Tobi Ogundipe

It’s decided…this will be my “official”...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:16:50 -0700

It’s decided…this will be my “official” @SherylSandberg #LeanIn bookmark…@ThePieHoleLA

Best thing on the interwebs this week. Complete time-waster but...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:01:08 -0800

Best thing on the interwebs this week. Complete time-waster but if you need a hearty laugh/stress reliever this should be your go-to. Hope they keep adding.

Welcome Back GRAMMYs

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:34:17 -0800

Yes, I know the GRAMMYs are soo last week but I took the time to watch through each and every performance which I haven’t done in I don’t know how long…

I watched the first hour and a half on Sunday, another half hour on Thursday and then the last hour today.

For the first time in years I enjoyed each and every performance (whether my kind of music or not).

Now, to be completely honest…

There were some irritating performances…

Top honor there goes to Taylor Swift who I’ve never been able to enjoy.

And some odd performances...

As much as I looove Miguel his performance with Wiz had really funky time structure and it seemed to be focused on showing off Miguels amazing falsetto vocal range than anything else.

And why was Frank Ocean soo flat? Nervous or not, that kind of persistent flat tone is unacceptable on the GRAMMY stage.

Some truly great performances…

Justin Timberlake. Need I say more? He left the GRAMMYs and then delivered an equally amazing performance at the Palladium with Timbo and Jay. And let’s not forget the amazing integrated marketing communication campaign put together to push his new album.

Timberlake —> media build up using the time tested art of delayed satisfaction —>microsite—>media delivery channels (VEVO, FB, Twitter, iTunes)—> product partnerships (Target, BudLight)

And how did that Bud Light Platinum creative Director thing come about anyway?

Well…something like Jay-Z co-owns multicultural focused ad agency Translation NY with Steve Stoute and BLP is already a client of Translation. Jay is then able to use his relationships in business (his ad agency and clients) and music (Justin Timberlake) to bring about unique opportunities. At least that’s how I imagine it went down.

But I digress.

Some established artists I’m embarrassed to say I have yet to listen to…

The Black Keys

Carrie Underwood

And some newbies I need to give good listen…

Ed Sheeran

Alabama Shakes

The overall production quality, professionalism, and truly stellar performances mae for one of the best GRAMMY Awards to date.

Also ending with one of the sickest, hardest-working drummers in the biz - Travis Barker - never hurts. (Yes, I realize the artist was actually LL Cool J but I couldn’t understand any of the words so I zoned in on Barker’s amazing drumming).

As a 1st generation GRAMMY Camper, a frequenter of GRAMMYs in the Schools, and a product of amazing music teachers in a broken education system…

Thank You for producing a show that gives music and the artists that create it the respect that they are due.

For all my friends who JUST moved to NY. Oy. #NYstruggles...

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:49:37 -0800

For all my friends who JUST moved to NY. Oy. #NYstruggles #20SomethingStruggles

I’ll be honest, haven’t picked up a book since I...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:36:34 -0800

I’ll be honest, haven’t picked up a book since I finished the GWTDT series. First non-fiction book in a long time. @levoleague #LocalLEVO #GlobalBookClub

‘Tis the season for my favorite Holiday movie…the...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:28:16 -0800

‘Tis the season for my favorite Holiday movie…the original Home Alone. This sweater would be clutch for all those ugly sweater holiday shennanigans.

If you know where I can find it/stumble across it let me know!!

Seemed appropriate considering my most recent...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:00:42 -0700

Seemed appropriate considering my most recent post.

silvaniart:

You’re welcome, George.

Sorry for the reposts

Disney buys Star Wars. WHAAA?

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:31:25 -0700

Disney buys Star Wars. WHAAA?:

Soo just in case you aren’t on twitter or haven’t heard the news yet…Disney just bought the Star Wars franchise for a little over $4B. Apparently Guy Ritchie will be directing the next couple of Star Wars films. Would love to hear your feedback on what you think of the buy out, the new director, and the future of the franchise.

Good? Bad? Or downright ugly?

Creative Recharge

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:16:39 -0700

I’m in Denver. I’m also blogging from an iPad (still getting used to only having an iPad instead of my I packed like a true Angelino…two ‘SC hoodies; a pair of TOMS, KEEP Bentens and lace-up school girl heels; and layers galore. But then I jacked it up by forgetting my scarves and not having time to grab a new pair of sunglasses (broke my favorite pair and my attempts with super-glue were of no avail). So really half-Angelino, half-TobiLikesToPackTheNightBefore.

Came into Denver yesterday and already getting a much needed change of scenery (oh hello gorgeous fall) and an exploration into the creative crevices of my mind.

Sounds deep and cool and stuff but really all that means is that I’m couch crashing with an oldwinery but that got pushed back so we’re just ideating foor her business and ideating on my current projects as well.

