When we first became worker-owned, we hoped that every worker who was eligible to become an owner of Soze would join the co-ownership team. As we end 2022, we are proud to have achieved this major goal of our agency — we did it!
We are thrilled to welcome our two newest co-owners — Taylor Desmangles, our Senior Strategist of Content and Social Media, and Alexandria Hunter, our Senior Director of Strategy, bringing us to 10 co-owners at our company.
In addition to the growth of our ownership team, we also made strategic and meaningful hires in experiential, strategy and talent teams expanding our agency by 30%. We saw a 28% increase in our revenue, raised everyone’s salary by no less than 5%, covered 100% of healthcare for every employee and their families, offered research and learning grants for everyone and continued with our 401k matching program.
WELCOME THE NEW CO-OWNERS
Working with more than 50 different clients this year, we produced work unlike anything we’ve ever done in the past — both in substance and scale. We collaborated to tell the stories of forcibly displaced families; created a campaign to support the emotional well-being of young people; orchestrated massive out-of-home campaigns; produced large-scale experiential events, art exhibitions, digital gatherings and celebratory galas with longtime collaborators and brand new partners; worked with global brands and grassroots nonprofits; produced various video projects, drone shows (!!), card games, merchandise, creator-driven content and thousands of social media posts; and created entirely new brand identities for companies and organizations we love.
These times are tough. They are challenging. However, they are also inspiring. And hopeful. Every single day, we try our hardest to build a company that takes enormous pride in the work that we do, and we give it all we got! So thank you. All of you. For joining us in this journey. We’re so excited to get to do more, with more of you, in 2023.
– The Soze Co-Ownership Team
2022 HIGHLIGHTS
Working with more than 50 different clients this year, we produced work unlike anything we’ve ever done in the past — both in substance and scale.
We were honored to work on projects and participate in campaigns that are fueled by compassion, authenticity and equity — our three core values.
We have the privilege of only doing work we believe in with our incredible clients and partners.
Here are some highlights from the past year:
AD COUNCIL – SOUND IT OUT
The Ad Council and Pivotal Ventures started Sound it Out as a national PSA campaign in April, 2021 to help parents and caregivers, specifically within the Black and Latine communities, to have conversations with their middle school children about their emotional wellbeing. The PSA showcased how music could be a connection point to break down communication barriers between parents/caregivers and their children.
In January 2022, we partnered with Sound It Out to create a social strategy to go beyond PSAs and broaden the campaign’s reach. We conducted a comprehensive audit and review of Sound it Out social channels and community, identifying opportunities for new and expanded engagement and impact.
As a result, we created a refreshed campaign concept and creative “look and feel” that resonates with Black and Latine parents/caregivers and invites middle schoolers to participate in the dialogue about their emotional wellbeing.
Since launching, we have grown their audience and partnerships with artists, storytellers and community allies, as well as provided robust tools — such as a “Conversation Starter Pack” and digestible content for parents/caregivers looking to make these connections with their children.
CARE IN ACTION – POP OUT TO THE POLLS
In November, we worked with Care in Action PAC - Georgia to host a joyful and energizing “get out the vote” rally for candidates running for public office who were invested in uplifting issues that supported care workers and caretakers — including gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams.
The event was hosted by Tina Knowles-Lawson, and featured music by 2 Chainz and Earthgang.
CENTER FOR CULTURAL POWER + CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT LAB
In collaboration with The Center for Cultural Power and Cultural Engagement Lab, we expanded on building cohorts of influencers for the “Cultural Power Lab,” with the goal of increasing voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections. By amplifying content that encouraged civic participation as well as content created by artists and makers with proximity to issues and communities, we reached aligned audiences and inspired them to vote in November.
Members of the cohort included artists, activists, creators and influencers such as Kim Saira, Michelle MiJung Kim, Samuel Everett, Francesca Fiorentini, Jerome Foster II, Kara Roselle Smith, Charlotte Clymer and many more. Members spent two months engaging with the Center for Cultural Power and Cultural Engagement Lab’s content, as well as the artists who created it.
