How to Start Video Marketing

Thinking of creating a custom video to help you achieve some specific marketing goals? Use our video marketing guide as a starting point to give you some good insights into all the ins and outs involved in making a masterpiece that will help you win fans and boost your brand. First Answer the Question “Why is Video Marketing is Important?” Video marketing has become one of the most powerful strategies for promoting and growing your brand online. More consumers are interacting with videos today than ever before and, in 2019, it’s imperative that video is an active ingredient in your…

What Makes a Great App Commercial?

So, you’re pretty proud of the new app you’ve created. You’ve spent years thinking about the concept, brainstorming ideas, finding the right team to develop it, poring over every last detail, testing it and tweaking it to perfection. So, what’s the deal — why is nobody downloading your bit of technological brilliance? Simple… because they don’t know about it! If you haven’t invested a cent into marketing your app yet, it’s pretty much the same as throwing a party without sending out any invitations. But don’t worry, there’s an easy fix: A powerful and compelling app commercial can go a…

Sparkhouse lands in the Clutch 1000

Explaining your product is hard. You pour your heart into it, you know everything about it and you want your customer to know all of that too. We get it; we have since 2009. That’s why we’ve been working hard to produce top notch videos right here in Orange County. Even Forbes recognizes the importance of video explanations. Like I said, we’ve been working hard to make a name for ourselves, and while beautiful videos speak for themselves, we always want to be head and shoulders above our competition. We were thrilled to be named one of the top video…

Sparkhouse Named an Industry Leader

Since the first film’s premiere more than 100 years ago, video has captivated people. Its ability to translate life’s complexities into accessible art is something wonderful. It makes video a powerful communication and marketing tool. At Sparkhouse, we harness that power to create videos that audiences love and content that speaks with a clear voice, and we aren’t the only people to say so. We are excited to share that we have been named one of the top video production companies in Orange County! This comes from Clutch, a B2B ratings and reviews platform that identifies top service providers. After…

Sparkhouse Featured As A Top Video Production Company in San Diego

Another “W” for Sparkhouse! At Sparkhouse, we’re proud of the many milestones we’ve reached. From becoming an officially certified minority-owned business to Torrey wining the Entrepreneur Excellence award nomination, there’s a lot to brag about. Throughout it all, we’ve always known that our success is a result of the company (read: clients) we keep, but we’ve never been able to tie our wins as directly to our clients as we can with our latest recognition. Sparkhouse has been officially named San Diego’s leading video production company by Clutch. As a firm that specializes in identifying industry leaders based on the…

UAG “Don’t Be Dramatic”

We have been producing UAG’s installation videos for a few months now, which are simple and effective,but we were very excited when they came to us to help create a Facebook ad for their new Macbook Pro Cases. These are some heavy duty cases that can really take a beating. The laptop we used for the shoot had already been dropped 26 times from over 4 feet and was still in perfect condition. The Brief UAG wanted that, â€œWowâ€ factor to come through in their video, they wanted to show that it really does protect your laptop from a high…

“Don’t Sweat It” Video Marketing

Okay, so not all products and services are cool digital apps or devices that can pretty much sell themselves. Many companies today still need to get down and dirty (so to speak) in their advertising and marketing approach, because they fill basic human needs and functions, like eating and drinking, and eliminating bodily wastes. In this particular article we will address one of these bio-functions, namely bodily perspiration, or the common term we all use: “sweat.” It’s a given that most people don’t really mind perspiring when they work outside or play, but when folks are just going about their…

Sparkhouse Helps Nékter Juice Bar Bring Customers Closer With Entertaining Product Videos

Nékter Juice Bar, a national franchise that serves handcrafted, cold-pressed juices, smoothies and acai bowls, asked Sparkhouse to create visually stimulating branded content that would let them talk directly to their customers via the large flat screen TVs recently installed in stores. The big goal? To entertain and educate people on the special health-and-wellness benefits of three specific items and provide an informative and fun distraction while waiting in line. The Challenge With the traditional menu-board format of giving customers product information, it can be quite limiting and ultimately prove difficult to inspire someone to try something new. So the…

The 2018 Guide to Corporate Videos

Intrigued about the whole video thing as a strategic marketing tool? It’s true, video content is king right now… Corporate videos are popping up right and left from all kinds of businesses. The use of video for high-impact, intelligent marketing is on the rise — and for good reason. This format is a fully customizable, direct communication format that gives you a lot of bang for your buck. If you want to investigate the corporate video game to help grow your business, here’s a comprehensive primer to get you started. What is a Corporate Video? Simply put, a corporate video…

Sparkhouse Donates Talents to Help Civic 50 Orange County Awards Gain Traction

At Sparkhouse, we’re always looking for ways we can give back to the community that keeps our creative house alive by dedicating time and effort to worthy local causes. When Civic 50 Orange County Awards reached out to us to see if we could help them get the word out about their first-ever event, we jumped at the opportunity. The Civic 50 Orange County Awards was created to recognize the top 50 most civic-minded companies in the Orange County area. Our plan of attack was pretty simple: tell their story by creating an engaging promotional explainer video that would not only highlight the…