It’s basically a USC meetup of awesome creative minds (I’m inserting my name in that pool…) and I’m so excited to jump in and see where I can help. I’m learning a lot about wine manufacturing, predegree and modern misconceptions. You’ve heard that wine gets better with age right? Well that’s only true for about 5% of the wines out there. Generally, a wine’s prime drinking window is between one and two years after bottleling. What? Yeah.

All-in-all, I’m just realy excited to be in Denver chopping it up with my old buddy. It’s like we didn’t skip a beat but at the same time so much has changed in our lives…we’re both at this weird/intersting place where we don’t care who isn’t on board with our dreams and ideas…we just look for ways to get them done on our own. Truth be told, I’m soo freaking proud of all that she has accomplished in the two years since we’ve been in limited conctact and she’s an inspiration to me to not sit on my ideas but to look for ways to start on my own and then just ask for help when you get stuck.

Mark my words…this girl is going to set the world on fire.

In other news, we’re going to check out the new experimental pop-up Starbucks up in Thornton (about 15 minutes north of Denver) that I talked about two weeks ago.

It’s day three of my six day vaycay and I’ve got a new fire I’m to smash some projects before 2012 rounds out.

Go out there and GETTER DONE folks!!

The New Tech Challenged

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:13:00 -0700

Oy!! So many creative ideas but not enough technical skills to get it done! It’s funny how I make fun of my mom for not being able to navigate places on her Android phone or troubleshoot with Google apps. But as a Millennial there is almost a new level of tech savinesss and with that, tech challenges. I feel like, as a Millennial, you have to know your around the usual you throw on a resume: MAC & PC Proficient, Microsoft Suite…blah blah blah.

But now, being able to navigate your way around basic HTML and Photoshop is basically expected. Now don’t get me wrong…I know my way around Photoshop. InDesign is like a foreign country and -outside of Acrobat- I don’t even know what the rest of CS5. Thank God for tech geeks: designers, programmers, and the like.

I think it’s essential for anyone for everyone to have the basic technical skills to tell a compelling story because whatever you do; wherever you do it you’re always selling/telling/imparting some story and if you can do that in a creative way then it can make your job a whole lot easier. Editing photos, putting together a simple website, designing presentation templates…all essential in today’s marketplace.

Here’s the current list of tech stuff I’m struggling to get my head around

Produced video shorts

Website for two non-profits

Website for myself/how to make tumblr theme your website

Putting web links in my adobe pdf resume

My new car radio

1 & 2 will take me some time and help from some fine friends who are beasts in the creative arena.

Perks of being at home and having a brother studying to transfer into computer programming? Lynda.com subscription. Using it! That should take care of 3 & 4.

#5 is a pain in the butt. I just wish it weren’t so flippin hot -*ahem* LA it is now mid-October, get it together- so I could sit and my car for an hour and fiddle with my radio thingamagig that does all this cool stuff that I don’t know of …yet.

So hopefully I’ll smash through the second half of the list above by the end of the week…just in time for my Colorado vs. USC tailgate.

I’m a girl but I think this is freakin AMAZING! I want a...

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:21:51 -0700

I’m a girl but I think this is freakin AMAZING! I want a man cave!! Can women have man caves?

What’s a woman cave called?

A walk in closet?

Heineken commercial ring a bell?

DDB NY repurposed the #firstworldproblems hashtag by using a...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:37:42 -0700

DDB NY repurposed the #firstworldproblems hashtag by using a familar cultural phrase to expose an American truth…we complain about stuff that we shouldn’t. End of story. Now go give some kids in Africa clean water you overpriveleged complainer!

No, but in all seriousness. Clean water is crucial for poor populations in Africa. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to see first hand how so many health related issues (e.g.hypertension, diabetes, stomach worms, chronic diarrhea, infected wounds) could all be cured or seriously diminished with access to clean water.

So yeah, share on FB and Twitter but more importantly, skip one of your 2-3 beers and donate.

*Side note* Is it just me or do you wish the website was just a bit better. Less static, more interactive. I’m guessing it’s a non-profit effort so funds may be scarce to say pay the agency to re-do the website. Having worked in non-profit marketing for a little bit, I myself sometimes forget that you’re still selling something and if you’re targeting Americans to dig into their pocket and give then you still have to move people to action by providing eye catching, tear jerking, and/or ethos bleeding content.

I got a chance to meet several of those folks when I was in New...

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 09:56:00 -0700

I got a chance to meet several of those folks when I was in New York earlier this year. The amount of community and unity in the colored ad world in NY is absolutely mind-blowing. I’m an Angelino through and through and my reference to advertising (when I first got out of college) was LA and W+K PDX…that’s it.

