Meet John Kwon of Media Cookery in Torrance

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Kwon.

Thanks for sharing your story with us John. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a passion for visual arts. According to my mother, I started drawing recognizable vehicles in crayon when I was three. Apparently, I was infatuated with taxi cabs. Shortly after high school, I began my creative profession as an illustrator and graphic designer for a T-shirt shop in Simi Valley, where I grew up.

Since then, I’ve been a designer at a national marketing firm creating promotional materials and packaging; a designer at an online education company creating booklets, trade show displays, and banners; and an art director at a DVD production studio designing and animating the on-screen menus for DVDs. While there, I was also involved with a successful startup business with some friends for which I designed a website, and grew and managed a thriving online community as the administrator of its message forum.

In 2010, “social media” started picking up steam as a buzz-word. Facebook had just given people the ability to create business pages. I saw a lot of businesses setting up their pages on Facebook, but frankly, they looked terrible and they didn’t know how to effectively build their communities. These were things I knew how to do better. Offering social media management and graphic design, I started my own business to help others succeed in this ever-changing world of online marketing.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In the early days of social media, business owners were managing their own brand pages. The need for professional designs for the social pages was understood by most, just as they knew the advantage that a professional website has over an amateur website. However, there was resistance in convincing many of them that managing and growing the online fan-base around their businesses is not something just anyone can do effectively. It takes someone with experience building online communities to make a real difference. This is clear to most serious business owners today.

Media Cookery – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Media Cookery is a marketing and design company. We specialize in helping small and midsize businesses get discovered online and increase their brand recognition through community growth and engagement. This starts with a professionally-designed website and continues with effective social media marketing and advertising.

There had been quite a few proud and memorable milestones, but one that stands out for me as an early success story was our involvement with a startup frozen yogurt store in New York. Having worked with this client on several projects before, we were tapped to help them launch the new business: everything from logo design and developing a visual identity for the store itself to generating early buzz in social media before their grand opening, then growing their community of fans online. They were successful and established themselves as the go-to spot for cool, sweet treats in their neighborhood. In less than two years, investors were asking to buy the business.

I believe the high level of design aesthetics that we bring to all of our products is unique for the size of businesses with whom we typically work. There are many others who manage social media for SMBs these days, but doing it with a keen eye for professional design is what makes Media Cookery unique.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We build your brand while you build your business. This means freeing up the business owner to do what they know best: running their business. As a marketing company serving small and midsize businesses, we’re successful when a client’s business becomes a “brand.”

Contact Info:

• Address: 2504 Cabrillo Ave., #3,
  Torrance, CA 90501
• Website: https://mediacookery.com
• Phone: 310-968-5966
• Email: [email protected]

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