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By Kevin Behar

HomePosted by Kevin Behar

ruckus Digital Turns 8!

Eight years ago today, Ruckus Digital was born! To celebrate, here are eight fun facts that you might not know about ruckus.

1. Ruckus’ first client was outdoor power tool manufacturer Husqvarna. We are lucky enough to still work with Husqvarna today – in fact, you may have seen our recent award win [link] with them!

2. ruckus Digital’s first employee was Gary Edgar, who now works for RBC as Director, Enterprise Social Media.

3. Why “ruckus”? Managing Partner Linda Andross explains “we wanted a name that felt like it looked!  A name that had a bit of cheek and attitude and personality.” We think it perfectly sums up the people on our team and the work we do.

4. ruckus was a finalist for CPRS Toronto’s Best in Show the last two years in a row, and the winner for 2020.

5. It was also twice named IABC/Toronto Boutique Agency of the Year. Not bad for an eight-year-old!

6. APEX and ruckus Digital both made the Globe & Mail ROB Top 400 Fastest Growing Companies in 2019, coming in at #272.

7. ruckus Digital launched its original “ruckus Makers” series and has hosted more than 10 events with companies like Twitter, Snapchat, Google/YouTube, as well as some incredible influencers such as Amanda Muse and industry guests like Hannah Sung.

8. ruckus Digital has earned over 30 national awards for clients such as Walmart, DoorDash, Husqvarna, Planet Fitness, RE/MAX, and RSA insurance.

Ruckus has grown and changed throughout the years, but the thing that remains is a dedicated team that loves what they do. We are so grateful for eight years of making a ruckus with you!

Meet Maline, Helvetica fan and ruckus Digital’s new Creative Designer and Strategist

We sat down for a virtual chat with our new Creative Designer and Strategist, Maline, to chat about their career journey and personal passions. 

How has your past work or volunteer experience helped you in your current position?

I have had a wide range of jobs from multimedia design to curation to teaching. This has kept me flexible and always willing to learn new skills, as well as introducing me to a variety of people from different backgrounds!

What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?

Professionally, I am passionate about facilitating open communication through branding and design. Assisting people and companies with expressing themselves visually is very important to me since I am a visual learner. Personally, I am passionate about equity, rights for all, and critically deconstructing pop media.

What moment or accomplishment in your career are you most proud of?

In my career, I am most proud of the branding and design for social media that I did for previous clients. It was very satisfying to be able to follow the results that came from our efforts, and to learn from the people who engaged with the content!

Is there something you hope to achieve while at APEX/ruckus?

While in this role I hope to learn more about how the different branches of PR work together as a unified structure to communicate messages and how design fits into that structure. I’m excited to learn from such a friendly and skilled team!

Three interesting facts about yourself.

1. I moved to Canada in late 2019, so I’m still learning about all the different neighbourhoods of the GTA.

2. In my spare time, I like to garden, cook, and draw.

3. I am a loyal Helvetica fan – I blame the Helvetica documentary for this.

To learn more about how APEX PR or ruckus Digital can help build your brand or tell your brand story email, us at Bigger@apexpr.com

From shutterbug to the Sims: Meet Jelena, ruckus Digital’s Creator & Writer

We sat down for a virtual chat with our new Digital Content Creator & Writer, Jelena to chat about her career journey and personal passions. 

How has your past work or volunteer experience helped you in your current position?

I’m a communications professional, creative visionary, and shutterbug. Over the years, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work in organizations where I’ve been able to execute different marketing initiatives and translate brand stories. As someone with both a communications and design background, I’m a firm believer that good marketing is based on a clear message that co-exists with beautiful design. Ultimately, creating material that resonates with people in a world littered with distraction. 

From my previous experiences at TD Securities and CivicAction—in two very different sectors—I’ve gained insight into how people and teams can come together with different approaches to tell their stories. I know my diverse background helps me find new ways to tell brand stories across digital platforms, and I’m excited to contribute to APEX and ruckus Digital’s mission to create meaningful connections between people and brands every day. I’m looking forward to working with a passionate team of people who have diverse backgrounds and can’t wait to gain a wealth of new knowledge and insight!

