Creative 100: Branded Content Innovators You Should Know

In a market that vocally craves more authenticity and less cringe-inducing fluff, creating effective content as a brand has never been more challenging. This year’s roster of branded content leaders earned a spot on the 2022 Creative 100 list for their ability to uniquely connect with (and, more notably, grow) their audiences while establishing a brand identity that is distinctive and wholly their own. Zaria Parvez Global social media manager, Duolingo Her path to Duolingo: “While studying advertising in school, I focused on brand strategy and media planning. I was part of the Multicultural Advertising Internship Program Class of 2019 and matched at Havas in NYC. I quickly found my love for social media and recognized the impact a platform can have for change. As a pandemic graduate, I started my career from my childhood bedroom as Duolingo’s first social media coordinator. Fast forward a year and a half, a move across the country and a successful TikTok account later, I’m now the global social media manager.” Recent work: TikTok for Duolingo. "I'm really proud of the TikTok presence I've been able to build for Duolingo. We started from a small brand that wasn't actively favored by Gen Z to becoming one of the most talked about brands on social. Being able to think of ideas, create content and put them out in the world has truly showcased what it means to empower young talent. Having that creative freedom to think differently and sometimes even make mistakes has been critical to my growth as junior talent in the industry.” Advice for aspiring creatives: "You don't have to blow someone else's candle out to make yours shine. Take the time to learn from your peers, root for them, and create space for each other. It's crazy how much we can learn by just being present and supportive."—AnaMaria Glavan Angela Matusik Head of corporate brand, content and creative, HP Her path to HP: “I spent over two decades working in media—as an editor, writer and digital leader at brands like People, InStyle and NBCUniversal. Prior to joining HP, I developed brand content for entertainment, media and fashion companies, including Focus Features, Global Brand Group, Olivela and more." Recent work: “Generation Impact” for HP. “Generation Impact is a storytelling program that spotlights incredible young people who are making the world better through technology. The third documentary in this series, The Scientist, debuted on Earth Day. I was executive lead on this initiative. Generation Impact is just one example of how we use our brand's voice as a force of good. In addition to the documentary series, we also produce The Garage (a content hub) and Innovation magazine. We believe in championing the good works of others, and strive for diversity both in our subjects and the creative collaborators we work with.” Advice for aspiring creatives: "Always have one project bubbling that makes your heart swell with pride. It will fuel you through ups and downs.”—AnaMaria Glavan Hokuto "Hok" Konishi Director and choreographer Cultural influences: Konishi was born in Tokyo, Japan, and grew up in Oxford, England, before moving to the U.S. in 2004 to study graphic design at college. The Emmy award-winning choreographer has credited his diverse upbringing with shaping his creative approach in movement. So you think you can … U.S. audiences might remember Konishi from his breakdancing performances in the first three seasons of Fox's reality show So You Think You Can Dance. But it was his appearance in Season 3, when he performed “Hummingbird and Flower” with his teammates from hip-hop dance group Quest Crew, that made a lasting impression. The performance won an Emmy for outstanding choreography, and Konishi and his crew went on to win Seasons 3 and 8 of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Recent work: Konishi collaborated with Adobe on a recent TikTok dance challenge and with the now-shuttered clothing brand Entireworld on a 2021 campaign celebrating diversity through movement. He has also directed work for Japan Airlines, Nike, Apple, Nissan and Absolut. Star power: Konishi has lent his choreography talents to musical artists including Madonna, LMFAO, Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber as well as performing with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Demi Lovato. A lesser-known highlight? He appeared in the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel as a hip-hop dancer in a music competition.