Sparkhouse Helps Reolink Raise Over $1 Million with Creative Crowdfunding Video

Global innovator in home security Reolink needed some expert guidance in launching their Indiegogo campaign to raise awareness and support around a new product, the Reolink Argus Wire-Free Security Camera. They turned to our Sparkhouse video production team, who helped them transcend their mark to pull in over one million dollars in just 45 days! Here’s how we did it: Sparkhouse partnered with CrowdCreate, an agency focused on crowdfunding strategy, to design a comprehensive campaign driven by powerful imagery. Using the mediums of video, social media video, and product/lifestyle photography, the Reolink Argus campaign came to life and won over…

Sparkhouse volunteered at Forge54 2017

Forge54 2017 Sparkhouse is proud to continue to be a huge player at the annual Forge54 skilled giving weekend. Created by Torrey Tayenaka 5 years ago, the event has grown to involve over 100 volunteers a year from various agencies, clubs and universities. If you haven’t heard of Forge54, it’s a 54-hour skilled giving weekend where volunteers in marketing and advertising come together to donate their time and skills to a non-profit in need. Past Forge54 weekend recipients have included OC Food Bank, Playworks SoCal, Wells of Life and Illumination Foundation. The amazing organization this year was Ocean Institute and the Sparkhouse…

Sparkhouse Listed as Top Video Production Company on Clutch

“We knew that, in order to meet our goals, we would have to have that high-quality video production, which is difficult.” – Jon Adrino, ANDesign In an increasingly digital world, companies of all shapes and sizes are coming to the realization that high-quality video production is a necessary part of meeting their goals. Among the many reasons for this is the fact that social video produces 1200% more shares than text and images combined. It’s important to know, however, that “high-quality video production” is more than just a great camera. It’s the ability to understand the goals of the video,…

Top 9 Stats Proving Why Every Brand Needs Video Marketing

Video marketing has shown to be one of the most powerful strategies for promoting and growing your brand online. More consumers are interacting with videos today than ever before and, in 2017, it’s imperative that video is an active ingredient in your digital marketing. You see, videos have a convincing way of fostering engagement, producing results like click-throughs, shares, lead generation, and sales. But don’t take our word for it! We’ve compiled 9 stats proving why every brand needs video marketing and tips on how you can implement it in your overall online marketing strategy. #1 Companies using video…

Boosting Your Restaurant Yelp Presence with Video Marketing

When modern internet users are looking for a new restaurant, how nice your venue looks on Yelp matters quite a bit. The search for good nearby food is a constant necessity for busy professionals and travelers staying in a new town and it’s always worth your time to check the Yelp reviews before setting the GPS navigator. Yelp is where tech-savvy diners share their restaurant ratings and reviews. Popular venues, good or bad, will have a large number of reviews which are very persuasive for new diners but lesser known places often don’t have enough information to help your potential…

Creating a How-To Video for Your Product or Service

A how-to video is your opportunity to show a new or potential client how you do what you do, or how your product does what it does. There are a lot of benefits to giving people access to videos like these: Eases Uncertainty: No one wants to feel like the only person in the world who doesn’t “get it” when trying to figure out how to use your product or what steps they have to go through to hire you as a coach. Eliminate that risk with a how-to video that anyone can watch in the comfort and safety of their…

Recent Trends in Video Marketing: Using Video for Content Marketing

In this age of information consumption, content marketing is on the rise which has led to more information than one person can even process. Unless you have an over sized brain, you will have to pick and choose the information you want to consume. Since most of us are not super-humans with abnormal brain functions, video is a smart solution to those looking to stand out and easily grab the attention of the consumer as it is an easily digestible way of taking in information. Due to it being easy to consume, video is on the rise as a means…

Good news for you: Sparkhouse has the gear

When it comes to video production equipment, Sparkhouse is proud to own, well, all of it. (Pretty much.) Why does that matter when anyone can make a video on a smartphone? Well, if you’ve seen some of those videos, you know why. When it comes to marketing your product or business with video, you’ve got to use the best equipment to get the best results. It could mean the difference between a sale or no sale, new client or no client. For someone who is passionate about video, nice equipment is like a brand new toy. Torrey Tayenaka, our founder,…

Is Using Video for Marketing Effective?

Everyone loves a good viral video. From cats to cooking how-to’s, videos are the ubiquitous source of entertainment and information on the internet. We all know that videos are popular but are they also effective as a means of marketing? Are videos just a source of mindless entertainment and forgettable information or can they actually be used to connect with customers and potential clients as a way of growing your business and building your brand? As a video marketing agency, our predictable response is “yes”. But we don’t think we are just being biased about this. With that said, let’s…

5 Reasons Why You Should Use Video Testimonials

We live in a world filled with advertisements. From product placements in music videos to billboard signs, people are used to companies always trying to sell them something. Unfortunately, many consumers are skeptical of advertisements and may ignore them unless they think they are innovative or entertaining. Since people have limited time and are less responsive to paid advertisements, it’s up to businesses to constantly search for new ways to reach potential customers. One successful marketing strategies that many companies turn to is social proof. Social proof works because consumers value other people’s opinions, especially if it is someone they trust. When…

