This was a deeply rewarding campaign to work on. The Watchmen IP is rich, layered, and beloved—anchored by an established and discerning fandom. Getting the creative right while staying true to the legacy of the original comic was critical. But so was honoring the bold departure this adaptation took: exploring white supremacy, American history, and racial justice through a visionary new lens. The strategy demanded precision—meeting the expectations of longtime fans while also crafting an approach that spoke directly and meaningfully to a multicultural audience, particularly Black viewers. Every touchpoint had to be intentional, layered, and culturally fluent.
This campaign also intersected with an especially personal challenge. I was navigating a serious health complication that was making the difficult decision to step back for me. In that moment, I had to trust that the team I had built—people I onboarded, trained, and collaborated with closely—was ready to carry the work forward. And they were. Watching them rise to the occasion and execute such a complex, tentpole campaign with excellence was one of my proudest professional and personally rewarding moments. It was a reminder that leadership isn’t just about vision—it’s about building strong, capable teams who can deliver, even in your absence. It was also a reminder that work is not life, just a part of it. In moments where work needs to take a back seat having community — personally and professionally — is paramount.
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Objective
Create a thoughtful, multi-layered campaign to build excitement around the debut of the Watchmen series. The mission: spark curiosity, invite longtime fans of the comic and related IP into the conversation, and foster a sense of cultural connection and ownership—particularly among African American and multicultural audiences—through stories, moments, and platforms that felt relevant, resonant, and real.
Approach
Launching a campaign for Watchmen—a property with deep roots in comic culture and new relevance in its reimagined series—required a culturally attuned, strategic approach. The goal: honor the legacy while introducing bold new themes with nuance and care. We built an integrated campaign leveraging strategic partnerships, original content, social influencers, and experiential activations to meet fans where they were and invite new audiences in.
Key initiatives included:
A collaboration with The Atlantic to develop a custom digital graphic novella recounting the history of the Tulsa Massacre, followed by a live panel in Washington, D.C. featuring renowned journalists and historians.
A partnership with CultureCon, featuring an exclusive screening for 300+ attendees and a fireside chat with Regina King during the conference.
An immersive presence at New York Comic Con, where we created a Community Lounge with live discussions led by For All Nerds and Black Nerd Problems, photo ops, refreshments, and comic-style portraits to bring fans into the world of Watchmen.
Impact
Our partnership with The Atlantic set a new standard for the publisher: the custom content outperformed average social shares by 90x, achieved 17x more page views, and became the top-performing collaboration in terms of return visits. The campaign succeeded in building both buzz and cultural connection, driving strong early engagement with the series.