—Brittaney Kiefer James Gregson Creative director, Lego His path to Lego: “I started in college in advertising design and was immediately bored by the iterative curriculum. After one semester, I switched to a computer animation major and a minor in painting. Via some twists and turns, my career kicked off in the PR agency world in NYC. Over the course of about eight years, I got to experience it all—from global public agencies to teeny-tiny startups. I went on to start my own consultancy, delivering a variety of brand and digital marketing type work. Through that I was connected to LEGO and was given the opportunity to apply for a global leadership role within their world-class social media team. Fast forward six years, and I am a creative director, helping to shape the future of our internal agency organization. I oversee a team responsible for creating best-in-class product and brand advertising and content.” Recent work: “I am extremely proud of developing the creative campaign for our Queer Eye LEGO partnership. It was an honor to be part of the team behind a wonderfully inclusive and uplifting partnership and to lead the team that produced such fun content for fans across the globe that would make the Fab 5 proud.” Advice for aspiring creatives: "Be curious. Wildly curious. Consume content and information from outside your areas of expertise. And network, network, network. There is no better way to grow than to connect and learn from other people you are inspired by. Reach out, ask for a 30-minute meeting. People are more gracious with their time than you think. And come prepared.”—AnaMaria Glavan Andy Pearson VP, creative, Liquid Death Mountain Water His path to Liquid Death Mountain Water: “I spent 13 years on the agency side of things, learning from the best. I cut my creative teeth at Crispin Porter + Bogusky at its peak and worked my way up from copywriter to vp, associate creative director. Later, I went to Deutsch LA as vp, cd for a few years before leaving to travel the world with my wife and freelance together. We spent a few years working part time for Humanaut and freelancing before I went back to full time as gcd of McKinney LA, trying to launch their West Coast operations. Then Liquid Death came a-callin'." Recent work: “Breaking The Law” for the Super Bowl. “The idea was to create a traditional beer commercial with all the tropes. But instead of drinking beer, everyone is drinking tallboys of Liquid Death (which looks suspiciously like beer). And instead of adults, it’s all kids. If you didn’t know us, you were probably horrified until the end. We’re still an up-and-coming brand, so it was really a way to punk a lot of America with a similar 30-second spot. The reaction was about 50% love, 50% hate. And for us, that means we probably nailed it perfectly.” Advice for aspiring creatives: "Don't just accept things because it's the way they've been done. Progress is only made by people who stop to look around and think, ‘There's got to be a better way to do this.’ Whether it's finding an idea or charting your own career path, you'll find so many more opportunities when you step out of the slipstream."—AnaMaria Glavan Vida Cornelious VP, creative, advertising, The New York Times Her path to The New York Times: “Storytelling has always been at the core of my creative process. I started my career in multicultural and general market agencies, where I learned that insights and strategy are a companion to creative. Now, I am on the publisher side at one of the most respected news entities in the world, seeing the value of storytelling through an entirely new lens—through the eyes of our readers. The importance of this storytelling in this context being, to make it truthful and representative of the ever expanding and contracting needs of culture.” Recent work: “Picture Progress” for Google’s Pixel 6 Real Tone Technology launch. “This technology is a groundbreaking advancement in visual representation and was developed to recognize a vast range of skin tones with precision and accuracy never done before in photographic history. I led our team at T Brand Studio in ideating the campaign, which promoted image equity as our path to equalizing and rewriting visual history. Our goal was to show the Real Tone technology as a conduit for capturing the unique stories our skin tones have the power to reveal. The campaign came to life through print, film and digital formats to live in various ad canvasses, giving Google and the image equity conversation massive visibility across The New York Times platform. We put the Pixel 6 camera in the hands of three BIPOC photographers, to capture the future outcomes of what image equity enables—a celebration of identity and self-expression.” Advice for aspiring creatives: "Talented people will always have options. So master something—master your craft, your communication, your presentation style—these are things that, when mastered, can allow you to choose how far you go.”