In this episode of The Paid Media Playbook, hosts Laura and Lisa are joined by Olivia Neal Howell, founder of TONE, a talent agency and design studio focused on interdisciplinary creatives. Olivia shares her journey from fashion design at Abercrombie & Fitch and Eddie Bauer to launching her own agency, where she helps artists, musicians, marketers, and tech professionals thrive. She dives into the power of branding, storytelling, and creative disruption, as well as the importance of economic impact in the arts. From building campaigns that cut through the noise to fostering a thriving creative economy, Olivia offers valuable insights for anyone looking to make their mark in the industry.

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Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
Laura and Lisa welcome Olivia Neal Howell, discussing her background in fashion and branding.

02:10 – Olivia’s Career Journey
From art school to menswear design, Olivia shares her path from corporate fashion to launching her own creative agency.

05:00 – The Intersection of Art, Branding, and Storytelling
How Olivia applies her artistic background to brand building and marketing.

08:30 – Disrupting the Industry
The importance of taking risks, innovating, and breaking the mold in branding and marketing.

12:00 – Building a Talent Agency for Creatives
Why Olivia started TONE and how she supports interdisciplinary artists and professionals.

15:30 – Campaigns That Make an Impact
Olivia discusses standout marketing campaigns and the keys to effective brand storytelling.

18:00 – The Get Happy Pavilion & Creative Economy
Olivia shares insights on her latest project, the Get Happy Pavilion, and her work promoting economic growth for creatives.

21:00 – The Future of Branding & Creativity
How businesses can leverage storytelling, collaboration, and community-building for long-term success.

Links and Resources:

• Olivia Neal Howell on LinkedIn
• TONE Website
• Lisa Wekellis on LinkedIn
• Laura Szczes on LinkedIn
• Double Z Media Website
• Double Z Media on LinkedIn

Thanks for tuning in! Subscribe to The Paid Media Playbook on iTunes and Spotify, and leave us a review!

Transcript:

Laura: Well, we have Olivia Neal Howell with us today. Olivia, how are you doing?

Olivia: What's up, you guys? Hi, Laura. Hi, Lisa.

Lisa: It's so exciting to have you on the podcast. I can't wait to dive into our conversation.

Olivia: Me too. It’s always fun to talk marketing.

Lisa: First, would you give our listeners an overview of your career—what types of things you’ve worked on?
[00:01:00]

Olivia: Yeah. As you can see behind me, there’s furniture, lighting materials, lots of art, fashion, and sewing items. At my core, I’m just an art kid. I went to Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, and immediately went into fashion—specifically menswear fashion design with Abercrombie & Fitch, where I basically went through design bootcamp. It was super intense around branding, marketing, and customer experience.

Then I moved to Seattle, Washington, and worked with Eddie Bauer for nine years. So, I have a big background in menswear design, brand building, and storytelling. But after 16 years, I started asking, “What’s next?” You can only do tech packs for so long before you want to expand beyond that.

So, I started my own talent agency and design studio where we focus on interdisciplinary creatives—people who enjoy doing lots of different things. That’s led us into music, art, fashion, tech—

Laura: Cool.

Olivia: —really, just into areas where we like doing fun stuff.
[00:02:00]

Laura: Quick question—I'm usually the one asking the weird ones. I’m just excited to have you on with all the artistic energy. But, having done men’s fashion for so long, do you find yourself analyzing how men dress?

Olivia: Literally. I’m usually dressed like a 12-year-old boy, and I always look at menswear before women’s. But I’ve always thrifted and shopped my own closet, so for me, it’s less about what you’re wearing and more about how you’re wearing it.

Laura: Mmhmm.

Olivia: I think curating a look to match your personality on any given day is really what it's all about.

Laura: Yeah.

Olivia: It’s a joyful expression—how people put things together and how they present themselves.

Laura: I love that. I can’t think of her name... Oh! Helena Bonham Carter. She said once that everything is art—even taking out the trash. That really stuck with me. I started seeing everything I do as intentional. I liked that perspective.