The combined reach of this project was 12+ million impressions, with 40+ influencers participating throughout the year.
MARCH FORTH: A FREEDOM READS EXPERIENCE
March Forth: A Freedom Reads Experience served as the launch of Freedom Reads, an organization founded by poet and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Reginald Dwayne Betts, whose mission is to build libraries in prisons across the United States.
Hosted at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., the event included programming that showcased the intention and beauty in the story of Freedom Reads and its work. It also emphasized the immediate necessity of expanding access to literature in prisons.
Centered around the ideals of freedom and imagination, Soze curated an interactive experience for an audience of over 400, who were able to engage with and explore literature — and feel its direct connection to our shared humanity — in a way they never have before.
GUCCI CHANGEMAKERS
In collaboration with Gucci Equilibrium, we produced the launch video for their fourth and final round of the Gucci Changemakers Impact Fund — which, to date, has dispersed over $1.4 million in grants to students and NGOs.
We enlisted the talents of director Bon Duke, cinematographer Zoe Simone Yi, spoken word artist Earl Thomason and our production partners at The Light to create a video that honored the totality of the initiative, the talents of those the initiative sought to empower and the bold and dynamic characteristics of Gucci as a brand. The video was released on Giving Tuesday, garnering international press attention and thousands of views within hours of launch.
FWD.US – I STAND WITH IMMIGRANTS
We have worked with FWD.us since our first year of business in 2014, making them the longest client relationship we have had at Soze.
Under their “I Stand With Immigrants Initiative,” we have created multiple campaigns throughout the year including the ongoing “To Immigrants With Love” and “National Immigrant Heritage Month” campaigns. Through digital creative projects, national advertising and marketing campaigns, and in-person experiences across the country, we celebrate the beauty of our nation’s immigrant heritage, past and present.
For this year’s #ToImmigrantsWithLove campaign, we turned to our previous supporters to join us for an engagement that would be seen across the country. In an effort to reach people beyond their phone screens, and in places with political and cultural influence, we displayed tweets from 20 celebrities and influencers that offered messages of love and support for immigrants.
In June, for Immigrant Heritage Month, we produced “The Food that Made Us” food truck tour. We partnered with five chefs — Joanne Chang, Tom Collichio, Byron Gomez, Christine Hà and Hawa Hassan — to share recipes from their own immigrant heritage. We served delicious food based on their recipes through food trucks in four cities. Through these pop-up events, we met tens of thousands of people in Seattle, New York, Orlando and Minneapolis. We also worked with cultural influencers to create digital content and muralists to create beautiful works of art.
A SPECIES BETWEEN WORLDS
“A Species Between Worlds,” an ambitious and genre-bending exhibit and forum created by artist and thought leader John Mack, opened in New York on September 1st. “A Species Between Worlds” is an invitation to contemplate our relationship to our devices and the surrounding world. It intends to incite the introspection needed to prevent the loss of humanity.
Partnering with Mr. Mack, we designed a narrative arc and storytelling strategy to provide thematic consistency to the programming and the exhibition — ultimately resulting in a month-long experience in Chelsea that hosted more than 10,000 people and 50+ carefully curated speakers and moderators, including Frances Haugen, Tristan Harris, Douglas Rushkoff and Angela Glover Blackwell, among others. Based on the excitement and curiosity it inspired, the exhibition will travel across the world over the next five years.
MOONSHOT AWARDS AND FESTIVAL
In November, we produced the inaugural Moonshot Awards and Festival, founded by visionary Yemi A.D, which was created to recognize exceptional young, mission-driven founders and change-makers from around the world. Each awardee received $10,000 in prize money to implement their innovative project.
