How we work.
We’ve honed our approach and methodology over three decades of working for and with nonprofits, companies and government, giving us a deep toolbox from which to draw upon. This deep experience informs all of our work and our approach to making good things happen.
COMMUNITY & CHEMISTRY
Before even putting a pen to paper, we invest time on the front end communicating with your team, understanding your desires and learning what you want to see happen and what is behind those desires. Building good chemistry and great experiences with, between, and among the networks of our clients is priority.
PARTNERSHIP & CONNECTION
LOACOM is constantly building an ecosystem of relationships and contacts to cross pollinate ideas, connections and experiences to help make great things happen between our clients, their followers and allies.
ORGANIZATION & EXPECTATION
We love timelines, trackers, clear roles and expectations, regular check-ins, organized ‘to do’ lists and meeting minutes. We believe in stellar customer service, drama-free engagements, and adaptation when new realities or information presents itself.
CREATIVITY & DESIGN
When it comes time to the design of your core marketing assets, marketing plans, and campaigns, our creative and strategy teams collaborate to blend artistic design, technology, and storytelling.
MEASURABLE RESULTS
While we define success by metrics and indicators you would expect, what’s more important is the elusive but incredibly important feeling that together we have made measurable and sustainable progress toward achieving your goals.
OUR TEAM
OUR STORY
As students leaders at UC Santa Barbara, David Fortson and Eric Cardenas (best friends then and now) were heavily involved in efforts aimed at resource preservation and student/community engagement. Upon entering the workforce, they immediately began working with businesses, nonprofits, and foundations focused on conservation, social responsibility, and community well-being.
The desire to bridge conservation ethics with responsible business practices and social good remained at the forefront as this tag team continued to develop and refine their individual skill sets. In 2010, sensing an opportunity, Dave created LoaTree, Inc., an eco-lifestyle collective that focused on supporting artists, nonprofits, small businesses, and entrepreneurs through storytelling and events. A community Earth Day festival was LoaTree’s first major client, which grew to a 2-day, 30,000 person event with LoaTree’s support.
After a few attempts, Dave successfully lured Eric to join him at LoaTree in 2011. Eric’s kitchen table became their office space, and the duo began to spread its offerings to new types of clients. The Loa ecosystem grew, interns provided crucial support, and in late 2012, LOACOM was born. A small Loa team spent another year or so growing LOACOM’s business footprint before the kitchen became too tight of a workspace and they ventured out into the outside world.
In 2013, LOACOM landed it’s first internationally relevant client, 1% for the Planet (of which LoaTree/LOACOM are proud members). This nonprofit organization, founded by Patagonia, Inc.’s Yvon Chouinard, fit the exact profile of clients that LOACOM wanted to align itself with – those that cared about people and planet, in addition to but not above profit. Things began to move.
Since those first few years, LOACOM has hired a small but amazing crew who, individually, were in the right place at the right time. Timing is everything. So is having the right vibe. Today, in our small office in downtown Santa Barbara, CA, we are amazed by the partnerships we’ve grown, the impact our broader ‘collective’ has made, and the fun we’ve had along the way.
Keys to LOA’s success? Work hard, share good times, and strive to create a better world with every interaction.
OUR PROCESS
INTAKE
- Client meets with LOA in person to discuss project goals
- LOA assesses project internally
- LOA follows up with additional questions and/or proposal
DISCOVER
- Product/project research and benchmarking
- Findings/overview/mood board to client
CREATE
- Procure content/assets from client
- Begin creative process of ideation and design
- Continuous client engagement and feedback
ACTIVATE
- Launch product, project, campaign, or experience
CONCLUDE
- Project wrap up and client feedback
OUR ROOTS
Our team has spent a combined 30 years in a variety of professions including working to protect open space and promote affordable housing, organizing farmworkers and protecting agricultural land, advocating progressive policy before government, raising funds and working within foundations, using technology to organize communities and even working for high tech companies. This breadth of experience gives us a unique skillset and understanding of how to make sustainable, transformational change.
