Introducing INDIG (short for Indigenous), a Native (as in Native American) Owned Advertising agency specializing in print, tv, radio and new media campaigns for Indian Country but available to all industries.
OFB's focus is designing and launching brands. We have two goals with INDIG: 1)
Create a Native-Owned creative agency where the work is executed by
Natives and all the vendors used by INDIG will be Native-Owned
businesses. 2) Create a sister company to OFB whose focus is
Advertising not branding. The service INDIG offers is as simple. We
study the clients situation using the diagnostic techniques that OFB
has developed over an 11 year time period, we develop a new advertising
campaign strategy for the client, and then we execute the radio, tv,
print and new media for the campaign. Last we offer media buying
services and help the client manage the campaign.
"The
idea for INDIG formulated for several reasons I think. One, I attribute
much of our belief systems, core values, creative energy, and
inspiration to my days 11 years ago spent in Indian Country (South Dakota) doing
documentary and youth work. That is where I got the idea to start and
name OneFastBuffalo and I just simply see it as the starting place for
OFB. That start continues to guide my vision today. OFB
would not exist without those times. We have been able to become
successful business people but remain artists. Those days always remind
me about what is important and what is just about money. Two, we have
spent 11 years fine tuning OFB and developing the core strategic approach to creative brand building and awareness
that has made OFB successful. So there is a real formula to our
approach. We do what we do, we do it well, and I see us doing that for
a long time. So we are soley commited to that focus. That means
traditional advertising is not somthing we mess with at OFB anymore.
Three, I have worked over those 11 years to maintain positive
relationships and clients in Indian country and have made many good
friends who happen to be creative people. We have worked with the Osage Nation
for many years as well as a handful of other tribes. One of my favorite
accomplishments was helping the Osage Nation to broadcast its first
Tribal Council meeting online. Helping tribes utilize communication
tools of today is helpful to them and rewarding for us. Good business
too." said Ben Jenkins, founder of OneFastBuffalo.
"But one truth kept hitting me in the face...There are no EXCELLENT Native owned creative agencies out there. That is of course a subjective statement and I know there are some good people out there doing it. But compared to the general market the competition is very weak and many of the Native-owned creative agencies out there do not feed the work to native people either. Once the work is in the door the work goes to non-natives. It's just a front to attract the big Indian casino business. Also, Native-Owned clients traditionally would prefer to work with a Native-Owned agencies but because there are such limited choices they are forced to spend Indian country money outside of Indian Country. One thing we did know though was that there are many quality independent native creative professionals in all types of disciplines but especially in film and video and new media. There are some real native creative "rock stars" out there. They just work independently for the most part, not as a team. So a while back I had the this idea to start a new company, similar to OFB but with Native business partners and employees. The idea being not that that is just native owned. But really the key difference being that the the creative work is all done by native people. People such as acclaimed Creek/Seminole filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, Navajo Graphic artist Victor Pasqual, Salt River Pima Photographer Thosh Collins, Lakota/Navajo Video artist John Paul Giego, Osage Designer Ryan Red Corn, and Interactive Developer Joseph Brown Thunder (Lakota) to name a few. We actually hope to extend this company to indigenous artists from all around the world. These artists will directly benefit from the success of INDIG and the more business we get the more native artists we can support. We are bringing all of these talents together with the systems and techniques of OneFastbufalo and intend on not only dominating the Indian Country business scene but moving out into the general market to compete for clients who may be looking for a fresh new perspective.
**update**
Our sister company INDIG has launched it's first official client project and we are so proud of both INDIG, the client, and the fact that we stuck with the idea of creating this sister company in 2011. The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board hired our sister company INDIG (acollaborative strategic & creative effort started by OFB with Native Artists, Writers, Photographers, Designers & Programmers) to name and brand a national campaign and new media health resource for Native teens and young adults. INDIG concerted the name for the organization, designed the logo and brand aesthetics, and planned, designed and built the MASSIVE website. The organization, named WeRNative by INDIG, hopes to spark positive community engagement across Indian Country, and inspire Native youth to address the issues that affect them most. WeRNative believes Native youth will change our world. But many need the tools, resources, and inspiration to do so. Special site features include: community service grants, an "Ask Auntie" Q&A service, discussion boards, and medically accurate information, reviewed not just by Native youth, but by experts in public health, mental health, community engagement, and activism.
The We R Native service includes:
A highly interactive & collaborative website resource:www.weRnative.org, A text messaging service: Text “NATIVE” to 24587, A Facebook© page, A YouTube© Channel, A Twitter feed, ATumblr page, And an email listserve for adults: Text “YouthNews” to 22828
