REAL WORLD BRANDING
We love consulting.
Where others came up through the agency system, we cut our teeth as entrepreneurs in retail, technology, law, commercial production and, of course, marketing. This 30-year boot camp armed us with a profound appreciation of the journey from small business to big business.
It also made us experts in real world branding.
We’ve worked together for more than a decade, bringing fashion, entertainment and more to consumers all over the world; at the same time, our diverse interests and pursuits make us so much more than the sum of our parts.
THE “5TH PROPELLER”
Whether you are a challenger brand or the market leader, you need four things –
product, acumen, your team and your passion –
to soar above the competition.
A strong creative strategy is the fifth propeller that turns “talk” into “dialogue.”
BRACE FOR IMPACT
We’ve all been affected by the chaos, upheaval, and uncertainty of the past few years. Pre pandemic, we kicked off 2020 with a commitment to #CreateChange. We had no idea to what extent the world itself would change. Cause Marketing had always been in our DNA, and we’d guided clients and colleagues in a host of social action campaigns, an effort that expanded during lockdown. But what would we do if/when we all returned to work? Would it be business as usual? We decided it would not. In 2021, we formally launched KOSHER, a streetwear brand committed to goodwill, inclusion, and equity. Each product bears the message, Wear Kindly, and a portion of proceeds goes to fighting hatred in all its forms.
An integral component of the brand is The Keep it Kosher Project,
a nonprofit endeavor in partnership with Creative Visions Foundation.
In 2022, we offer each client a unique opportunity to align with a nonprofit enterprise
to be developed in-house, with the right partners.
Isack Fadlon
As co-founder of iconic indie retailer Sportie LA, Isack has spent 30 years introducing some of the most innovative brands in the history of modern footwear to the North American market.
Isack opened Sportie LA’s flagship store in 1985 with his sister, Orna Amzaleg, while earning his BA in History at UCLA. He continued to build Sportie LA while attending University of California, Hastings College of Law, where he received his JD. At Northwestern University, Isack pursued his MSJ and was published in various newspapers. In 1995, he established the Law Offices of Fadlon & Rozio with future Propeller 5 COO Zack Rozio.
In 2006, Isack formed the company’s media arm, Sportie LA Media. SLAM boasts a decade of digital marketing experience, launching new brands and products across a wide spectrum of channels. When Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was in its infancy, Sportie LA was garnering powerful positions on Google for brands such as New Balance, PUMA, Reebok, PF Flyers and others. Sportie LA’s west coast roots allow our team to take full advantage of seeding product within the tastemaker and celebrity communities via strategic gifting suites and events.
In 2015, Footwear News listed Sportie LA among the “Top 10 Independent Retailers to Know Now”. A decade earlier, the same venerable trade named the store “Independent Retailer of the Year,” and – in various years – “Top Independent Store” and counted Isack among the “Top 100 Most Powerful in the Footwear Industry”. That’s momentum. In 2016, the City of LA formally commemorated Sportie LA’s 30 years in business. Sportie LA’s story runs parallel to the connection Isack has forged with his hometown of Los Angeles. Formerly on the Board of Directors of UCLA Hillel, Isack now sits on the Board of Directors of the Melrose Improvement District and Sephardic Educational Center.
Hersh Rephun
Hersh Rephun served as a publicist for some of the most high-profile and awarded commercial directors and production companies in the world, before diving headlong into standup, and emerging as a public speaker and podcaster bridging the worlds of comedy and advertising.
Since March 2020, he has posted 100+ videos @3xDailyComedy, appearing in front of the camera in improvised clips providing the daily dose of comedy needed to get us through these remarkable & challenging times.
Hersh also stars in a new web series, The Adventures of Inspector Gerard Rouge, a farcical comedy in which he plays multiple roles. Written and directed by veteran commercial filmmaker Boris Damast, the show is shot entirely on lockdown with the contributions of artists in Iowa City, LA and Milan.
Hersh’s career spans two decades as a writer and creator of multi-platform content, marketing and PR campaigns for a diverse clientele. His production and postproduction clients, including Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air), Theodore Melfi (Hidden Figures, St. Vincent), the Anonymous Content roster, Union Editorial and Union Entertainment Group, have been honored with every major industry award, from Oscars to Cannes Gold Lions, the Palme d’Or, Grand Prix, AICP, DGA, Clio and One Show. He has helped challenger brands like BEARPAW become market players, and leads North American creative for Ccilu International, an award-winning footwear brand sold in 60 countries and now in the US.
Hersh’s background in advertising and promotion, paired with comedy chops earned at standup gigs across the country (The Comedy Store, Comic Strip Live, Funny Bone, Comedy Cellar…), and screenwriting credits on cult films featuring spaceships, bikinis and Bruce Campbell (Assault on Dome 4), led to the creation of YES, BRAND: The Podcast, which Hersh describes as “equal parts laughter and self-help.” His diverse guest list includes Birkenstock Americas CEO David Kahan, author and Forbes contributor Jonathan David Lewis (Brand vs. Wild), and filmmaker DeMane Davis (OWN’s Queen Sugar).
“SMITHEREENS,” a comedy pilot written by Hersh, was a Best Screenplay finalist at the LA Comedy Fest and Beverly Hills Film Fest. In 2016, “SMITHEREENS” was presented in a live reading at the Comedy Film & Screenplay Festival.
When not helping brands achieve added lift via Propeller 5, Hersh appears as a host, moderator and performer.
P5 IN THE NEWS
