ENTERTAINMENT ADVERTISING   |   BRANDED CONTENT

Welcome! My name is Melanie but everyone calls me Mel. I am very passionate about creative projects both within the entertainment industry and beyond. I am currently co-hosting a podcast as part of a passion project I developed in quarantine. When I'm not dedicating my time towards my career in Creative Advertising, you can find me reading a new addition to my book club or creating content for Divana Mushrooms, an adaptogenic wellness brand. Enough about who I am, I bet you're wondering where my credentials are. I studied at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California where I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Visual Media Studies and Business Administration from 2011 – 2015.

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In 2014, I was given the opportunity to intern with a boutique Advertising Agency in LA called Stockholm Design. I owe it to Stockholm Design and the amazing clients, peers and projects that exposed me to the world of Key Art and Home Entertainment Packaging. I have been inspired beyond my years and incorporate my creative process into everything I do. While at Stockholm I grew immensely — in which — I wore many hats; Project Manager and Production Designer overseeing all aspects of production while project managing Key Art for Print, Digital, Out of Home, Home Entertainment, Product Suite for Streaming and often times representing the agency at various client facing events. 

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While living my dream — like many others — the COVID-19 Pandemic turned things upside down. I was terminated through no fault of my own and began searching for my next career move. A growing pain and blessing in disguise, which led me to Gallegos United Collective. The collective broadened my knowledge of commercial advertising, specifically, conceptual thinking and content development for broadcast television, online video + pre-roll, radio and social media community management. One of the biggest accounts I've been a part of — and arguably the most important campaign of 2020 — The California Department of Public Health's COVID-19 Awareness campaign. Among other celebrated accounts and campaigns, we communicated through a multicultural forward lens, whereas each campaign would be culturally attuned to resonate deeper within the community. My takeaway is this, storytelling is just as powerful as the creative, if not more. To make a lasting impact is to challenge one another in thinking bigger so that each individual connects with a brand's identity in an authentic way.

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After Gallegos United, I found myself yearning for television and film. I quickly found myself joining the CBS Interactive creative marketing display team where I produced campaigns for Paramount's streaming platform, Paramount+. It has been a dream come true learning from the P+ team and joining the studio side of the industry. My peers and I work seamlessly and efficiently as we strive towards a collective goal of becoming the most watched streaming platform around the world. Since joining the team I've had the pleasure of pitching design concepts for Paramount's 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month campaign as well as joining the Email Marketing team. 

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When I am not at the dog park with my Mini Sheepadoodle, Rufus, I am pouring my creativity and creative strategy into Social Media Marketing for Divana Mushrooms. Divana is a wellness brand that offers adaptogenic mushroom products through e-commerce and online engagement. Together we help others strive for health conscious and sustainable living. Since joining Divana in August of 2021, we have grown our following by 75% and launched a new product, Flowstate Nootropics. While managing community engagement and creating content, I also design and produce product packaging, Art Direct our shopify e-commerce site and oversee strategic partnerships with influencers and business partners. As of 2023, I have grown to become Divana's Head of Branding as a leader for their creative sector. Planning for the launch of Flowstate Nootropics was a huge feat as we had been rebranding Divana Mushrooms for some time. The launch meant that I held several brand activations and leaned into our Live social series to keep our audience engaged in anticipation for Flowstate to go live.

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In this portfolio you will find a mix of projects I've worked on individually and as part of a team during my time at Stockholm Design, Gallegos United Collective including freelance. My involvement includes Project Management, Production Design and Art Direction for Print, Digital, AV and Social, as well as, various odd-end freelance branding and design work. 

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What else could I possible be doing in the world of advertising you may ask? Recently, I made the difficult decision to leave P+ to pursue Production Design at Apple, Inc. In true MLN fashion, I refreshed myself and moved to Marina Del Rey to cast a wider net in my capabilities. I work with the App Store team on various Organic Social and Paid campaigns. I am learning, growing and always open for new projects and/or collaborations (personal + professional) to come my way!

I'm happy to announce that I remain open for work, whether it be a contract, freelance or part/full time. It's taken me a global pandemic to release the fear I once held and to embrace my capabilities as I look forward to expanding my network. I continue to be a student of advertising, a community leader and an overall ambitious creative professional.