New Creative Director John Nasteff

Here at Sparkhouse, we are growing and things are changing. And in this case, change is good. We have just hired a new creative director who shares our vision for innovative filmmaking and our passion for artistry. That man is none other than the multi-talented filmmaker, photographer, designer, et cetera and so on John Nasteff. We are very excited to have him on board and can’t wait to see where he takes us from here. Why did we go with John Nasteff for this role and what does this mean for the future of our clients and partners? We would…

Torrey Receives Entrepreneur Excellence Award Nomination

Here in Orange County, we have a yearly Entrepreneur Excellence Award and we are pleased to announce that our CEO Torrey Tayenaka has received a nomination. This is awesome news for Torrey and for Sparkhouse. If you are not familiar with the Entrepreneur Excellence Award, the Orange County Business Journal describes it this way: THE EXCELLENCE IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARDS program is designed to recognize individuals who exemplify the American entrepreneurial spirit – individuals who, by their creativity and determination, have established and nurtured successful business ventures. This is the perfect opportunity to recognize clients or business associates who have distinguished…

Using Video for Effective Email Marketing

Email marketing has been growing with increasing popularity in recent years. There are countless email marketing companies out there who offer solutions to branding in the form of one of modern society’s most preferred forms of communication. Maybe you see the benefit of email marketing or maybe 99.9% of your emails end up in the trash. Whatever the case, you can’t deny the popularity of email marketing and that means that email marketers must be doing something right. If you are a business owner, chances are that email marketing has crossed your mind. But have you considered the benefits of…

Zyliss Control Knives Case Study

At Sparkhouse, we pride ourselves on creating videos with bold storytelling, cinematic production value, and exciting innovation. Recently, we partnered with Zyliss on a video marketing campaign for their new line of Zyliss Control knives. Getting to Know the Client: Zyliss All our projects begin and end with the client. Because we don’t confine ourselves to just one industry, we can tailor our approach and our design to make it work perfectly for each client. We spend a lot of time at the beginning of each project getting to know the client and what drives their business. Zyliss develops all their kitchen tools…

Sparkhouse is Officially a Certified Minority Business Enterprise

It’s official! Your favorite video production service is now officially certified as a minority-owned business. We are so excited to share this announcement with you, so we thought we’d tell you a little about what the certification is and what it means for you. Congratulations! The Certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) is a prestigious certification that distinguishes us from all the other video services out there. We always knew we were the best, but now we have this shiny new certificate to prove it! Just kidding. We have the certificate to show that our business prides itself on our diverse viewpoints…

Tips for Using Video for Social Media Marketing

The popularity of video in marketing has risen in recent years. We aren’t aware of a decrease in literacy (though the replacement of emoticons for words might say otherwise) but perhaps it tickles a certain part of the brain that enjoys the easiness of visual stimulation over reading all those words on that tiny screen. At any rate, companies would be smart to take full advantage of this marketing trend. We think a good place to start with this topic is on the subject of social media. We apologize in advance for all the words. Why Social Media? Video is…

Forge54: Another Huge Success!

Sparkhouse is proud to be a part of the 4th Annual Forge54 skilled giving weekend. We had our biggest year yet, with over 120 volunteers donating more than $500,000 in marketing services to Illumination Foundation. What Went Down A lot happened in 54 hours. Our volunteers consumed 1200 meals, 540 cups of coffee, 130 energy drinks, and 240 beers. Oh, and they completed an insane number of projects! The projects were divided among teams covering internal marketing, events, social media, design, messaging, public relations, photography, video, digital, and mobile. Coming from more than twenty agencies and fifteen schools, our teams…

October is time to Prep for Holiday Videos

It’s prep time for holiday videos! Are you planning on creating videos for this holiday season? Now is the time to start prepping. Many of our clients are getting ready for this holiday season by producing some eye catching videos and you should too! Here are some ideas of how you can team up with Sparkhouse this holiday season to create video that will stand out and drive sales before 2016 comes to a close. Product Videos Why just tell people about your product when you can show them? Customers aren’t just buying your product — they’re buying the lifestyle of…

August Work: Video. Photography. Website

Video. Photography. Website. We created a company video, website video and photography for RESSAC Climate Control. Check out the latest case study to see the work and learn why their CEO said “The final product was more than I expected” View Case Study Here. FLYING HIGH IN A DRONE We are excited about our latest investment into a brand new DJI 4k Drone! Our team has been spending the afternoons practicing drone shots of Torrey playing various sports around OC. Check out the Video Here. HOW FRESH? ZYLISS FRESH! Zyliss just launched a new line of glass and plastic food…

RESSAC Climate Control – CASESTUDY

Video. Photography. Website. When RESSAC Climate Control asked us to create a brand video for them we knew there was an opportunity for something special. Founded in 1929, this company has been passed down for generations and is currently lead by Nick Rohan CEO. RESSAC specializes in maintenance, installation and servicing of commercial HVAC systems in California. They’ve earned trust up and down the Gold Coast, and now they looked to gain attention from potential customers nationwide. Our team hit the ground running with research into the history of the company, industry and competition. We developed a concept for a…

What’s the ROI of my video?

