About
HI, I’M TIM.
I’m a Solution Creator.
Also, Global Partnership Director at Hyper Island.
Formerly, Creative Director and Director of Creative Innovation at Saatchi & Saatchi NY.
I do speaking elsewhere, too. Conferences and such.
Also, a parent.
And in my past I performed with two improv theaters, taught advertising at Pepperdine University, composed some songs, lived in Japan, and ran a college radio station.
WHAT I’M ABOUT
I believe in open source ideas. Share freely and it will come back to me 10x. If someone steals an idea, then they do. I have more.
I like to try things and see what happens. If it works, we do more of that. If it doesn’t, we try something else.
I believe collaboration is better than ego.
I’m a big fan of simplicity, efficiency and making ideas happen. (None of which are as easy as they sound.) I take a lot of pride in the fact that twice in my career, it took three people to replace me when I left a position.
WHAT I DO
For over 17 years, I’ve leveraged creativity to solve business problems for brands and advertising agencies. Used to be, those solutions were ads. Lately, it’s been a lot more interesting than that.
At Hyper Island, I help individuals and companies learn how to do things nobody knows how to do yet. It’s not just about adapting to today’s digital world — but tomorrow’s.
A lot of the time, that has to do with helping people and organizations understand the consequences of transformative technology, helping them adapt careers, processes and business models to deal with the disruption and effectively implementing change.
And turns out, it’s a lot of fun helping people.
Specifically, my current role is somewhere near the intersection of consulting, teaching, marketing and business development. So, kind of everything.
I got my start in the industry spending five years learning from the best at TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles, and had the privilege of working on world-famous efforts like the Energizer Bunny and Taco Bell Chihuahua campaigns.
Other agencies and brands I collaborated with (pre-Hyper Island) include Dentsu, Colby & Partners, Digitas, FCB, MSNBC, Toyota, General Mills, JCPenney, American Express, Bally Fitness, Wherehouse Music, Qwest, California Avocado Commission, Disney Channel, Warner Bros., eToys, Mervyn’s, Earth Day Network, Suzuki, Unocal 76 and Kinko’s.
BACKSTORY
I have a traditional advertising background, with a digital heart.
My parents were both computer programmers, and as a kid I did a lot of programming. But back then, programming wasn’t cool. (Now it’s called “coding,” and it’s undeniably much cooler. Sucks to be born ten years too early.)
However, that experience gave me a great perspective for today’s world. I have a traditional creative’s understanding of brand building, brand strategy, storytelling, simplicity and craftsmanship. But I also have a programmer’s understanding of software development, user experience, iterative process, the benefits of data, and an appreciation for elegant solutions. And, thanks to my work with Hyper Island, I’ve become well-versed in the anthropology of a digital world — something a lot of marketers still aren’t grasping and a bigger deal than the technology, in my opinion.
If I can help you, let’s talk.
Here’s my LinkedIn page.