05/22/17

Alt + OBI = Unstoppable

You’ve heard the news; OBI Creative has expanded into Iowa by joining forces with the digital powerhouse of Alt Studios. With a mission to provide ‘creativity with purpose,’ Alt Studios captured the attention of OBI president and CEO Mary Ann O’Brien, who had followed Alt for two years before moving to acquire their talented team and portfolio of clients.

Alt’s expertise in providing strategic marketing, branding, creative design, web hosting and development to clients in agriculture, finance, healthcare, technology and education complements our existing strengths in the areas of research, public relations  and advertising. You could say we’re a match made in, well, the Midwest.

Meet one of the newest members of our team, Corey Johnson, a creative director in the OBI Des Moines office. We’re pretty sure you’re gonna like him.

What drew you to the agency life?

Honestly, it started with what was supposed to be a practice interview for a web designer position nearly 20 years ago. I majored in advertising, but I’d only taken a few classes on web design in college. Still, they offered me the job that same day, and I’ve been creating weird, wonderful things with pixels, words and pen scratches ever since.

What do you enjoy about working in advertising?

I love it when people “get it,” when we’re presenting a concept. I also love being mistaken for an employee when working with clients (which means I also “get it”). I love being able to dig deeper into data and see not only how users responded, but potentially why.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I play basketball before work a few days a week. I enjoy the instant feedback it provides – the ball goes in the basket or it doesn’t; the pass gets through the defense or is picked off. You make adjustments. You move on.

I also watch a lot of movies. I’m a card-carrying member of the Fleur Film Society at the local arthouse movie theater in Des Moines. (Which is really easy to do. The card is free AND you get free concessions out of the deal. Why aren’t more people carrying this thing around?)

Place you most want to travel to?

I’d love to tour small European towns by bicycle, visit Belgian breweries, and carry French baguettes in my bike basket.  

Favorite video game?

My life changed the day I opened the first Legend of Zelda game, with that gold cartridge shining with adventure.

Drink you’d be hard pressed to give up?

I have an unhealthy obsession with Dr Pepper.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Opening new browser tabs. You can’t stop me. No one can.