Howdy! My name is David Hrvatin.
I am a Senior Brand and Marketing Producer at WKYC Studios in Cleveland. As a recognized “brand champion” and highly-skilled creative generalist, I love telling stories and helping others share their own. My heart and mind are found in everything I create. My passions include video production and editing, graphic and motion design, and writing. My creative work began as a hobby and became my profession. My work is respected by industry professionals and is routinely nominated for Emmy® and other awards. Outside of work, you can probably find me working on a DIY project at home or designing a building for fun.
I UNDERSTAND the power of brand
I graduated cum laude from Kent State in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in News with a broadcast concentration. In June 2014, I joined WKYC as a digital content producer. In June 2015, I took on a new role as a multi-platform (TV/digital/etc.) marketing producer at the station. I now produce brand, news and event promotions, for digital, television and radio.
I have a passion for new media and respect for traditional media
Strategy is a critical component of my creative work, for both television and digital. Everything I produce incorporates audience research and targets our brand personas. As a result, I’ve contributed to the KPI growth, including ratings of key newscasts and digital impressions.
ALWAYS RENDERING
At Kent State, I was heavily involved with the student-led television station, TV2 KSU. I was known to be “always rendering,” as I created a bulk of the station’s creative assets.
As TV2’s brand leader, I was responsible for developing, designed and executing the station’s unique creative image. I believed a professional brand was important for an independent student TV station, as were available in some 20,000 homes in our community, and we wanted to set our program apart from other journalism schools. Others noticed and agreed. As a result, TV2 received multiple national awards recognizing our creative work and the station as a whole.
In 2019, I was offered the opportunity to, once again, render an entirely-new branding package for TV2. The redesign built upon the success of the Truly Portage County brand while modernizing it to meet the current student leaders’ vision. For my work, I was honored with an alumni award from Kent State University’s School of Media and Journalism (formerly the School of Journalism and Mass Communication).
DIGITAL FIRST
WKYC has a digital first newsroom. As part of the digital team, I had a huge role in producing content for the second screen. I’ve done it all: news articles, long-form stories, big data journalism, “snackable” videos, social graphics. I enjoyed going “under the hood” of our website and built multiple custom HTML experiences from scratch using Adobe Dreamweaver. Even today, before my creative work hits the airwaves, it first appears online. My shared passion for new media and respect for traditional media is of great value to the projects I work on and the people I work with.
ALWAYS INNOVATING
I’m constantly researching and experimenting with new and existing technologies to find ways to incorporate them into my creative workflow. At WKYC, I championed the newsroom’s social live-streaming abilities, positioning them for monetization. Additionally, I created a DAM and other libraries using free tools to share creative assets between team members, freelancers and clients.
PERSONAL PASSIONS
My passions are all over the map. At the age of 3, I knew wanted to be an architect. Ultimately that did not pan out, but that interest is still very much alive. I like to say I am a “professional amateur DIY-er,” having recently completed a multi-year, multi-phase upgrade of my house with smart IoT solutions, commercial-grade computer networking, energy efficient features and cosmetic touch-ups. Much like Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation, I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with doing something yourself.
