From TRSM to working with iconic brands, Brandon Harripaul is doing it for the culture
“I’m a sports fan, you know, growing up as a huge Raptors fan. Everyone from Toronto taps into the Leafs, but I grew up watching basketball,” says Brandon Harripaul (Global Management Studies ‘19). “That’s stayed with me all these years.”
As Account Manager, Global Partnerships at MLSE (external link) , being a sports fan might just be part of the job description. Working with some of the world’s most recognized sports and consumer brands, from Adidas to Tim Hortons, keeps Harripaul’s finger on the pulse across pop culture.
“I’m the end-to-end person, from vision to when the creative goes live,” he says. “‘Creative’ includes everything from putting signage up to developing content for specific players (MLSE owns both the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs). It’s a lot to oversee and manage, but basically I’m here to meet the brief by using sport to tell the story in a meaningful way.”
With over seven years of experience in experiential marketing, brand building and digital content, Harripaul’s navigated shifts across social media and consumer preferences. “There is always a ton of educating the client, because expectations change in media and sports,” he explains.
“For example, how do we challenge mature brands to develop more organic connections with Gen Z? It’s about being more relevant to communities rather than tapping in and out when they need a sales quota.”
Recent memorable campaigns include a Halloween activation for Sour Patch Kids. With a focus on driving cultural relevance, Harripaul’s team leveraged the Raptors (external link) to promote the candy through social media storytelling and a collaboration with another iconic Canadian brand, OVO, on limited edition t-shirts (external link) .
“The power of sport is our differentiator from other agencies. We own 4 major sports teams with over 20 million fans that we can leverage coast to coast, driving connectivity with that marketing mix,” he says.
Prior to joining MLSE, Harripaul was an Executive Producer at Vanguard, a creative agency in Toronto. “Working at Vanguard taught me the production side of creative; today, when I’m building out a strategy from the brief, I can immediately spot production considerations like timelines, legal clearances, and more.”
But Harripaul also credits his time at Vanguard with reinforcing the power of relationships in both the business and creative worlds—lessons he learned early on as a student at the Ted Rogers School of Management.
“Regardless if you’re client side or vendor side, you need to know how to manage those relationships. As a TRSM student, I was interested in the creative industries and I was encouraged to make connections with industry professionals in and out of the Global Management program.”
“The value of TRSM,” adds Harripaul, “is that entrepreneurial grit professors instill in you, like learning to dig deeper and make things work for your own benefit. That’s my advice to any student, because every experience I’ve had from the start to this point in my career has compounded”
As brands, agencies and content creators struggle to navigate technological and economic changes, Harripaul’s doubling down on what cuts through influencer fatigue (external link) and weariness towards AI-generated content on vertical video platforms like TikTok and YouTube. “It comes down to two things, authenticity and how that translates to the end person,” he says.
TikTok’s relationship with regulators in Canada and abroad continues to evolve on a day-by-day basis. On March 9, 2026, the federal government announced (external link) that it would let TikTok continue to operate in Canada, following new commitments to protect users’ personal data. Marketers like Harripaul are focused on supporting brands and driving results despite uncertainty in the creator economy.
“How do we help our brands cut through the noise and make their dollars work harder for them? That’s the ultimate measure of success—that’s what keeps me up at night.”