Olivia: Yeah. The school I went to—Columbus College of Art and Design—was amazing. We had a foundational year. I always knew I’d be an artist, but in school, fashion was sometimes looked down upon. It was very classical, 2D, Bauhaus-inspired—very fine art. And I love that too, but I see fashion as another form of art. It's just another medium.
[00:03:00]

Olivia: Sometimes in corporate fashion, though, you don’t feel as creative. You think, “I can do more than just men’s graphic t-shirts.” You’re dying a little inside, wanting to try new things. Some brands really champion innovation and disruption—I was always thirsty for that.

Most of the time, I was like, “Let’s try something new. Let’s not copy last year. Let’s be disruptive.” But in some environments, you just can’t. It's part of the culture.

Laura: Yeah, that would be a big change. That’s tough for some.

Olivia: For sure. But when you work with a legacy brand, with a hundred-year history, it's amazing to dig into the archives and come up with new ways of storytelling. I love that aspect, too.

Laura: Yeah. I love that about heritage brands—Pendleton, Filson—they’ve got such rich histories.

Olivia: I know! Fashion feels like eons ago now.

Laura: Then you made your way to...?

Olivia: To TONE, yeah. I went through a business enterprise startup training right before the pandemic. So, The Olivia Neal Experience became TONE—T-O-N-E. I liked it because it touches on color, sound, and music. There’s always symbolism behind a brand, and it took me a long time to come up with that name.

Creating the symbols for it was even more fun—they turned into these hieroglyphic shapes. The T is a plus sign, symbolizing positivity. The O gives full moon vibes. People are like, “Are you a witch?” And I’m like, “Yeah, maybe a little.” But it’s fun to develop that side of it.
[00:05:00]

Olivia: I really wanted to work with artists in the way that Ford Models represented models. My mom was a model, so I always saw things through that agency lens. Agencies can reinvent themselves all the time.

That’s what I love—you can go be what you want to be. I wanted to represent musicians, artists, marketing folks, UX designers, photographers, videographers—because honestly, if you can offer that full ecosystem to your clients, it just works.

Laura: Totally. It’s fun to live vicariously through all the different talent. And you end up with a more diverse Rolodex and more experience across industries, which makes you more...

Riverside/Laura: ...dynamic.

Olivia: Exactly! You become like a weapon—you can go anywhere.

Laura: Love it. Since we’re on this topic, how do you feel about union talent versus non-union?

Olivia: Honestly, I don’t have a ton of experience with that. The only union work I’ve done was...

Laura: We do a bit of it—especially with voice talent and actors for TV shoots. But the union stuff can get pricey, especially with year-over-year usage.

Olivia: Yeah. Okay, here’s the thing—most of the creatives I work with undercharge. They don’t know their value. I come from a corporate background—negotiating contracts, traveling the world—so I love that part of the game. I can get people paid fairly, and that’s really important to me. We should talk more about value exchange at some point.

Laura: Definitely. That’s something marketing directors deal with all the time—budgeting for talent and production. It’s a big line item, especially with ongoing usage.

Olivia: And honestly, I don’t think there should be built-in guarantees. The union experience I had was with Cornish College of the Arts. They had an IATSE back-of-house team. If you wanted to turn on a light in their black box theater, you had to work with them—but they were amazing.

I actually love back-of-house folks. I work a lot at music festivals and do event production myself. It’s tough, but I believe your rate should reflect the services you provide, your hospitality, how you make people feel, and how well you execute.
[00:08:00]

Olivia: I just don’t think flat rates create fairness. I know that sounds weird, but I think it conditions some people to just phone it in.

Laura: Right.

Olivia: I’m a GSD-er—I get shit done. I go hard. So if someone’s getting paid the same but isn’t showing up the same way, that doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t incentivize the best work.

Laura: Exactly. It can be tough sometimes.

Olivia: We’re very bespoke. I think the best approach is to put yourself in the client’s shoes. What do they need to accomplish? There’s always a way to get there. I walk through options A, B, and C—and then back it out from there. Maybe it’s a tiered approach. You just work with them.

I don’t have a rigid system—which can be hard for business, because every project is different. There’s no one-size-fits-all.

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