People come to Sparkhouse for video production because they know we make amazing, eye-catching videos. But as engaging as our videos are, how do we know what they are actually accomplishing? How do we know what the ROI of our videos are? Measuring views alone is very outdated. Luckily for all of us, video is one of the most trackable content marketing media outlets out there. Determining ROI is easy, and there are several tracking methods depending on what your revenue goals are. Here are the three basic steps: Step 1: Track campaign costs This part is pretty simple. It’s…

Sparkhouse teams up with Balcony Living to launch Balcony Bar

Sparkhouse is excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Balcony Living to launch their first product, the Balcony Bar. It’s an innovative attachable tabletop surface that transforms your balcony into a bar with a view. The Balcony Bar is designed as a portable alternative to difficult-to-move tables used in backyards and patios. Where the traditional outdoor table is limited to one location and blocks views, the Balcony Bar clamps onto your railing to create an instant surface great for drinks, food, plants and even décor items. The Balcony Bar allows people to sit higher than a table making it…

April: What’s in our glass?

8 rules for effective video content marketing Video is becoming an increasingly popular addition to content marketing due it its shareable and engaging nature. Whether you have a well developed content marketing strategy or you’re just getting started, you need to make sure you are using video effectively in order to reach your goals. READ MORE SO WHAT’S IN OUR GLASS? The team here at Sparkhouse had a lot of fun filming this example of what we can create here in our studio (maybe a little too much fun)! Check out the full video to find out what’s in our…

Sparkhouse’s Alyssa Lahham receives OCBJ Women in Business award nomination

Alyssa was nominated for her operations and marketing contributions to Sparkhouse, her volunteer role as Co-Executive Director of Forge 54, and all of her past experience in marketing and account management. Congrats Alyssa! We’re very proud. About the OCBJ Women in Business Awards: The 22nd Annual Women in Business Awards Luncheon & Program honors five exceptional business and professional OC women. The award winners will be announced at the luncheon on May 4, 2016. The WIB special supplement, publishing on April 11, 2016 will preview the program, featuring profiles and photos of this year’s nominees plus articles of interest.

8 rules for effective video content marketing

By Alyssa Lahham Video is becoming an increasingly popular addition to content marketing due it its shareable and engaging nature. In a Demand Metric study, a whopping 82 percent of companies using video for content marketing reported it to be successful. Whether you have a well developed content marketing strategy or you’re just getting started, you need to make sure you are using video effectively in order to reach your goals. Here are some guidelines we recommend following so that your content marketing videos are as successful as possible: Set goals first Start with your end goal in mind, and…

Privacy Pop Video Goes Viral

Last month, we finished up a super fun video project for Privacy Pop. The piece was designed to be an engaging, high energy video driven by its music and simple stylized titles. It’s a lively video with 360 product shots and quick cuts that show Privacy Pop’s versatility, ease of use, and creative design. The video was launched on Privacy Pop’s Facebook page. After only five days, it had 200,000 views. After just one month, total views catapulted to over 3 million! The effectiveness of the video was far beyond what Privacy Pop Founder Eric Mear ever envisioned. Eric was…

Sparkhouse and IMW Agency Win ADDY Award for DENSO

Sparkhouse was awarded a Bronze OC ADDY Award for their work on their DENSO video, “One Small Piece,” in the category of internet commercials. The video was a collaboration with IMW Agency. The American Advertising Awards, formerly the ADDYs, is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting over 40,000 entries every year in local AAF Club (Ad Club) competitions. The mission of the American Advertising Awards competition is to recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising. The Orange County ADDY competition brought together the best local talent to recognize and reward creative…

You’re gonna dig what we just did

By Harvey Kaner So who would have dreamed, when we started our journey with Wells of Life, that our work would include donating enough to build our own well? I mean, yes, we were excited about creating a new brand identity, mission and vision for this very worthy organization. And a marketing campaign that included a website, app, videos and a bunch of other work. But never did we think that we’d actually end up funding a well that would change the lives of rural Ugandan villagers. But that’s exactly what’s happened. During the 2015 Forge 54 weekend, Founder Nick…

10 Ways to Grow Your Business with Video

A Guide by Torrey Tayenaka and Alyssa Lahham at Sparkhouse We all know that video is an essential tool in today’s marketing landscape. It’s the most effective way to connect with your audience and advance your goals, especially as video traffic continues to rise. Estimates show that by 2019, consumer internet video traffic will make up 80 percent of all consumer internet traffic, and having a video on your site keeps viewers eyes on your page for twice as long as without a video. So why wait? Here are 10 tips to get you started. Pick a few ideas that…

6 Steps to Video Success on Facebook Using Silent Videos

By Torrey Tayenaka It’s 2018, and the times are changing once again for video, It’s time to start focusing on silent video again. Why you ask? Well, people are now watching 100 million hours of video on Facebook every day! Think about how people view their Facebook feed, often silently scrolling on their phone and secretly viewing their endless feed at work. That means many of these views are coming from mobile autoplays, which are silent or in a cubicle where volume is not an option. So what does that mean for video advertisers? That video you made for…

