RockOrange is at the forefront of a cultural and creative resurgence, and it’s all taking place within blocks of our new home in Miami’s Little Havana. Just months following our move to a 17,000-square-foot creative campus in the heart of the historic neighborhood, we unveiled a new street art mural by local artist Daniel Fila, better known as Krave, setting the visual tone for the new “LiHa.”
Little Havana has seen a recent rise to prominence led by increased commercial and residential development, a thriving arts scene, cuisine and nightlife.
Our agency founders Miguel Piedra and David Naranjo, both Miami natives, had headquartered in the corporate suites of Blue Lagoon during the agency’s first three years (RockOrange was formed in 2013). The pair of Cuban-Americans, both raised in Miami, moved their headquarters to the area in 2016.
Last week, Krave, Miguel and David held a Facebook Live event showing everyone around the new jewel of LiHa. Check it out:
The mural, adorning the side of RockOrange’s headquarters, is a unique work of art reflecting the culture of a uniquely American area using familiar imagery: a Miami Metro Mover; a cigar-smoking gentleman wearing a panama hat; the renowned Cuban-America salsa performer, Celia Cruz; and Krave’s signature character, The Fresh Monkey. In a city where all neighborhoods come to be known by nicknames, six-foot-tall letters span the top of the mural spell out the word “LiHa,” cementing Little Havana’s new moniker.
What’s red and sweet and delicious all over? You guessed it, RockOrange’s Red Nose Day bake sale!
To give a little background, Red Nose Day was started by a UK non-profit organization, Comic Relief, in 1988. The fun and silly day devoted to raising money for children in poverty around the world has collected more than $1 billion in the last 25 years.
RockOrange joined the Red Nose Day bandwagon last year and continued to #RockTheRedNose last Thursday, May 26. We raised major dough (pun intended!) with a FUN-raising bake sale. Normally, orange is our color, but on this day each of our RockStars brought 12 red baked goods and we decked out our office kitchen in matching red.
We had delicious red treats like: red velvet cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry shortcake cookies, cookies with red M&M’s… We’re getting hungry again just thinking about it. Some of our teammates donned their creative cooking hats and brought dark chocolate bites with goji berries sprinkled on top or cookies filled with guava. (Yes, they were just as delicious as they sound.)
RockOrange raised a grand total of $245 to benefit children worldwide! We want to thank everyone who contributed to this great cause.
While we’re always working to deliver solid, fresh ideas for our clients, one of the best parts of the holiday season is that we get to have a little bit of fun thinking out of the box for our more festive projects.
This year, once again, we wanted to share some humor and holiday joy with you, our friends and clients that have made 2015 such an incredible year for us. In our first year, our Elf on the Shelf came to life. Last year, our Elf showed you how to take an Elfie. And this year, we’re excited to bring you… ADELF.
We had a lot of fun producing this parody — but we went the extra mile and held a Fresh Ideas Challenge among our RockStars, too. Everyone took key scenes from the video and created some pretty funny memes. It was a true roller coaster of emotion — from the awkward, to the heartbreaking, to the hilarious. Take a look below!
Join in on the fun by making some memes of your own and use #AdelfontheShelf!
“Remember in the word ‘can’t’ is can, in ‘don’t’ is do, in ‘impossible’ is possible,” said Armando Christian Perez, better known as Pitbull, during his one-on-one conversation with eMerge conference founder Manny Medina, when asked to give advice to students attending the event.
Take a look at our recap of eMerge Americas, produced by RockOrange.
eMerge Americas 2015 was bigger and better in its second year. Happening right in our hometown of Miami, the conference is a hub for showcasing revolutionary startups, cutting-edge ideas, and global industry leaders and investors from around the globe. eMerge puts a strong emphasis on the latest technology innovations and up-and-coming startups, and the participation of more than 100,000 attendees and 500 companies from 50 countries makes it the hottest tech event of the year.
From Deepak Chopra covering “The Soul of Leadership,” to Martine Rothblatt, the Trans-everything CEO, to Miami’s very own Mr. 305, Pitbull, ringing the NASDAQ bell and a show floor full of startups and tech companies from around the globe, it was a thrilling two days of jam-packed action.
We attended eMerge Americas to absorb all the incredible content from the interactive sessions and presentations from world-renowned keynote speakers, but we went beyond, too — we brought RockOrange to eMerge. That’s right: we even brought a piece of our office to the Miami Beach Convention Center so that visitors could get a taste of our freshness.
Lights. Camera. Action.
At the RO booth, visitors got a real experience of what it’s like to be in the spotlight. With a live camera setup, we set our visitors up for a one-on-one interview with one of our RockStars. Entrepreneurs told us the story of their brand and why they were here in Miami attending eMerge.
Our RockStars gave them the VIP treatment, giving them tips on how to better market their brands with a variety of our services, ranging from media training, to editorial content, to video production and their presence in the digital space.
We also had the opportunity to interview Miami Dade Public School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who talked about the importance of technology and innovation in the classroom and how its changing education.
Twelve Start-ups. Two minutes. Pitch Perfect.
Some incredible companies stepped up to the plate and took on our F.R.E.S.H. Tank Challenge. Equipped with innovative concepts and a real passion for what they are doing, 12 startups were given two minutes to tell their brand’s story to RockOrange agency founder and principal Miguel Piedra and chief creative strategist Johanne Wilson, with another two minutes for a brief Q&A. The winning pitch received $10,000 worth of creative and marketing support for their brand.
It was a tough choice, but we finally chose a winner, Moocho, a mobile payments app for college students. With Moocho, students pay using any phone for healthy groceries, great restaurant meals and other essentials around campus, racking up rewards every time — no wallet required.
Needless to say, we’re pumped to start working with Moocho and we’re counting down the days for next year’s eMerge Americas 2016!
Last Thursday, the RockOrange team headed to Downtown Miami for the Mercedes Benz Corporate Run, joining more than 25,000 runners and walkers. It was hard not to be excited, considering we spent weeks getting ready by working out during lunch breaks and after work.
Before the race, the team spent some time in the RO tent, getting pumped for the main event. Our RockStars even got a bit of screen time on CBS 4! Sure, rain soaked us once the race started, but it was all worth it when we scored some hardware crossing the finish line. Check out our pics below!
On Friday, April 17th, RockOrange participated in a day of service alongside one of our clients refurbishing Miami Edison Senior High School.
Ahead of the annual event, RockOrange provided the client with support, both on an internal and external front. The team was proud and excited not just to collaborate to make this happen, but to join hundreds of volunteers to help make the historic high school shine, applying fresh coats of paint and improving the landscaping.
While the whole campus got love, the RockOrange team focused our attention on the school’s theater. We painted the mezzanine level walls a fresh shade of Raider Red, and only made a minor mess doing it. Check out the pics:
While we had a lot fun, RockOrange also takes corporate social responsibility seriously. Giving back to the community is one of our value pillars; it’s something we do every year. It’s a moment we take to make a difference in our home city, to get closer to the people we share so much time with, and a moment that can make us better as a team and as people.
Most of all, we hope service days like this will inspire others to get involved in their neighborhoods and work to improve the communities they live in. Being of service to others is something that begins at home, in your own backyard, but it doesn’t have to end there.
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