Our Approach & Experience

Building a real community starts with listening. Not just to what people say about your brand, but how they use it, experience it, and show up around it. The goal isn’t just to reach your audience—it’s to bring them in. At Pop & Awe, we think about community as something you build with  your audience, not just for them. Here’s what that looks like in practice. Make connection personal (even at scale) Fanmail is a big part of how kids connect with brands they love. For Tinkerc

You need messaging that captures both the energy and distinct value of your brand. Pop & Awe works with your brand to develop brand messaging and communication strategies that drive brand awareness, build trust among internal and external audiences, and help your brand shine. Here's how we've helped partners: Messaging that Drives Sales To help grow corporate sponsorship revenue to over $100M annually, NPR launched a five-year initiative to rethink how it showed up in the mar

If the branded collateral doesn't enhance an experience, it's just stuff. When you consider how your message and the function can work together, you end up with branded collateral that people WANT. Here's some faves that Pop & Awe has developed over the years and a few that we didn't make but wish we had. NPR's Cards For Humanity Inspired by the irreverent card game Cards Against Humanity, a new version was created in the form of NPR Cards FOR Humanity. The custom game includ

In a world where everyone is competing for attention, thought leadership is what helps brands actually build trust. For us at Pop & Awe, we focus on helping our clients identify their areas of expertise and their distinct POV, so that they can show up as a resource to their audience. When it's done with intention and rigor, thought leadership can not only build trust for your brand, but real business results. Show up where your audience already gathers. NPM @ Rain Business of

Brand awareness isn’t just about getting in front of people, it’s about sticking with them. A lot of brands show up consistently and still don’t break through. Why? Because awareness without connection doesn’t go very far. The goal isn’t just to be seen but to be remembered, felt, and engaged with. My learnings from working across media, membership, and experiential campaigns all point to one thing: the strongest brand awareness comes from connected, intentional experiences i