Oak + Rumble Co-founder and Creative Director Brandon Hardy talked with Made in CA, a site that highlights Canadian businesses, about starting a video production agency with no gear and no clients, the pressure marketing teams are under, and the challenge of keeping up with how fast video changes. The interview ran in November 2023, so we've added a short update on where things stand today. You can read the full interview on Made in CA.

Brandon Hardy, Co-founder and Creative Director, Head of Video Content Strategy of Oak + Rumble

What Brandon Hardy told Made in CA

Brandon covers how he and Dave started Oak + Rumble, the pressure marketing teams are under, the biggest challenge of the past decade, and the one piece of advice he'd give himself. Made in CA lists it as a five-minute read.

How Oak + Rumble got started

Brandon and Dave Hiff started Oak + Rumble fresh out of college with no gear, no clients, and not much money. Brandon says they got going by doing three things:

  • Reaching out to friends and family connections

  • Sending a lot of cold emails to local businesses and marketing agencies

  • Taking out a loan to buy the equipment they

    needed

The video bug started much earlier. As a kid, Brandon spent hours with the family's analog camcorder, filming trips and editing the footage into his own movies. In high school he had his heart set on one of the best film schools in the country, and the acceptance letter never arrived. He promised himself he'd find another way into video, and, well, here we are.

The problem video solves for marketing teams

Brandon describes the problem Oak + Rumble solves as communication: video can carry a message to a lot of people quickly and make them feel something. Marketing and communications teams are under pressure to show their work earns its keep, while

budgets expect content to work harder and the video landscape gets more crowded. Many of those teams are stressed and worn down.

That's the gap Oak + Rumble fills. We handle the video strategy and the production, from creative development through filming, editing, and delivery, so so B2B marketing teams have a little less on their plate.

Keeping up with how fast video changes

Beyond COVID-19, Brandon says the biggest challenge of the past decade has been how quickly video and the platforms around it keep changing. Platforms have become video-first, and he compares

predicting what's next to trying to catch "lightning in a bottle." Adapting and innovating as things shift has been a big part of how the studio has stayed on its feet. Anyone with a reliable forecast is welcome to send it over.

AI wasn't part of that 2023 conversation, but it's part of the same question now. As of October 2026, we think AI can improve parts of video production, but it can't replace strategy, story, or human judgment. We've written up where it helps and where it doesn't in our B2B reality check on AI video production.

One piece of advice

If Brandon could go back a year or two, he'd lean into building his personal brand. He says it sets you apart whether you're self-employed, an employee, or between roles, and it can lead you to your next opportunity.

Where Oak + Rumble is today

Oak + Rumble is a B2B video production company based in Kitchener–Waterloo that works with marketing teams across Canada and the US. Since the interview, Brandon and Dave were named Conestoga 2025 Alumni of Distinction.

We've been doing corporate video production since 2014, and the work today includes:

Read the original interview, or see what we're making now in our recent video projects.