Caleb Light-Wills savors the moment before ALL the moments at Tongies 3.
I wanted to take just a brief time-out as we conclude another successful "Tongies Week" to thank everyone who attended our events March 2-3. (And a good chunk of March 4 too, come to think of it.)
Thanks also to those who watched the proceedings via our ReelTime stream!
It's difficult to overcome an almost overwhelming sense of gratitude to say anything that truly adds to these occasions, but I did want to share with you a sense that grew on me as the events progressed — both at our inaugural Tongal Brand Lab, and at The Tongies:
It feels like we're all part of a community, for which the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts — and I include Tongal as a "part" of this whole. I probably once thought of Tongal as a company that has a community within it. But events like The Tongies have shown me (over and over) that we're members of a community that is now growing organically and developing a life and personality of its own. If anything, my feeling is that Tongal has an enormous responsibility to this community to keep it growing as naturally as it has until now.
I also think our understanding of what this community is, and what it can accomplish, is going to just keep expanding. After all, it has grown year over year and month over month. And the heights being hit in comedy, fidelity, authenticity, drama, quantity, quality, and results, just keep spiraling upward.
We hoped when we started the Tongies that our lightning-bolt trophies would soon be joined on our winners' shelves by LOTS of "other" trophies. Is there anyone left who doubts that this will happen? I know I don't!
I'm also inspired by the inclusiveness of this community. "Tongies Week" is now an event that has grown to demonstrate just how much we all can learn from one another — and how much fun that can be.
At Brand Lab we invited our clients in to participate in the Tongies in a new way, with a full day of discussions focused on the opportunities (and challenges) that are happening for brands and individuals who have elected to become part of our community. People from organizations as diverse as NASA, Mattel, Lenovo, Johnson & Johnson, Nokia, Instagram, White Horse Pitcures, and UTA attended and spoke — yet what was most notable was the feeling of common cause and common experience — and a shared energy and optimism. Later that evening at The Bungalow (thanks again to Art Alexakis of Everclear!) our clients had the chance to meet and mingle with the people doing amazing work for them. And as great as it is to see...oh... a filmmaker from Sweden, an ideator from Finland, and an animator from Texas on your video screen — there is nothing that will ever replace the joy of meeting them all gathered together in the same place.
For me, and I hope for you, Tongies 3 was also about LOVE.
My sense is that love for the work, and perhaps especially for one another, is what makes a network or a platform become a community in the first place. It's also the secret ingredient that makes a community start to grow organically, as (previously noted) ours surely has. I will always remember Tongies 3 as the night where it became impossible to ignore just how deeply everyone in this community cares for one another — and how profoundly they are inspired by one another. And I'm not just talking about the "Tongalers" in our creative community, I'm talking about everyone: clients, creatives, and Tongal employees. To tell the truth, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Johnny Marr started making idea submissions next year!
More to come....
We'll have our highlight reel of The Tongies 3 done shortly. In the mean-time please enjoy the video above and the Instagram feed at #tongies3.
You can also review the Tongies 3 results right here! Though we said it a few times at the show, it bears repeating here: the competition was OUTSTANDING this year, and we hope you feel immense pride whether or not you had to check your luggage due to bulging trophies.
Watch this space for more about The Brand Lab and Tongies 3.
Thanks again — and LOVE, absolutely, to all of you.
p.s. I won't blame you if you want to review the nominees again — with the VOLUME ALL THE WAY UP!
