Marla Hurov

Strategic writer and creative marketer with more than 20 years of international experience in planning, creating, and managing content for high-profile brands in Toronto, New York, Barcelona, and Rome. I have a passion for telling great stories that engage, inspire, and resonate.

Business Writing, Strategy, and Content Marketing

I write, edit, curate, repurpose, and art-direct content across web, motion, print, email, social, mobile, and emerging platforms. I take a journalistic approach and align my work with business goals, customer journeys, and key trends.

Interac blog •

A Retailer’s Toolkit for the Big Shift

The global pandemic transformed the way we shop and pay. It accelerated digital innovation, along with a shift towards a cashless society. Canadian consumers are increasingly moving away from in-person transactions to online commerce, and 66 per cent believe businesses not offering digital payments will struggle.

To stay ahead in the evolving retail landscape, it’s critical to understand consumer demand for choice and convenience — and offer shoppers plenty of options to pay how they want.
Trillium Direct Mail Holiday Campaign •

This holiday season, help change lives with 2X the impact.

I was speechless when I got the news that changed my life forever. The doctors explained that the pain in my right breast was cancer. As an extremely active mother of two and owner of a successful transportation company, there was no room in my world for this kind of devastating development. My family and my business depended on me to be healthy. But thanks to your generous and ongoing support, I received first-class care at Trillium Health Partners to ultimately beat cancer – so I can now enjoy many New Years to come with the ones I love.
Trillium Direct Mail Holiday Campaign •

Make 2X the impact for children with cancer

I felt helpless. My son could die. It was days before Kai’s ninth birthday when I noticed his calf was swollen. After the biopsy, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 of a very aggressive cancer. Everything inside me went numb when they told us it could be terminal. But thanks to your generous support, Trillium Health Partners was able to provide the life-saving care Kai needed to beat the odds and survive cancer.
Interac blog •

The Metro Retro Drive-in: Driving home the importance of community

Presented by Interac, the Metro Retro Drive-In is celebrating its second year with free evenings of family favourite movies and live music from diverse local artists. Popping up at Metro supermarket parking lots, Metro Retro’s nostalgic movie and music nights are making 20 stops across Ontario.

From May through September 2022, Ontarians have the chance to take in a throwback film, experience a MusicLife pre-show performance, and shop to support local businesses at the InLifeTM Marketplace — all while supporting local food charities.

“It’s great to have the community together in one place, enjoying the simple things in life,” says a recent Metro Retro attendee. “Such a good and wholesome way to spend a night.”
TechSpark blog •

Sparking the next generation of diverse tech leaders

What does it mean to make a difference, to actually leave the world a better place? Making an impact starts with a decision. It’s a decision to invest in something greater than ourselves. There is no greater investment than the next generation of racially diverse leaders when it comes to a bright, inclusive, and colourful future. That is at the heart and soul of Tech Spark, Canada's first ed-tech and curriculum design firm committed to empowering BIPOC students, teachers, and women.
Q4 Inc Case Study •

Wendy's Case Study

"Where's the beef?" the iconic catch-phrase of the ‘80s, originated as a slogan for Wendy’s, the global fast food franchise. But what started with an old lady demanding more meat for her burger is now an all-purpose phrase for searching for substance. It has also come to represent what differentiates the chain that turns 50 this year. When Marsha Gordon, Wendy’s Manager of Shareholder Relations was faced with the critical task of redesigning their investor relations website, she had limited resources and timelines to bring their story to life for modern day investors.
Content Writers Groug Blog •

Define your content strategy to capture your brand objectives

With the growth of the knowledge economy, one of the best ways to sell your product and services is through content that delivers value and establishes your brand as an expert. But while your team might be full of great stories, where do you actually start? The answer is: content strategy. According to the Content Marketing Institute, the most successful content marketers use a documented content strategy. Before you do anything, you need to define and manage a strategy, so that your content meets your business objectives and captures the minds (and hearts) of your readers.
Content Writers Group Blog •

Why conflict fuels every brand story

Every good story revolves around conflict. Whether it’s person versus person, technology, or institution, the structure of narrative builds up to the climax of conflict, and concludes with the resolution of that conflict. Kurt Vonnegut diagrammed the story structure as a narrative arc that rises and falls, from situation to complication, and finally to resolution. Applied to brand storytelling, conflict is when we identify a problem and become compelled with the process of solving it.
Content Writers Group Blog •

Six ways to tell if your brand is an expert

In today’s complex and oversaturated marketplace, it’s more important than ever to position your brand around what you think over what you sell. Brands are leveraging themselves as trusted sources of knowledge and inspiration, to bolster their place in the minds and hearts of core audiences. By offering actionable insights as an industry expert, the end goal is not only to build brand credibility and authenticity, but to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Q4 Inc Best Practices Guide •

The Ultimate Guide to Targeting

Whether your investor targeting is once a year or once every quarter, the key is to get the process down to an exact science and find the methods that work best for you. The process can be as simple or complex as you make it. But the right approaches can help you gain invaluable visibility into the incredibly vast investable universe. With this in mind, here are a few best practices that are designed to boost your investor outreach.
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Travel and Lifestyle Writing

I was a travel writer for "Billy Magazine," an in-lounge travel magazine and digital app designed for Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport. I write about urban lifestyle, food and drink, business and technology, arts and culture, and travel.

