Tom Ajello

Current

• Founder, Creative Director at POKE

Past

• VP, Executive Creative Director at Agency.com
• Creative Director at Modem Media
• Senior Designer / Design Director at Spunky Productions

1 more...

Education

• Marist College

Recommended

18 people have recommended Tom

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Tom Ajello’s Summary

Hello! I’m Tom, founding partner of POKE. I work in NYC, munch on tasty digital cookies, collect lunchboxes, shoot lots of photos and buy lots of t-shirts. I’m passionate creating a kid-friendly internet, real cookies, Italian cooking, all kinds of dogs, and the power of technology and how it affects all of us. I’d love to tell you i read a lot - but i just don’t. So there.

I've been called all kinds of interesting things in my career: "Strategist, Hack, Coach, Entrepreneur, Designer, Fist Bumper, CD, Geek, Social Media Guy". I love them all, so just pick one. I won't be offended. :)

Who is POKE?
POKE is also difficult to define. One thing is for sure - we're a creative and technology company before anything else but our teams think we're even part learning center. If you ask my partners, they'll tell you "POKE is a leading digital strategy, content, marketing, and business development company that blends creativity and technology to deliver impact and results for brands/clients and partners in a wide variety of categories and industries." I have no idea what that means.

If you want to see some interesting stuff we've done lately relevant to our workshop Google "Snckrz", "BakerTweet", or "KideoPlayer".

The fine print:
Tom presents regularly at industry conferences aimed at helping people understand the art of simple, smart and social communications. He’s fascinated with the concept of interfaces-less design and has focused his career on developing interactive products and experimental marketing strategies for honest brands. When Tom isn't trailblazing the crossroad between technology and creativity, he’s busy being a new father to Enzo and Gino, remodeling a "charming" fixer-upper and spending time with his wife, Sally, two dogs, and a prized lunch box collection in Bridgeport, CT. You can follow Tom on Twitter (@meat99) and at http://www.MadeWithComputers.com

Tom Ajello’s Specialties:

Make things for PEOPLE, not MACHINES. :)

Additional Information

Tom Ajello’s Groups:

Past Awards:

2006 IAC Awards
* Discovery Networks It Takes a Thief
* British Airways Go With Those Who Know (site & ads)
* CNN.com Free Video
* eBay, It (site & ads)
* Animal Planet "Wild Wednesday" and "Dragons"

2005 Midas Awards
BrownCo - Silver
BrownCo - Finalist

2005 WebAwards
* British Airways - BA.com/london - Outstanding Website

2005 MIXX Awards
Bronze, Super Rich Media: Animal Planet, Dragons

2005 BtoB Magazine
* Interactive Agency of the Year

2005 OMMA Magazine
* Agency.com Creative Agency of the Year

2005 iNOVA Awards
* Animal Planet Wild Wednesday - Best of Banner
* Gold: British Airways, Wimbledon 2005
* Gold: Animal Planet Wild Wednesday
* Silver: CNN.com Free Video
* Silver: Animal Planet Dragons
* Silver: British Airways, Wimbledon 2005 Rich Media
* Bronze: Animal Planet Wild Wednesday Flash Technology
* Bronze: Travel Channel World Poker Tour
* Bronze: British Airways Go With Those Who Know

•    Marist College Alumni
•    Marist College Alumni Association
•    Agency.com Alumni
•    Conspiracy to Change Advertising
•    Modem Media Alumni Group

Tom Ajello’s Honors:

Past Awards:

2005 IAC Awards
* Discovery Channel: Croc Week - Best Entertainment Rich Media
* British Airways: Wimbledon 2004 - Best Airline Rich Media

2004 ADDY's
* Gold, Silver

@DTECH Awards 2003
* Winner and runner up: Best Branding
* Winner Best Rich Media

@DTECH Awards 2002
* #1 Travel and Tourism Site
* Finalist B2B Campaign & Best Technology Site

@DTECH Awards 2001
*Best Use of Rich Media

Association of Travel Marketing Executives 2003
* Gold ATLAS

Cannes Cyberlion 2002
* 2 Finalists

Double Click Insight Award 2003
* Best Advertising

Double Click Insight Award 2001
* Finalist

Eyeblaster 2003
* Finalist

Eyeblaster 2002
* Winner Best Rich Media

Forrester Research 1999 - 2004
* Ranked among Top 4 consumer sites: Delta.com

Media Magazine
* Best of the Net 2003, 2002, 2001

Macromedia Site of the Day
* Spunkytown 1999
* Snickers.com 2001
* IBM Global Services 2002

ShowSouth 1998
* Gold

Tom Ajello’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch