When Jason Mitchell realized his college professors were still teaching TV-first strategies while every student in the room was glued to Facebook, he saw an opportunity.

That opportunity was the beginning of Movement, a social-first agency that has done award-winning work for brands like the NBA, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more.

In this episode, Jason shares the early bets and strategic philosophies that have helped Movement grow from a dorm-room idea into one of the most recognized social-first agencies in the industry.

We explore what it means to put social at the center of a campaign rather than treat it as an add-on, and why the best ideas often begin with strategic social listening.

Some of my favorite aha moments from our conversation include:

• How Jason found his way into the journalism and advertising program at University of Colorado despite having terrible grades
• How social listening led to a viral campaign (and a real arrest) for Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries
• Why Klarna’s biggest brand barrier in the U.S. wasn’t competition, but disbelief over their core value prop
• Jason’s secrets for setting up a great social listening system
• How Jason would rebrand the movie-going experience to help people rekindle their love of cinema in an era of social media

Show Notes:

Below are links to inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Books:

Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet

Campaigns & Videos:

Klarna: What’s the Catch Campaign with Bretman Rock

So Many Dicks Campaign Case Study - e.l.f. Beauty

Unsolved Mysteries Shorty Awards Case Study