With over 1,500 submissions from 88 countries, The Moonshot Platform awarded projects that disrupt industries, rethinking what is possible to create profound positive change. Submissions included a methane-reducing stock- feed alternative created from seaweed cultivation, a chatbot helpline that supports Ukrainian refugees, a platform to amplify the voice of the East African Youth and machine learning technology that produces sign language translation.
Hosted by CNN’s Poppy Harlow, the vibrant, globally-represented awards celebration, was produced at Donna Karen’s space, Urban Zen
NATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS ALLIANCE – 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
In September, we had the honor of partnering with The National Domestic Workers Alliance to celebrate their 15th anniversary through a national convening and celebratory gala around the theme of “The Future is Us.” Over the course of a beautiful weekend in Washington DC, we produced a dinner celebration with over 400 guests featuring live musical performances, inspiring speeches and joyful connection amongst this remarkable community. Following this amazing evening, the members of NDWA convened for three days of meetings, workshops and gatherings that we were honored to produce in partnership with this ground-breaking organization.
THE PARTNERSHIP PROJECT – BRANDING
For The Partnership Project, an organization that provides fiscal sponsorship and organizational support to environmental campaigns and partners, we were tasked with a creative rebrand of their organization in order to establish and solidify their presence within their community of non-profits who focus on environment and climate change work. Working closely with their core team, we led them through a discovery session to develop strategy to update the entire brand — a package that includes a new logo, a full communication guide, visual identity and a new website.
TAPROOT EARTH – KREWE + KIN: A FÊTE FOR THE SPIRIT AND THE SENSES
“Krewe + Kin: A Fête for the Spirit and the Senses” was a culminating celebration of all Taproot Earth has to celebrate — launching a new organization focused on advancing climate justice and democracy, building a global network led by Black and Indigenous people on the climate frontlines and cultivating Gulf South to Global South-led solutions for climate. We were honored to produce their gala, held in Philadelphia with over 300 attendees, which featured artwork by long-time Soze collaborator, New Orleans-based artist, Brandon “BMike” Odums, and featured a musical performance by Big Freedia.
Earlier this year, we also worked with the organization on their rebrand including creating their new logo and updated website as well as producing their podcast series, “Climate on Tap: Rituals of Remembrance & Restoration.”
ULTRAVIOLET – #MAKESOCIALSAFE CAMPAIGN
We partnered with Ultraviolet to amplify the Feminist Tech Demands set forth in their report, “Social Media Fails Women: Transforming Social Media Policies for a Feminist Future.” The report was aimed to have major social media and tech companies take the steps required to stop the spread of misogyny, mis/dis/malinformation and online harassment.
Through a cohort of trusted messengers – including Annie Wu, Charlie Amáyá, Varuna Srinivasan, Lettie Gore, Eli Erlick, Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez and many more – these influencers, artists and activists amplified the issues addressed in this campaign by sharing content created by our agency.
Creators also made their own videos and content highlighting the real-life impact of online harassment. Their followers flooded their comments, sharing messages of solidarity and their own stories as well, reaching a combined audience of over 11,000,000.
To end the year, we sent out gift boxes to artists and influencers that highlighted the importance of the Feminist Tech Demands. The box was filled with products from makers who are either directly impacted by, or cared deeply about, these issues.
WELCOME.US
Welcome.US is a national initiative, started in 2022, to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans to welcome and support those seeking refuge in the U.S. It began to support those who were seeking refugee status from Afghanistan, and has expanded to support those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
By bringing communities together across the private sector, as well as civic/service organizations and the public, our agency was hired to build out the storytelling strategy for the nation’s largest, most diverse welcoming coalition in the history of refugee resettlement.
Our work with Welcome.us began in April 2022, with a focus on developing a comprehensive storytelling and narrative strategy to build overall campaign awareness across multiple mediums, including digital services, full creative content, traditional advertising and marketing and influencer engagement.
