Media People Podcast

Brigitte Sachse is the founder of Bee Video Production—a digital video producer specialising in branded content. But securing content production budgets from clients such as the Toronto Star, Accenture, and the Royal Bank of Canada is a bit of a 180 from her early work. Before founding Bee Video Production, Brigitte’s career focused on providing public and private financing for documentaries, TV shows, and feature-length films. This included reviewing grant applications for the Canadian Media Fund & the National Film Board of Canada, and advising private media lenders on which TV shows and movies to invest in. Brigitte Sachse stops by to chat about her nomadic childhood, cleaning kennels, why she studied business and french literature in university, a career in public and private media financing, and the founding of Bee Video Production. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** mediapeople.beehiiv.com/subscribe **Listen & Subscribe** www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagra

Pary Bell’s CV is stacked with leadership roles at some of Canada’s biggest media companies including, but not limited to, the CBC, Rogers Media, and TorStar. He’s made a career of leading organizations through digital transformation, but his original plan didn’t involve building teams, managing people, and navigating internal politics—Pary’s first love was drawing. Pary studied General Arts at Queen’s University, but departed after two years to pursue a Fine Arts Degree at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. It was difficult making it as an artist, and Pary made the choice to enroll in the Communications & Multimedia program at Centennial College. He aggressively chased an internship opportunity with the CBC, and his digital media career took off. His current role? Leading The Podcast Exchange. Pary Bell, CEO of The Podcast Exchange stops be to chat about growing up on a farm outside of North Bay Ontario, the impact sport has had on his life & career, his passion for drawing, and leading teams and d

Sue Haas is the President and COO of NLogic—Canada's leading provider of audience analysis technology and data. But Sue’s career didn’t start in data and analytics. Her first job in media was an internship on eTalk Daily, researching and writing interview questions for celebrities like Phil Collins, John Mayer, and Nelly. This was a complete shift from her childhood in the rural town Melbourne, Ontario. How rural? No cable TV, dial-up internet was the norm, she had to travel one town over just to go to school, and there weren’t many opportunities for part time work. Sue Haas stops by to chat about her growing up on a hobby farm, studying English and Journalism in university, a career that includes everything from digital product development to getting John Mayer coffee, and what NLogic has in store for the future. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** mediapeople.beehiiv.com/subscribe **Listen & Subscribe** www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/ htt

It’s episode 100 and we welcome back our episode nine guest, Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada President, Sonia Carreno. Sonia was only a handful of months into her presidency when we first chatted back in 2015. Nine years later, Sonia returns to talk about how the IAB Canada has evolved under her leadership, while providing insight into how the organization tackles issues and shapes policy impacting the digital media industry. A big thank you to all of our loyal listeners and past guests. We couldn’t have hit the 100-episode milestone without your support. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** mediapeople.beehiiv.com/subscribe **Listen & Subscribe** www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Kevin Bartus is a terrible employee—those are his words, not mine. But that’s OK because he’s a very successful entrepreneur. Kevin is the President and CEO of Ideon Media—Canada’s largest digital rep firm, responsible for monetizing Canadian ad traffic for brands such as VICE Media and IGN, to name a few. Ideon also owns and operates several sites including SavvyMom, 29Secrets, and AmongMen. A Chicago native, Kevin was quite the academic in his youth. He found subjects like math easy, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he graduated from both MIT and Harvard. He moved into consulting after university and then founded Blue Spark—a company building websites for TorStar and Rogers. Despite an exit and the chance to lead Rogers Media’s foray into digital advertising, Kevin had the itch get back out on his own. He saw the success Olive Media enjoyed in the rep space, and decided to emulate their business model with Ideon Media. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** mediapeople.beehiiv.com/subscribe **

Cracking the media industry can be tough for an employee, but for an entrepreneur? Building something from scratch can be a tall order. But it was a challenge that Sotero Bernardo was up for. Sotero is the Co-Founder, Head of Business Development at Coastal Digital Group—an experience agency combining creativity with technology. The original goal was to make it in media sales. But sales opportunities are scarce when you’re fresh out of school, so Sotero took a job as a jr. media planner at Cossette Media—working on both the Nike and Sony PlayStation media accounts. He moved into venue advertising before networking his way to a sales role with Ideon Media. His success led to a promotion along with expanded responsibilities that included managing people and acquiring new publisher representation deals. But Sotero saw an opportunity within the creative space. He had a plan to capitalize on it, and co-founded Coastal Digital Group with his business partner. Sotero Bernardo stop by to chat about growing up in

Sales is a performative art, and presentations are like a play. Notes serve as the script, while the PowerPoint deck acts as the set. The boardroom the stage, and clients the audience. At the heart of the production—the sales rep. When comparing the two professions, you can see why today’s guest, Kristie Painting, has enjoyed a successful sales career. Kristie is Pinterest’s Country Manager for Canada, and while many people in her position have a marketing or business degree, Kristie majored in drama. Her first job out of university was handling pharmaceutical orders. Kristie wasn’t enthused by the work, and quickly moved into media sales with NOW Magazine. She progressed into roles with Yahoo! and DoubleClick, and ascended into leadership positions at Olive Media and Bell Media, to name a few. Kristie Painting stops by to chat about growing up in suburban Toronto, her passion for the dramatic arts, her media sales career, why she took an agency job, and leading Pinterest’s Canadian office. **Subscrib

