WAVE

WAVE is a co-working community and club for womxn entrepreneurs that I conceptualized and founded as a special marketing project for The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) in 2018.

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Background and Inception


In 2008 the revitalization of downtown initiated by Councilmen Juizar’s “Bringing Back Broadway” campaign began, and it presented LAAC with a new problem; how to cater to a booming influx of urban millennials? LAAC was founded in 1880 and previously had catered to primarily downtown businessmen (The Club used to be “gentleman only”). The Club needed to transform its culture to be more appealing to a younger demographic, particularly women, who made up only 1/3 of the membership in 2018.

To address this problem I conceptualized WAVE as a “club within a club” designed to appeal to millenial womxn. WAVE was an outward facing marketing project that would make LAAC appealing to a broader demographic and add an additional revenue stream for LAAC. In addition to founding every aspect of this community, I was able to set up a self-sustaining structure to WAVE that can hopefully be passed down for generations to come.

Concept

Inspired by the recent trend of Co-Working Communities, such as WeWork and The Wing, at the time of its opening, WAVE was the only womxn centric co-working community in Southern California. I was able to bring Ann Friedman, celebrated author, journalist and podcaster who’s work primarily revolves around feminist subjects, as a key figure in establishing WAVE.

 

WAVE Offerings:

  • The co-working space: A key unlocking private access to a co-working space reserved for WAVE members and their guests.

  • WAVE Talks: A monthly panel discussion moderated by journalist Ann Friedman.

  • WAVE Skillshares: A monthly meeting where each WAVE member takes turns teaching a class on their specific area of expertise to the rest of the community.

  • Career Coaching: An 8-week group career coaching program led by Noelle Delgado.

Brand Creation + Social Media

I worked closely with the Art and Design Studio Club to create a brand identity for WAVE that complemented LAAC’s existing brand strategy while also signifying a new, more modern chapter. The signature color chosen for WAVE was salmon red, in contrast to LAAC’s standard navy, and a warm hue that still pivoted from the oft-overused “Millenial Pink” which had become so strongly associate with any and all feminine-specific marketing at this time.

The design of the tropical inspired co-working space by Elizabeth Van Lierde influenced the branding of WAVE. The name WAVE was chosen as a nod to beach culture, since this was the first ever womxn’s co-working community in Southern California, and a play on the concept of different waves of feminism. The space of itself was designed to accentuate the abundance of natural light and is furnished with movable French-style banquettes, copper accents, a salmon-colored neon sign, and statement palm wallpaper.

The social media strategy was essential in the building of WAVE as it was our primary source of marketing. The goal was to use Instagram to draw in interest from people who had never heard of LAAC but wanted to join WAVE, and this organic campaign recruited a group of 12 women to join (out of an application of over 100).

Press

Write up in Apartment Therapy.

Interview in Authority Magazine.

Interview in Hospitality Design.

Interview in The Mercury (starts on page 78).