Profile Tim Verbeek - Founder & CEO CONTACT
Full Name: Timotheus Alfred Cornelis Verbeek
Born: October 9, 1975 in Haarlem, the Netherlands
Lives in: Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Beverly Hills, California
Married to: Marlies Oremus (1977), Psychologist
Studied: Marketing and Social Sciences in Amsterdam (MA degree)
Has: two brothers, no pets
Worked as Senior Brand Manager for Heineken and Unilever.
Founded: Online City Media Incorporated.
Favorite cities: Amsterdam, Los Angeles, New York, Rome, London.
Favorite Music Artists: U2, BabyStone, No Doubt, Elevaters, Mika.
Hot Spots: Forty Deuce, The Standard, Il Moro, Urth Caffe.
About Tim: Entrepreneur and Marketing Specialist gained his experience in various marketing positions for both Heineken, the Dutch brewer of quality beers and Unilever, one of the biggest FMCG marketing companies in existence today. Founded Online City Media Inc, a network of lifestyle magazines and cultural portals connecting thousands of readers to emerging local trends, artists and communities. "Online Magazines truly enable user interaction, dynamic networking and the flexibility to adopt to emerging trends, allowing the publisher to offer to his readers an engaging environment and personal experience not found anywhere else!"
Some of my favorite reports:
The LA2DAY Elevaters Interview - By Cazembe Abena
Why not getting an iPhone makes you a better person - By Peter Basch
The Year of Living Desirably - By Toby Muller
Storing nuclear family waste, Yucca mountain reconsidered - By Toby Muller
Wasabi This! The Five Best Sushi Places in LA - By Sasha Perl-Raver
Carpet Burn Report & Video - By Vita Lusty
Kittens, Milfs and Yummy Mommies. Girls just wanna have fun - By Kat Kittredge
Why LA2DAY?
Why .com is maybe a better question to answer first. As marketer for big brands I have had the opportunity to work with almost all media channels, from broadband TV, radio and print, to outdoor events, direct mail and internet. I always found internet one of the most attractive media types, not so much based on cost per contact (compared to TV) but because internet truly allows interaction and, when done right, a very engaging environment, or a true user experience. Internet is the people's network! Furthermore internet is way less static then print for example, allowing for continues updates and the reader to speak his or her mind on the spot!
It is not so much about ‘user generated content' (a buzz phrase) but rather about user engaging content or as Babs Rangaiah put it: "The way forward is to radically rethink the relationship with consumers: to engage them rather than interrupt them. Author of 'Life after the 30-Second (TV) Spot' Joseph Jaffe asserts that every-thing is becoming permission-based". In an interview with Bloomberg TV he said: "The new (marketing) model will involve consumers opting for marketers to message to them in an on-brand, relevant, enter-taining, engaging fashion". As a result, emphasis is moving from 'push' media such as broadcast TV to digital 'pull' media such as internet, interactive TV and mobile devices. "If 30 years from now, people don't look back and see this as the golden era of marketing, we should be embarrassed".
Now to answer the first question: why LA2DAY. Away from the theme parks and studio lots...off the tour bus routes and star maps....shuttered behind its meticulously maintained and much-celebrated surface, Los Angeles hides a real city - a vibrant, energetic world hissing and roiling with art, creativity and surprise. Los Angeles is my second home town and therefore a very easy choice for our first location. An amazing first magazine part of the Online City Media Network! And a magazine that truly indentifies new upcoming talent, a magazine that goes way beyond what is available online today. LA2DAY.COM is magazine sophisticated yet internet convenient! LA2DAY is about portraying the undiscovered art, fashion and music scenes, about design, health & beauty, about (new) movies reviewed from a different perspective, about LA seen through the eyes of true LA fans and locals alike!
