SOCIALDEVIANT

We can’t wrap up Intentional Acts of Kindness Week without our annual coffee shop trip!??? This time, we’re spreading joy at Loaf Lounge by buying and giving out $200 worth of smogs to their customers. For every cup sold, $1 goes to helping those impacted by the LA wildfires. #RakWeek

For 12 years, SOCIALDEVIANT has celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Week, making small efforts to brighten our local community's day. But this year, with the LA wildfires weighing heavy on our hearts, we're shifting to Intentional Acts of Kindness Week. From Feb. 10-14, we're offering free: ?1-on-1 coffee chats ?Portfolio reviews ?Creative support Whether you've been affected by the wildfires or just need someone to talk to, we're here for you. Send us a message, and we'll set something up! #RAKweek

Today, We Turn 13. And, fittingly around Chinese New Year....in Chinese Mandarin, the number 13 translates to ‘assured growth’ or ‘definitely vibrant,’ which suggests that the number 13 is an auspicious number in Chinese culture. It certainly is auspicious, for us. And on this day, the day we were birthed 13 years ago, there are 3 things on my mind: 1. Social First, Creative Agency. 13 years ago, I founded SOCIALDEVIANT with the central idea, that brands are built bottom up, not top down. A social-first approach is the most engaging way to build a brand, drive audience value and create authenticity in the marketplace. Today we are on this path, with more ferocity, conviction and expertise than ever. We have built a "BRAND TRANSLATOR" model to interpret our clients' brand position, into a robust activation platform that seamlessly integrates organic social, paid content, search, influencer, and IRL activations, all in service of brand-building that produces meaningful business impact. Bottom up, with speed, agility, specificity, and measureable value. 2. Leadership, That is Kind and Deviantly Smart. I've had the honor of being CEO, several times in my career. It's now time to take my rightful place as Founder/Chairman, and turn over the reigns, to a truly brilliant person. And so, it is with great joy and pride, that I announce that effective immediately, I am promoting Linda Johnson to CEO. As President, Linda has done a super job of driving our strategy practice to best in class, to drive brilliant work while overseeing our operational?excellence. ? 12 years ago when I hired Linda, it was clear that she had infinite leadership potential. After 6 months I said, "Linda, you're incredible. I'm not sure what I mean by this, but I'm never going to put someone between you and me on the org chart. You have infinite potential and my job is to help you pursue it." ? She is brilliant, kind, accountable, unflappable, honest, and diligent - all the things we value so deeply at SOCIALDEVIANT. There is not one other person on earth, I'd have as much faith in taking the reins. ? And, as if 13 weren't auspicious enough, Linda is a fluent Mandarin speaker...kismet? Deviant goodness, for sure. 3. What I've Learned. It's a helluva thing, launching an agency from scratch. 13 years ago, I left my big CEO job in NY, came back to Chicago to launch SOCIALDEVIANT. Me, alone in Starbucks banging out a manifesto about my ambition, to REIMAGINE WHAT A CREATIVE AGENCY SHOULD BE. I learned: - Kind isn't nice. Kind is intentional, proactive, specific - Culture is what you do, not what you say - Change of behavior begets a change of attitude - Nothing replaces smart. But kind and smart, are an unbeatable combination - Aligning culture + quality work + financial performance, is where it's at. Any two without the third, is irrelevant Thank you all, for your support and kindness all these years. #anniversary #culture #agency #agencylife #startup

2025 is already on track to be our best year yet, with?six?incredible new DEVIANTs joining our team. Let's go. Rewdjety Redick, Account Supervisor Heather Schwartz, Account Supervisor Alex Englehart, Director of Social Strategy Aaron Eberlein, Content & Community Manager Taylor Abish, Director of Influencer Strategy Sydney Bostick, Influencer Manager

?????? ???? ???????????? ?????????????????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ???????????? ??????????? The Supreme Court has officially upheld the law requiring TikTok to sell off its U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, or face being banned, effectively throwing a big wrench in most 2025 plans. So, where do we go from here? ??r???????????? ????????????????, ?????? ???????????? In the coming days you’ll read countless POVs telling you to pivot to Instagram, pivot to YouTube Shorts, pivot to Threads or BlueSky, claiming that TikTok users will be migrating to those platforms after the 19th, but where users ?????? is only part of the equation. TikTok was (is) a cultural phenomenon, driving not only internet culture, but fashion, music, and commerce, a machine that won’t be rebuilt in a day. So, for a group of marketers that love to ‘operate at the speed of culture,’ we’ll recommend something we’re traditionally bad at, patience. Social has been all about the “Ready, Fire, Aim” strategy, but in order to involve ourselves in culture, we need to let culture develop and not force “brand culture” on our audiences. Finding another place to post short term videos isn’t hard, being a part of culture is.

It’s that ?? time of year! And we are so proud to share our new epic Halloween spot for JOANN, part of our ongoing “JOAND” campaign. Did we punt like the dude who puts on a skeleton sweatshirt and calls it a costume? OF COURSE WE DIDN’T. Creative directors Katie Siemianowski, Kevin Lawlor and our own superstar director Kevin Hill worked overtime with the DEVIANT team to make a short film packed with the kind of creativity and ingenuity (and home-made, 4-person giant skeleton costume ??) any JOANN devotee would be proud of. Also let’s see if you can find all the horror movie references? #MadeItOurselves

NEW CLIENT ALERT! SOCIALDEVIANT is thrilled to announce the addition of BROOKS—the world’s number one performance running brand—to our growing roster of world class clients. It’s a huge win for us, and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ll be helping Brooks Running build their brand in a very competitive category, as well as develop content and influencer programs. #LetsRunThere

At SOCIALDEVIANT we know a thing or two about creative snowballing. Which is why we are ANDing up and down the street about our brand new campaign in partnership with JOANN. It’s called “JOAND” and illustrates how any trip to JOANN is bound to unleash a torrent of crafting daydreams as captured in this epic anthem spot, conceived by Kevin Lawlor and Katie Siemianowski. Aimed at the next generation of creators and crafters, the multi-channel JOAND campaign is built on an evolved brand strategy that celebrates joy in the process—the “AND” vs the end.

A HUGE welcome to our Summer Account and Strategy intern Mia Hanlon! Welcome to the SD team!

Join us in our warm, deviant welcome to our new amazing Creative intern, Anna Chang. We are SO excited to have you with us this summer!