Smart Savvy

We thought it was time to resurrect the Smokin Recruiter

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We interview a lot of people and fortunately none have been as ‘protracted’ as this one –although some have come close. This is a team favourite and we debated whether or not to post it. In the end, humor won out over political correctness. Thoughts?

This definitely deserves a ‘hats off’ … hard to take your eyes off the screen. All in all this rocks the house. It’s worth the 60 seconds to watch. Thanks to @kasiafink for sharing.

This made me laugh. Maybe you’ve met this guy? Maybe you work with him?

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The gavel has dropped and the winner of the Smart, Savvy + Associates Top Grads competition has been announced.

Callum Ng is crowned the 2009 Smart Savvy Top Grad.

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Affectionately dubbed ‘The Record Holder’, Callum Ng clearly demonstrated that he ‘gets it.’  Callum’s marketing smarts as well as his strong sense of self, resourcefulness, and tenacity helped secure him the win.  He’s just finished his Early Career Masters at UBC as well as his time as captain of the UBC Thunderbirds Swim team. We call him the record holder for breaking the Canadian record in the 50M backstroke at the 2007 World University Games in Thailand.

Swimming aside, he’s a true marketer and understands how to maximize the knowledge he has to get the greatest possible output. “Callum did a fantastic job balancing the three key elements of marketing – research, strategy and connection / creative expression. Although the other contestants were very strong – this is definitely what set Callum apart, ” says Peter Reek, Founder of Smart Savvy + Associates.

Callum made it through quite the extensive selection process. The Top Grad competition’s objective is to find new grads who truly stand apart.  The first step began with an online questionnaire and short video explaining why an employer would want to hire them. From there, ten contenders underwent a panel interview to impress a few key judges from some top companies in Vancouver.

• Stephanie Corker-Irwin, Best Buy Canada
• Laurie Sterritt, Vancity
• Dianne Finn, Johnson & Johnson
• Peter Reek, Smart, Savvy + Associates

The panel cut down the list to five applicants who were then tasked with creating a marketing + launch plan for the (not so real) Gastown Brewery.  The contenders presented their plans to a group of  this city’s key marketers.

• Bryan Mavrow, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?
• Lawrie Ferguson, Coast Capital Savings
• Maya Lange, Grey Vancouver
• Rob Lewis, Techvibes Media
• Andrea Carson, Sage Software
• Catherine Ducharme, Outsidein Communications

Each presentation was strong, as all contestants put in significant effort to ‘flex their marketing muscles’ and demonstrate the marketing know-how.  The Smart Savvy Top Grad competition proved a success for everyone. For the applicants, it was presenting themselves and learning from some experienced professionals, but even the judges took away from this competition, “This was a really refreshing experience for me. I even learned a few things myself,” says Bryan Mavrow, VP Marketing at 1-800-GOT-JUNK?.

A quick shout out to the Top Grad Runners Up: Brian Wong (UBC), aka The Prodigy, and World Traveller, Tyrone Lingley (Royal Roads) , each of whom showed some great insight, strategic thinking and creative proficiency throughout the competition.

Smart Savvy will work alongside these three fine individuals to help them identify their career goals, chart an ideal path, and represent them to prospective employers who ‘fit the bill’.

Hats off to Top Grad, Callum Ng, and all who participated in a fantastic competition.

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When planning for the inaugural Top Grads contest we knew that ultimately the spotlight would be on BC’s brightest grads. But to pull it all off, we wanted to make sure we had a judging panel who knew marketing inside and out. So we dusted off the ol’ Rolodex and called up some of Vancouver’s savviest marketers to help us select the winners.  If Vancouver had a “Marketing Idol”, these would be your contestants.

Bryan Mavrow- 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

Throughout his career Bryan has worked with several big brands on both the agency and client side. After serving five years with Intrawest, Bryan secured one of the most sought after roles in the city as VP Marketing at 1-800- GOT-JUNK?  Bryan has been an Integrated Marketer for 16 years and has had deep experience in branding, direct marketing, PR, project management and team-building and is a pioneer in online business with 12 consecutive years of online developments & eMarketing.

