Discover how Kaliyha De Sousa went from volunteering at Regeneration Toronto, a thrift store supporting homeless individuals and newcomers to Canada, to leading major iPhone campaigns at OMD. In this impactful episode, our ChangeMaker Kaliyha, who is an OMD Supervisor, shares her unconventional path into media planning, including how she grew the nonprofit's TikTok account to 30K followers, leveraged a data analytics internship with an Australian beauty and fashion startup while in university, and landed her dream job with one strategic LinkedIn message.

What makes this episode extra special is that Kaliyha is a student I taught at the University of Guelph Humber in the Media Studies program.

Learn the insider secrets to breaking into competitive marketing agencies without traditional experience, including:

• How to build a marketing portfolio through volunteer work and create compelling case studies
• The exact TikTok growth strategy that launched her career (hint: trend monitoring and testing)
• What media planners actually do: translating business objectives into media placements across social, streaming TV, and connected platforms
• Inside look at managing Apple AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and iPhone 14-16 launches across Canadian markets
• Navigating Quebec's unique media landscape and French-language marketing requirements
• Agency vs client-side marketing: scope management, vendor relationships, and cross-team communication
• Real talk about hybrid work culture (3 days in office), summer Fridays, unlimited PTO, and work-life balance at top agencies

Episode Benefits:

Perfect for marketing students, recent graduates, career changers, and anyone interested in media planning, digital marketing, data analytics, or breaking into agencies like OMD, Publicis, and Starcom. Kaliyha also shares insights on her upcoming transition to Holt Renfrew as a supervisor, where she will manage luxury retail campaigns for Dior, Gucci, and Prada.

Featured topics: Consumer journey storytelling, KPI strategy, streaming TV evolution (Prime Video, Netflix ad tiers), career networking at university job fairs, and the transferable skills between tech and luxury fashion media buying.

Guest: Kaliyha De Sousa, Supervisor, OMD

Topics: Media planning careers, TikTok marketing, agency life, product launch strategy, data analytics, portfolio building, volunteer marketing experience

Featured insights: Data analytics for beauty brands, leading iPhone 14-16 launches, transitioning to Holt Renfrew luxury campaigns, and the power of social impact work in career development.