I went to NY on a whim just to see what the ad world is like over there and establish some contacts. Yes, it’s fast-paced and probably more brutal but the colored community is so much more loving and accepting. Maybe it’s in response to the brutality of the ad market there, I don’t know. I just remember going to a Madison Browne anniversary panel event at Deutsch NY and the amount of ego-less camaraderie was…well, astonishing.

LA needs to be more like this. I don’t get that same feeling of camraderie here and to be honest, I don’t know how to fix it. The lack of a unified colored ad folk community in LA could be a symptom of our geography: ad agencies in LA are just further away from each other. You’ve got one in Irvine, a strong hold in SaMo and Playa Del Rey/Playa Vista, WeHo hosts a couple…maybe it’s just easier to gather in NY.

It’s also possible that the actual number of colored people in advertising (and by colored I mean African-American, Latin-American, and East-Asian Indian) in LA is just a whole lot smaller than the total number in NY.

Diversity study anyone?

Gagnam style Starbucks? Why not. Photo by this guy. P.S....

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:49:15 -0700

Gagnam style Starbucks? Why not.

Photo by this guy.

P.S. I’ll pay you $5 if you can 1. Say his name last name correctly 2. Tell me where it’s from.

My man Batali couldn’t have said it better. This is what...

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:00:11 -0700

My man Batali couldn’t have said it better. This is what makes me love cooking and advertising. Completely different fields but Mario Batali is right; There is something so refreshing about simple ingredients coming together and making your mouth water for more. His idea of great food makes me think of the Google spots. Even though the technology is probably crazy complicated for the average person, the Google spots are so…simple. The Nike spots Find Your Greatness and Voices…simple. It just a nice reminder that whether its an outfit to wear out, a dish for a dinner party, or a new spot for a client sometimes it is best to pare it down to the key ingredients and

KEEP.

IT.

SIMPLE.

Interweb Gems

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:46:00 -0700

This week has been particularly juicy.

Here’s recap of what caught my eye, made me happy, or otherwise made an excuse for me to get caught in the interwebs

Shipping container serving as a pop up eatery

It’s amazing what you can do with with effective economization of space and it’s especially crucial in New York City. The eatery serves up the usual NY cart fare (pretzels, hot dogs, coffee, etc.) at a gourmet standard. Set up and break down in minutes. Easy, accessible, and efficient. Love.

Pop-up retail isn’t a “trend” anymore, it’s basically a necessity for the average urbanite.

The Starbucks Experiment

With a chokehold on the consumer coffee market, Starbucks can afford to take risks. Starbucks latest adventure is it’s “Modern-modular” LEED-certified, drive thru, walk-up shop. You can read all the nerdy LEED and locally sourced specifications in the FastCo article but I am soo intrigued and it just so happens that I will be in Denver in 3 weeks. You bet that will be one of my first stops! Hopefully I’ll have my new iPad by then so I can share some pics with you guys.

Capcom takes a page out of the EA Dante’s Inferno handbook

Back in 2009, EA opted to take the public through the 9 circles of hell depicted in the original literary work and used as the backdrop to the EA game. (You can check out the full campaign here, skip to the last circle of hell for the cannibalism tactic). Not sure if Capcom did in-fact take a page out of the EA book but they opened up an entire “human meat market” in the East End of London; inviting out gamers and press to sample their gory eats. My issue with the whole stunt is that it was only open for two days right before the release of the game. I feel like the stunt could have been built out to so much more. I’d like to know what the budget was for the Capcom stunt.

Make your own cardboard cut-out…sort of.

In this weeks installment of completely unnecessary but absolutely cool is Foldable.Me. For $11.99 you can customize your “cardboard buddy” to look like…well…whoever and get it shipped to you free of charge. It comes pre-cut. No need for scissors, glue, or tape. It’s a fun nick-nack. I expect to see it as part of some HR employee morale tactic soon. (Ok…I kind of want one.)

Night at the movies…pay by the month

MoviePass failed in their first iteration a couple of month back because they alienated big theatre chains like AMC and Landmark. Now MoviePass is back again and working with AMC and other large chains to make the best experience possible for MoviePass subscribers. MoviePass sounds good on paper but honestly, the revenue plan seems confusing to me. It’s a shame you can’t opt out of the subscription service during the off-peak months when most of the new film releases are duds.

Literally shop while you watch

On Tuesday, Target came out with a short film web series called Falling For You that allows you to interactively shop what you’re seeing in the film. Items seen in a particular segment of the film show up on the right side your the screen and allow you put those items in your cart and “shop it later.” My guess is that the web series functions as a debut of their fall fashion apparel and a reminder of all the other amazing stuff they carry, particularly in health and beauty and home. Apparel, health and beauty, and home account for the top three profit areas in a Target retail store so it makes sense that the vast majority of the products featured are from those three departments. I’m not too sure how well Target does with online sales but by hosting the web-series directly on their retail site, the Falling For You series can also boosts online impulse sales.

