In the back room of his uncle’s Baskin Robbins in Pickering, Ont., Jacob Porpossian, then 17, was on the phone to a producer at Omni Television. “I said, ‘my mom makes me watch this [Armenian cultural programming] every Saturday morning and it’s boring. It would be great if we could have something more catered to youth.’ And the producer said, ‘why don’t you do it?’”
Thus began Porpossian’s three-year stint as the producer and host of Armenian Youth TV (AYTV). It was a lesson learned: “If you want to do something, just go for it,” says Porpossian.
It’s a lesson he took to FleishmanHillard, which he joined as a consultant in 2011 after graduating from Edinburgh Napier University. Three years into the job—a time when Fleishman was boosting its creative capabilities—Porpossian successfully pushed for a new role to be created: digital strategy and program director.
For the past seven months, Porpossian has grown and managed Fleishman’s creative services department, bringing new offerings to clients and contributing to a steady stream of new work for the agency. So far, he’s developed an inspirational video about a young man living with hemophilia , produced a PSA that provided a humorous spin on the importance of colorectal cancer screening, and creative-directed/produced/wrote a video that helped raise awareness about recycling electronics, among other projects.
Beyond his new role, Porpossian is most proud of leading the first-ever One Direction pop-up retail store in Toronto in 2012. Porpossian (who began his career in the music industry on the management team at Do Dat Entertainment) developed an integrated strategy, identified key partnerships and carefully seeded information with fans and media. The pop-up store quickly became a national news story as thousands lined up on Yonge Street, some waiting for 24 hours to be the first to enter the store. The Toronto launch alone generated more than 60 million impressions, and the strategy became the foundation of store openings in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, as well as several U.S. cities.
“Jacob brings not only a tremendous sense of passion and enthusiasm, but a great maturity as well,” says Jennifer Shah, senior vice-president and partner at FleishmanHillard. “He has a great handle on what he’s passionate about and what needs to be done to elevate the art of communications.”
Outside of work, Porpossian dedicates his time to a number of community causes. He is currently the youngest member of Toronto’s 519 Church Street Community Centre ‘s board of management, which caters to the the city’s Gay Village neighbourhood and the broader LBGTQ community. He is also vice-chair of the community centre’s resource development committee, and serves as communications and marketing manager at the Pomegranate Film Festival, an Armenian cultural organization.
Meet the rest of the 30 Under 30 for 2014