WOMEN’S EQUALITY CENTER
We continued to partner with the Women’s Equality Center (WEC) in supporting their campaign to free women who were imprisoned for suffering obstetric emergencies in El Salvador. El Salvador is one of three countries in Central America and 24 worldwide with a total abortion ban, the Las 17 campaign focused on applying pressure through reproductive rights activists in North America to the Salvadoran government and president Nayib Bukele.
Following the Dobbs decision in The United States Supreme Court, the influence of the Green Wave Movement from Latin America started by some members of WEC began to resonate in this country.
During the 2022 midterm elections, the right to have an abortion was on the ballot, marking a key milestone in the national reproductive rights movement. In partnership with WEC and Fireband, we used symbolism from the Green Wave Movement to design creative activations and tactics to educate voters in battleground states such as Georgia, Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Whether through public art (a melting ice sculpture in Arizona that contained all of the states that banned abortion) or new forms of storytelling (a 250 drone show over the skies of Philadelphia) or out-of-home advertisement (wheat-pasting and stenciling in Georgia, Ohio and North Carolina) or digital videos and creator content on social media, we utilized many artistic abilities to make sure that abortion maintained its importance as part of of the mainstream conversation.
WE’RE PROUD TO WORK WITH ALL OUR AMAZING CLIENTS AND PARTNERS
NEW TEAM MEMBERS
Nancy Jimenez
Nancy joined The Soze Agency in October, as a strategist. Nancy is a creative problem solver and strategist passionate about using powerful narratives to drive social change. She is a recent graduate of the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where she majored in marketing and global business and minored in public policy and management. Her professional background has given her the tools to be a critical, creative thinker and storyteller, while her life experiences as a first-generation Mexican college student have taught her the importance of empathy and compassion in her work.
Jackie Palmer
Jackie joined The Soze Agency in July, as the Director of Experiential. She has over a decade of unmatched experience and passion for curating storytelling campaigns, community and leadership with global impact. Prior to Soze, she lead the administration and political campaign advance departments for over seven years. Most recently with Vice President Kamala Harris as well as President Joseph Biden and Secretary Hillary Clinton. Jackie’s record for leading top-tier brand messaging continues to expand remarkable solutions and experiences for past clients including Apple, March For Our Lives and many more. A community advocate, she also serves on the board of directors for GyrlWonder, a professional pipeline initiative assisting young women of color.
Lola Lopez Guardone
Lola joined The Soze Agency in October, as the Associate Director of Experiential. Prior to joining our team, she worked on a variety of projects as a director, producer, project manager, dancer, choreographer, with amazing artists and companies such as MTG Exp, PITCHBLACK Immersive Experiences, TheatreC and Woodshed Collective. Born and raised in Argentina, she has a passion for telling stories that entertain, educate and promote inclusivity and equality.
Beena Alvi
Beena joined The Soze Agency in October, as the Associate Director of Strategy. Over the last decade, she has worked as an independent consultant, advising brands like Estee Lauder, Scholly and Unilever on their brand and campaign design, providing them with the foundation on how to root marketing in people, inclusivity and authentic storytelling. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she now lives on the East Coast. Every city Beena has called home serves as an inspiration bank for her work, and has deepened her love for people and their experiences.
Lennox King
Lennox joined The Soze Agency in October, as a Senior Producer of Experiential. After studying Middle Eastern literature at NYU, they fell in love with the power that narratives have in breaking down binaries. Using events as a way to bring narratives to life, they work to cultivate affirming and celebratory experiences that allow everyone to participate in a way that is authentic to their perspective, from queer identities to disabilities. Prior to Soze, they were an Event Producer and Planner at The Ford Foundation and developed the newly opened Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.
Tanaka Maria
Tanaka joined The Soze Agency in July, as a Creative, Talent + Influencer Engagement Associate. Tanaka is a problem solver, creative collaborator and storyteller with several years of experience acting, writing, directing and editing for various films, social media projects and production companies. A recent graduate from the University of Virginia, they majored in English and was on the Dean’s List, they also served as the president of the Paul Robeson Players — the only Black theater troupe at UVA.