Maya Lange- Grey Vancouver

Maya is a Group Account Director for Grey Vancouver. She’s marketed everything from cheese to charities, from financial services to baby shoes. A born and bred Vancouverite, her marketing experience began in Germany and France nine years ago, and includes managing the North American CRM program for Kraft Foods. Maya’s natural marketing curiosity is complemented by an MBA from the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto). Maya leads the client service team on branding, advertising and interactive.

Lawrie Ferguson- Coast Capital Savings

As Senior Vice President of Marketing for BritishColumbia-based Coast Capital Savings, and taking the credit union through one of the largest mergers in credit union history in 2002, Lawrie has successfully built a strong and distinctive brand that has found its niche in offering British Columbians simple financial help. In 2006, her marketing team was named Marketer of the Year by the BCAMA. In addition, Coast Capital Savings has been recognized as a “Marketer that Matters” by Marketing magazine. Lawrie holds a B.Com. (Marketing) from UBC.

Andrea Carson - Sage

Andrea is the Director of Marketing for Sage, a global software company that specializes in Accounting, ERP, and CRM solutions. With over 15 years in the high-tech industry, Andrea has been involved in all aspects of communications, from tech writing, to Public Relations, to Marketing Communications. She has worked for companies such as MPR Teltech, Dynapro, Chancery, Pearson.

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Rob Lewis- Techvibes

Rob is the President of Techvibes Media Inc. and Editor of Techvibes.com - a hyper-local technology blog that unites tech communities across North America. Rob was most recently the Director of Marketing at Canada’s largest domain name registrar, Webnames.ca and prior to that founded eBusiness Connection - a non-profit resource center focused on educating entrepreneurs about the benefits of integrating Internet technologies into their businesses.

Catherine Ducharme - Outsidein Communications

Catherine Ducharme is a marketing communications veteran with over 25 years experience working in a senior capacity for major technology, research and biotechnology companies. Currently she’s co-founder of Outsidein Communications a thriving brand communications company with notableclients in a range of industries. She’s also founder of the High Tech Communicators Exchange, a group that now boast over 550 members.

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After all the dust has settled, only six candidates remain. Interviews for Smart Savvy’s Top Grads program kicked off this past week and students from across the lower mainland vied for their chance to interview with some of Vancouver’s hottest companies. Selected students sat down to do individual interviews with our team (think dark room, single light-bulb waving, etc). We were amazed at the talent level that was showcased, proving once again that BC is producing some of the brightest marketing minds. However much like your favorite reality TV show, some tough choices had to be made, and we had to cut down the group to six.

Without further adieu,  I present to you the Top 6 Wunderkinds of 2009.

The Record Holder - Callum Ng, a UBC Early Career Masters grad, is not only a Canadian record holder in swimming, he is also an entrepreneur, volunteer, and blogger. Callum captained the UBC Men’s swim team last year while finishing off his Masters degree, and ended up having to utilize his management and marketing skills to recruit 10 athletes to the team. Callum’s blend of enthusiasm and real world experience is top notch and we are excited to see him in the next round.

The Prodigy - Not everyone starts university at age 14, but Brian Wong has been an exception his entire life. Graduating this past semester from UBC  was just one of the many things that fills Brian’s day. He is founder of Aer Marketing, a full service marketing company that he and his partners founded in his 4th year of university. He is an experienced Tuk Tuk rider, speaks Cantonese, and loves hockey. How does he find time to fit it all in? Well, he practices the art of polyphasic sleeping.

The World Traveler - Tyrone Lingley is someone who experiences life to the fullest. This Royal Roads BComm graduate has been a university instructor in South Korea, traveled across the world, and started his own  internet marketing company. All of this experience enabled him to be an honor roll student at Royal Roads, while also serving as the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneur’s VP of consulting and the Student Representative for the RRUSA.

The Volunteer - Having an “insatiable appetite for involvements” has led Charles Voon from a tough life situation to one of Sauder’s best students. Encouraged by his mother to begin volunteering at age 7, Charles has never stopped going the extra mile. After winning the Millennium Excellence Award of Canada in 2004, Charles chose to attend UBC and has excelled throughout his time there. His significant volunteer contributions to YOUCAN and Enterprize Canada, are balanced by his impressive Co-op resume, having worked with both Procter & Gamble and Electronic Arts.