What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?

I’ve always been creative at heart and had a passion for the stories of the people who surround us. This passion has influenced my love of communications and brand stories, which is why I do what I do today! I also love finding new ways to showcase these stories. Over the years I’ve done this through graphic design and photography. Most recently, I’ve been working with the team at TEDxToronto as Associate Creative Director to spread ideas. In my personal time, I use photography to capture people and places as they are—unapologetically themselves.

What moment or accomplishment in your career are you most proud of?

A recent moment I’m most proud of is the launch of the first-ever issue of #TPc Magazine; a Toronto-based publication created by the Toronto Photographers Collective that works to feature great talent found behind the lens. As Creative Director, I worked with this talented group to design a publication that shows off some beautiful photography and talent.

Is there something you hope to achieve while at APEX/ruckus?

Over the next few years, I look forward to finding new ways to amplify organizational stories and help businesses make a ruckus. I know that through working with a great team and clients, we’ll be able to create unique ways to stand above the noise and I can’t wait to be a part of that!

Three interesting facts about yourself.

  • I was born in South Africa.
  • I love flexing my architectural skills on the Sims.
  • I’m learning the art of 35mm film photography.

To learn more about how APEX PR or ruckus Digital can help build your brand or tell your brand story, Bigger@apexpr.com

Meet our Digital & Social Coordinator, Arvind

 Our new Digital & Social Coordinator Arvind Bining tells us about herself and her path to public relations.

1. How has your past work or volunteer experience helped you in your current position?

My past experiences have led me down the path of all things social and digital— a field I’ve fallen in love with. My experience growing PR Ramp’s social media accounts since its launch, August 2020, allowed me to build the skills and confidence to create an online brand voice that resonated with our target audience. The knowledge I developed through my work with PR Ramp helped me obtain the opportunity to work on a much larger and already established social presence at the City of Mississauga’s Economic Development Office. I’m super excited to start the next phase of my career with ruckus digital and use what I’ve learned in my past experiences for the benefit of diverse clientele.

2. What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?

Professionally, I’m most passionate about absorbing as much information as I can in navigating the social/digital landscape. Since I’m so early in my career my main priority is surrounding myself with lots of intelligent people I can learn from!

Personally, I’m passionate about varying interests usually around whatever I’m interested in learning at the time. One week I’m filming and editing cooking videos, the next I’m attending business webinars or watching a bunch of YouTube videos on how to film and edit product ads at home. I just really enjoy learning new things!

3. What moment or accomplishment in your career are you most proud of?

The first time I realized how much value my ideas actually had to offer was an accomplishment for me.

I was attending an entrepreneur webinar on building eCommerce businesses. It was near the beginning of the pandemic and I had signed up out of curiosity to see how businesses were adjusting. There was a brand in the webinar I thought was really cool that was struggling to figure out if there were any alternatives to having a pop-up shop to promote their clothing. I was a bit nervous at first, but I decided to directly message the founder about my idea to use TikTok for an at-home fashion show. She liked the idea and requested a marketing proposal that turned into a phone call.

 I didn’t end up getting the freelance gig, but it was a great lesson in understanding what I was capable of. It reinforced my confidence because someone was willing to take the time to listen to my ideas.

4. Is there something you hope to achieve while at APEX/ruckus?

My goal is to immerse myself in social/digital strategy while catering to the needs of diverse clients and continue to build my understanding of what career opportunities I can work towards.

5. Three interesting facts about yourself.

1) I was the last person in my friend group to adopt social media. My friend set up my first social media account, Facebook, which I barely used throughout high school and university. I never used Myspace.

2) I stumbled into my role with PR Ramp while I was trying to improve my understanding of Twitter. I was intimidated by how noisy the platform seemed, but now I spend more time on Twitter than any other platform.

3) I used to be an extremely shy person and got anxious talking to new people. I’ve had to challenge myself over the years, but it’s paid off because people are often surprised when I tell them I was shy!