Digital Content Producer | internationalfilmreview

Over the last decade, with the rise in presence and popularity of social media platforms, critics have begun to suggest that different means of online technology are working to isolate and hinder human beings on a social level. There has become a large push amongst parents to encourage their children to disconnect from their technological devices in order to properly connect with each other. What these critics often fail to take into consideration, however, is the emergence of online influencers who are taking the digital world by storm, using various online mediums to link together a generation of social media users. They create interest-based communities, and effectively unite the individuals within them. Take Ashley Bruzas, for instance. The Canadian Digital Writer and Content Producer uses the internet to bring together like-minded individuals and interact with them in such a way that transcends social constraints like distance, cultural differences, time zones, and more. Her modern-day adaptation of journalism allows her to share news in a widespread fashion, reaching audiences on a large scale and engaging with followers in an authentic way.

“What I enjoy most about working as a digital writer and content producer is my ability to interact with people. I am a storyteller and through this passion I am able to interact with interesting people, situations and events who are the basis of what I do. I have worked with some of the world’s most well-known and reputable brands and companies as well as some extremely interesting and respected individuals who have shaped me into the person I am today,” tells Bruzas.

Online, followers know her as Veronika Stealz, but in reality, Bruzas is an enthusiastic, talented Digital Writer and Content Producer with an online following that has amassed upward of 85,000 followers to date. Given that her Instagram page had gained a substantial following in the early days of social media use, expanding her personal brand and creating a blog felt like a natural next step in her budding career. Now, using that very blog, WhoIsVeronika.com, Bruzas shares information about different projects she works on, brands that she collaborates with, details about her personal life, captivating images, compelling articles, and much more. The idea for her blog developed in conjunction with the rising popularity of her online alias and when she realized that her followers and other aspiring bloggers could benefit from an in-depth, behind the scenes look at her lifestyle. As a result, she now expertly spearheads an extensive network of fellow bloggers, local influencers, content producers, and writers who engage with her content on a regular basis and communicate with each other accordingly.

As her online influence and popularity rose on social media, Bruzas started to receive requests from a variety of large-scale companies who felt that she was in touch with their target demographic and could help enhance their online exposure. Her expansive network of followers makes her a valuable asset to any company’s marketing strategy and by attending an event or featuring a campaign on her blog, Bruzas helps to adequately grow a company’s online presence and customer base. Since she began incorporating marketing collaborations into her blog, Bruzas has worked with many Canadian brands such as Peace Collective, Converse, Nike, Adidas, Moose Knuckles, and more. Beyond her reach at home, Bruzas has helped enhance the consumer market for international brands like Triangle and Bali Body.

“I have a large network of followers that I grew in Toronto, so attending an event or working on a campaign was valuable for Veronika Stealz to be associated with. I eventually created a media kit that I would pitch to brands, which included some of my past work, relationships, rates, statistics, etc. I would never work with a brand or agency that I do not support and I want my content to be unique and organic in order to keep my follower demographic interested and honest.” she notes

In addition to clothing and apparel companies, however, Bruzas also uses her background in journalism and passion for writing to work with creative agencies like Sweet Dreams Magazine. Marketing gurus within the companies and creative agencies that Bruzas works with are fortunate to foster working relationships with digital writers and content producers like herself as it allows them to appear before an audience they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. Typically, they will contact Bruzas and request that she feature their products or services on her social media platforms. The exchange allows her to profit from her business ventures and in turn, allows them to engage with her network of followers. Along the way, she establishes strong business relationships and connections, such as the one she formed with PIQUE, a production studio and creative platform that preserves Canada’s young creative community. When working with PIQUE, founder Imad Elsheikh realized just how valuable Bruzas can be as a brand ambassador and digital writer.

“WhoIsVeronika.com, and Ashley’s social alias, Veronika Stealz, have become a prominent source of knowledge within the world of digital writing in Toronto and she is often involved in producing original content for many of Canada’s fast-growing companies. Working with her is so wonderful not only because she is a social and articulate individual, but because she shows every sign of being able to take on any challenge thrown her way. From working with big name apparel companies, to providing popular event coverage in a way that speaks to a wide audience, she provides exceptional skills in digital writing and content production. Ashley has an impressive work ethic and her ability to create content from start to finish makes her an extremely valuable asset to the creative community in Canada and around the world,” remarks Elsheikh.

For Bruzas, the true joy of being a blogger sets in when she gets to work closely with and appear alongside creative minds like hers. Joining in and standing out within a community that creates and promotes consistently interesting, unique content reminds her that she is maximizing her potential as a writer and blogger. She is proving herself to be a force to be reckoned with in the online world and her sharp work ethic places her amongst some of the top Canadian business women of her generation. If you’re curious to see what this talented social media mogul and blogger has to offer, click here to find out: WhoIsVeronika.com.