The Sparkhouse Bowl – Our Favorite Super Bowl Ads in Our Own Made Up Categories

By Alyssa Lahham Advertisers spent a record $377 million on air time alone for Super Bowl ads this year, averaging $5 million for a 30 second spot. With that much skin in the game, there were some great spots. Here are our favorite Super Bowl commercials in our own made up categories: Best Performance by an Animal Heinz – Weiner Stampede Can’t. Stop. Watching. Such. Cute. Puppies. Just don’t think about what happens next. Best Comedy Doritos – Ultrasound We would be safe announcing Doritos will win this for 2017 too. Doritos never disappoints in this category. Best Celebrity Endorsement…

10 Ways to Get Organized in 2016

(and create more free time in the process!) By Alyssa Lahham Whether your new year’s resolution is to be more punctual, to advance your career, or to just do you, being organized will help you accomplish your goals. Being well organized decreases stress, increases productivity, and preps you for any curve balls that may fly at you. Here are a few tips that have worked for us: Start with scheduling – We think Sunrise is the best app to combine all of your calendars. The user interface is intuitive, and we love being able to send a single link to show…

Torrey receives Above and Beyond Award from Angel Light Academy

For his involvement in Sparkhouse, Filmed Academy of the Arts, The Cinematic Arts Experience, Ad2OC, Kite Patch, Forge 54 and EvaDrop Smart Shower— Torrey was recently honored by the Angel Light Academy with the Above and Beyond Award for 2015. Angel Light Academy’s Leadership Training Institute will be honoring local citizens who have proven excellence in community leadership and service. This event was established in 2009 as a grass roots recognition program for the “doers” of our local communities. Each of the honorees has demonstrated they consistently go above and beyond and are nominated by their peers for this prestigious…

What is Sparkhouse?

What is Sparkhouse? 1 part video production company, 1 part marketing agency, 100% for our clients. We scale up and down with our services and find the right partners for any job. We love what we do and we love our clients even more. Check out a little video about how Sparkhouse can help your company or brand stand out.

Third Annual Forge 54 – Wells of Life

97 PEOPLE 24 AGENCIES 3,831.5 HOURS $574,725 Sparkhouse is excited to share the results of our 3rd annual Forge 54 skilled giving weekend. Forge 54 brings a community of passionate marketing and creative individuals together to serve nonprofit organizations through skilled giving. Using individual expertise, members provide learning opportunities to one another by working collaboratively in support of nonprofits in need. The 2015 Forge 54 skilled giving weekend took place October 2nd – 4th in downtown Santa Ana. During this weekend, young marketing professionals and students worked together to donate marketing services to Wells of Life, a non-profit organization that…

2015 Sparkhouse Demo Reel

2015 has been a busy year for Sparkhouse, and we are excited to show off some of our favorite projects both from our new and old clients. Video marketing that spans national tv, internet, mobile devices and more!

Finalists announced for the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–iMedia Communications, Inc. (@imediatweet) announced today the finalists for the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards. The annual awards recognize the most valuable, innovative agencies and campaigns in digital marketing. Winners will be announced at the December 8 awards gala at the iMedia Agency Summit. A 17-member awards advisory board was responsible for culling down nominees into finalists, based on the criteria of depth of work and innovative execution. This year’s board includes executives from Virgin America, ESPN, MasterCard, The Hershey Company, Univision, Mondelez, Walgreens, and Twitter. 2015 iMedia Agency Award finalists: Agency of the Year: 360i, BBDO, DigitasLBi, Huge,…

Sparkhouse Team Spotlights DENSO’s “Ruggedness and Intelligence”

Sparkhouse just completed a new project for DENSO Heavy Duty, a global OE manufacturer with five decades of experience perfecting technology and processes that give customers an edge on the road. IMW Agency chose the Orange County video production team to create an online marketing video to help launch their new line of technologically advanced alternators, the PowerEdge™ High-Amp Alternator series. A major player headquartered in Japan, DENSO Corp. specializes in advanced systems and technology and is the largest manufacturer of alternators in the world. The PowerEdge series of Alternators offer the most efficiency available from any manufacturer, so the…

Thermal R&D Tradeshow Booth and Collateral

After Sparkhouse and Devise Interactive completed a successful new website for Thermal R&D we continued our marketing efforts with a completely fresh design for their trade show booths, backdrops, podiums and more. The trade show collateral is heavily based off the new design and brand created for the website. Using familiar imagery and style we created a cohesive and consistent experience between the physical and digital world. Sparkhouse is looking forward to furthering Thermal R&Ds branding and marketing in Q1 2015 with more content and the creation of video marketing.

