VIA

You want to know what makes us tick? Our friends at LBBonline - Little Black Book just pulled back the curtain on VIA, exploring how we engineer Ideas with Consequences. It’s more than a tagline; it’s the filter for everything we do. Dive in to discover why being employee-owned changes everything, how we blend data and dreams to solve complex problems, and why we’re always ready to run through a brick wall for an idea that moves the world. Ready to see how we think? Go ahead, take a peek. https://lnkd.in/gre25Zmi

Big news for the future of branded entertainment. We’re excited to see our collaboration with Tommy Harper and VeYou featured in MediaPost as we officially lean into the next evolution of storytelling: microdramas. Together, we’re building original, mobile-first entertainment designed with brands at the center from day one. As our Chief Creative Officer Matt O'Rourke shared, this model creates “a universe of characters, scenes, and storylines” that can live far beyond traditional advertising. This partnership reflects something we believe deeply at VIA: the lines between advertising, entertainment, creators, and streaming are disappearing fast. The brands willing to tell stories differently will be the ones audiences actually choose to engage with. Several projects are already in development, with first releases expected later this year. We’re just getting started. Read the full coverage here, https://lnkd.in/e3jnYNYB

Excited to share that the latest episode of Brand Story is live and our own Leeann Leahy is in the guest chair. In the conversation, Leeann digs into what it really takes to build brands that matter: creating emotional connection, leading with humanity, and developing ideas with consequences—the kind that move people, businesses, and culture forward. One line that captures the heart of the episode: “Emotional connections aren’t about saying the right words, they’re about being infectious and creating ideas with consequences.” It’s a perspective that shows up in everything from transforming legacy brands like L.L.Bean and Golden Corral to building a culture at VIA where creativity and people can do their best work. This episode is a great listen for marketers, founders, and anyone thinking about how brands stay relevant by staying human. Because great brands don’t just communicate. They connect. 🎧 Tune in to Brand Story Episode 107 now. Thank you to Gravity Group and Steve Gilman for having Leeann on your show. https://lnkd.in/eXrA4T-6 #BrandStory #Podcast #BrandBuilding #Leadership #Marketing #Advertising #AgencyLife #BrandStrategy

Ideas are the most powerful force in the world. But without intent, they're just noise.

Most pool advertising completely misses the point. It sells features. Price. Upgrades. But that’s not what people are actually buying. They’re buying what it says about them. So we built something for Anthony & Sylvan Pools that doesn’t feel like an ad. Watch this.

We’re incredibly proud of our very own Corri Runes Gardner who was just selected to the Board of Directors of Rippleffect Inc., a Maine organization that helps young people build leadership through outdoor adventure. What makes this organization especially meaningful is how close to home it is. Rippleffect is doing the work right here in the greater Portland area. They're helping kids develop confidence, resilience, teamwork and the kind of leadership skills that don’t come from a textbook. They come from real experiences, real challenges and real growth. At VIA, we love celebrating the work VIAns do outside the office just as much as the work they do inside it. Because when someone brings this kind of energy to their community, you know they’re bringing it to their teammates and clients too. Huge congratulations, Corri. This is a good one. 👏🌲 https://lnkd.in/e8EABewx

Some work just hits differently when you’ve been in the trenches with a brand for years. Our latest spot for Golden Corral Corporation does exactly that. On the surface, it’s promoting the Butterfly Shrimp & Steak offering. But underneath, it’s really about reinforcing what makes the brand stand out: the buffet and the ability to take that same crave-worthy experience to go. Whether you’re piling your plate high in the restaurant or bringing it home, the idea is the same - abundance, choice and real value. This piece pushes the food harder, makes the buffet feel more energetic and modern, and still keeps the “to go” story front and center because that’s how guests are actually using the brand today. Because the audience matters as much as the message, we also created a Spanish-language version to better connect with Golden Corral’s Latino guests and make sure the work reflects the people who love the brand most. Huge credit to the team (and the production partners who made the food look this good). And thanks to Agency Compile for giving the video a little extra spotlight this week. It’s a great example of what happens when strategy, speed and craft all show up at the same time. 🍤🥩🎬

People Are So Not Pi National Pi Day was this past weekend and our team of VIAn's crafted an ode to mathematical certainty. For some, it’s a comforting nod to predictability and machine-like precision. For marketers, it’s a great reminder that your customers aren’t machines. Machines are wonderfully rational. They love patterns. They follow instructions. Feed them clean inputs and they’ll reward you with predictable outputs. People? Not so much. We root for underdogs we’ve never met.  We tear up at surprise airport reunions. We ignore the perfectly optimized message and remember the weird one. We drive 20 minutes to save $5, and then impulse buy a $12 latte. We’re so not pi. And yet, in marketers’ quest to “create an emotional connection” with these beautifully unpredictable humans, they reflexively approach it like a math problem. They build data-driven plans with algorithmic precision, optimizing a multi-variable equation toward the highest-probability outcome.  And with AI eager to assist, that equation runs even cleaner and faster. The systems improve. The models converge. The variance shrinks. And we optimize away the very thing we’re trying to create. Because data-driven algorithms are exceptionally good at engineering very average outcomes. They prioritize what’s proven. They standardize what stands out. They flatten the edges. Meaning you end up in the same rational place as your equally sensible competitors. So on this National Pi Day, let’s remember that precision isn’t persuasion. Talk to your customers. Better yet, watch what they actually do. Find the insights the models don’t see. Study the contradictions. Play with the tensions. Protect the edges. Create ideas that make no sense to machines, and just might give your customers goosebumps. #nationalpiday #percisionisnotpersuasion #talktoyourcustomers

Leveling the playing field takes more than good intentions. It takes action. This International Women’s Day, we were proud to partner with Gainbridge Super League to help create the content behind a new group of Brand Ambassadors, nine incredible athletes representing the future of the league. From the first idea to the final shoot, it was an opportunity to do what we love most: use creativity to elevate a brand with real momentum and real purpose. In this case, helping spotlight athletes who are not only competing at the highest level, but also building their voices, their platforms and their futures. Sports marketing has long had an uneven playing field. Efforts like this are how it starts to change. Huge thanks to the Gainbridge team and the athletes who brought so much energy to the shoot. We had a blast capturing it and we’re excited to see what comes next. #InternationalWomensDay #SportsMarketing #WomensSports #BrandAmbassadors

We recently had the incredible opportunity to work with a women's soccer league to create a library of content built to the same standard as anything in men's sports. We are always looking to champion stories that our team can get behind on a personal, creative and strategic level, so it was a no-brainer to (very enthusiastically) raise our hand for this one. Here's the behind-the-scenes. More coming soon. ⚽🥅 #InternationalWomensDay #WomenInSports #SportsMarketing #Advertising