#LASpotted: A Chat with Innerspin

Winner of AMC’s The Pitch Season 2, Innerspin is a full-service digital agency that is not your typical creative agency. Located in the heart of Koreatown, the minority-owned agency was built on the back of agency veterans who sold their first agency, Innovasia, to Interpublic Group (IPG) back in 2003.

With an urge to finish what they started, the leaders from Innovasia got together to create Innerspin in 2012 to settle some unfinished business and become one of the hottest agencies in LA. Innerspin has grown to an agency that services Fortune 100 companies and helps brand become relevant.

Sounds interesting? Keep reading below…

Inside Innerspin

Location: Los Angeles, CA

In LA Since: 2012

Core Services: Digital Strategy, Branding, Design Strategy, Packaging, Multicultural

Company Mantra: “Anything truly worth doing, usually isn’t easy. It is often hard. Very hard.”

# of Employees: 22

# of Four-Legged Employees: 2

Office Tally: How many _______ do you have?

• Sports Heads: 1
• Foodies: ALL
• Movie Buffs: ALL
• Netflix Addicts: 5
• Live Event Nomads: 5
• Agency-Lifers (aka workaholics): ALL

Does your agency have a cool origin story?

We are agency veterans that had been successful in the traditional agency world, at a very young age. We sold our first agency (too quickly) back in 2003 to IPG and had moved onto other ventures, but could never shake off the feeling that we had closed the book before the story was complete.
 
So in 2012, we hit the proverbial RESET button and started Innerspin. This time around we wanted to do things differently and create something truly extraordinary. We searched for the right talent and chose the kind of projects that we had dreamed about but were too afraid to take a chance on before. Early on, we realized that Innerspin needed to function in the space where digital and high level creativity converge, and by turning that realization into a manifesto, we have been able to do work that not only makes our clients happy, but ourselves happy, which is sometimes harder to do. We now work with people that we truly care about, do things that we always wanted to do for clients that we always wanted to work with.

See any trends, LA Natives VS Transplants?

The ratio is close to 50/50. We are always looking for the best talent period. It doesn’t matter where they are from: good creative is good creative, good strategy is good strategy and good people are good people.

Most Interesting Physical Thing in Our Office?

Bean bags. And although it’s technically outside our office on the 21st floor, the amazing 180-degree of Los Angeles from downtown to Westside is pretty spectacular to see.

Partners in Crime

In 10 Words or Less, What We Do for Our Clients:

We make brands relevant.

3 Characteristics We Look for in Potential Clients:

• Needs to have a good sense of humor.
• Knows when to hold them and know when to fold them.
• Is willing to trust us as partners and take some creative risks with us.

Our Clients Love Us Because:

We put our blood, sweat and tears into our work. We make sure that we ourselves are completely satisfied with everything before we deliver anything to our clients, and I think they appreciate that level of hard work and dedication from their agency partner.

Clients We’ve Helped:

ADP, Sugar Foods, Ventura Foods, The Bicycle Hotel and Casino, Walgreens.

LA Confidential

LA is known for entertainment (Hollywood, TV Shows, Games, etc.), how does your agency engage with the LA scene?

We were featured on AMC TV’s reality show about advertising agencies called The Pitch. Needless to say, we kicked some butt and showed Hollywood a thing or two about what real advertising is about. And we didn’t embarrass ourselves on national TV, which was no small feat.

How do you view the creative landscape in LA? How is it different from other major cities?

We love LA and all that it stands for. The talent pool here is very diverse, and the types of international flavors and talents that come through our doors allow us to approach clients with a perspective that is unique to LA.

The #1 Thing We Love About LA:

The food and the weather. No wait… the weather and then the food. Oh, you asked for just one thing? I was told that there would be no math involved.

Best Food Spot in LA?

Seriously??!! There are so many amazing places to eat around our office. And like a hundred nearby Korean BBQs, since we are located in Koreatown. But it would be foolish to try and choose the best one without having tried all of them first. I’ll get back to you.

Kang Ho-Dong Baekjeong, Koreatown Los Angeles

Image credits: T.Tseng

What does #agencylife mean to you?

Agency life is a devotion to a CRAFT, not a job. It’s having a true love for what you do that goes beyond getting paid. Work hard. Play harder.

Lights, Camera, Action!