CULTURE

Love and happiness are human necessities and should be at the root of everything we do. In business and the workplace, it’s easy to lose sight of those values for the sake of revenue and quantity over quality. But not for LO:LA (London: Los Angeles). Created in 2017, LO:LA is a creative agency with native roots in London, nurtured by the vibrant, collaborative culture of Los Angeles. The agency is fueled by the mantra “Made with Love” and guiding client partners towards the “Pursuit of Happierness.” Their client partners include Cycle Gear, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, GRRRL, Halo Circus, Souplantation, Sweet Tomatoes, The Creative Coalition, and Total Wine and More. We sat down with Founder and CEO Nick Platt to learn more about his award-winning agency.

LO:LA received honors from the industry’s Davey Awards, honoring outstanding work from the best and brightest small shops worldwide. The Davey Awards recognize creativity and innovation in the areas of Web, Design, Video, Advertising, Mobile, Social, Branded, and Immersive & Experiential. LO:LA won four Davey Awards in total, one Gold and three Silver. Their Gold Davey Award win was in the Experiential & Immersive category for “Napa Valley Wine Harvest” for Fleming’s Steakhouse and Wine Bar. They also received two Silver Davey Awards for their “Just Round the Corner” campaign for Cycle Gear in the Integrated Campaign: Business to Consumer and  Commercials: Consumer Products/Services categories. Team LO:LA also snagged a Silver Davey Award in Brand Awareness: Comedy for Total Wine & More.

LO:LA (London: Los Angeles), the full-service creative agency launched by RAPP veterans earlier this year, hired Dave Scott as creative director. Scott will be tasked with leading creative strategy along with founder and CEO  Nick Platt, as well as supporting new business development efforts with partner and head of client relations Rosanne Ramos. “At LO:LA, we’re always looking to add innovative, seasoned talent to the family,” Platt said in a statement. “When the opportunity to integrate Dave – a close mate and longtime colleague – into the LO:LA team arose, we jumped at it with no hesitation. His track record speaks for itself.” Scott joins LO:LA from RAPP, where he spent the past two years, most recently serving as senior vice president, group creative director and creative lead on the Toyota account. Before joining the Los Angeles office of RAPP, Scott spent nearly a year as a group creative director with WPP’s Ford unit, GTB. Prior to that he spent over five years with OgilvyOne in Melbourne, serving as creative director and working with brands including BMW, Mini, Bank of Melbourne and OfficeMax. “Dave has been close to the LO:LA team from its infancy, even before we were a fully-fledged concept, based on our previous working relationship at RAPP,” Ramos added. “The time finally came to make it official and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

Ad shop LO:LA , with offices (as you might guess) in Los Angeles and London, has been retained by athleisure brand GRRRL, for “ongoing creative services.” So not quite AOR status, but more than project work. The agency is tasked with building GRRRL’s brand awareness via creative advertising, social media and experiential campaigns beginning in the fourth quarter through first-quarter 2019. “For LO:LA our mantra is that everything be ‘Made with Love,’ ” stated Nick Platt, founder and CEO. “That couldn’t be truer for the powerfully inclusive, uplifting culture and brand that GRRRL has inspired across the globe.” The brand has developed a loyal following that strongly believes in its culture of female empowerment. It has come a long way in a short time, founded in 2015 by Kortney Olson. Earlier this month, Forbes called it a “billion-dollar brand in-waiting.” Olson is a force of nature. In addition to her entrepreneurial skills, she is a body builder and arm wrestling champion who hass overcome a lot in her relatively young life (she’s 36). Forbes has some of the details if you’re interested. Entertainment impresario Stan Lee has called Olson “the woman with the world’s deadliest thighs” for her ability to crush watermelons between them, which she has demonstrated in videos on YouTube. Olson had this to say about the appointment of her brand’s new agency: “It’s never been more important to reach and inspire women to celebrate, nurture and be proud of our bodies and what we can do with them. We needed a creative partner that understands that and isn’t afraid to push limits like we do, to break down walls. LO:LA is that partner.” Sounds like you got a live one your hands, LO:LA. It will be interesting to see how you take this brand to the next level.

LO:LA has partnered with Upcomers, a creative career accelerator designed to connect current/recently graduated arts and design students with the creative industry by helping build their portfolios based on real-world client experiences. If selected, participants will have the opportunity to collaborate with the partnering brand. For Upcomers’ Creative Challenge event on July 7, LO:LA’s CEO and Founder Nick Platt will present a client brief for creative submissions alongside MOCEAN’s Mitch Monson. Featured clients include body-positive women’s sportswear brand GRRRL and the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.