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Keep Your Brand Moving

SMLA Media delivers

Mega creative content and strategies that are 100% on brand.

PASSIONS

BRANDING

A visual manifestation of your mission statement.

creative

ALWAYS unique, makes you think, and most importantly - create a memory.

strategy

Simple, achievable steps to a goal that moves your organization forward.

Storytelling

A vivid and captivating journey to create an emotional response for your clients and supporters.

Pitch

Pitch Decks

LOCK THEM IN: Entice potential investors or collaborators with a presentation filled with essential information while being 100% visually engaging.

your brand here

Branding Kits

A strong branding kit is a visual manifestation of your organization's mission statement. It's beneficial for external media requests, company culture, and strategic goals.

sizzle

Sizzle Reels

Your organization's triumphs, accomplishments, and joyous moments in a high energy or emotional short video. Perfect for EOY, anniversaries, or for investor or fundraising events.

Pitch

Strategy Sessions

On brand pragmatic solutions and steps for your organizations next big leap.

SERVICES

VALUES

Honesty, Deadlines, Kindness, Transparency, Common Sense, Frugality, Optimism, Animated Gif's, And Corny Jokes

Logo

The Emotional Reason Why There Are Barcodes All Over This Page

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For decades, society has instilled fear and anxiety in millions of micro to mid-sized business owners. Audits, budgets, and spreadsheets are scary and we definitely should continue to fear them. Marketing, creative, and design are elusive concepts to so many that they produce anxiety. Any item that has a barcode on it signifies that it is within reach. The SMLA Media logo is a barcode, to demonstrate that creative services are essential items and obtainable.

Deadlines With Consequences

A 19 Year Old Almost Yanked The Plug On MTV Going Overseas

Image by Darius Bashar
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19-year-old Samantha Marie learned that NOTHING is impossible one morning while working at MTV in New York City. She had just gotten to her desk, a bit before 8 am, when she received a direct phone call from a senior executive in Asia. He told her that if she didn't get a Digital Beta PAL copy of episode#____ of ____ show, then MTV would lose their contract to relaunch MTV in Asia. The executive told her that the tape needed to arrive in Singapore in the next 36 hours. Digital Beta PAL tape conversions were done exclusively in New Jersey and normally needed 2 days to be made. The show title the executive needed didn't even exist, it was various shows comped together. It needed to be edited from tapes scattered around midtown. Six hours after receiving the phone call, Samantha put that videotape in the hands of a co-worker who had their passport at work that day, and they flew directly to $ Singapore. MTV Asia successfully launched with headquarters in Singapore 6 months later. Lesson(s): What may seem impossible, can be possible with lots of strategy.

Branding

You Won't Believe What André Balazs Did During A Hurricane

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What did the famed international hotelier do during a massive storm at his Sunset Beach property on Shelter Island? While the waves were crashing with high winds, André wasn't worried about the roof, windows, or power outages. André Balazs was displeased with the lighting in the cafe of the hotel. "Samantha, the cafe lighting must change on schedule throughout the day to create a mood for guests." He rolled up his sleeves, knew where every light switch was and began transforming the cafe from "normal" to a warm inviting space. The kind of place you'd like to be in if there was a treacherous storm outside. Lesson: Successful businesses and organizations don't press pause on branding...ever.

Goals

The Peculiar Case Of The Academy Award In The Kitchen Cupboard

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The English countryside is known for its historical architecture, environmental preservation, and ancient folklore. You'd expect to stumble upon Excalibur, or Hobbits before finding an Academy Award. American "Sam" was headed to the Glastonbury Festival with some English composite and CGI friends. At one point during the road trip, the Brits decided to make a pit stop in the middle of nowhere to catch up with some colleagues. Sam saw lots of sheep and even a few houses with straw roofs. It made her wonder what type of colleagues her friends had while driving through the sleepy village. A no-frills building in a remote setting housed a very successful production house. Sam couldn't keep up with their rapid tech talk, so she went to the employee kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. When she opened the cupboard, on the 2nd shelf next to a box of PJ Tips tea was an Academy Award-an Oscar! It has to be fake, thought Sam. She reached for it, felt its weight, read the inscription, and immediately knew that it was a real Oscar. While practicing her emotional acceptance speech for Best Picture, an editor walked into the kitchen to turn on the tea kettle. Sam asked him if it was real. He nodded yes before rushing back to his workstation. She gently placed it back onto the 2nd shelf and closed the cupboard door. The lesson: Awards and accolades shouldn't be the goal, making amazing products, services, and art for the people should be.

Samantha Marie

WEARS DIFFERENT HATS, ALL OVER THE WORLD

 

"I've worked at a pub during football matches in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, built the video library for TV Land in NYC, DJ'd for the Lakers in Los Angeles, and taught children journalism and film production in the Rochina communidade (favela) in Rio de Janeiro ... all of these very different experiences have created a broader vision of the world for me. They've also filtered over into my work. A trained filmmaker, my short films have screened in a variety of places; Mercedes Benz Fashion Week NYC, Rikers Island Penitentiary, MoMA PS1 for with Doc Martens, and Pearl Lam Gallery Hong Kong. "

​

CURRENTLY BASED IN "EL CAMPO" 1 HOUR OUTSIDE OF BUENOS AIRES WHERE SHE DRINKS TOO MUCH MATE, AND LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION. 

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Samantha Marie_ SMLA
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‪(206) 627-0225‬

  • Can't I just use a template on Canva for my logo, pitch deck and branding kit?
    Is your organization exactly like your competitors? If so, then YES, you can use a template logo, brand identity kit, pitch deck, sizzle reel, etc. The end result will look like countless other projects (remember the "hipster" badge and minimalist logo trend?) It may sound cliché, but your logo should be a source of pride and joy for your organization, not something you tolerate. AFTER you have a brand identity kit that truly embodies the spirit of your company, then you can definitely modify a template from Canva, Envato, etc. to suit a small scale promotional need.
  • We don't love our logo, but we've invested a lot in marketing materials, what should we do?
    For many people and organizations, rebranding isn't just about the financial investment, there's a lot of anxiety and "fear" with changing a company's image. First step, get the logo that really represents your organization and will get noticed by folks. Not sure how or where to start, book an SMLA Media strategy session. Instead of thinking of rebranding as "ripping off the band-aid," think of rebranding as finally getting the cast taken off!
  • We're interested, what are the next steps?
    Wonderful! Fill out this intake form and we'll be in touch within 72 hours. The intake form has a lot of questions that will help to determine if your project is a right fit for SMLA Media, or if SMLA Media is the right fit for your project.
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