How one TMU student turned Reddit into a marketing win
Third-year Marketing Management student Alec Leano walked into his co-op placement at Silk & Snow expecting a stiff, corporate environment. What he found instead was a team that encouraged him to experiment, make mistakes and grow.
“I was anxious when I first started co-op because it was my first time working in the marketing field,” says Leano. “But my team was very encouraging and supportive. We bounce ideas off each other and work collaboratively.”
Silk & Snow is a premium Canadian memory foam mattress company. Leano was brought on to grow the brand organically through Reddit. He quickly grew into the role and took ownership of its direction.
Starting from scratch
Tasked with developing the Reddit strategy, marketing student Alec Leano tested different approaches and found that content focused on product details and storytelling performed best. Photo by Brett Jordan (external link) via Unsplash
“The strategy really evolved over time,” says Leano. “When I first started, Reddit was still new territory. In the beginning, meetings were mostly about experimenting and figuring out what works.”
He began with a competitor analysis, studying how similar brands were using Reddit through ads, campaigns and organic content. From there, he pitched a plan to his team.
“I proposed a content calendar with weekly posts, each serving a different purpose,” says Leano. “Some were educational, some were inspirational. The idea was to blend these approaches into a cohesive, month-to-month strategy.”
His team lead and director approved it – and gave him room to refine the strategy through trial and error.
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Knowing the platform
Not all social media platforms are the same, and Leano learned that Reddit users didn’t respond to polished, aesthetic content the way Pinterest users might. They wanted substance.
“On Reddit, users responded to informational, behind-the-scenes content,” says Leano. “On Pinterest, the focus is more on visual appeal, like how to design a room.”
Posts that performed best focused on how Silk & Snow products are made, what materials are used, where they're sourced and what makes the brand Canadian. Authenticity drove engagement.
That insight led to a strategic shift: lean into transparent storytelling and a genuine brand voice.
The results were concrete.
“One of our most strong performing posts started as an organic post that performed well,” he explains. “This led to spending to promote the post, which then saw thousands of clicks, and led to increased sales of the item that week.”
That was the first time Leano saw the real impact of his work. “My team congratulated me on it,” he says. “It was a big win for me.”
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Growing into the role
That win opened doors. Leano's four-month work term was extended by eight months, and he'll work full-time through the summer.
It also led to added responsibilities, including web copy.
“I was surprised because I wasn’t sure if an intern should be responsible for something that's pretty permanent,” he says. “It was very exciting, because it showed me how much trust they had in me.”
Seeing the website being updated daily with his words made him realize the value of his contributions to the company, and grew his confidence.
Leano also led the creation of a centralized promotions calendar, using advanced Excel skills to organize and standardize data across teams. He credits opportunities like the Business Career Hub’s bootcamps at the Ted Rogers School of Management for helping him build in-demand technical skills
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What the co-op and his program taught him
Leano says that group projects at TMU sharpened skills he uses everyday at work – especially communication and accountability. But his co-op placement pushed him further, helping him understand the finer details of marketing in practice.
“It’s not just about reaching a broad audience, but also targeting specific niche groups with tailored messaging,” he says. “At the same time, the brand voice has to be consistent across channels.”
Leano’s experience reflects what TMU co-op placements are designed to do: provide students with diverse, real-world opportunities to work alongside professionals at leading organizations. This allows students to test their knowledge, learn on the job and take the lead on projects.
With the support of mentors and leadership, students are empowered to grow, build confidence and develop the skills needed to thrive in their future careers.
As a student in the Marketing Management program, Alec Leano benefits from a curriculum at the Ted Rogers School that recently ranked among the top 15 in Canada for citations in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.
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