The “Make it So” - Adina Dragasanu gets things done. Just take a quick scan of her experience prior to graduating from UBC. Kraft Canada, Telus, Unilever. Besides working with some of the biggest brands in Canada, Adina also served as the UBC Marketing President in 2007 and is the Director of the Commerce Society Alumni Relations program. We have no doubt that Adina’s impressive resume will continue to build in the future.

Mr. President - Krishna Raisinghani describes himself as “not your average marketer”,  referring to his extensive finance and accounting background. The current UBC Marketing Association President has plenty of diverse experiences, including starting his own media company, winning the Gold Level Service Award for volunteerism, and interning twice with Deloitte. This mix of marketing, volunteering and business acumen enables Krishna to excel both in the classroom and in the real world.

Shouts out to UBC for having such a strong presence at this year’s Top Grads competition. Consider this a challenge to the rest of the post secondary institutions in BC.

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For those of you who were there, you know we sponsored the BCAMA Vision Conference last week. It was a great event with a spectacular line up of speakers — namely Ken Schmidt, Consultant and former Communications Director at Harley Davidson, Richard Bartrem, VP Culture & Communications at WestJet, Brad Gamble, Senior Director of Marketing at McDonalds, Brian Scudamore, President & CEO at 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Kerry Munro, GM at Yahoo! Canada, Maggie Fox, CEO/Founder Social Media Group, Ken Wong, Professor, Author & Strategist and Clare Meridew, VP/Creative Director Inteactive at Grey Canada.

One of the keener attendees, Michelle Evans, Marketing Services Manager for Grouse Mountain, has summarized the day really well in her blog.   If you’d be interested in reading her notes (almost like being there), click below:

http://imseekingbalance.com/bcama-vision-conference-2009-notes/

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Smart Savvy is looking to discover the next marketing ‘rockstar.’ We are hosting a competition called, Top Grads 2009, for graduating seniors with a marketing or communications focus at any of BC’s post-secondary institutions (and BCIT), introducing them to some of the lower-mainland’s best employers. We’ll select three (3) grads to help secure their first ‘killer’ job. (Application deadline is May 15, 2009).

Here are 5 reasons why I’m excited for the competition:

A chance to identify emerging talent — Using the application process, we’ll get to see who really stands out among the crowd and can hold their own in a business setting.

An opportunity to help people stretch and grow — Applicants will be taken through an intensive selection process to help them learn what it takes to be a top-level marketer.

Helping people get a ‘leg-up’ in their career — It’s always hard to get that first foot in the door.  We can help someone who deserves it.

Bringing people together to make new connections — From newbies to seasoned professionals, here’s a chance to learn how to master your craft.

Feedback is good — Getting a read on how you present yourself can only make you stronger. Top Grads allows us to offer valuable feedback.

Even though opportunities aren’t coming in ‘fast and furious’ the need for talent isn’t going to disappear. Implementing this program is a way to get familiar with the leaders of tomorrow as well as BC Schools who are offering great marketing programs.  I must say, I wish this opportunity was presented to me when I was graduating!

I read a very interesting article this morning on about Twitter  and its effects on spreading information. In this case however, it was a negative example. The author points to the fact that Twitter includes people tweeting and retweeting information on the Swine Flu epidemic (currently trending 2 terms: Swine Flu and #Swineflu) and are doing more harm than good.

“Unlike basic Internet search—which has already been nicely used by Google to track emerging flu epidemics—Twitter seems to have introduced too much noise into the process: as opposed to search requests, which are generally motivated only by a desire to learn more about a given subject, too many Twitter conversations about swine flu seem to be motivated by desires to fit in, do what one’s friends do (i.e. tweet about it) or simply gain more popularity.”

I think it would be difficult to argue that Twitter doesn’t add noise to our daily lives, but simply another layer that has been added to our lives, and one that enables us to expand our informational flow to unprecedented levels. This over-stimulation can have detrimental effects.

Twitter’s biggest weakness is also its biggest strength, however.

Think of the tweets from the Hudson River plane crash, or the earthquakes in China. These examples weren’t just noise, they were real time news providing valuable insight into the calamities.

The information on the Swine Flu might be “motivated by desires to fit in and to do what one’s friends do” right now, when hard facts about the crisis is limited, however when pertinent, urgent information becomes available, Twitter will become the first channel of information for a large audience.

I would like to get your thoughts on this - do you think Twitter is vain? Or does it provide specific value?