Forge 54 Donates Over $300,000 in Marketing Services to Local Non-Profit

Forge 54, a non profit powered by Sparkhouse, concluded their 2nd annual skilled giving event, where marketing and media enthusiasts donated time, talents, and creative services to Playworks SoCal, a chapter of a national organization. The Forge 54 volunteers joined together at DGWB Advertising & Communications to work for 54 hours straight in order to create marketing deliverables, which included a mobile app commercial, microsite, PR and social media plans, video content, and more. The deliverables can be viewed on Playworks Forge 54 Recap. During the high-energy, 54-hour event, 81 volunteers were divided into teams according to their skill sets,…

Forge 54

A collaborative, weekend-long marketing experience where advertisers, designers, developers, creatives, professionals and students converge to donate their time and talents to create, inspire, and help great causes. During each high-energy, 54-hour event, our expert creative teams adopt a non-profit organization and work together to totally revamp their marketing and branding efforts.

Thermal R&D Photography and Website Case Study

Sparkhouse recently partnered with Thermal Research & Development, a maker of high performance exhaust systems, to redesign and invigorate their online presence. The initial strategy focused on updating the company’s forward facing image using captivating product and location photography. The product photography leveraged their beautiful hand-crafted chrome exhaust systems, including mufflers and stainless tips, to tell a visual story. For the location shots, our photographer (Danny Tayenaka) captured the true personality of Thermal Research & Devlopment by focusing on the workers who create the pieces, their skill and artistry, and the detail they put into every product. Designing a website…

Sparkhouse Receives 2014 Best of Newport Beach Award

Newport Beach Award Program Honors the Achievement NEWPORT BEACH August 21, 2014 — Sparkhouse has been selected for the 2014 Best of Newport Beach Award in the Advertising Agencies category by the Newport Beach Award Program. Each year, the Newport Beach Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Newport Beach area a great place to live, work and play. Various sources of…

How to create an animated explainer video

Why Animated Explainer Videos? Animated explainer videos are powerful, popular tools for marketing almost any business, product, or service. There are a variety of advantages, including the ability to create a piece of video content without any actors, locations, cameras, or other costly elements — which allows you the option of releasing a video about a business, product, or service that doesn’t even exist yet! You can still be in the prototype, manufacturing, or concepting stages of an offering and present an animated explainer video to get your audience excited about it’s debut, targeting potential customers, investors, or even partners…

Sparkhouse Shoots National USAA Insurance Commercials

A passion for football and military appreciation served as the dual theme for Sparkhouse’s latest marketing campaign. Working together with Detroit-based agency Lowe Cambell Ewald, the Sparkhouse team spent the first two weeks of July in Texas shooting a USAA/NFL commercial that they produced, wrote and directed. The campaign consists of several 15-second and 30-second national TV spots, four long-form internet videos, and a handful of playful digital shorts. The ads were not short on star power, featuring Redskins starting quarterback Robert Griffin III, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera, and former Cowboys Quarterback Roger Staubach. The…

Sparkhouse Produces Animated Campaign for OCAR

The Orange County Association of REALTORS® (OCAR) approached Sparkhouse looking for a strategy to effectively communicate the features of FHA and VA loans to condominium complex owners around Orange County. OCAR’s primary aim was to combat a large amount of misinformation and misunderstanding regarding these loans in the community, and Sparkhouse stepped up to the challenge of educating OCAR’s target market in a creative way. In response, the Sparkhouse team created a comprehensive animated campaign to explain all of the applicable law changes, rule changes and cost breakdowns involved with FHA and VA loans in a simplified, easily digestible format….

Sparkhouse Creates an Animated Infographic for Entrepreneur Magazine

Entrepreneur Magazine came to us to create an easy to understand video animation about their College Entrepreneur Contest. They had trouble explaining the prestige of the awards as well as who was eligible for the award, so they hired us to create a fun and informative animation video! This video was featured on Entrepreur.com’s contest page and used to both explain the concept and the requirements to enter. You can see the microsite here:

Fotobit Kickstarter Campaign

Fotobit is a module photo framing system design for the highest flexibility and expandability. Easily move around and change pictures in a snap to keep your photo wall updated anytime and all the time. Directed by: Torrey Tayenaka Edited by: David Helman

Zodiac Lavatory Infographic

Zodiac hires Sparkhouse to create an infographic to clearly display their newest Lavatory product. Stay tuned for the finished video! Rough Storyboards:

Sparkhouse Hand Reel

Sparkhouse is a leader in video marketing, innovative storytelling, beautiful cinematography, and stylized post-production, but most importantly… hands. Gorgeous, talented, hands. Some agencies can offer hands on service, but at Sparkhouse we offer hands IN service. Remember, Sparkhouse works hard for you… we are all hands in.

Jacuzzi J300 Signature Collection

Directed by: Brandon Cammell Edited by: David Helman

SPARKHOUSE HIGHLIGHT REEL

Cambro Shelving

Directed by: Alex Meader Edited by: Jonathan Wallace

Cambro Dry Shelving

Directed by: Alex Meader Edited by: Jonathan Wallace

Cambro Coffee Cooler

Directed by: Alex Meader Edited by: Jonathan Wallace

ioGear HD Matrix Commercial

Directed by: Alex Meader Edited by: David Helman and Paul Marin

Sparkhouse Produces Steamy Commercial for Jacuzzi Bath

Sparkhouse produces a steamy viral video for Jacuzzi Bath. Filmed at the Jacuzzi Headquarters in Chino Hills, Sparkhouse features the brand new collection of Jacuzzi Baths with a sexy twist. Stay tuned to watch the finished product at the end of February.

