DaleAlexander
Creative marketing leader by day. Improviser by night. Most days, both.
Drag the photo to meet both of me.
Business
Play
It started with worn-out VHS tapes
I grew up in Southeast Asia in the '80s, my parents worked for the CIA (for real), and we were a long way from all things American. Family & friends back home recorded shows and mailed the cassettes over to us, and I watched them until the tape gave out.
The shows were good. The commercials were great. Thirty seconds, a story, a laugh, a reason to care. They were little movies, and I've been chasing that feeling ever since.
25 years of getting people to care
Agency side, brand side and property side. I started at the very bottom, which taught me what wins and setbacks look like up close. Since then I've helped build campaigns and experiences for brands people have real opinions about.
Pick a tape off the stack.
- Transformers
- G.I. Joe
- Star Wars
- Nerf
- EA Games
Some of the same toys I watched in those mailed-over commercials, I later got to market. Not many people get to work on their childhood.
- Pepsi
- Mountain Dew
- Frito-Lay
- Pizza Hut
Brands that live in every pantry, cooler and Friday night. When you sit on every shelf, the work has to earn attention all over again every day.
AT&T sponsorship activation
- AT&T
I handled sponsorship activation for AT&T, taking the brand's partnerships off the contract and into live, experiential events people could walk into, play with and remember.
VP of Creative, Dallas Mavericks
- Dallas Mavericks
I led the creative department for an NBA franchise, where the audience is loud, loyal and never shy about feedback. It was the Dirk → Luka transition, which meant rejuvenating the brand for a new generation. Yes, that is my preferred logo.
- VMG
- Outlander Music
- Outlander Capital
- Woodhouse
It's good to stretch out of your comfort zone and help build some companies. Music catalogs, blockchain tools, entertainment properties, private membership clubs, luxury experiential – it's never easy, and never boring.
Yes, and.
Improv shaped my life and my career. It's where I learned to listen hard, commit fully and make my scene partner look good.
I also met my wife at a college audition. We have performed together ever since around DFW with Pavlov's Dogs.
I bring the same tools to work. Improv exercises level the playing field beyond titles, and they spur ideas along instead of cutting them down.
Everybody improvises every day. Training just turns it into a superpower.
Can I get a suggestion?
Tap the button and I'll give you a scene to start.
Officially an adjunct. Unofficially, a RADjunct.
I teach Strategic Promotion Management (ADV 4343) at SMU's Temerlin Advertising Institute. I want my students leaving with book smarts and street smarts in equal measure.
My goal is to move them from the passenger seat to the captain's chair before they graduate. I also mentor interns and junior team members whenever I can, because someone did it for me.
- SMU Temerlin
Advertising Institute
Students today could be my teammates tomorrow. I give my best to get their best.
Fancy a chat?
A brand that needs a spark, a team that needs to loosen up, a class that needs a guest, or just coffee and a good story. I'm in.