Steven Ryan

About me

I was born/grew up in: St. John's, NL

I now live in: St. John's, NL

I completed my training/education at: I completed the Business Management (Marketing) program at the College of the North Atlantic.

What I do at work

As a creative director, my job is to develop, tweak, and manage creative concepts for our clients. From videos and radio to social media and digital media, we create great branding and marketing programs for our clients.

On a day to day basis my job involves communicating with clients and the VEE creative team. My job is to make sure our marketing campaigns align with the values and goals of the people they represent. Once campaigns are launched we assess the effectiveness of these campaigns. When necessary, we will create plans for improvement.

Marketing is a continuous cycle of creating and improving. In any creative space, but especially in marketing, collaboration is very important. In marketing, you have to understand your client’s perspective. When you know this you can then advise them on how best to reach their stakeholders. This is a job not to be taken lightly! Communicating these strategic values to our team is essential. It helps make sure everyone is rowing in the same direction to reach our collective goals.

My career path is

In high school, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do. I spent a few years after I graduated working in labour jobs while I tried to figure out what my future looked like. I decided to try out the marketing program at CNA. As part of this program, I had a work term with a local marketing agency. The excitement of the work, and seeing brilliant ideas come to life, was enough to get me hooked. This was when I decided that this was what I wanted to do.

There are many ups and downs in the marketing industry. As a result, it is important to remember that, not every single project you work on will be a success. You should always try to take a lesson from each project; successes and failures. Surround yourself with people who can give you good perspective and who you work well with. Don't be afraid to believe in yourself and fight for your ideas.

I am motivated by

The most exciting part of marketing is seeing how the campaign rolls out over a specific period. Sometimes you hope for a big splash on the first day. At other times you have to sit back and allow the marketing messaging to create overall brand recognition and awareness that reaches your client’s audience. Seeing those campaigns come to life is the fuel that propels future campaigns.

How I affect peoples’ lives

Creative work is a personally rewarding job! Seeing our clients become proud of concepts and creative campaigns that we have launched with them is very rewarding. It is a great feeling to hear a client repeat a slogan you've come up with, or hand out a business card you helped design with your team. This makes you grateful to have had that persons trust and now gratitude for helping create something to represent them.

Outside of work I

Outside of work, I enjoy gardening, sports, and spending time with family and friends. Being in business, it’s crucial to have people and hobbies in your life. These help to recharge your batteries and give perspective.

My advice to others

Always remember that no loss is unrecoverable unless you decide that it is. Learn from mistakes and failures. Take feedback and apply it to whatever you do going forward.