When Valerie Tyson interviewed for a marketing role with the Charlotte Hornets, it was team owner and NBA legend, Michael Jordan, who handled her final interview. And this is only one of the many stories comprising Valerie’s sports marketing career. Valerie is the Co-Founder, Head of Strategy + Sports at Unrivaled Group—a female led, sports driven tech consultancy. Valerie’s career didn’t start in sports, but local radio—running promotions for stations in Arizona and San Diego. She moved KLSX in Los Angeles, where it provided her first taste in sports marketing. It included LA Kings radio broadcasts along with west coast events for the Howard Stern Show. She jumped at the chance to lead marketing for the LA Avengers inaugural season in the Arena Football League, and it was from here her sports marketing career took off. Valerie Tyson stops by to chat about growing up in Chicago, why she studied journalism in university, creative ways to launch an arena football team, relaunching Charlotte’s NBA team aft

Kensington Grey is an influencer management agency rooted in diversity, representing an extensive roster of black and brown creators. At the heart of the agency is President & CEO, Shannae Ingleton Smith. Born in Toronto, raised in Calgary, Shannae studied finance and economics in university. But marketing was her real passion. There wasn’t an option to major in it, so Shannae filled her electives with every marketing class available. She moved into finance after graduation, but quickly pivoted into media sales with Mediaplanet Publishing. Shannae moved to Rogers Media, holding sales roles at MacLean’s Magazine, Elevate Multi-Platform Sales, and leading a multi-million-dollar territory of education-based clients. It was during this time that the seeds for Kensington Grey were planted. Shannae ran a private Facebook group providing business advice to black influencers. She noticed that opportunities were slim, and their services were undervalued. She saw an opportunity to rectify this, and Kensington Gre

Ian Dallimore is Lamar Advertising’s Vice-President, Digital Growth & General Manager of Programmatic, but his path to OOH advertising didn’t start with a typical agency job. A New Orleans native, Ian’s original plan was to be a pediatrician. He studied medicine at Louisiana College while on a basketball scholarship. An injury nixed this, and he transferred to Louisiana State where he graduated with a degree in marketing. He moved into minor league baseball, taking marketing roles with AAA affiliates of the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. Ian pivoted into OOH advertising with Lamar, rising from strategist to where he is today. Ian Dallimore stops by to chat about growing up in New Orleans, running marketing for minor league baseball teams, why Michael Jordan is the GOAT, and working for Lamar Advertising. And be sure to check Ian’s podcast, the Digital Dirt Podcast—featuring conversations with inspiring and influential thought leaders from the advertising world. **Subscribe to the Media People Ne

It’s difficult to refute social media’s supremacy in the platform hierarchy. Brands are increasingly trying to find new & innovate ways to leverage social for audience engagement. And it’s exactly why they turn to today’s guest, Darcy MacNeil. Darcy is the Head of so.da—a full service, specialized, and award-winning social first agency. Darcy’s career started behind the camera as a clearance coordinator. This involved securing commercial rights to content so it could be legally integrated into programming. Her work led to a series of producing jobs before she moved into content marketing, joining agencies like UM and getting the opportunity to start Mindshare Canada’s Content+ department. Darcy MacNeil stops by to chat about growing up in suburban Toronto, playing ringette, why dance is such big part of her life, how a pop culture history class at the University of Victoria got her thinking about a career in media & journalism, and running one of Canada’s largest social digital media agencies. **Subscrib

Science has always played a role in marketing—whether it be focus groups, surveys, or any other form of research. But the marriage between the two disciplines has grown increasingly closer over the years. So much, that it has formalized the role marketing science plays in advertising. And PHD Canada has entrusted Matt Devlin, to handle this for their roster of clients. Matt is their first Managing Director, Marketing Science, where he’s responsible for connecting media investments back to their results. An Ottawa native, Matt left capital city to attend university in Toronto. But unlike most students who enter with a major, Matt used his first year to dabble in a variety of different classes before settling on a degree in Cinema Studies and Semiotics. After graduation, Matt relocated to the United Kingdom, taking his first media role at Zenith Optimedia’s London office. He moved back to Canada and continued with Zenith at their Toronto office. He was let go by Zenith, but picked up by PHD where he cont

You might know David Cairns as the co-founder of Cairns Oneil, but the agency he started with Sherry O’Neil back in 2012 is just one of the many companies he’s had a hand in founding. In fact, some of those agencies became the entry points for international holding companies looking to enter the Canadian market. For example, David’s first agency—David Cairns & Company, was acquired by Aegis and rebranded Carat. But if you look back at David’s passions and education, you would have thought a role in the creative world was forthcoming. A life-long artist with degrees in visual arts and education, David worked for two years as an art teacher in rural Prince Edward Island. David returned to Toronto and took a job as a Media Estimator with Ogilvy & Mather, and it was from there that his media career took off. David Cairns stops by to chat about growing up in Toronto, his passion for painting, working the late shift as a taxi driver, his career in media, and why every entrepreneur should have an exit strate