PAUL MARIN

Age: 31 Education: University of North Florida Home Town: Jacksonville, FL Hobbies: I enjoy creating films even when I’m not on the job. From little commemorative montages for friends to promo videos for bands, musicians, or artists, it’s all fun to me. I have a deep appreciation for music. As well as attending various shows ranging from punk, rockabilly, inde, hip hop, electro, funk, to soul. I also wrote songs and performed with electro/funk band, Cosmodelion, though not as much any more. Favorite movie: Old Boy – Chan-wook Park Favorite director: Takashi Miike Why are you passionate about your job…

JONATHAN WALLACE

Age: 25 Education: Jr College all the way Home Town: Laguna Niguel, CA Hobbies: Watching Football. Dreaming Football. Too lazy to play football though. Favorite movie: Forrest Gump and The Room. Favorite director: David M. Helman. He is so dreamy. Why are you passionate about your job at Sparkhouse? Gaining experience and getting paid so I can live. Oh and free lunch on Fridays.

ALEX MEADER

Education: Seattle Film Institute Home Town: Port Orchard, WA Hobbies: Watching films, playing music, traveling Favorite Movie: Hard to pick one, but I’d probably have to say Se7en Favorite Director: Terence Malick Why are you so passionate about working with Sparkhouse? It’s exciting to have the opportunity to work with so many young and talented people and to be able to really explore the possibilities of what advertising can be.

GRAHAM ROBBINS

JACOB PERRY

NICK MEDRUD

SPENCER OWENS

Age: 20 Education: Fullerton College Home Town: Buena Park, CA Hobbies: Ice Hockey, being with friends, concerts. Favorite movie: Forrest Gump Favorite director: Wes Anderson Why are you passionate about your job at Sparkhouse? It’s a great environment to be in and it’s really an amazing team of creative people. Working at Sparkhouse has been an opportunity to learn every day and expand my knowledge of video production, graphic design, and to be a part of something I can really be proud of.

TORREY TAYENAKA

Torrey Tayenaka, the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations. Torrey is one of the founding partners to launch the full-service Orange County, California-based video marketing agency. “We didn’t just want to be the guys with the cameras, we come up with the great ideas, we come up with the concepts” Torrey says. A graduate of the prestigious University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Torrey believes in social, branded interactive content. Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Torrey’s team creates interesting, entertaining and useful…

JOHN SCHICK

DAVID HELMAN

Education: Chapman University Home Town: Mission Viejo, CA Hobbies & Sports: Roller Hockey, NBA/NFL Fan and cinephile Favorite movie: Chinatown Favorite director: David Fincher Why are you passionate about your job at Sparkhouse? This job allows me to focus and sharpen my editing skills every day.

BRIAN QUACH

Age: 21 Education: Chapman University Home Town: Mission Viejo, CA Hobbies & Activities: Snowboarding, Bodyboarding, Charity work, Pole-Vaulting Favorite movie: The Social Network Favorite director: David Fincher Why are you passionate about your job at Sparkhouse? As an editor I want to create something different and visually beautiful accompanied by great sound design. My favorite piece I edited was “undefeated” because I was able to captured who I am as an editor through the edit.

DAVID HELMAN

Education: Chapman University Home Town: Mission Viejo, CA Hobbies & Sports: Roller Hockey, NBA/NFL Fan and cinephile Favorite movie: Chinatown Favorite director: David Fincher Why are you passionate about your job at Sparkhouse? This job allows me to focus and sharpen my editing skills every day.

DANNY TAYENAKA

California Baptist University www.7shadesofgrey.com

GMC Tax Deduction Opportunity

Graphics by: Spencer Owens Animation by: John Schick Sound Design by: Alex Tirheimer

DYLN Inspired Indiegogo Campaign

Directed by: Torrey Tayenaka Produced by: Sophronia Caicedo Edited by: Jonathan Wallace Music by: Stefan Macarewich

Sparkhouse Produces DYLN’s Indiegogo Video

DYLN Inspired teamed up with Sparkhouse to create a video marketing campaign for their Indiegogo crowd funding campaign. The goal was to create a video unlike any other crowd funding video. The opening consisted with an extremely stylized and visually exciting yoga sequence followed by a documentary style interview of all the founders. The video focuses on the hard work and dedication that the DYLN Inspired team put into the project as well as the amazing technology and quality of their products. The video included an explanation as to why DYLN Inspired required funding and what those funds would go…

Sparkhouse Rebrands OC Food Bank With Forge 54

The marketing created for the OC Food Bank was part of the first ever Forge 54 marketing weekend. During this weekend of creativity, the team spent 54 hours creating an entirely new brand including a new logo, slogan, and collateral as well as a full website redesign, donation/giving platform, mobile app, two commercials, an animated infographic, rebuild and relaunched social media presence as well as a brand new PR campaign. This was a huge collaborative effort that included 47 marketing professionals and over six different agencies and creative houses. About OC Food Bank The OC Food Bank works with…

