Weekend-Long "Marketing Makeover" Event to Benefit Local OC Non-Profit

COSTA MESA, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 18, 2013) - Orange County entrepreneur Torrey Tayenaka today announced the launch of an Indiegogo campaign created to garner donations of talent and funds for his marketing event concept, Forge54 -- a collaborative, weekend-long experience where talented advertisers, designers, web developers, video production professionals and students converge to donate their time and talents to create, inspire and lend a hand to great causes. The inaugural event, hosted by Sparkhouse on October 11, will bring together more than 30 creatives -- including both veteran professionals and industry newcomers -- to benefit the Orange County Food Bank.

During the high-energy, 54-hour event, creative teams will be challenged to work together to revamp the organization's existing marketing and branding efforts by creating a new website, brand, logo, slogan, social media plan, commercial and radio spot. Throughout the weekend, local executives will come out to mentor the teams, offering ideas and insights.

As the event creator and director, Tayenaka will oversee the crowd-funding campaign and direct the event teams, each comprised of 4-5 creatives and a team leader. Inspired to spark new ideas and inspire others to make positive contributions, Tayenaka developed Forge54 as a way to spotlight future innovators and bring agencies together to support non-profit organizations.

"With Forge54, we can fund, create and deliver a complete, tangible marketing campaign for non-profit organizations throughout Orange County in fewer than 54 hours," says Tayenaka. "While generating valuable marketing resources for worthy causes, each member of Forge54's pro bono team will find a creative outlet to learn and challenge their skills. The event will offer industry newbies a chance to 'learn by doing' under the mentorship of established industry leaders, whilst providing industry vets a chance to lend their talents to an important cause and potentially recruit new talent, or simply just be inspired by young, innovative students. Most importantly though, the project will make a huge impact for a deserving cause and offer each of us a new way to give back with the best of what is within us."

Forge54 will kick off with a debriefing on Friday with the event's first selected charity, the Orange County Food Bank, to learn about specific goals, history and resources available to make it all happen. On Saturday night, with the teams hard at work, executives and recruiters from local agencies will be invited to a cocktail hour and dinner to observe the up-and-coming talent at work. At the end of the long weekend, the teams will deliver the project beneficiary the entirety of their marketing research, content, branding concepts and design, as well as a comprehensive report and plan for the future.

Current sponsors of Forge54 are Ephex Online, Sparkhouse, Entrepreneur and Ad2OC.

For more information about Torrey Tayenaka, please visit torreyt.com or contact Leslie Licano at (949) 733-8679 or leslie@beyondfifteen.com. To learn more about Forge 54 or to volunteer your time and talents, visit Forge54.com.

ABOUT TORREY TAYENAKA: Torrey Tayenaka discovered his entrepreneurial spirit when he was just 15 years old after launching a successful video production and online marketing company for the real estate industry. At 26, Tayenaka is already a stand-out leader and innovator in Orange County, California; recognized as an entrepreneur to watch as he orchestrates a growing collection of successful and promising ventures across the region. After attending the prestigious University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, Tayenaka focused his efforts on Sparkhouse, the full-service video marketing agency he co-founded when he was just 15 years old. Along with 5 film makers, he labored late into the nights and on weekends from a spare bedroom in his parents' home. Today, the enterprise has a team of more than 15 collaborative film makers and operates from a 6,000-square-foot studio in Costa Mesa, California. He actively seeks new inspiring non-profits and cutting-edge start-up business ventures to nurture with his boundless entrepreneurial drive. For more information, visit torreyt.com.