4Ps in a Pod

⚾ In this mini-episode, we chatted with Mitch Sharma who is the Sr. Manager of Sports Sponsorships & Regional Marketing at TD. Whether it was earlier on his career with the Edmonton Oilers or co-hosting his own podcast called “The Sports Business Life Podcast” - sports marketing has been a through-line in his incredible career. We chat with him about his thoughts on the thriving business of sports & his advice for anyone looking to break into the industry.Amongst other things - we learned about a game-changing conversation that shaped his career, how his team approaches partnerships, why brands are increasingly looking to invest in sports & the types of roles that are available at TD. Also, we all left feeling the need to watch a Tom Cruise movie marathon

In this mini-episode, we shine a spotlight on Canada's largest marketing case competition! Over the past 17 years - the CML has launched countless careers through their program & this year will be no different. If you're an undergrad or master's student in Canada - you won't want to miss your chance at competing for the ultimate prize of $20K (yes, you read that right

In this episode - we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Kate Torrance who is the VP, Head of Brand, Content & Comms at SickKids. SickKids opened their doors almost 150 years ago with a commitment to improving health outcomes for children. Since then - they've helped countless families across the country & have been recognized as a global leader in this space. In order to fuel their life-changing research & care - they launched the largest healthcare campaign in Canadian history in 2016. This was driven by a platform that they created called SickKids VS. It's a platform that has been awarded some of the industry's highest honours, inspired others in the industry to follow suit - won over the hearts of donors. Kate actually joined at the beginning of what she calls their brand transformation journey about 10 years ago & has continued to steward the brand. Her team is far from finished - they're one the cusp of another monumental fundraise & just formed some new agency partnerships to help reach it. Prior to SickKids - she had an illustrious career in advertising, having worked at the likes of Zulu & BBDO. Amongst other things - we chatted with her about why she was destined for a career in advertising, her experience as one of the creators of SickKids VS, how she hopes to reframe charitable giving, what she believes makes (or breaks) creative & the cautionary tale of the piñata (and no - it wasn't just filled with candy

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.

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) 

We recently chatted with Stephanie Wall who is the VP of Marketing at Sport Chek. As the largest sporting goods retailer in the country - they operate around 200 stores across the country & are owned by another iconic Canadian brand (hint: Canadian Tire). Stephanie has been at Sport Chek for 2 years & has helped them to continue their evolution towards building even more compelling, intentional & data-driven marketing. Prior to joining Sport Chek, she spent 5 years in a variety of marketing roles at Rogers & had an illustrious 15 year career in advertising (at the likes of Tribal, BBDO, Taxi & Leo Burnett).In this episode - we chat with Stephanie about the incredible story of how she landed her first few jobs, how the industry has evolved, why she describes her brand as her baby, why she loves working for a Canadian company & her tips for budding marketers. More specifically, Stephanie shared her thoughts on the following questions:How would you describe what you do to a student? (5:10)What was your marketing moment? (6:45)Tell us about those early days in your career? (8:10)Can you walk us through the other chapters of your career? (13:12)Can you tell us about your transition from agency side to client side? (17:15)How has your view of marketing evolved over your career? (20:59)How have you balanced driving your own vision while staying true to the company's ethos/history? (24:07)How is your team wrapping their heads around the changing dynamics of retail? (26:22)What is Sport Chek's approach to brand building? (32:10)What does your marketing team structure look like? (34:58)What are the traits you look for in a marketer? (38:54)How important is it to Sport Chek to be Canadian owned? (41:39)Rapid Fire: we put Steph in the hot seat! (46:03) 

