Michael Zipursky | FreshGigs.ca - Part 4

Author Archives: Michael Zipursky

Director of Web Marketing at Absolute Software with Don Macaulay

Don Macaulay lives in Vancouver where he is the Director of Web Marketing at Absolute Software. Prior to working at Absolute Don was the Web CMS Program Manager at SAP. You can learn more about Don on his website www.macaulaymedia.com

Don, you’re the Director of Web Marketing at Absolute Software. What does a ‘Director of Web Marketing’ do and what does a typical day look like for you?
My job as the Director of Web Marketing involves managing a small team, maintenance of our systems, day-to-day requests and developing a web strategy for Absolute.com.

What would you say is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job at Absolute Software is managing all the requests that we receive from our different departments and locations around the world. For many groups, the web is a big part of their go-to-market strategy, and juggling requests based on priorities can be a real challenge.

I think one of the most important personal skills or attributes is a real interest the web, technology and learning.

Your degrees are in Graphic and Industrial Design…not the typical background you would expect to see a Web Marketer have…how did you get into marketing?
After completing my degree at Emily Carr in Industrial Design (ID), I realized that I enjoyed media and graphic communications more than ID. So, after graduation I decided to focus on these job opportunities. My first job was working for Seagate Software, for a team called launch services. I was responsible for developing web and multimedia tools and training materials. I remember learning Flash 3.0 and being one of the first to use it in the company. This job was in the product management department and after about a year, it was phased out and I was moved into the corporate communications team within marketing. With the exception of a short time working for sales operations, I’ve worked in marketing ever since.

One of the biggest challenges in my career was knowing when it was the right time to move on to a new opportunity.

For others out there that would like a career in web marketing, what are the core skills you recommend they have?
Other than all the typical technical skills, I think one of the most important personal skills or attributes is a real interest the web, technology and learning. There is a real geek factor that I think is important. You need to have a desire to continuously learn about new and innovative technologies, and the constantly changing standards that make-up the web. For some people, this is not for them – they need to turn off at the end of the workday. But, for someone who wants to excel in a web career, you really need to be ‘on’ all the time – learning, reading, participating and having fun.

After several years of moving up the corporate ladder, even to the point you were a manager, you went back to get more education with Project Management Certificate. What was the motivation for that?
I wanted to push myself in a direction where I didn’t have formal training. After considering doing an Executive MBA, I decided a shorter 3 month program in project management would give me the immediate skills I needed in my job. Continue reading →

Explore Careers in Advertising and Media at NABS West

NABS West is bringing you a great opportunity to meet some of the leading experts in the advertising and media fields.

On September 27, 2012, Speed Mentoring by NABS will be held at Bar None in Vancouver from 5:30 to 8:30pm. The event offers attendees a chance to ask any question they have to each expert mentor in attendance. Questions can be on careers in advertising and media, professional development, and anything else you might imagine.

Take a look at these 2 videos for better insight into ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’ questions… Continue reading →

Social Media, Work, Life, Business Challenges And More With Jan Reischek

Jan Reischek is a deeply driven, Canadian creative professional with a successful 8-year track record in the social media industry working as vice president of client services for ICUC, an iProspect company. Jan is relied upon by some of the largest brands in the world to provide moderation, monitoring and community management services to protect and develop online communities.  You can connect with Jan @JReischek

Jan, you started working at ICUC while going to University, what got you interested in joining the company?
I was looking for part-time work to help pay the bills while I attended university, and when I heard about ICUC and what the team did, I was hooked. The idea of being able to work from home had great appeal to me, and the job required quick and accurate decision-making, which kept me on my toes and kept me stimulated.

Relentless communication and over-the-top customer service is the key to making it work. It’s really that simple.

What does your typical day look like?
Anyone who knows me at all, knows I am NOT a morning person 😉 My days are typically filled with client and team meetings, and creating customized solutions for client needs. I am fortunate that I am able to work with a lot of truly great people each day, both within the ICUC family, but also with our great group of clients and partners.

Most of the ICUC staff work remotely, yet you work with Fortune 500 clients around the world, what is the key to making this work?
Relentless communication and over-the-top customer service is the key to making it work. It’s really that simple.

You work for a company based in Winnipeg. What’s the scene like there for young professionals?
Winnipeg is a very creative community – which might surprise a lot of people, but you really just need to know where to look. Young entrepreneurs and professionals are extremely welcoming and collaborative, and there is a huge desire for communication.

