As LA Fires Rage, Ad Agencies Race to Support Both Their Communities and Businesses

The wildfires around the Los Angeles area have devastated businesses and homes, and the flames are still being fanned by high winds. So far, they’ve caused between $135 billion and $150 billion in damage, according to AccuWeather.

Area agencies and production companies are feeling the effects of the fires as well, with some staffers being evacuated from their homes, a few losing homes, and everyone on high alert. Many production shoots are also on hold or changed to new venues.

DoorDash, which plans a Super Bowl 59 ad for its DashPass membership service, cancelled a shoot that had been scheduled this week, saying via a spokesperson: “When it’s clear and safe to proceed, we will conduct the shoot at a later date. Our spot remains set to air during the game as planned.”

Many of the top creative shops in the area are in the unenviable position of trying to support their affected employees, reconcile the damage done to their communities, while continuing to service clients.

This is a crucial time of year for productions, as the Super Bowl is just around the corner, and many shoots have been altered or postponed due to the fires.

“Imagine trying to do a job under those circumstances”

“We definitely have employees that have been in mandatory evacuation zones and still are, and then some folks that have voluntarily packed a bag to evacuate…just a lot of people displaced,” said Stephanie Ramos, director of people at the Culver City agency Zambezi.

While Zambezi itself is away from the fires, it has a production happening soon. It is being flexible about who will be at the shoot, based on who can get there and isn’t in danger. And luckily, clients are understanding, even if they’re not located in Los Angeles, being as flexible as they can considering the situation.

The ad agency Party Land has also found its clients to be accommodating, though the agency is two weeks away from a planned four-day shoot that will now need tweaking. At least one location was in a fire-impacted zone.

“We do have the benefit of time, and we’re not shifting away from L.A.,” Haley Hunter, founder and chief operating officer of Party Land, “but we’re scouting new locations.”

Also a top of mind concern: crew, vendors, and others needed to put a production together may not be available, which will require further pivots for Party Land’s upcoming shoot and many others.

While business is still being conducted, the agencies noted that the safety of their employees, family, and friends is much more important.

“Schools are closed, kids are home and they can’t go outside because of the air quality,” said Hunter, who noted that three L.A. homes she has lived in were destroyed in the fires. “People have a lot on their plates, so imagine trying to do a job under those circumstances.”

“It’s just about being safe”

Many agencies are finding ways to help both their affected employees and their greater communities.

Zambezi is using its office as a safe zone with wifi and power, but most employees are choosing not to come in. 

Ramos noted that the agency has some experience dealing with this type of flexibility due to the pandemic, which saw situations change daily. 

Concept Arts, an agency that deals with brand and entertainment storytelling, has offered up its Koreatown office  — which isn’t being threatened by the wildfires — to the families of employees if they need a place to go or need power.

“It’s just about being safe and taking care of yourself and your people,” said its president Aaron Michaelson. Michaelson added that while his staffers are safe, he knows at least 10 people who have lost everything. 

“There’s a lot of wanting to do something”

Many agencies have also found a way to extend their services to aid the greater community.

Zambezi is trying to help its community as much as possible by organizing donations.

“In these terrible tragedies, you usually see the best of people, and there’s a lot of that right now of wanting to do something,” said Ramos.

ThinkLA, the ad club for the greater Los Angeles area, is providing support through a webpage on its site, listing resources, evacuation maps, and links to what to do if someone lost their home. There is also a separate link to Ad Relief of Greater Los Angeles, a volunteer organization made up of advertising, media and promotion professionals brought together to help their colleagues in times of crisis. It features many resources, as well as an application for financial assistance.

Invisible Dynamics, a brand transformation consultancy in Los Angeles, is turning its studio and gallery space into a distribution center for support items for those displaced by the fires. In partnership with skincare and facial company Formula Fig, numerous brands and partners are donating items for the agency to be able to distribute through partner organizations.

“We’re offering a place where you can send as few or as many products as you want. We will then organize them, sort them, and then figure out how to get them into the hands of the people who need them the most over the next coming days and weeks,” said Oli Walsh, founder and CEO of Invisible Dynamics.

But those who are more directly impacted have more immediate concerns.

Andy Silva, managing partner at the fully-remote indie agency Party Land, was on his way Friday to Pacific Palisades to check on the status of homes belonging to his wife’s family. No word yet if those structures are still standing.

And Bozoma Saint John, former Netflix CMO and chief brand officer at Uber, now creator and CEO of her hair extension company, Eve by Boz, wrote a heartbreaking Instagram post about losing her home in Malibu.

“Even though I’ve found even words to write here, there’s nothing that I could say in this moment to describe this feeling,” wrote Saint John.