Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine was the presenting sponsor and official transportation sponsor of the Mom 2.0 Summit at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point last month. The event, put on by Mom Media Enterprises LLC in Los Angeles, attracted about 700 parent bloggers, marketers and journalists. Speakers included Alli Webb, founder of Drybar in Irvine; Julie Zhuo, vice president of product design at Facebook; Andrea Leitch, digital director of travel for National Geographic; and Nicole Rocklin, an Oscar-winning co-producer of the “Spotlight” movie.
“Kia’s return as one of Mom 2.0’s premier sponsors speaks volumes about the growth of the parent media industry as well as Kia’s continued brand evolution and smart engagement of the influencers and tastemakers,” summit co-founder Carrie Pacini said in a statement. “The participants who attend the Mom 2.0 Summit are creating vibrant, sustainable media businesses built around a narrative of parenting and family. The fact that Kia continues to engage this highly influential community shows their commitment to today’s families, and how forward-thinking they are as a brand.”
Avocados for Everyone
California Avocado Commission’s new marketing campaign positions California avocados as “a celebration of everything that is endemic to the Golden State, from a climate that’s unlike any other to its diverse people, ideas and interests,” Jan DeLyser, the Irvine-based commission’s vice president of marketing, said in a statement. “Our new campaign aims to engage with current California avocado consumers and expands the target audience to include younger Millennials.”
MullenLowe, its advertising agency of record, called on artist Michael Schwab to create a series of print ads that are running in lifestyle publications and will appear as murals in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.
“We expect these colorful creations to generate opportunities for consumers to show and share the murals with their content-hungry social media followers, extending the campaign’s reach and serving as another vehicle to keep California avocados top of mind,” DeLyser said.
The campaign also includes “targeted digital ads, custom content on websites and visually stimulating, delicious recipes and imagery shared on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest … In-store radio ads will encourage shoppers to buy the locally grown fruit.”
Local Closure
Healthcare advertising agency Palio+Ignite LLC closed its Irvine office earlier this year. About 75 people worked there, city business license records show. The agency was part of inVentiv Health Inc. in Burlington, Mass., which also operates the GSW, Navicor and Addison Whitney agencies. Other closures include the New York office and the Saratoga Springs, Fla., location, which is scheduled to shutter in June.
The agency still has a presence in Santa Monica and is “co-located” with inVentiv Health Public Relations Group in New York.
“The move to consolidate our Irvine office to the inVentiv Health Los Angeles location is the latest chapter in PALIO’s journey and supports the agency’s growth strategy,” said Danielle DeForge, director of communications at inVentiv Health. “This means the company can easily access and leverage cross-disciplinary expertise to bring complete communications solutions to our healthcare clients.”
Irvine-based Ignite Health Inc. was bought in 2009 by inVentiv Health for $20 million in cash and stock. Ignite merged with Palio in 2013 to form Palio+Ignite.
Bits & Pieces
El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. in Costa Mesa named John Dawson, former president and chief executive of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, to the newly created position of chief development officer responsible for franchise sales, real estate and marketing. … The National Bicycle Dealers Association in Costa Mesa hired Boulder, Colo.-based SJE Productions LLC to “assist with a number of marketing efforts in 2016.” The nonprofit association promotes the interests of specialty U.S. bike retailers. … St. Louis-based Perficient Inc.’s Irvine office is now part of its newly formed digital marketing agency, Perficient Digital, which also has offices in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Milwaukee, Wis.
