Jay Schwartz: Owner and CEO of IdeaWork Studios, Santa Barbara, CA, and Las Vegas, NV
By Heather Jung
When Jay Schwartz partnered with a friend to open IdeaWork Studios almost six years ago, he had no idea that his company would eventually win one of the advertising industry's most prestigious awards: the ADDY. This year, the company received four gold and three silver Central Coast ADDY Awards for stellar performance in advertising.
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Schwartz wears many hats at IdeaWork Studios: owner, CEO, and creative director, to name a few.
"We're generally not super big on awards, but in this case, it was kind of cool because the number of awards we did win and the level of awards are pretty cool," Schwartz said. "We submitted some work to the local ADDYs, and I think we submitted seven pieces, and we won for all seven, either gold or silver."
The seven award-winning advertisements were all online media ads for hotels, casinos, and restaurants. According to the company's press release, it earned gold awards for its work on behalf of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino's "Rehab-Sundays at the Pool" campaign in the micro- or mini-suites category; "their consumer flash-based work for the new Hooters Hotel and Casino website" and "consumer flash-based site for the illustrious celebrity hangout Pink Taco Restaurant['s] website" in the websites category; and its advertising for the Barona Jackpot Money Machine game at San Diego hotel and casino Barona Valley Ranch in the online games category.
The company also won three silver awards—in the online games category for its work on the Luxor Fantasy Slots site; in the websites, B-to-B HTML/other, category for the "new and improved Bally Technologies, Inc., website that showcased the company's slot machines offerings to the casino industry;" and in the web/online category for its advertising campaign for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino's nightclub, Body English.
Schwartz wears many hats at IdeaWork Studios: owner, CEO, and creative director, to name a few.
"I try to be as hands-on with every project as possible, which is relatively demanding. But I think it ensures a level of both quality and customer service because I have the answers when my customers have questions," he said.
Schwartz designed this fun and edgy ad for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino's weekly pool party called Rehab in Las Vegas.
A career in advertising was not in Schwartz's plans when he was attending college. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Schwartz was a fine arts major. He eventually went into graphic design after becoming disenchanted with the art industry. According to Schwartz, the next logical step in his career was going into advertising, an industry he has now worked in for 15 years. Schwartz is proud of his company's unique approaches to advertising, which predominantly lean toward online methods.
"IdeaWork Studios is what we like to call an interactive agency, so we do traditional agency work minus the ad placing and buying," Schwartz said. "We don't do ad buys. We are a full-service creative agency, and we specialize in online media and online marketing."
Q.
What do you do for fun?
A.
I like to travel and do street paintings.
Q.
What CD is in your CD player right now?
A.
A CD from one of the D.J.s I work with in Vegas—a sort of mixed CD of some cool house music.
Q.
What is the last magazine you read?
A.
944 Magazine.
Q.
What is your favorite television show?
A.
Rome.
Q.
Who is your role model?
A.
I don't know that I actually have one single role model.
While pop-up blockers have made things difficult for many advertising agencies, Schwartz feels that IdeaWork Studios is innovative.
Above is one of the interactive ads that Schwartz designed for the Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas.
"The main thing we try to do is we try to integrate a viral component. Rather than a pop-up ad, these are like micro-sites or mini-sites for different products or services. I think that's definitely a major focus of ours, as well as building a viral component into these campaigns, like viral games or interactive viral elements that get people to basically channel our advertising for us," he said.
The advice Schwartz has for those interested in working in advertising is simple: do your homework.
"A lot of the old models still apply, so definitely do your homework and research and learn from your predecessors. But also, don't be constrained by that. Look to your common sense and psychology about how people interact with the messaging you are trying to present. Look to yourself as a consumer and see what you respond to and try to emulate that in how you are selling your clients services or products," Schwartz said.
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