You could say a career in advertising was foreshadowed in Anthony Hello’s childhood. After all, two of his influences were fictional advertising executives–Angela Bower from Who’s the Boss?, and Darrin Stephens from Bewitched. Anthony was born, raised, and educated in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He moved to Toronto after graduating from the University of New Brunswick, landing an entry level role working on the Labatt Breweries account at Echo Advertising. Anthony went on to senior roles at The Hive, Mediacom, and Bensimon Byrne. During this period his career became increasingly focused on content marketing. Anthony married an American, and he and his husband decided to settle in New York City, where his career continued with senior roles at UMWW and the Mediabrands Content Studio. In his spare time Anthony is also a podcaster. He’s the producer and host of All The Boys, a podcast dedicated to telling the historical stories of gay men arrested on so-called morals charges, who were then outed in the pres

Running commentary on your profession can be daunting—especially on LinkedIn, where point-of-views can be read by your entire industry. But that hasn’t stopped today’s guest, Danny Weisman, from publishing his thoughts. Danny is the Group Media Director at Noble People—a New York-based creative media agency focused on new thinking and innovative methods. In my opinion, Danny is also one of the most open and curious media professionals on LinkedIn. His opinions are candid, and are mix of industry research along with professional and personal experiences. You can check him out on LinkedIn, but be sure to subscribe to his newsletter, Let Me Think, at letmethink.beehiiv.com. Danny Weisman stops by to chat about growing up in the New York City borough of Queens, the impact summer camp had on his life, attending university in Nashville, how a media director’s role continues to evolve, and openly sharing his opinions on the advertising industry. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** mediapeople.beehiiv

In a world where job hopping is normalized, it’s rare to meet someone who has spent their entire career with the same company. And it’s even rarer to hear about an intern working their way up to president. But this is the story of today’s guest, Caroline Moul. Caroline is the President of PHD Canada—the Canadian division of PHD Media Worldwide. Not only is she the president, but also a lifelong employee—going back to the days when the agency was known as HYPN. Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, Caroline moved with her family to the Toronto suburb of Oakville when she was a teenager. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the advertising program at Sheridan College. She joined HYPN on a media planning internship, and grew with the company as it was acquired by the Omnicom Media Group and integrated into the global PHD Media family. Caroline Moul stops by to chat about growing up in Africa, the differences between attending school in South Africa and Canada, and how having a fir

Marketer, educator, podcaster, & founder—Darian Kovacs stops by to chat. Darian and I talk about growing up in the border town of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, studying art education & visual arts at the University of Victoria, his time as a youth worker in Surrey, and his entrepreneurial endeavours which include Jelly Digital Marketing & PR Agency, the Jelly Academy, and Marketing News Canada. **Subscribe to the Media People Newsletter** https://mediapeople.beehiiv.com/subscribe **Listen & Subscribe** www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Ron Tite, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Church+State stops by to chat. And what a conversation we have. Even if you’ve never met Ron, there’s a good chance you’ve come across his content. Apart from being the CCO of Church+State, he’s an in-demand guest speaker, published author, and very active on social media. What makes Ron’s content both unique and refreshing are his honest opinions on a wide variety of topics concerning, marketing, advertising, and business. Ron Tite stops by to chat about growing up in Oshawa, why he studied Phys Ed in university, how working for a business school was just as good going to business school, and a creative advertising career that includes founding of the award-winning agency, Church+State. www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Out-of-home media has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Much of this can be attributed to the proliferation of digital signage and the convenience of purchasing inventory via programmatic platforms. We’ve come a long way from manually placing posters in transit shelters. And today’s guest, Stephanie Gutnik, is helping accelerate this change. Stephanie is the Global Chief Strategy Officer at Billups—a leading global out-of-home tech company reinventing the way brands and agencies approach planning and placement. But a career in advertising wasn’t part of her original life plan. Stephanie had her sights set on broadcast journalism. That is until a summer internship left her second-guessing that goal. After graduating from university, Stephanie took a role with News America Marketing’s Montreal office, working on direct mail, couponing, and in-store media solutions. From there she moved to Broadsign, working her way up to VP of Business Development—and with it a move to New York City. Stephanie would g

Coming from a family of scientific and mathematical academics wasn’t enough to deter Kaaveh Shoamanesh from pursuing a career in entertainment. And he wasn’t about to let something like university, which he attended for an entire month, get in the way. After leaving university, Kaaveh packed up at the age of 18, moving south to Los Angeles to kick off his career. He started as an on-air personality, hosting an entertainment news show produced for the global Persian community. Kaaveh then moved into producing and talent management, working with the likes of HGTV and Netflix. At HGTV he worked on the popular real estate renovation show, Love it or List It, handling brand and product integrations. He’s taken 21 years of product placement experience and founded Plaiced, a platform enabling advertisers to reach their target audience within online community groups. www.mediapeople.ca www.youtube.com/@mediapeoplepodcast www.instagram.com/vicgenova/