As Dan celebrates his 10th anniversary at Vovia, we thought it would be a great idea to reflect on all the memories, lessons, and challenges he has faced over these years. From moving out of a small town in Ontario to pioneering the growth of social media marketing at Vovia. Read on to learn more about Dan’s 10-year journey with Vovia!

Knowing what you know now, what single piece of advice would you give your younger self?

Always say yes. Say yes to new adventures. Say yes to nights out. Say yes, friends. Before you get swept up with responsibilities and family matters, you have so much time when you’re younger that you don’t realize.

What made you move over to Vovia in the first place?

I moved over to Vovia as I made the move out west. I moved from a small town in Ontario to Calgary to start as a digital marketer. I found Vovia through college connections and employees who got hired from the same program I took. The mountains were always calling me, so I decided to take the leap of faith!

Do you remember your first day? Tell me about it.

Truth be told, I don’t remember my first day. It went by quickly, and there is so much to take in, so I honestly don’t remember much, except for how friendly my co-workers were and how much attention the office dogs wanted.

I do remember my 2nd round of interviews at the office. It was a 2-part interview – the first one was with 10ish employees that I would be interacting with daily. They fielded random questions, from what I like to do for fun, down to technical questions about platforms. Carsen grilled me on how I like to write blog posts too 🙄. It was overwhelming, but at the same time, I see the value in making sure you fit with the team’s culture now. After that part of the interview, I thought we were done, so I started to leave, and an employee caught me in the nick of time and yelled over that I wasn’t done yet, and I had more people to meet! Talk about being nervous and embarrassed at that time! Thankfully, he caught me as the next part was meeting the senior leadership team and explaining the value I could bring to the team!

How has Vovia evolved over the last 10 years?

Too much to write down in a blog post here. Vovia has evolved considerably. Back in 2014, we were primarily running Google Ads on my team, and another co-worker and I had an interest in expanding on the social media side of things. Lots of trials and tribulations went into that part of the business, but now social media marketing is a significant part of Vovia’s offerings, and where my passion lies within media channels.

Over the last 10 years, all the platforms have evolved with new innovations, changes in data regulations, and AI becoming a part of the algorithms, just to name a few. So there has been so much change across the board!

What was the biggest challenge that you faced at Vovia over this time?

I think the biggest challenge that I have faced over the last bit has been the client’s shift to digital marketing in order to get more trackable marketing campaigns. This sounds pretty straightforward, right? Ideally, it would be, but not all clients can get the same level of attribution and tracking as an e-commerce store. So the challenge comes from explaining results and how we are bringing in results incrementally, even when there are no direct attributable results. I know, it’s hard to believe users aren’t pausing their Connected TV ads on Crave and purchasing right away on their smart TVs!

What do you feel are your biggest accomplishments since you started in 2014?

I feel my biggest accomplishment has been the growth of social media marketing at Vovia. As I said before, it was only a very small piece of Vovia in 2014. We started with running carousels with very small monthly budgets and saw good performance from them. Slowly but surely, we showed clients the value of social media, we improved our tracking and attribution of social media ads, and we have trained co-workers on how all the social media platforms out there have great targeting abilities based on each client’s needs.

If you could switch jobs with anyone else at Vovia for one day, whose job would you want?

I would want to switch jobs with Roxy. She’s our office dog who gets treats, pets and naps throughout the day. Now that seems like a great job to have!

What behaviour or personality traits do you most attribute your success to, and why?

Constantly being interested in the world of marketing. You need to be curious to grow. It’s amazing how much knowledge I have on past marketing campaigns, simply because I’m curious about how those campaigns were pulled off. I keep that curiosity with our clients – wanting to make sure they keep growing and seeing the results that we are working towards.

What is your biggest hope for the next decade at Vovia?

Same as what we have been doing for the last decade – continue to adapt to market needs, adapt to platform changes and product releases, and continue to innovate to stand out from the crowd.

What is your favourite memory at Vovia?

My favourite memory would be around 2018(?) when we went to Banff for our Christmas party. We have quite a few skiers/snowboarders on the team, so we got to spend the day up at Sunshine Village skiing together before heading out for Dinner and drinks that night. It was a long day altogether, but definitely a core memory I have with the group!

Describe what Vovia means to you in one word.

Performance.

Fun Questions

If you were an animal, what would you be? Why?

I would be a wolf. Always loved wolves and their pack mentality!

What is one of the things on your “bucket” list?

Visit 10 new countries over the next 10 years.

Who do you admire the most?

I admire my Wife, Alyssa. She is my partner in crime, and we just got married!

If a movie were made of your life, what genre would it be, and who would play you?

It would be a documentary starring a 30-year-old Kevin Costner.

What is your favourite hobby?

Too many to list. Can I say outdoor sports? Between Biking, Motorcycling, Camping, Baseball, Pickleball, Hiking, Snowboarding… the list goes on!

What is the strangest thing you’ve eaten?

I am pretty safe with my food I eat. Not sure what would be strange. Caviar?

First thing you do when you get up in the morning?

Cuddle my dog, Monte!

Biggest fear?

I don’t really have any fears!

Biggest dream

Purchasing a second home in the mountains.

Dream car

Currently, my attainable dream car is a Porsche Boxster Spyder. My unattainable dream car would be a Ferrari Dayonta SP3.

If you could get a yacht, what would you call it?

Flying Dutchman.. Or Maybe “The Junior Dutchmen”

What product do you love to shop for the most?

Sporting equipment. Love all the technical details that I get to nerd out on!

Favourite book

None.

Favourite movie