This is the eighth installment of our ‘Rising Young Media Stars’ series, in which we profile the next gen media minds. Curious as to who these new thinkers were, and what they were thinking, strategy and Media in Canada canvassed the industry, asking media shops to single out their top innovative and strategic recruits. And we’re scouting for more of the same – so tell us about the hot talent in your shop.
Zoryana Loboyko
Account director, PHD Canada
Claim to fame: The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty voting billboard, on which she worked with the PHD team from the beginning, she says, ‘to bring Dove’s new philosophy and positioning as well as the creative to life.’ The result included two live LED screens in Toronto with a toll-free voting number and the tally updated in real time. Also, 10-by-20-foot posters were placed in major markets to drive consumers to campaignforrealbeauty.ca. The campaign won awards and a lot of attention from the news media, and was picked up in the U.S. and executed via a billboard in Times Square.
Background: Graduated from Toronto’s Ryerson University with a bachelor of commerce in marketing. Now in her sixth year at PHD, she began in the research department and quickly moved up to account manager, then supervisor, and now account director.
Who’s getting it right? ‘Apple iPod. This is a great example of a brand being able to create a culture, a following and a feeling of ‘Holy smokes, I really must have this product!’ They’re huge in OOH and did some very interesting island shelter wraps. It’s a brand that’s dynamic, wanting to push the limits and be breakthrough and to explore new media opportunities. Apple is everywhere I expect them to be. It’s is a brand that keeps inspiring me.’
Are opportunities being missed due to caution? ‘Yes, because of a pure CPM measurement from the client’s end – which doesn’t really consider the impact of an idea, consumer reaction, or potential PR. Sometimes that’s where it stops and you can’t move forward with the idea. If we had looked at things that way with the Dove electronic billboard, we never would have executed it.’
What common industry belief would you love to whack? ‘I want to see media and creative working together at the table, focusing on building consumer insights, which is what we do at PHD. It’s all about who we want to talk to and when they’re best poised to receive the message. That leads to my hope of collectively coming up with the idea that will reach them.’
