One of the key components of The Aloha Friday Project is “Message in a Bottle”, the concept of sending and receiving hand-written messages of kindness to strangers. The hand-written component is important in that it requires the participant to unplug from the digital machinery that dominates our personal and professional lives. There is some magic in the process of putting pen to paper and it was always our hope that this shift in frequency would access a slightly different kind of intention, and the connections made through this message sharing economy would be more purposeful. One of our key challenges was how to represent these analog ideas in the digital space, since it is necessary to have a web and social media presence in today’s world, for better or worse.
Enter Mark Davis. We pitched our concepts to Mark, and it was immediately evident that he and his company, Hero Creative, were going to be collaborators and thought partners moving forward. Besides being a top notch design agency, Hero Creative is literally built around Aloha. Although almost never advertised, much of their work is done pro bono for companies like Make-a-Wish Foundation. They have set an example of how a company can be simultaneously successful while being completely invested in giving back to their communities and those in need. We have been humbled and inspired by their humanity and commitment. It was also a wonderful creative experience working with Mark, Jacob and Dominic. Their asymmetrical solutions were exactly what we needed to bring the Aloha Friday Project to life in the digital realm. We look forward to continuing our work together for many years to come.
View them at: https://www.herocreative.com/
We actually had a chance to connect with Mark and his ohana on the Big Island of Hawai’i this summer. It seemed like a great opportunity to record our first episode of our podcast, The Aloha Friday Project Podcast. We get a chance to learn more about Mark’s journey from professional skydiver to corporate suit and ultimately to his creation of a company built around giving back and spreading Aloha. It’s an inspiring story filled with personal exploration, redemption and facing reality while plummeting out of the sky with a faulty parachute.