunting task of choosing a career path. This is especially tricky when you're just starting out in your career and are trying to deal with so much noise. Today - we share some thought starters to consider as you map out the next move. The aim is to find a role at the intersection of as many of those questions as possible. As a quick reminder - in addition to long-form interviews with our incredible guests, we're releasing short-form content that will answer the most burning questions that we receive from students/new grads. Have any topics in mind? Send us a message: 4pspod@gmail.com

A few months ago, we sat down with Conor Clarance. Since we spoke - Conor shifted into a new role as the Director of Go-to-Market & Partnership Marketing at Crunchyroll (US, CDA, AUS, NZ). Crunchyroll is a one-stop shop for anime fans. They’re best known for being a streamer that is home to the world’s largest collection of anime content. When we chatted with him - Conor was helping the brand grow within Canada by launching everything from new partnerships to experiential activations. Prior to his time at Crunchyroll - Conor spent the majority of his career as: the Head of Sports at Twitter Canada (um, we mean X…), a Manager of Global Partnerships at MLSE & an Account Manager at Momentum Worldwide. When he isn’t helping Crunchyroll to compete in the streaming race, he can be found racing down the slopes in Whistler ⛷️ In this episode, we chat with him about a career-altering revelation he had on the other side of the world, his refreshing advice on how to navigate big decisions, the power of fandom &  his stance on the eternal “subbed vs. dubbed” debate. More specifically, Conor shared his thoughts on the following questions: How would you describe what you do to a stranger? (7:24)What was your marketing moment (9:14)Can you highlight your career journey since then? (13:47) How has your view of marketing evolved? (20:02)What advice do you have for someone that’s weighing a major decision? (24:13)What role has mentorship played in your career? (26:43)How do you seek out a mentor & nurture the relationship? (30:08)Could you tell us about your role at Crunchyroll? (34:43)How do you help a team to rally around a decision? (38:12)How is your team set-up in Canada? (42:08)How do you think about fandom? (43:41)What’s the growth trajectory of anime? (51:25)Rapid Fire: We put him in the hot seat! (54:38)