In the world of marketing, there's nothing more important than branding. And 61% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that uses custom content.
That's where we come in. Our creative team creates stunning visual assets including video, photography, AR face filters, stop motion animations, and more for some of the biggest brands in North America. These visual assets are then used across a variety of different marketing channels to engage our clients' target audiences, driving sales.
In this blog, The Influence Agency's Creative Director, Samuel Butcher, highlights the work of our Creative Media Department and the talented individuals who make up the team. Let's get to it!
What kind of work does your team do at the agency?
Our team of creative experts has worked with hundreds of companies across diverse industries to ensure their message is conveyed across a variety of platforms and formats. Our team of talented photographers, videographers, and content creators, helps our growing list of clients by executing brand vision with unique photography and videography and Custom Branded Content.
We help with the creative direction, ideation, and execution of creating fantastic branded assets, helping you differentiate your business from others. These custom-branded photographs and videography help you look professional within your space or niche. This is the ideal way to communicate your brand image, specific tones or values, overarching themes, and your brand story while presenting both previous and potential customers with engaging content that is more likely to help grow your business!
Can you please provide 2-5 examples of work your department has produced within the last year?
The Green Organic Dutchman
Gabby Frank, Lead Photographer
Harbour 60
Eliza Mehr, Multimedia Coorindator
Plooto
Maxim Kim, Lead Videographer
Jamieson Vitamins
Samuel Butcher, Creative Director
Harbour 60
Natalia Osmolovskaya, Photographer
Can you briefly describe the evolution of the department based on where it started and where it is now?
It’s crazy to say, but his department did not exist a year ago. Our Creative Team began with our Videographer Maxim Kim, who was hired in July 2019. Max had previously been contracted by The Influence Agency as a freelancer, as he worked with a few of our clients ie. HoneyComb Hospitality, Dinner With A View, Goodson, etc. Max is now our Lead Videographer + Producer, and leads all of our client videography projects, contributes to set direction and artistic vision, and overall strategy.
Following Max, I (Samuel Butcher) personally joined in August 2019, with my title of Social Media Coordinator. Due to my previous experience and college diploma in Creative Photography from Humber College, I actually became our sole Photographer, taking on all photography for our clients internally. This allowed us to stop using freelancers for our work. I did this while executing a hybrid role that also allowed me to work within our Social Media Department. Max and I spearheaded the department together executing photography and videography for a year and a half together.
Since then my role has evolved drastically over 2.5+ years, and I now oversee our Creative Media Department, in my role as Creative Director.
In June 2020, we hired , as part of our Social Media Department as well, as a Multimedia Coordinator. She came with photo and video experience, which ultimately lead her to take on more of a hybrid role, helping for the last year and a half with the execution of photo and video assets, internal series editing (Behind The Influence & Digi Downloads, and more.
The evolution of this department has been a journey. It was formalized into the Creative Media Department around a year ago this March (2021) when we hired our now Lead Photographer, Gabby Frank. Gabby came to us with 7+ years of experience under her belt in both the commercial and freelance world and has completely killed it within her first year for the agency!
Natalia Osmolovskaya - Natalia joined us in March 2022, an exact year after we hired Gabby. Natalia came also with years of experience, and as an additional bonus, incredible Stop Motion video skills! She has just begun executing for our department for our Photography clients, and we’re so thrilled to have her on board!
Major support from Kitty Lana Carr our Senior Client Success Manager turned Account Director, Creative Services, who single-handedly spearheaded the evolution of our Custom Branded Content, formulated to help our clients elevate their brand to maximum potential through photography, videography, and graphic design work. She helps with managing this department, overseeing operations, strategic planning, creative direction, and more.
There you have it! The Influence Agency’s Creative Media Department. Talk about SQUAD GOALS!
Every member of your team brings something different to the table. What makes each person on your team special?
They all have incredibly unique skill sets, strengths, and weaknesses. We all feed off of each other's energies, lift each other up, help each other when needed, and are constantly collaborating. Each of these members of the Creative Media department is not only key to our success, but they are integral to our business and overall growth and success within the last year especially.
Let's get to know our Creative Media team more!
Natalia approaches every scenario and every shoot with a completely open mind, her ability to adjust and assimilate quickly over the past 3 months on our busy-as-ever team, has been incredible! It's been so great to watch her skills grow even in that short period of time, and she consistently kills it! What makes Natalia so special is that no matter what she is shooting, she always executes quickly, efficiently, and with a smile on her face!
His determination, skill level, and workmanship is incomparable. Max is a master behind the scenes, with production, and video editing. His skill set has allowed us to elevate our offering ten-fold. His humour and sense of self-direction make him special, he consistently contributes high-quality assets, with little to no feedback. He is an integral part of this department!
Eliza has grown a lot over the past year and a half, and it's impressive to see her dedication to our TIA Brand series, having sole ownership of the editing. She has a fun, quick, sharpness about her editing style and her eagerness to try new things is something we always appreciate!
Gabby’s superior attention to detail, genuine care for everyone, and master skillset within the photography space make her an incredible asset to us. Her visual articulation and artistic vision really help elevate our client's content, and through visual exploration she allows herself to really encapsulate the look, feel, and brand vision through her work.
She is an organizational queen. Her attention to detail when it comes to structuring, leadership, and operational procedures is definitely something that I value. She consistently has the departments back and takes ownership of many things. Her creative ideas and outlook are extremely crucial to the success of this department.
Another department spotlight, another takeover! Our VP of Business Development, Tom Yawney, is going to jump in here real quick to say a few kind words about Sam.
For any company, you are only as good as your people. We are fortunate to have a really talented group of high-character people, and Sam really embodies and represents what this company and culture is all about. Sam looks out for his peers, treats everyone with respect, and works with pace and integrity. His fingerprints are all over this company, and we are certainly better off for it! This ranges from the creative department that he manages, to our brand material, to our team socials, swag, and more! It has been very gratifying to watch Sam continue to spread his wings and grow, and he's only scratching the surface.
Thank you, Tom! And back to you, Sam...
What has the biggest department accomplishment been to date?
I think our biggest department accomplishment to date, besides actually formalizing our team into a new department, would be executing Custom Branded Content for JWEL (Jamieson Wellness Inc.) whose product portfolio is specifically curated to help maintain overall health with daily multivitamins for all age groups, letter vitamins, digestive, heart health and immune support formulas. With a variety of products, we execute content for 4 of their main brands, Jamieson Vitamins, Progressive Nutritional, Smart Solutions and Iron Vegan.
We have been executing Custom Branded Content in the form of photography, videography, stop motion, and social cuts for them, for over 1.5 years now, and have created over 600+ assets in that time frame. It truly is mind-blowing, and we are continuously proud of the work we do for them, and the level of curation, creative direction, and production that goes into each of those shoots.
Is there anything exciting in store for your department that you’d like to share?
We’re constantly working on photography and videography projects all of the time for our clients and our social media clients, and it’s all very exciting. Something we can share specifically is that we have a bunch of new clients this year for Custom Branded Content!
We’re happy to welcome Staples Canada, Cruuzy, Ripple by TGOD, Rakuten, and more, to our amazing roster of clients. We cannot wait to continue executing for you all this year.
What makes you proud to be a part of this department?
I am proud to be a part of this department and to lead this department because not only is it one of the most integral departments, we have the ability to physically change the narrative behind the brands we work for. We are a FAMILY. Our creativity knows no bounds, and we consistently do a good job. No matter if we’re shooting, talking about real-life situations or feelings, or just chatting during work hours, everything we do has a meaning behind it and is specifically us. We are creative leaders, innovators, and changemakers. We get the job done, always!