Dave Bowden Email & Phone Number

Toronto, Canada Area

Guys who want to step up their style tend to run into two main challenges. First, trying to keep up with the latest fads can be dizzying, and an easy way to waste a lot of money. Fads come and go faster than a Snap disappears — or a new social platform arrives to make references to Snapchat feel woefully outdated. Second, tacking in the other direction and going full old-school doesn’t really work either. The classic gentleman style you see on shows like Mad Men and Peaky Blinders looks great on TV, but in real life it tends to look more like cosplay than 21st-century style. (And I prefer to show a lot more leg while cosplaying, thank you very much.) I created Irreverent Gent to help modern men bridge the modern-classic gap by merging the style, sophistication and social grace of a classic gentleman with the tech, tastes and expectations of the 21st century.After winning (shameless brag alert!) two blogging awards in the uber competitive travel niche, I combined my digital marketing skills with my passion and launched my own men’s lifestyle blog. - Starting from scratch, created, branded and built the Irreverent Gent brand into a respected voice in the men’s style niche - Built, laid out and designed site on Wordpress using flexible Generate Press theme and adding custom CSS and HTML as needed - Create unique, in depth and engaging blog posts, aimed at men aged 20 to 50, on topics including style, grooming, romance, health, fitness and more - Written with an intense focus on the reader and a deep understanding of SEO best practices, many of my posts rank on the first SERP in Google, including multiple posts in the number one slot - Software and systems used: Wordpress, Google Analytics, Adobe Photoshop, ConvertKit, SEM Rush, Buffer, Moz, Ubersuggest

Toronto, Canada Area

As Think Thirty Three's Marketing Director, I'm responsible for helping our clients clarify their communications, reach their target audience and achieve their goals. Whether it's starting from scratch to develop a powerful mission and vision statement, or cutting through the clutter to help them refine and strengthen their message, I focus on what our clients want to say—then help them say it as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Toronto, Canada Area

As a freelance copywriter for one of Toronto’s premier creative agencies, I help a wide range of clients – from highways and hedge funds to universities and medical practices – find their voice and translate their offerings into a message that resonates with their target audiences. - Helped an Ontario university find the perfect theme for their annual brochure to attract more international students- Crafted website copy to convince Canadian politicians to fund and build a much-needed highway in Canada’s arctic north - Helped a hedge fund convert the complex algorithms they use to beat the market into an easy-to-understand philosophy that potential clients can understand

Toronto, Canada Area

After a Best Life writer interviewed me about my expertise in men’s style (See “Founder, IrreverentGent.com” above), I was tapped by then-senior editor Ari Notis to become a contributing writer to Best Life’s men’s style vertical. Since then I've contributed a number of pieces optimized for SEO and audience engagement in verticals ranging from men's style to pop culture and film.

Toronto, On

In my second stint working in-house at luxury travel company Butterfield & Robinson, I’m responsible for all content-marketing initiatives across multiple platforms and formats, with a mandate to drive sales, increase engagement, improve retention, generate leads and foster a positive customer experience. Responsible for leading content strategy that supports and extends the company’s marketing initiatives, determining which methods work for the B&R brand and why. Continuous evolvement of strategy is a must.- Manage a content creation team (fulltime and freelance) to supply unique, on-brand content across multiple channels including video, blog posts and social media - Manage all external creative agency partners- Oversees all aspects of content creation including design, execution, monitoring, optimization and analysis- Research and analyze trending content within the industry as a basis for ongoing content production- Produce reports and explain performance regarding benchmarks, targets and overall business objectives- Collaborate with Director of Marketing and the Manager, Acquisition Marketing to set and achieve strategic marketing goals and plans in alignment with overall business objectives

Toronto, Canada Area

As a freelance Communications Consultant for luxury travel company Butterfield & Robinson, I worked directly with the Director of Marketing and CEO to help them conceive, plan and create an in-house magazine that was mailed directly to 10,000 of the world’s most discerning travellers. - Conceived and launched The Slow Road magazine - Wrote three travel features (2,000+ words) and 10 front-of-book columns (200-1000 words) for the issue; assigned and edited three others - Worked closely with external Art Director to come up with magazine branding, style guide and design

Toronto, Canada Area

After being promoted from Communications Editor to Marketing Manager, I worked closely with the Director of Marketing and CEO to help craft and execute a multifaceted marketing strategy designed to compel the world's most discerning travelers (people with an average net worth of over $10 million) to book a trip. My responsibilities and deliverables included: - Lead Acquisition: Worked with the Marketing Director to define strategy for generating, nurturing and delivering qualified leads to Sales teams- Content Marketing: Responsible for all of B&R's digital communication channels, including blog, emails, website, social media and video. - Developed and executed strategy for implementing above-listed tools in lead acquisition plan - Managed editorial calendar; liaised with planning teams on product development- Wrote, commissioned and edited blog content and traveller materials- Worked with Digital Marketing Specialist to create emails, manage SEO and monitor results- Regularly presented marketing results to other company stakeholders - Coordinated with Media & PR Manager on company news-Hired and Managed Marketing Coordinator, administering annual reviews and bi-weekly meetings

Toronto, Ontario

As communications editor I crafted a content marketing strategy that helped B&R stand out in the competitive luxury travel space and created and launched their travel blog, The Slow Road, winning two marketing awards in the process. As the blog's editor, I wrote more than 400 blog posts and crafted a bi-weekly newsletter that was sent to more than 70,000 of the world's wealthiest travellers.Email Marketing: - Managed editorial calendar for monthly newsletter - Worked with web developer to design newsletter template optimized for clicks and conversions- Wrote, laid out and edited each edition of newsletter - Software and systems used: Adobe Photoshop, Exact Target, Marketo Blog Content Creation and SEO:- Developed and implemented editorial strategy and content calendar - Liaised with sales and planning teams to craft content that was in line with business objectives and growth targets - Doubled organic blog traffic in first year- Software and systems used: Wordpress, Google Analytics, Adobe PhotoshopSocial Media - Crafted strategy and created content for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - Software and systems used: Hootsuite, Adobe Photoshop

As managing editor of the company's two most profitable titles, Clean Eating and Oxygen magazines, I served as second-in-command and reported directly to the respective editors-in-chief of each title. I managed all aspects of the editorial process, from story conception to cover images, and provided final edits on each page of all 25 issues (totalling 2,065 pages annually).- Oversaw production of 25 issues annually, working closely with a combined editorial team of more than 24 people and liaising with all other departments- Provided final editorial approval of all pages- Responsible for scheduling, deadlines, time management, workflow and editorial standards- Managed and assisted in hiring and training copy editors and editorial interns

- thoroughly edited all copy to Chicago specifications - maintained and helped update house style - reviewed both layouts and stories submitted as Word documents - researched and wrote feature stories while balancing above duties

Mississauga, Ontario

As a copy editor for popular women’s fitness title Oxygen magazine I applied my meticulous attention to detail and expert proficiency with the English language to thoroughly edit all copy to Chicago and house-style specifications, helping improve the clarity of my fellow editors and writers. I was then promoted to Managing Editor after five months on the job.

Guelph, Ontario

While taking the summer off from journalism school, I made my first foray into professional communications as a cub reporter for my hometown’s community newspaper (then called the Guelph Tribune, now the Guelph Mercury Tribune), where I was introduced to the rigorous standards of research and accuracy that still inform my work to this day.

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), History And Philosophy

Post-Graduate Diploma, Journalism

Activities and Societies: The East York Observer