CoreLogic Hires Sparkhouse

Sparkhouse has teamed up with CoreLogic to create internal video content. Currently Sparkhouse is creating content for company morale, new employee welcome videos as well as potential employee recruitment. The videos are planned to live on a few different landing web pages as well as to be sent internally for certain corporate events. About CoreLogic Information. It is at the core of every smart decision. It drives strategy, solutions, revenue and ultimately success. It is only logical that you would want it to come from a superior source. CoreLogic® is the company financial services and real estate professionals turn…

ioGear Hires Sparkhouse For Product Features

Sparkhouse is hired by ioGear to create a product video for the new Wireless 5×2 HD Matrix. The video demonstrates the amazing features of the new 5×2 HD and the easy accessibility it provides for ioGear customers. The online video marketing was directed by Alex Meader. Meader tells the story of a family who is not constrained by the limitations of a normal TV system, but one that can enjoy their media freely from any room in the house. Video directed by Alex Meader, produced by Brandon Cammell, and edited by David Helman and Paul Marin. About ioGear IoGear,…

PhotoFast iFlash at the Beach

Directed by: Torrey Tayenaka Produced by: Sophronia Caicedo Edited by: David Helman Music by: Alex Tirheimer

Jacuzzi Installation and Delivery

Directed by: Alex Meader Produced by: Sophronia Caicedo Edited by: Jonathan Wallace

Liquipel Wine Shot Spec

Hoag Hospital Treadmill

Directed by: Alex Meader Produced by: Sophronia Caicedo and Brandon Cammell Edited by: David Helman

Hoag Hospital Symptoms

Directed by: Alex Meader Produced by: Sophronia Caicedo and Brandon Cammell Edited by: David Helman

Hoag Hospital Journey

Directed by: Alex Meader Produced by: Sophronia Caicedo and Brandon Cammell Edited by: David Helman

OC Food Bank Infographic

Produced by the Forge 54 Branding Team.

How To Help The OC Food Bank

Produced by the Forge 54 Video Team Directed by: Alex Meader

OC Food Bank Serving Our Community

Produced by the Forge 54 Video Team Directed by: Alex Meader Edited by: Damian Estrada

Sparkhouse Wins 2013 Best Young Company to Work For!

turnstone Announces 2013 ‘Best Young Companies to Work for’ 15 Small Businesses Recognized for Creating an Outstanding Culture Grand Rapids, MI, October 1, 2013 —After receiving more than one hundred nominations from across the country, turnstone, a Steelcase brand, in partnership with Wharton management professor and human resource expert Peter Cappelli, today announced the inaugural 2013 Best Young Companies to Work for. The list recognizes innovative and forward-thinking young companies that demonstrate excellence in a number of areas, including positive work culture, forward-thinking leadership, talent retention, business innovation, community outreach and an intentionally designed workspace. To be considered, nominated…

Hilton’s Walk-In Cooler, Cambro

Directed by: Alex Meader Edited by: Jonathan Wallace

Sparkhouse Films 4 GMC Features in East Coast

Sparkhouse teamed up with GMCard to create a series of online video marketing commercials for GMC, GM Card and Capitol One. In collaboration with MRM and Section 8, the four part series focuses on real customers who have had great and authentic experiences with the GM Card as well as with the process of receiving GM Card earnings. The commercials were shot in four states including Johnstown, New York, Norfolk, Virginia, Lanesboro, Minnesota and Annapolis, Illinois with a small crew consisting of Director Torrey Tayenaka, Producer Sophronia Caicedo, DP Justin Garcia and audio by Alex Tirheimer. The Sparkhouse team was…

Sparkhouse Launches Kite Campaign on Indiegogo

Sparkhouse is proud of the extreme success of the recent marketing campaign put together for the Kite Patch mosquito repellent technology. Sparkhouse’s team including Torrey Tayenaka, Sophronia Caicedo, Brandon Cammell, Ro Oeurn, and Brian Quach created many aspects of the Kite Patch’s marketing including naming, branding, product design, video marketing and indiegogo crowd funding. Sparkhouse teamed up with Ephex online to create a complete website and online presence including contact forms, distributor applications and FAQs. Within just four days of posting the marketing campaign on crowdfunding site indiegogo the Kite Patch had been completely funded ($75,000). By the end of…

Jacuzzi Hires Sparkhouse to Create Real Customer Features

Sparkhouse gets hired by Jacuzzi Hot Tubs to create real customer features for both the Jacuzzi Brand as well as the Sundance Spas brand. Using real life satisfied customers, the videos focus on various experiences with the spas including selection, installation, and maintenance as well as features about the experiences of enjoying the tubs with family, friends and loved ones. By using real life customers, Sparkhouse is able to tell an authentic and engaging story that viewers connect with and truly believe and understand. The video features are currently living on the Jacuzzi and Sundance websites, YouTube channels, Facebook pages…