Travel article for in-lounge airport magazine •

Tradition Meets Fusion in Manhattan's Lower East Side | Billy Magazine

Long removed from its roots as a low-rent refuge for immigrants and social misfits, the Lower East has become home to shoebox-sized luxury condos, hipster bars, rowdy nightclubs and organic cafés. Between a frenzy of real estate development and a revolving door of businesses opening and closing, gentrification is sweeping this Lower Manhattan hood like never before. Amid the flux, today’s Lower East Side delivers character along with exciting new ideas in art and food.
Travel article for in-lounge airport magazine •

Experience Real Hipster Brooklyn in Bushwick (not Williamsburg) | Billy Magazine

Saturday Night Live parodied its formerly crime-ridden streets with neighbourhood dudes talking about $8 artisanal mayonnaise and “off-the-chain” wine and cheese artist parties. The New Yorker’s April 2016 cover story cover featured its warehouse raves, commenting that “everyone in Brooklyn is a DJ.” And Vogue deemed it as one of the most stylish districts in the world.The endearingly quirky underdog to neighbouring Williamsburg’s hipster-central, Bushwick is worth the trip to Brooklyn.
Food and drink article for in-lounge airport magazine •

How to Make Dinner Reservations Like a New Yorker | Billy Magazine

People go to alarming and impressive lengths to score a brag-worthy meal, from travelling thousands of miles to shelling out substantial bucks or standing in line for hours on end, not to mention making reservations weeks or months (or more) in advance. New Yorkers in particular want to see and be seen at one of the city’s It restaurants, making it challenging to score seats at the best of times, never mind peak hours and weekends.
Food and drink interview for in-lounge airport magazine •

Eat your vegetables (and have your cake, too) | Billy Magazine

New York’s Lower East Side has historically been a lively and chaotic place, a brave new world in which to introduce and try new ideas. This brazen spirit is especially apparent in New York’s most vibrant and daring cooking. Among the most daring of chefs is a  former Torontonian, Amanda Cohen, who’s revolutionizing the way we think about vegetarian cuisine. Her dishes exude creative moxy and unabashed indulgence, and her cooking defies traditional vegetarian stereotypes.
Lifestyle article for in-lounge airport magazine •

A Shopping Stroll Through New York's West Village | Billy Magazine

There are few neighbourhoods more lovely than the West Village. It’s a picturesque place for a walk, with small winding cobblestone streets, lined with cascading trees, pastel-coloured vespas, historic townhouses and ivy-covered brownstones (some of which were originally built as stables). One late local resident, the American-Canadian urbanist Jane Jacobs, described it as the perfect example of community-oriented businesses and street-level culture.
Arts and Culture article for in-lounge airport magazine •

The Most Fun You Can Have in Toronto on a School Night | Billy Magazine

Sure, Friday and Saturday are infamous as the sexiest nights to party. But they also come with large crowds, long lines and overpriced hype. Mondays through Thursdays may be the underdogs of the social calendar, but they’re free of the high stakes of the weekend. Everything tends to be a little more relaxed, spontaneous and experimental. There’s an undeniably giddy feeling that all of us school night rebels actually want to be out.
Travel article for in-lounge airport magazine •

A Safe Harbour for Whimsy in Red Hook, Brooklyn | Billy Magazine

There’s nothing like the eclectic charm and raw urban beauty of Red Hook. More than a mile away from the closest train stop and cut off from the rest of Brooklyn by the sketchy Gowanus Canal, this waterfront neighbourhood is off the beaten track for most city slickers. Yet this Brooklyn destination not only has the small town warmth of a seaside village, but also an idiosyncratic, creative atmosphere – an increasingly rare experience in today’s New York.
Arts and Culture article for in-lounge airport magazine •

New York's Most Eye-opening Cultural Day Trips | Billy Magazine

It goes without saying that New York City has no lack of cultural destinations, particularly in Manhattan. Yet no matter how much we may adore Gotham, an escape from the urban jungle can offer a chilled-out change of scenery: plenty of fresh air, sweeping landscapes, quiet open spaces and one-of-a-kind cultural discoveries. Find a pleasant day to escape the crowds and sirens to experience open-air museums, sculpture gardens, historic cemetery parks and an art party paradise in a former school.
Travel article for in-lounge airport magazine •

7 Mistakes to Avoid When Visiting NY | Billy Magazine

New York is one of the most stimulating and inspiring cities in the world. But the pulsating hustle and bustle of people, sights and activities can also be overwhelming and confusing. No matter how loud Alicia Keys’s New York State of Mind might be playing in your head, it takes more than a big smile and the best of intentions to make it in New York City. Fortunately, there are unspoken rules and insider tricks to side-step the classic missteps of visitors.