Photo by Tyler Lord

As a population we are bombarded with an influx of content and information on a daily basis, so much so that it becomes challenging to sift through the over saturated media and find stories that really matter. Regardless of whether someone wants to spread a message about an upcoming event, groundbreaking discovery, or just wants to make a YouTube video with the possibility of going viral, knowing how to produce the message in a way that will reach the most diverse audience and actually have an impact is the most fundamental building block; and, digital content producer Ishita Srivastava knows exactly how to do that.

Some of the projects she has spearheaded and produced digital content for include the “Deport the Statue” campaign that reached over 20 million people in 2013, and the “Be That Guy” campaign, which aired on the Jumbotron at the NASCAR Miami Speedway Championship in 2013 as well as every other NASCAR race across the nation over the course of 2013 and 2014.

What is even more impressive than the reach and effectiveness of the digital content Srivastava has produced to date is the fact that she uses her brilliant skill to create work that spreads awareness and mobilizes people to take a stand against injustice. The issues she focuses on in her work, such as immigration reform, violence against women and racial injustice, notoriously elicit a wide spectrum of opinions. Naturally, you are probably wondering how Srivastava has managed to create content that diverse audiences with clashing beliefs can connect with when it comes to polarizing human rights issues; and the answer is– humour!

As the Producer and Deputy Director of the U.S. branch of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization that she has worked with for the last six years, Srivastava has continually used humour and storytelling as a tool to magically transform issues like gender equality, immigration and race into topics we can come together and see as “human” issues that affect us all.

For the first video of the “Be That Guy” campaign, Srivastava was charged with the hefty task of creating content that would inspire audiences at NASCAR races across the U.S. (an event that notoriously draws a large group of beer drinking race fans, most of whom are men) to stand up against sexual harassment and violence towards women when they see it happening.

Instead of creating a PSA that vilified men (which would immediately turn off a vast majority of the audience), Srivastava created an animated short film that portrayed the sexual harasser in the video as someone we all probably know or have met in our personal lives. The video in no way tried to make us hate him, instead it made us feel a bit sorry for his ignorance, and called on audiences step up and intervene, letting him know “hands are for beer and high fives, to imply, “hey man, that’s not right.”

Over the years, Srivastava, who has directed and produced countless films including the powerful documentaries “Desigirls,” “Inside- Out: Expressions of Gender and Sexuality,” “Checkpoint Nation” and “Mansimran,” has proven herself to be a master storyteller. So, it’s not surprising that when she was asked to transform the initial NASCAR-fan targeted “Be That Guy” video into a video that would effectively spread the message to audiences at a Green Bay Packers’ tailgate party, she was up to the challenge. Set in an animated version of the Packers’ beloved Lambeau field, the video portrays a crude fan in the stands shaking a hot dog as he makes lewd sexual innuendos at the stadium waitress.

The overall message of these videos is that if an action promotes violence or sexual harassment against women, regardless of how small an act it is, then it is up to us to take a stand and let others know that it’s unacceptable.

About creating the “Be That Guy” campaign and producing videos that would make an impression on these audiences, Srivastava explains, “they were great challenge because they were totally outside of my comfort zone in every possible way.”

While using humour appears to be a seemingly simple approach that helps those with opposing views see eye to eye over issues that under normal circumstances are known to cause arguments, there are few other digital content producers, and even fewer human rights activists, who have been as effective as Srivastava in transforming the way we see many of these polarizing topics.

One of Ishita Srivastava’s most recent projects for Breakthrough is THE G WORD, a global storytelling platform that is transforming our perception of gender norms by inviting people to submit their personal stories and experiences with the subject. After launching in December, the platform has received hundreds of powerful story submissions from people of all ages all over the world, many of them are available on The G Word website: http://us.breakthrough.tv/thegword/

In an interview with Sue Ding for Docubase, Srivastava explained, “We invited people, not just women but everybody, to share their story with the invitation that we all have a gender story. They range from everyday experiences of norms to really dramatic stories of discrimination and violence.”

THE G WORD brings together a collection of stories that span a wide range of subtopics such as consent, masculinity, dating violence, the women’s movement, greek life and many others, all of which are connected through the issue of gender. Besides giving people all over the world a platform to share their stories, THE G WORD has made it apparent that many issues that we might not think of as being gender related, actually are. The Chore Challenge, one of the many story categories Srivastava created for The G Word, asks audiences to contemplate what household chores they have taken on and whether they are rooted in gender roles. Simple examples such as young girls being taught to do the laundry, whereas their brothers are tasked with such things as fixing things around the house or mowing the lawn show how gender norms have been woven into the fabric of each and every one of our lives; and that these issues connects us all, whether we realize it or not.

“THE G WORD has been a dream project for me—it is characterized by all the things that I love, the things that get me to work in the morning, Some of the stories we get can be hard to read, but they’re honest and nuanced, and work so well to inspire empathy and make complex and intersectional issues relatable.”

THE G WORD platform and the impressive collection of ‘videos for change’ that Srivastava has produced to date have not only been astonishingly effective in spreading messages about globally relevant issues, but her unique and thoughtful approach to digital content has made it possible for her work to break through the cultural and perceptual barriers that separate us, in turn providing us with a common ground where we can stand together.

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