
Creative Services Director at Sweet Spot Telemedia
Lake Charles, Louisiana Area

Creative Services Director at Sweet Spot Telemedia
Lake Charles, Louisiana Area
Oran Parker recently served as Creative Director for O'Carroll Group and as Vice President of the American Advertising Federation's Lake Charles, Louisiana chapter, pulling triple duty as the club's Programs Chair and 2009 ADDY® Awards Chair.
His advertising career began with a low-level position at a Lake Charles sign company, which has led him through the winding road of the creative industries and given him an in-the-trenches perspective on advertising in general. From sign shop owner/operator, print shop employee, salesman and graphic designer to "web guy,"—Oran has sweat and bled for the practical, working-experience he has today.
He believes that momentum can only build once you get things moving, and a lack of decisive, focused action is the best way to send a project in the wrong direction and shoot it straight to hell. He believes strongly in group-brainstorming, mind-mapping, playing with toys, reading comic books, watching weirdo sci-fi flicks, sketching, doodling and thinking through a project's pros and cons right from the get go.
"Creating great, effective advertising," he says, "means stepping into the mind of the audience, putting their shoes on, eating what they eat, standing in the same lines they stand in, watching the shows they watch...heck, man...you've gotta catch their cold. You really have to try your best to get outside of yourself and become an objective observer—all while participating—seeing the world from a consumer point-of-view, right inside their likes & dislikes, their needs & desires. You have to be part artist, part carpenter, part writer, part fool, part sage, part psychologist...and almost 100% creative problem solver."
His personal motto—"Don't wait! When you don't know what to do to get started,...just do something."
Project Planning & Management, Brand Implementation & Management, Marketing Strategy, Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Custom Illustration, Creative Problem Solving, Online Marketing Strategy, Video Production
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
June 2009 — Present (2 months)
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
October 2006 — May 2009 (2 years 8 months)
(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)
June 2008 — April 2009 (11 months)
(Non-Profit Organization Management industry)
October 2007 — April 2009 (1 year 7 months)
(Printing industry)
April 2006 — October 2006 (7 months)
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
April 2005 — April 2006 (1 year 1 month)
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
August 2000 — March 2005 (4 years 8 months)
Reading, Creating, Spending time with friends, Canoing, Camping, Coffee, Playing with my children, Walking, Laughing, Thinking
AAF, American Advertising Federation, AAF Lake Charles
Best of Show / 2008 ADDY Awards-Lake Charles, Louisiana / "Imagination Celebration Invitation"