Madison Avenue might be synonymous with the American advertising industry, but there are plenty of brands and agencies with headquarters or ties to Los Angeles on the opposite coast.
Amid devastating wildfires in the LA area, companies and individuals are finding ways to try to support those who have been affected by the crisis, and adland is no exception. Here’s a look at some of the ways some brands, agencies, marketers, and creators are responding.
Brands lend a hand: In the wake of the fires, there has been an outpouring of support from dozens of major brands seeking to lend assistance. Airbnb, which faced some blowback for its response to refunding a customer as the wildfires raged, announced last week that it partnered with nonprofit 211 LA to connect those who have been displaced with temporary housing for free.
- Planet Fitness opened its LA County locations to anyone in need, inclusive of access to locker rooms, showers, and wi-fi.
- Crunch Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness are offering similar services.
- DoorDash is giving $150,000 in gift cards to first responders and community organizations.
- Sweetgreen has delivered thousands of meals to first responders and others in need, co-founder Nicolas Jammet said in a post on LinkedIn.
- Lyft and Uber, both based in California, are offering free transportation.
- Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are waiving fees and offering unlimited talk, text, and data to those in need.
- Retailers including Free People and PacSun are providing clothing donations and other supplies.
Agency support: Marketing agencies and organizations are partnering up to help people in need, too.
- Women’s sports agency Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment and Always Alpha, the talent management agency founded by retired track and field Olympian Allyson Felix, tapped into their sports connections to establish donation drop-off hubs across the country, Deep Blue founder and CEO Laura Correnti said in a post on LinkedIn.
- Media and events company The Female Quotient partnered with LA-based parent group Sleepy Planet to collect supplies and donations via a GoFundMe.
- Attn: is delivering supplies to that drive from Hoboken, NJ, according to a post from Taryn Crouthers, president of the social content agency.
- Brand consultancy Invisible Dynamics turned its studio into a donation drop-off location, and called on brands to contribute.
- Media, marketing, and ad collective ThinkLA posted a page of resources for those impacted and others looking to help.
Creators unite: Several creators are spearheading donation efforts and using their platforms to share how to donate goods or volunteer with local organizations. Companies that often work with creators are helping facilitate their helpful efforts, too.
- Lifestyle influencers like Vi Luong and Isabel Campbell are packaging up unused PR packages to donate and are encouraging other creators to follow suit.
- Beauty brand Cocokind is providing free shipping labels to help creators and customers donate new products to Giving Generously, a volunteer group collecting donations. Tower 28 Beauty got in on the idea, too.
- Logan Paul and KSI donated cases of Paul’s Prime energy drink to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
- Some creators like Mr Wrinkleton on TikTok are posting donation and resource guides, while LA local Chelsea Jordan is going to pick-up and drop-off locations in person and sharing the process to help other donors and those in need stay updated.
Social media spending: Multiple major social platforms, many of which have ties to the LA area, are chipping in funds to help fight the fires, help those in need, and rebuild.
- Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has “disbursed $5 million in immediate aid” and plans on continuing efforts to help, according to a company press release.
- Google and YouTube are together donating “$15 million to organizations providing immediate relief in LA,” according to a YouTube blog post.
- Meta said it was “donating $2 million in cash and advertising credits to relief organizations,” and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were adding an additional $2 million, CNBC reported.
- TikTok has not publicly disclosed any donation efforts at this time. The company temporarily closed its LA office due to power outages and told its LA-based employees last week to “either continue their work from home or use their personal/sick days if that’s not possible,” according to TechCrunch.