Our Experiences:
- A. Breck Stewart, CEO and Media Director
- 20 Year Anniversary 2026 – Astor Media Group – CEO and Media Director, Publisher.
- Current: Media Director for Captain Electric in Pickering, Ontario
- Volunteer Work: 2015-May 2019 – Treasurer for Whitby Historical Society at Lynde House Museum
- 2001-2003 – Director of New Business Development, Array Architects International, Toronto, Ontario.
- 1991-1996 – Manager of DLI International.
- 1984-1991 – Media Manager for Bata International – Head Office, Toronto, Ontario.
- Trina Astor-Stewart, Creative Media Director
- 1996 – Present – Creative Media Director, Author-Illustrator, Entrepreneur. Astoria Magazine and Gluten-Free Trina and Trina Astor-Stewart | Calm Creative Process – YouTube.
- 2017-2018 Executive Director of Lynde House Museum & Warren General Store for Whitby Historical Society.
- 2005 – 2018, Grant writing, Grant Reporting, Technical layout for books – design for historical teacher’s materials, volunteer management, website management, marketing materials creation.
- 2005 – 2015 Volunteer, Whitby Historical Society, 2015 – 2016 Vice President and Board Liaison.
- 1992 – founder of Astoria Mills Ltd. – Presently GlutenFreeTrina.com
- Previous: Astor Studio Photography
How we began:
We began our adventures in the online world in 1996 after working in the corporate world, as entrepreneurs and small business owners. Since beginning our work online, there have been numerous changes. Before our entry into the online world, Breck and I operated traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. We engaged in traditional manufacture and delivery, marketing, advertising, and sales. Our entry into the digital and online world was initially just to broaden the scope of our business by reaching our customers online.
Thanks to Breck’s foresight, we were among the first businesses in the Greater Toronto Area to have a website, which led others to ask us for help. One of our first clients came because of friends who were Yellow Page salespeople. They were trying to close an account and needed someone to help a small businesswoman with a website. She had a small storefront downtown and, like our business, needed to attract and qualify customers before appointments, as her business was a specialized niche. She needed to devote most of her time to actual fittings rather than answering the same questions over and over again. Websites at the time were little more than Online Brochures, but they served the purpose of changing quickly without the huge cost of print brochures and of providing a great deal more information.
Today’s online world is far more sophisticated and, in many cases, leads a company’s offline activities rather than the other way around. The backend of the online structure or platform, as it is sometimes called, has become increasingly sophisticated. Now, spreadsheets and reporting, using data gathered from customers interacting with a website and social media, lead marketing and sales in an interactive web that is only just beginning.
An age-old figurative business question asks, “How do I get people to come to my business and look. How do I sell in an empty store?” The answer to that is available; it is a very creative answer, often backed by unseen technologies and software operated by a myriad of digital workers.
Massive Disruptions caused by the Digital Divide…
Whoever would have thought in 1996 that we would be chatting live with customer support personnel from a website? That we could find out anything we need to know, almost immediately, through a Google search query? I remember needing to research subjects and spending days in libraries trying to find the answers.
The digital world has been a blessing and also a major disruption in people’s lives. Breck began working with clients to bridge the biggest generation gap ever, the ‘digital divide’, making sense of things for clients who were amazing business people, technicians, and savvy in the construction, electrical, and services industries but who did not have the time to run their businesses, employees -and manage their digital advertising, marketing, and reporting needs.
It has become increasingly relevant for companies to operate in two worlds. Offline and Online. Our business became increasingly online-focused and eventually grew to help others like us understand this new world.
The online world has changed everything. The future is here. We can now place a grocery order on our cell phone and pick it up at a designated section on our way home from work to save time. Thousands of products, from books to peanuts, are available in online stores and arrive at our doors within a day or two. The variety of products, each with every detail, provided in writing along with customer comments and ratings, is overwhelming. Comparison shopping is easier than ever.
Brick-and-mortar businesses are not the source any longer; they are just one finger of a much larger hand orchestrating customer engagement. This is true for a store, a service business, or a museum!
‘Life-Long Learning’ takes on new meaning.
None of our lives or education before the Information Age and the Digital Divide prepared us for this kind of disruption, and now AI. Over a period of years, it took massive re-training efforts and continuously changing and learning new things, new software, new algorithms, digital everything, and how to implement it. It took a constant changing of our mindset.
The Information Age is the largest and fastest-changing era in modern history. Our children are part of the Millennial generation, and we can see the changes for them, too. We made it our aim to somehow keep up and help others do the same. Unfortunately, we have watched as some of our peers balked at changing, only to be left behind, almost functionally illiterate.
Everyone’s environment and education come together to create their ‘Frame of Reference’ for the world they live in.
I remember watching TV as a child and thinking, “There ought to be some way we could talk back to these people…” Now our children have no idea what life is like without instant messaging, live streaming, and being able to comment back.
An online journey starts with one step at a time!
We joined forces using our varied skills in Astor Media Group. We Consult, Collaborate, Create, and Implement Ideas for our clients. Together, we keep up with the times and translate ever-changing online practices into effective strategies that help our clients reach customers and make informed decisions.
We often function as a Consulting Agency with an educational component to help clients navigate their online strategies.
Yes, some clients who have been with us for a long time still just want a Brochure Site, a set it and forget it approach, with someone to host it that can look after things in a pinch or an emergency. For other clients, we are retained on a monthly basis as their secret source for online management of their businesses, keeping them up to date on trends, how to implement marketing strategies, and measuring the impact on ROI.
As entrepreneurs, we are firm believers in the admonition for success, “Find a need and fill it…” We have carved out a wonderful niche helping our clients solve one problem at a time.
Breck has a technical brain, and Trina has a creative one, so between the two of us and the rest of our ad hoc team, pulled in as needed, Astor Media Group gets the job done!
“Business,” as a wise woman in retail once told me, “Starts with ‘lookers’ and if you do a good job there, you will end up with buyers and even long-term clients who come back again and again”. This turned out to be very good advice, as most of our clients have been with us for years.
When you are in business, and something goes wrong online, you need help immediately. That is not always possible when dealing with multiple suppliers located elsewhere in the world. You need to reach the person accountable. The person who can solve your problem now. This has been Breck’s forte; he can keep track of everything from the smallest to the largest and get it done. The case for having things organized in one company, like Astor Media Group.
I remember many times when a frantic client would call with a problem that needed a solution asap. One such time, we were actually on the road on vacation. A call came in; we pulled off the highway, and Breck had the server and email issues fixed. Then off we went again, enjoying the sunset.
Some scenes from various client events
From the Analytical and Technical to the Whimsical – Astor Media Group