We recently (virtually) sat down with Azim Akhtar who is the Director of Brand Marketing at KFC Canada. For the past few years - his team has struck the perfect balance between respecting KFC's iconic history while still pushing the brand into new, uncharted territory. His team has been on an incredible run with exceptional work: heartfelt apology to utensils (because KFC is finger-licking good), hosting a funeral for old fries, "fixing" the competition's chicken sandwiches, and tapping into culture moments in basketball. In this episode, we chat with Azim about the power of (good) marketing, his humble beginnings, must-hear advice for upstart marketers, and the most underrated menu item at KFC. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear the 11 ingredients in their secret seasoning recipe... but we got a few tasty takeaways to chew on.To skip ahead, here are the topics we covered:How would you describe what you do to a new Marketer? (6:27)Why do you think Marketing needs to exist? (7:36)What was your "Marketing Moment"? (9:45)How did you build your love for Marketing? (11:53)What have been the chapters of your career journey? (16:28)Can you walk us through the time when you transitioned from Hershey to KFC?(23:34)What role has community work and mentorship played in your life? (31:21)Tell us about what was happening at KFC when you were just joining (34:16)What is your view on brand building and how do you think it's differentiated KFC in a highly competitive space? (37:25)Can you walk us through how your team stays connected to culture to get the best work? (41:16)Can you talk about KFC's "Fry Funeral" campaign? (52:11)Rapid Fire: we put Azim in the hot seat! (57:18)

In the second episode of our mini-series “The Cheat Sheet,” we tackle the nerve-wracking cold reach-out: introducing yourself to somebody you have never met via email or message. The only thing standing between you and the individual that you'd like to connect with is a 300 character LinkedIn message (that may get buried in their inbox along with all of the other messages that they receive from eager students). As difficult as it may seem to craft that “perfect” introductory message - we share a few tips on how to: get in the right headspace, improve your odds of standing out, and ultimately, build a long-lasting connection. We're here to make that cold reach-out... a little bit warmer.As a quick reminder - in addition to long-form interviews with our incredible guests, we're going to release 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

We had the pleasure of chatting with Sydney Petrovic who is the Global Head of Brand at The Ordinary. The Ordinary is a Canadian skincare brand that has grown into one of the hottest skincare brands in the world.

We recently chatted with Lauren Aitchison who is the Director of Marketing Operations at Cineplex. Cineplex needs no introduction - they're synonymous with movies in Canada & many of us have found ourselves enjoying buttery popcorn at one of their 160 theatres across the country. Interestingly enough, their business actually extends beyond movies. They have a digital media arm, entertainment hubs (i.e. Rec Room), and much more. Before joining Cineplex, Lauren spent ~10 years between Telus and two of Toronto's leading ad agencies. When Lauren isn't helping to transport movie viewers to new worlds, she can be found travelling to new countries (32 and counting)! In this episode, we chat with Lauren about joining the movie industry during the pandemic, a peek into how Cineplex is thinking about the future, how she's approached the pivot from agency to client-side, and which actress would play her on the big screen. More specifically, Lauren shared her thoughts on the following questions: How would you describe what you do to a first year business student? (6:43)How big is the marketing team at Cineplex & how important is it to have a connector? (7:57)What inspired you to pursue a career in marketing? (9:09) How did you scratch that itch & explore marketing further?  (10:41)Can you walk us through your career journey? (12:44) What advice would you have for someone thinking through making the jump from agency to client-side? (16:30)How has your view on marketing evolved? (19:00) What was your experience like making the transition to CIneplex during the pandemic? (20:45) Can you give the listeners a feel for Cineplex beyond just their movie business? (25:27) How does Cineplex continue to differentiate its offering? (30:49)What was your experience like within film marketing? (34:35)What are some of the problems that your current team is working to solve? (36:28)How are you measured for success? (37:51) Can you talk us through the challenges of trying to unite different teams? (39:30)What are the types of skills that individuals need to thrive in this space? (42:10) How is Cineplex thinking through the next wave of Gen Z consumers? (43:45) Rapid fire - we put her in the hot seat! (47:05) 

The networking circle is one of business school's greatest mysteries. It's usually stressful, cringe-inducing, and highly transactional. Yet, business students everywhere will find themselves in these circles over and over again as they frantically try to land jobs.The experience doesn't have to be all that bad. A networking circle presents an incredible opportunity to chat with industry professionals and could serve as a launching pad for a much deeper connection. All you need is a few tips on how to reframe the experience & best position yourself to make the most of it. Introducing…”The Cheat Sheet”! Every few weeks - we're going to release short-form content that will answer the most burning questions that we hear from students & new grads. First up - we talk about the networking circle and share our top 5 tips... you can do this!