—AnaMaria Glavan Kerrie Longo Social media manager, Scrub Daddy Career path: "I entered the workforce with a very practical fine arts degree in sculpture with no real direction or plan. After working in retail for a few years, I landed an internship at a full-service marketing agency in Philadelphia. I was the oldest intern there. Within a few months, I was hired full time and began my career in social media … I realized I wanted to focus my energy on growing one brand rather than trying to juggle multiple, and that’s how I landed at Scrub Daddy." Recent work: "Scrub Daddy's TikTok collaboration with Duolingo was a really fun project to be a part of. Our social team and two of our incredible colleagues who were willing to be extras for us met up with Duolingo in New York City. We spent a full day going back and forth brainstorming ideas and filming as much content as we could with them. The next day, Duolingo posted one of our collab videos on TikTok, and I’ve never seen views go up so fast. I think it hit 10 million in just an hour or two." Career advice: "Just say yes to opportunities, even if you're not entirely sure where they are leading. I still need to remind myself of this often." —Stephen Lepitak Abigail Rickards SVP, marketing, public relations and digital, Empire State Realty Trust Creative career: Rickards started her career at Empire State Realty Trust in 2012 as a marketing coordinator. She then became head of marketing at Stonehenge NYC for three years, where she focused on digital marketing before returning to Empire State Realty Trust in 2018. Recent work: Rickards has revamped how the Empire State Building works with partner organizations to maximize mutually beneficial media coverage, social reach and marketing efforts. Recent successes include a partnership with Netflix that resulted in a dynamic light show on the Empire State Building, cast visit, and on-site activations that increased awareness and tickets sales. A strong partnership with Madison Square Garden has resulted in numerous lightings with extensive media, including the Taylor/Serrano Fight Week faceoff, Sesame Street Live and Garden of Dreams Talent Show. Words of advice: "It's important to own your mistakes and use them as an opportunity to grow. Sometimes it might seem easier to do all the work yourself, but learning how to work with others to accomplish your goals will pay off in the long run." —Stephen Lepitak Shelby Jacobs Strategist, social marketing and strategy, 360i Career path: "I started out doing demos for Wild Planet Foods in grocery stores while I was in college. My interest in CPG marketing grew as I explored more of that side of the brand—going to trade shows, learning the ins and outs of what it takes to produce a product and more. I then worked brand side in various marketing roles companies like Wandering Bear and Birchbox. I moved to the Volkswagen team at Possible as the community management lead on its 'Something Bigger' campaign in 2019. After that, I was at FIG as a social strategist on Benjamin Moore before I joined the Mondelez Digital Accelerator team at 360i as the social media manager for Sour Patch Kids. Now I’m the social strategist lead across Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish." Recent work: "For the Sour Patch Kids 'Mystery' campaign, we built a strong narrative beyond the standard 'guess the flavor' bit. We activated a summer spy-themed campaign complete with custom content and clues. I also loved the work we have done on our organic TikTok presence since 2020, turning Sour Patch Kids into one of the most followed snack/confectionary brands on the platform." Advice: "Don’t sweat it, and pick your battles."—Stephen Lepitak Mike Carson Founder, The 92 Group Career path: "I've been directing video professionally for the last 13 years. This organically led me to explore direction within other mediums, such as live concerts and campaigns. I was fortunate enough to come up in a unique time as the tide was turning in the creative industry, so my 'jobs' have been unconventional. In 2015, I founded The 92 Group, where my friends and I get paid to make fun stuff for artists and brands." Recent work: "We worked on the return of Kendrick Lamar to the stage after two years with his Day N Vegas performance. We worked on the show direction—alongside Dave Free and Kendrick—for the 90-minute performance, which featured over 40 dancers and on stage talent, filmic lighting, as well as the use of live footage, captured by cinema cameras, to create a rich visual narrative to present to the crowd of 80,000." Career advice for a creative: "Find a void and fill it. And research, research research. Always be willing to learn and grow, and you will be here for a long time."—Stephen Lepitak Check out Adweek’s Creative 100 for 2022 by category: Agency Leaders | Agency Talents to Watch | TV and Streaming Innovators | Visionary Directors | Media Innovators | Icons and Influencers | Visual Innovators

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Creative 100: Branded Content Innovators You Should Know

The distinctive voices behind brands, these creatives are connecting with audiences uniquely and authentically

Zaria Parvez

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