in fall 2022, i worked with the team at worthi, an ethnographic agency, to build out the social media strategy for essence ventures—the media company most recognized for its suite of brands like essence magazine, afropunk, naturallycurly, beautycon, and more.

essence is a name that carries a legacy, especially for those in the Black lady community (including myself). however, with each brand catering to very niche interests—naturallycurly with Black hair or afropunk with Black music and art, for example—there seemed to be a disconnect. it was almost as if each brand was operating in its own bubble. we came in to burst them.

our strategic vision—evolve the unique positioning for each brand on social media while identifying opportunities to connect them back to the essence ventures mission. this meant working closely with both the social media and editorial teams to tap into moments like rihanna’s epic concert at that football game, michelle obama’s birthday, and lori harvey’s self-love cover, all while engaging essence’s community of essies*.

*rihanna has the navy, essence has the essies.