When most parents ask their 5-year old daughter about what she’d like to be when she grows up, they often expect to hear answers like “movie star” and simply hope that the novelty will wear off with age. This, however, was not exactly the case for Elena Ioulianou’s mother and father. While they expected this phase in Ioulianou’s life to fade with time, she continued to dream of a day where she might find herself on a big screen before the eyes of millions. Then, something changed. Ioulianou’s passion for film remained strong, but it reached new heights the day that she stepped behind the camera and felt a burning passion to change what it saw. The now esteemed Producer’s unwavering desire to entertain carried on and today, she thanks her childhood self for never letting that desire die.
After choosing to pursue a career in such a fast paced, ever-changing environment, Ioulianou has proven herself willing and able to adapt to the challenges she faces and successfully produce around them. For instance, she has been an integral member of world-renowned film production company, Milk & Honey Films. Milk & Honey pride themselves on having handled hundreds of projects over the span of two decades, ranging from commercials to feature length films, webisodes, music videos, and much more. As one of Milk & Honey’s Executive Producers, Ioulianou is expected to reflect the company’s core values in each project she produces and ensure that only the highest quality content is being delivered to their market. Whilst still producing for Milk & Honey, Ioulianou partnered with reputable director, Chris Applebaum to create Bad Apple Digital (BAD) and efficiently balances the two projects simultaneously.
BAD is a creative video content creation studio that focuses on video creation for brands and their subsequent social, digital, and media platforms. By recognizing that the future of film and content production lies in a digital realm, Ioulianou, Applebaum and two other partners knew that it would be more important than ever before to get involved in this world. They eagerly shared their ideas for the company’s unique selling points and later brought BAD to life. For Ioulianou, creating BAD was an experience she would not change for the world; however, there were great difficulties faced along the way that have helped her to develop both personally and professionally.
“Start-ups are always going to be a little more difficult than an already established company for obvious reasons, but it was the challenge of starting from scratch that excited me. BAD has offered a different kind of reward and I have been given the opportunity to play different roles along the way, engaging in different tasks and responsibilities which has allowed me to problem solve in creative ways. It’s the kind of space where, when no one else is around to get the job done, I have to pick up the pieces and just make it work,” told Ioulianou.
In moments of improvisation and problem solving creatively, Ioulianou thrives. She differentiates herself in such a competitive industry by her ability to maximize the use of her time and resources without sacrificing any of the creativity that makes her content so noteworthy. Rather than simply managing her tasks, Ioulianou immerses herself so deeply into her work that she becomes part of it.
Since BAD’s inception, the company has garnered a substantial amount of success in such a short time. By combining insight-driven strategy and over 25 years of experience, BAD creates fearless content that moves people, brands, and businesses such as RenActive, Cotton - The Fabric of our Lives, MedMen, and Drake’s Organic Liquor. Together, Ioulianou and Applebaum have created content that has brought billions of online readership hits and a substantial amount of interest from a variety of different, niche markets. For instance, three videos for 420 ft Ireland Baldwin’s campaign generated 1.09 billion online readership hits and an estimated 8.18 coverage views. According to Applebaum, much of this success can be accredited to the partnership they have and Ioulianou’s hard work and dedication. As do most of her former and current colleagues, Applebaum raves about Ioulianou’s expertise in the art of production and considers himself fortunate to work alongside her.
“Elena is, without a doubt, a vital member and strong backbone of the BAD production company. As a leading producer, she runs both the production side of the business, as well as aspects of digital distribution. Our clients trust her and give her full creative license to represent their brand effectively and efficiently staying true to the brand’s mantra. As a direct result of Elena’s leading role as a producer for B.A.D., the social and digital network channels for the Food Channel (@eats.channel), Fitness Channel (@overdrive.channel), and Dance Channel (@nasty.channel) ranged from 15.7 million to 1.58 billion online readership and impressions in the first eight months that we were open as a company. These are hugely successful stats and metrics and furthermore, we have increased sales for the brands we have produced campaigns for. The widespread success and attention that we’ve received as a production company makes me proud to have collaborated alongside Elena,” raved Applebaum.
Both Applebaum and Ioulianou remain optimistic that BAD will continue along an upward trajectory of success so long as they remain true to their vision for the company and continue to pour their hearts and souls into their endeavors. They feel that by focusing their efforts on developing and evolving with the changes and trends in such a demanding market, they will see BAD do great things.