Black History Month: Curator of The Week - Danielle Erves

Our featured guest this week is Danielle Erves, Social Strategist at 180LA. She has created and developed engaging communities and campaigns for technology and entertainment companies.

1. How did you get started in advertising? What's been your career road map?
   I started my career off in public relations and slowly made my way into advertising, getting involved in organizations like ThinkLA and networking with a lot of people in the industry. Now I finally work in advertising as a social strategist, and it is interesting to see how they all work together.
   
   
    
2. What has been an important, perhaps the most important, lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
   As I said before, I have worked in a variety of industries and I think it’s important to never be afraid to reinvent yourself and try something new. Every single time I took a new job in a different industry, I was a little afraid but I knew that it would make me better in the long run and allow me an opportunity to experience some thing different.
   
    
3. What inspires your creativity? What is your creative process like?
   Music inspired my creativity. If I really want to get in the zone I put on my Kenny G radio station on Pandora and just jam out. There’s something about jazz music gives me good vibes.
   
    
4. If you could go back in time, what would you have told your younger self?
   If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self to go with the flow. In high school and college, you’re often told you need to do everything right and those things are supposed to put you on a certain track, but the reality is you can achieve the same things or greater without doing all the “right things.”
   
    
5. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen this week?
   The most interesting thing I’ve read this week is that we are entering the age of the “super app.” This means food delivery apps will be able to offer support for business operations through loans to restaurants and merchants. I’m interested in seeing how successful this would be considering the recent attempt to do something similar by Zillow.
   
    
6. Any closing thoughts you want to share with the ThinkLA Members?
   Advertising is about creativity, and to be creative you have to think outside of the box and be yourself. Remember to always be yourself.
    

Want to know where you can follow Danielle on social media?

@danierves Instagram
@danierves Twitter