Well, there you have it. My interweb gems of the week. There are a few other goodies that caught my attention but they both have to deal with TV so I’ll save those for another post.

Happy Friday!!

Check out lil’ man Jaden Smith in his video “The...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:00:08 -0700

Check out lil’ man Jaden Smith in his video “The Coolest” from his upcoming project cooltape. His free mixtape drops today here.

The flows? Easy, simple, a little nonesensicle but Jaden’s 14 and has a while to develop so I’ll let him slide on his less than Shakespearean flow. And isn’t it crazy how much he looks so much like his dad when he was on Fresh Prince?!?

But I really love this video because it screams LA.

By :20 I immediately ID’d the video locale as the Industrial part of DTLA. You know the Wurstekuche, DTLA Urth, Villains Tavern area that turns super creepy at night? I guessed right; there’s a Traction street sign in the background. It’s crazy how it’s so close to USC but was so far from my mindset when I was an undergrad. Even crazier is how close it is to the housing development I fed kids at this summer. There’s hipster havens all over DTLA but not a grocery store in sight of the projects.

BUT, I digress…what I really meant to say is that:

I love this video because it’s encapsulates my summer driving through DTLA. Windows open, music blaring.
I want that MSFTS tank!

Year of the DO

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:26:29 -0700

I started writing this post and it just got too long. I started taking you through the last two years of my life like it was some crazy telenovela. It really wasn’t that dramatic.

So I decided to hit backspace until I saw white and cut to the chase.

Here’s the gist:

2012 is my year of the DO. I took risks; I went big and sometimes was told to go home and sometimes I forced myself to stay. Got some scrapes here and there (and a out-of-whack kneecap) but I’m stronger -and happier- for it.

I always thought 25 would mark that big “change” in my life…from

college grad to working woman

unemployed to working woman

living with the parents to out on my own

beat up Suzuki wagon to something I want to put the USC alumni window cling on

Not 25 yet…THANK GOD…crap I only have 6 months. Well…who knows?!?

Anywho…like I said, not 25 yet and though I’m still “technically” unemployed and still live in my parents house, I think there are a lot of things I can add to the “by the time I hit 25 list” that I never thought would even be on the list.

Mastering the art of couch crashing. Only Denver, Portland, and NY so far but I plan to expand my skills world wide in 2013. Never ever do I regret the day I became a Trojan. Nothing but love and hospitality from my fellow Trojans and their families. What other university has an alumni network so strong, connected, and personal?

Starting and running a non-profit with my mom. Key phrase here? With my mom. You think working with someone so much like you would be great…not exactly…definitely a great learning experience though.

Fundraising enough money for me to go serve in the Central African Republic on a medical mission trip. (Really a two-fer…life changing experience PLUS stepping foot in Africa…BOOM)

Heading a non-profit project without any experience for 6 months. Thought I was going to die but since I’m posting this blog post, I guess it turned out just fine.

That’s it so far for 2012. 3 months left.

If you know me, I like to keep busy…paid or not.

So to round out 2012 here’s what I have planned…

Managing two non-profit projects: fundraising and creative strategy

Updating my “personal brand”…don’t you just love that phrase? Annoying, but very necessary. About.me, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, resume, business cards, maybe a really short website to throw ‘em all together. *WHEW*

Helping an old college buddy open a winery in Denver. Great change of scenery. Clean fresh air we don’t get here ‘round these parts. Hopefully the weather isn’t too crazy but should be a whole lot of fun, work, and learning…the usual trifecta where I’m involved.

A funky app idea that’s been rolling around in my head. Has to do with volunteering. Trying to figure out how to bring my idea to life without any technical know how. When in doubt, consult the network.

That, along with job searching (of course) and tailgating (I’m a Trojan…we’ve been over this…) and maybe squeezing in a trip to Chicago or New York should round out 2012 nicely.

What’s so crazy about it is that after all these projects and experiences and jobs, I have no idea what to label myself….

strategic planner?

non-profit consultant?

marketing consultant?

entrepreneur?

social entrepreneur?

cool, catchy, hip but essentially meaningless (and basically fictional) title?

crazy “technically” unemployed Millenial who will one day take over the world *insert maniacal laughter here*?

Don’t know. Wish I could just say “member of Gen Flux” and leave it at that.

Ideas are totally welcome though!!

Shut it. You love it. Pop mash-up. Cross-continental...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 01:23:41 -0700

Shut it. You love it.

Pop mash-up. Cross-continental collision.

Call Me Gangnam.

Alternate download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?at0wp3de3546rqo

Four loaves of banana bread. All at once. Almost didn’t...

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 23:42:00 -0700

Four loaves of banana bread. All at once. Almost didn’t fit in the oven. Not my best batch though. It’s been a while. Wish I jad some blueberries to throw in.