The 857 Collective in the L.A. Times, part 2

http://www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/la-its_857twoapr22,0,6794040.story

PART TWO: 857 COLLECTIVE

They built these careers on rock 'n' roll

By Antonio Cuevas, Special Advertising Sections Writer
April 22, 2007


857 Collective
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The publicity and marketing duo of 857 Collective (www.eightfiftyseven.com), Adam Hobbs and Celeste Tabora, have built a career and an independent business on a foundation of the music that is their passion.

"If you love something, you can make a career out of it. You just have to be dedicated, and you have to be passionate about it," said Tabora.

She recalled the moment when she was finally able to trade her place on someone else's payroll for being her own boss and doing her dream job. "The moment I got to quit my day job and do [857] full time was really, really great," she said.

When asked what it takes to successfully launch yourself as a businessowner, Tabora suggested a calculated approach — a steady series of action items. "You can take little tiny steps toward it, but you have to take that first step."

While Tabora and Hobbs each have a lengthy résumé of experience in music and lifestyle marketing, they proactively reach out to artists and fans and stay in tune with what's happening on the scene. "We're out there at the shows and in the clubs. Celeste and I are on the phone talking with bands, going out, really experiencing everything first-hand.... We've both been on tour in a band, traveling cross country, eating cheeseburgers 10 days in a row. We know exactly what it's all about," Hobbs explained.

"We can take our know-how and turn it into a marketplace. And, as it turns out, from a marketing and publicity end, people want more and more access to that [marketplace]."

As they navigate their careers in music and entertainment — industries constantly being challenged by the Internet and interactive technologies to adapt methods of generating sales and profits — the 857 team sets out to achieve their goals by conceiving campaigns and events that they describe as highly adaptable. "When you're down with a company like 857, who has the experience and the hands-on history that we have, it's a little bit different. We're able to work with things constantly changing," Hobbs explained.

"We cater each campaign to specific audiences," Tabora added.

"We're total chance-takers as well. I think that is good marketing: when you take a chance on somebody instead of continuously plugging into the same people and places," Hobbs said, alluding to the benefit of tackling different sets of challenges in order to tap into new areas of opportunity. "That's the cornerstone to every success story in business out there — just doing something different."

The ideas and campaigns that venture into uncharted terrain, and which business titans such as Steve Jobs of Apple point to as one of the keys to succeeding in the business world, are exemplified as a critical element of the thriving careers of Hobbs and Tabora.

This story was edited by the Special Sections staff of the Los Angeles Times Marketing Department.