The Strategy’s Been Marinating. Now It’s Cooking

👋🏾 Hello again. Let’s reintroduce this.

It’s been a minute. But I’ve been deep in the lab—cooking up a fresh digital space that reflects where I’ve been, what I believe, and where I’m headed next.

Introducing joshweaver.com (got rid of that clunky middle initial) — a new kind of portfolio site that blends experience, insight, and purpose in a way that (hopefully) feels… very me. It’s clean. It’s mobile-friendly. And most importantly: it’s alive with intention.

🔥 What’s Been Cooking?

Campaign Strategy with Real-World Impact

As Campaign Director at The Ad Council, I lead American Dreams—a national campaign tackling anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in 28 states where protections have been rolled back or erased.

This isn’t just another PSA drop. It’s an empathy-driven effort to reframe what the American Dream means—and who it’s meant for.

• Three critical issues. Housing, safety, and employment—core pillars of daily life where LGBTQ+ people still face legal and lived discrimination.
• Three human values. Freedom, opportunity, and belonging—reclaimed through storytelling that connects across difference.
• One goal. To make bias visible, and action possible.

From day one, I’ve overseen every layer of the campaign: segmentation strategy, creative development, multichannel distribution, and real-time optimization. I work closely with agency partners (like R/GA), attend shoots, help shape narrative arcs, and ensure that every asset honors both data and dignity.

The results?

• 💡 A 33% general population recall rate in the first month—remarkably high for a cause-based PSA.
• 📈 77M+ video views and counting, across TV, digital, and social.
• 🤝 Partnerships with influencers, media networks, and LGBTQ+ orgs to localize impact and deepen resonance.

But beyond metrics, what I’m most proud of is the approach: leading with empathy, backed by strategy, and designed to bridge one of the country’s deepest divides—with nuance, not noise.

Rebranding a Lifeline: My Tenure at The Trevor Project

As The Trevor Project’s first-ever Vice President of Marketing, I stepped into a role that had never existed before—with a mandate to evolve the brand for a new generation of LGBTQ+ young people navigating life, identity, and crisis in a radically shifting world.

This was about more than just marketing. It was about saving lives through stronger connection, clearer messaging, and a brand that could meet young people where they are—digitally, culturally, and emotionally.

• Led Trevor’s first rebrand in a decade. From visual identity to voice, we rebuilt the brand to reflect both the legacy and the future of LGBTQ+ youth advocacy.
• Launched cross-channel campaigns that spanned paid social, influencer activations, broadcast, and always-on digital touchpoints—all optimized in real time using audience data and brand health metrics.
• Managed a team of 8, mentoring and scaling internal capacity while aligning marketing operations with the org’s life-saving mission.

One of the proudest milestones?
A 40%+ increase in brand awareness among LGBTQ+ youth in just one year—reclaiming Trevor’s relevance in a crowded digital landscape while deepening trust with the very people it exists to serve.

This work was recognized industry-wide:

• 🏆 Adweek’s Brand Save Award, honoring Trevor’s campaign resonance and real-world impact.
• 📹 Sharing Space, a trans and nonbinary roundtable series I helped launch, moderated by Daniel Radcliffe, setting a new tone for intergenerational allyship and representation.

At its core, this was brand-building with stakes. It meant grounding everything—from color palette to copywriting—in affirmation, clarity, and care.

Because when the mission is life-saving, the brand has to meet the moment.

Culture-First Leadership at Scale: My Chapter at VICE Media

At VICE, I wasn’t just buying media—I was translating culture into strategy for some of the world’s most iconic brands.

As Director of Media, I led a North American team across New York, L.A., and Toronto, driving integrated campaigns for partners like Chanel, Microsoft, and more. Our mandate? Bridge the gap between real youth culture and legacy brand ambition.

This work lived at the intersection of relevance and rigor:

• Led award-winning branded content, like The Fifth Sense—a Chanel x i-D multimedia campaign exploring female creativity through scent. It boosted purchase intent among millennial women by 23% and won two Digiday Europe Awards.
• Launched frontier-facing initiatives like Dear Future, a Microsoft-backed documentary series spotlighting innovations solving global challenges—earning a Webby for Science & Education.
• Oversaw media strategy, buying, and reporting across display, video, and social—balancing client vision with editorial integrity and cultural fluency.

Internally, I helped evolve how VICE operated:

• 🧭 Built and scaled workflows that balanced ambition with accountability.
• 🤝 Mentored a ten-person strategy team, cultivating next-gen leaders and reworking systems that had outgrown their startup roots.
• 🛠️ Spearheaded cross-functional initiatives to modernize reporting, streamline planning, and better connect our commercial work with the brand’s editorial voice.

I was also a go-to spokesperson—frequently tapped to represent VICE’s POV on generational trends, inclusive storytelling, and channel strategy at major events like NewFronts.

In short: I helped big brands speak human—and helped a human brand think big.

🚀 Let’s Build What’s Next. Together.

This relaunch isn’t just a look-back. It’s a launchpad.

Whether you’re here to explore case studies, dive into strategy, collaborate on purpose-driven work, or just see what I’ve been cooking—I’m glad you’re here.

If something resonates, sparks an idea, or makes you want to build something bold—reach out. I’m open to new partnerships, project-based consulting, executive roles, and future-forging conversations across marketing, media, tech, and impact.

This site is the start. The next move? We make it together.

— Josh (they/them) // 📩 [email protected] //🔗 joshweaver.com