The social media industry continues to evolve, and many in the Winnipeg business community are adopting social as a big part of their business. Continue reading →

Director of Marketing and Communications at the Alzheimer Society of BC, Ruby Ng

Ruby Ng is the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Alzheimer Society of BC. A generalist over the past 14 years, Ruby’s previous experience took her from working at one of the big banks, to a university and then to produce a TV show. Most recently Ruby began a Master’s in Leadership degree program at Royal Roads University.

Ruby, before joining the Alzheimer Society you worked at HSBC. Was it a difficult transition to go from working at bank to a non-profit?
I would say that in the past there may have been a bigger difference between corporate culture and non-profit culture. That is changing however simply because it is becoming increasingly competitive in the non-profit sector whether it is in fundraising, sponsorships or awareness campaigns. There is a way for business and non-profit principles to co-exist.

I believe non-profit organizations provide a ripe learning and professional development environment simply because there is so much to accomplish and often resources are limited

Do you need to take a different approach to marketing when working at a non-profit compared to a for-profit company?
Being resourceful takes a high priority in the non-profit sector not only because there are often financial constraints but because non-profits need to be accountable for how they are using donations. Making every dollar stretch and getting best value is definitely priority considerations on our team.

For people considering working at a non-profit can you talk a little about some of the benefits as well as the challenges that go along with it?
Professionally, I believe non-profit organizations provide a ripe learning and professional development environment simply because there is so much to accomplish and often resources are limited. For example, that could mean opportunities to take on projects that allow someone early in their career to develop new skills or for seasoned professionals to informally mentor and coach.

Speaking personally about the benefits of working in a non-profit, I would say there are two key highlights: 1/ there is a sense of fulfillment in knowing you are making a difference through your work and 2/ you get to work with people (employees, volunteers, donors, etc.) who are committed to and passionate about the cause. Continue reading →

FreelanceCamp Vancouver Fast Approaching

Photo from FreelanceCamp Vancouver

If you’re going to be around the Greater Vancouver area on September 15th I suggest you consider joining the FreelanceCamp.

Organized by The Network Hub, the camp is geared towards freelancers, consultants and independent professionals…though any professional interested in improving their productivity, sharpening their skills and improving business would be well served by taking a look at this event.

This unconference style event is a great place to network, share knowledge and have some fun with other professionals.

Some possible topics for the day include:

• Task and Time Management tools
• Marketing and Social Media tools
• Coworking
• Working remotely
• Negotiating contracts
• Business Ethics
• Intellectual Property
• How to set up a Consultancy

Check out photos from last year’s FreelanceCamp and learn more about this great 1 day event here: http://www.thenetworkhub.ca/freelancecamp/

Grow Conference Grow Talks: Tips From 10 Entrepreneurs

I just got back from attending the GROWtalks at the Vancouver Convention Centre and thought readers here might enjoy a summary of the highlights from the day. The event, organized by Dealmaker Media, brought some of the leading and up-and-coming entrepreneurs under one roof.

Each of the 10 entrepreneurs had 30-40mins to share a presentation on an area of their expertise…all with the focus of ‘growing business’. It was interesting to see that 80 to 90% of the presenters came from the US. Plus, a large portion of the attendees flew or came in from places like San Fran, Portland, Calgary, Toronto and all over BC.

The day started off with Debbie Landa, organizer of the event, giving a welcome to the crowd. GROWtalks will be going to other cities and Debbie encouraged everyone to suggest where they want to see the next talk.

Next up was Rebecca Lovell, the head honcho over at Geekwire…who did a great job of MCing and introducing all of the speakers throughout the day.

Brant Cooper and Patrick Vlaskovits
Brant is the author of The Lean Entrepreneur and Patrick is the CMO of Drumbi.
Key points:

    • Get your product out to the market and let them decide.
    • No one is REALLY a visionary.
    • Launchrock = meaningless ?
    • Take the niche-to-win strategy.
    • Focus on small group of core users first.
    • Can use Net Promoter score as indication of when to move forward.
    • Showed a great case study on Appfog.

    Continue reading →

    Marketing Skills Most In Need

    What are the most in demand marketing skills today? In this video, provided by CRMSoftware.TV, you’ll learn the skills marketers need to learn and what the education system should be teaching to help students increase their chances of finding a job and becoming successful in their marketing careers.


    Career Advice To Help You Find A Job You Love: Interview with Penelope Trunk

    Today’s interview is all about career advice and helping you to find a job you love. The interview is with Penelope Trunk. Author of Brazen Careerist and the recently released New American Dream. Penelope is a terrific blogger over at www.penelopetrunk.com

    *The call quality isn’t perfect as you’ll see (Penelope was on a cell phone deep in the American farmlands ;). The content and advice more than makes up for that. Enjoy!