In our third episode, we chat with Tayyab Rizvi who is a Product Marketing Lead at Patreon. Patreon is a platform that enables creators (i.e. podcasters, musicians) to build direct relationships with their biggest fans, share exclusive work, and monetize their efforts. Patreon currently has over 250K+ creators, 8M+ members & has paid $3.5B+ out to its creators. Tayyab helps to identify new features to increase creator engagement & develops the go-to-market plan to bring them to life. Before joining Patreon, he had an incredible 8 year run at Google where he most notably led Creator Marketing efforts for YouTube. Tayyab started his career in digital marketing at General Mills. When Tayyab isn't helping creators explore new ways to engage with their fanbases, you can find him exploring NYC (most likely, laughing it up at the Comedy Cellar). Now, we know this episode runs longer than usual but you won't regret it (we might be a tad biased…). We chatted about: how he thoughtfully approaches career planning, how Patreon is starting a new chapter, what defines a great product marketer, and his cautionary advice for those considering Big Tech. We may also talk about his cool experience with top YouTube creators like Sean Evans on “The Hot Ones”.

In our second episode, we chat with Dean Hayward who helps to lead the Brand Partnerships team at Instacart Canada. His team is focused on partnering with Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies to grow their business on the platform via advertising. Instacart is a tech company that is best known for powering eCommerce for some of North America's largest retailers (users can receive same day delivery from the likes of Loblaw, Best Buy and Sephora). Before helping to scale Instacart's advertising business - he had done the same at Amazon Ads Canada for 5 years and held various sales positions at other organizations (i.e. Hershey, Neptune Retail Solutions). He started his career in media planning at Saatchi & Saatchi. When Dean isn't navigating corporate relationships, you can find him navigating the waters of Georgian Bay by boat and enjoying the outdoors with his wife at their cottage.In this episode, we chat with Dean about the misconceptions that exist around advertising sales, the power of networking, Instacart being the "new kid on the block," and Toronto flourishing into an emerging Tech hub.More specifically, Dean shared his thoughts on the following questions:How would you describe what you do to a complete stranger? (5:38)How has the transition been from individual contributor to a manager of people? (8:05)Can you describe what the brand partnerships team contributes to Instacart? (10:44)What moment sparked your interest in marketing/sales? (13:08)Can you walk us through your journey from that moment to present day? (19:05)What filter have you leveraged to make career decisions? (26:18)What are the types of skills that you're looking for in candidates? (30:36)How is the Canadian tech scene shaping up and what types of roles are available here vs. the US? (34:06)Can you debunk some myths that exist around advertising sales? (38:30)Rapid Fire - we put Dean in the hot seat! (41:54)

In our first-ever episode, we chat with David Berdock. Dave is the Director of Incubator Brands at Riverside Natural Foods (best known for the healthy snack brand MadeGood). He leads a team that is tasked with identifying new growth pockets for the company to innovate against. Prior to his current role, Dave worked in various brand management & innovation-centric roles at General Mills and in a partnership accounts role at A&C. When Dave isn't changing the food space - you can find him changing diapers (he has two beautiful kids) & watching/playing basketball.In this episode - we chat with him about charting out a career in innovation, how he likens his role to the history's greatest explorers, overcoming imposter syndrome & why Paw Patrol helped his career/personal life.More specifically, Dave shares his thoughts on the following questions: What sparked your interest in marketing? (4:50)Were you looking to work on a specific product line within CPG? (7:25)What is a bigger priority - seeking a business problem you're interested in solving or working with a brand that you're passionate about? (8:25)What has kept you in marketing for this long? (10:31)Can you tell us how your view on marketing has changed since you started your career? (12:42)If you had to use an analogy to describe your current role - what would that be? (14:52)How does marketing and innovation differ a larger organization vs. a smaller one? (18:35)Can you speak to the art/magic of identifying white space? (22:47)Can you tell us about how you evangelize & build a sense of belief around an unproven idea? (24:55)How have you dealt with imposter syndrome? (30:18)Can you tell us what you're looking for from upcoming talent? (33:45)Anything else that you would like to share with someone thinking about a career that is innovation-focused? (36:53)Rapid fire -  we put Dave in the hot seat! (40:10)

In this not-quite-an-episode episode, Jeevs and JP introduce themselves, share why they started this podcast, and talk about what you can expect.