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From the Owner
Thank you for spending a moment on Natane Imaging.com. I hope
we have at least provoked a thought or two in the world of
images and their affects on our daily lives. I hope to be
of service to you soon in whatever way you find a need for
Natané Imaging.
Thank you,
John Holden
FAQ: What does Natané mean?
Natané is Arapaho Indian for "little
girl."
Our name is taken from my neice - Sara Natané
Holden,a name which was given to her in honor of our lost
mother, who was of American Indian decent.
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John
Holden - Owner and Lead Designer
John Holden began his career in Marketing and
Sales with his first venture, West Coast Volleyball, which
combined a sports background and an opportunity with several
high profile athletes in their respective sport of Professional
Beach Volleyball. As a player himself, Holden experienced
firsthand the importance of product branding and association.
Company identities were everywhere...court banners, promo
items, players clothes and even sometimes on the players themselves,
in the form of removable tattoos. Some companies paid as much
as one-million dollars to own a players on-court look.
Holden, having studied Business and Marketing
at California State University Long Beach, was becoming aware
of the opportunities off the courts as well. The players offered
a distinct venue for marketing impressions, but what Holden
recognized was that the players themselves were a viable product
that could be promoted to increase their exposure and ultimately
benefit them and their sponsors. He developed a player manager
relationship with, then 5th world ranked player, Jon Stevenson
and began seeking sponsorship contracts and organizing promotional
events such as the Jon Stevenson - West Coast Volleyball Clinic
Series. Stevenson, an Economics graduate of University of
California Santa Barbara, also had a mind for promotion and
put his success on the court into words with a book entitled
"Hot Sand." A technical instruction book for volleyball,
that became a good tie-in for Holden's promotions. The volleyball
community showed great interest in the off court business.
As the concept evolved, Holden found more success
at negotiating sports promotion contracts than he did negotiating
to the second day of tournaments. He added more players to
his list, top twenty player Craig Moothart and former 1984
Olympic Team member Rudy Dvorak.
As with any product there are cycles and Professional
Beach Volleyball was no exception. Several years into it,
the major tour sponsor left the party and the sport started
to fizzle. The top players were getting to the end of their
cycles on the court also. You might say, "It was match
point."
Never to be beaten, Holden transitioned to the
corporate world via an associate in the highly competitive
wine industry. His marketing experience would serve him well
in this very image oriented world. Statistically the second
most competitive industry in the country, next to pharmaceutical
sales, the wine industry required the highest level of Marketing
and Advertising techniques and strategies. Holden acquired
an extensive knowledge of packaging, Marketing, Advertising,
Sales and Distribution. Over the next several years he moved
up the corporate ladder from distributor Chain Account Representative
to On-Premise Hotel/Restaurant Specialist and finally landing
in a position with a Chicago based company - Paterno Imports
as their Los Angeles Regional Manager, the youngest in the
company at 29.
Acting as marketing liason between producer
and distributor he was responsible for all aspects of creation
and implementation of Marketing and Advertising plans. This
required top quality forms of product imaging and promotional
materials. Holden began to phase out the generic marketing
materials available from producers and replace them with custom
pieces designed for specific accounts. A trend that proved
very attractive to the high profile producers and equally
attractive to their high end buyers. Throughout his career,
Holden had maintained a connection with the Graphic world
through a talented brother, a long time award winning Graphic
Designer.
While always looking for something to feed his
entrepreneurial hunger he found himself becoming useful as
a consultant to several small start-up wineries and wine brokers
in Central California's expanding wine country. Before long
an opportunity arose to relocate to the Central Coast and
begin an extension of his corporate work, in an educational
wine tour business coupled with a retail location...The We've
Got Taste Wine Bar. The wine bar acted as a platform for the
tour company and through a local public television production
company became the spring board for "The We've Got Taste
Wine and Food Show." A special interest show spotlighting
local wineries and eateries with Holden as Executive Producer,
Writer and Host.
Today, Holden has returned to Southern California
and continues helping small businesses as the Owner and Operator
of Natané Imaging by offering professional corporate
marketing strategies and techniques to the neigborhood small
to medium size businesses. He has put his experience down
on paper as well. All the philosophies of Marketing and Advertising,
that Holden has collected over his 20 year tenure in business,
have been explained in his book "You Can't Sell A Mansion
In A Junk Yard," a small business guide that applies
the corporate world concepts to local business. Look for a
re-publication coming soon. In the meantime, take a moment
to inquire about how Natane Imaging's Storm of Creative
Ideas can help you promote your venture...large or small.
E-mail the
studio here.
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