    UPDATE: Good news! It looks like the percentage of our happiness controlled by genes isn’t 75% after all. It’s more like 50% and may be even lower…”we might be able to voluntarily change some of our genetic expression, meaning genes are no longer destiny.” Thanks to Lisa Sansom for this.

    From Music, to Branding, to Marketing with Ashley Weinhandl

    Ashley, before you got into a formal marketing job you worked as a Band Service Agent/A&R Assistant…can you tell us what that was like? Did it help you in some way to prepare for a career in marketing?

    Working at Bodog Music as a Band Service Agent/A&R Assistant was an educational experience. It was a fast-paced environment and an exciting role. I worked with bands across North America from Vancouver, BC to Austin, Texas. I worked with the bands from the beginning stages where we discovered the bands and connected with them to having them audition and go through the judging process. It was great to work on a project that would end up as a television show on FUSE TV (an American Television Network). If you watched the series, you wouldn’t realize the amount of work that went into it before it was even recorded. The show was the end result of all of our hard work.

    I would much rather work in the evening. What’s great about marketing is that, in most cases, it’s not the hours that matter as long as the work gets completed.

    The role was a great stepping-stone into a career in marketing. A lot of what I did focused on successful relationship building and client service – two of the keys to being a successful marketing professional. It also enhanced my ability to multi-task, work in a fast-paced environment, manage projects, be creative and think outside-the-box.

    Most of your marketing career has been with a non-profit or public sector company, such as in your current role at the Ontario Hospital Association. Was working at such an organization a goal you had or did you just end up landing there?

    Although I enjoy my current role, I didn’t set out to work in the not-for-profit sector. Apart from my role at the OHA, I like to give back through my work at IABC/Toronto and Bladder Cancer Canada, both on a volunteer basis. So while I am currently in the not-for-profit sector, I would like to explore working in the private sector again at some point in my career.

    What are some of the benefits of working for the Ontario Hospital Association? What are some of the challenges?

    There are a number of benefits to working at the OHA. It gives you the feeling that you are giving back to society and helping others. We also have a fantastic team and culture at the OHA. It’s not an enormous multinational company, we work like a family – and this is harder and harder to find as people become more disconnected from the office.

    The challenges the healthcare system faces are pretty much what you would expect. Funding is always an issue in not-for-profit and in healthcare in general, especially right now. With the weak economy in Ontario and the world, the healthcare system faces the dilemma of people being weary of any kind of public-private partnerships when it comes to healthcare. Along with the challenges around the economy and the public-private debate, a large portion of the population is getting older and need care now and in years to come. Continue reading →

    Professional Life: Bryan Pearson CEO of LoyaltyOne, and Author of Loyalty Leap

    Bryan Pearson is the CEO of LoyaltyOne, a loyalty marketing company. He is the author of Loyalty Leap: Turning Customer Information into Customer Intimacy. Bryan is often quoted in the news and is a sought-after speaker. You can learn more about Bryan at http://pearson4loyalty.com

    Bryan, you believe companies should shift some of their focus from acquiring clients to putting the consumer front and centre. Can you explain?

    Many companies are product-obsessed, meaning they operate with complete focus on creating, developing and enhancing their products to meet an existing need. Other companies are product opportunists – they obsess on the product, but also use their data occasionally to solve issues involving service or sales dips.

    You can begin the journey; take small steps. And if you find yourself to be successful, that may entice the organization to make a larger commitment to other opportunities that exist around customer-centric marketing.

    Both of these types of companies operate every day. But these days, with dramatically shifting technologies and fickle consumer demands, merely responding to consumer shifts isn’t enough. The company has to put the customer at the center of its purpose from the start, and then base every decision it makes on what is meaningful to that consumer, using the data the customer shares.

    This is what I call a customer-committed company, and it is the one that stands apart. Customer-committed organizations, such as Caesars Entertainment, Nordstrom or Amazon.com, commit to two-way dialogues with their customers and use a careful balance of data and innovation to design a relevant customer experience.

    What is ’emotional loyalty’?

    Emotional loyalty is more deeply rooted than its counterpart — behavioural loyalty, which is driven by habit, convenience or even price. Emotional loyalty is based on the company’s capacity to recognize the customer’s contributions directly and exists within a sustained customer relationship. It results when the customer sticks with your brand even when there is a comparable, convenient or less expensive alternative available. It is a matter of gaining trust, which is hard won but worth it. Continue reading →