In 2022, Ben’s Chili Bowl, an iconic D.C. landmark, celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in a approach that blended custom with innovation. To honor its deep ties to the group, the restaurant launched a vibrant influencer advertising and marketing marketing campaign that included a road pageant, social media contests, and a heartfelt documentary. With native influencers on the forefront, Ben’s Chili Bowl engaged the group by permitting influencers to share private tales, remodeling this nostalgic milestone right into a viral second.
The marketing campaign not solely celebrated its wealthy historical past but in addition demonstrated the facility of mixing actual, native connections with influencer advertising and marketing. It was a masterclass in community-driven digital engagement.
That is the sort of visionary considering that units D.C.’s prime influencer advertising and marketing businesses aside. Behind profitable campaigns like these are the fearless leaders—CEOs whose strategic foresight and modern strategy push the boundaries of digital advertising and marketing.
On this article, we’ll spotlight the highest CEOs of influencer advertising and marketing businesses in Washington, D.C., who’re paving the best way for the way forward for model partnerships and digital storytelling. These are the leaders who flip concepts into viral sensations, and who know easy methods to create campaigns that not solely go viral but in addition go away a long-lasting influence.
Prime CEOs of Influencer Advertising and marketing Firms in Washington DC
In Washington D.C., the place affect is the whole lot, the masterminds behind right this moment’s most impactful campaigns aren’t simply politicians—they’re advertising and marketing CEOs. These leaders run town’s prime influencer advertising and marketing businesses, crafting viral moments that form public notion, model success, and even political messaging.
1. Benjamin B. Kaplan
Strategic precision and viral advertising and marketing mastery outline Benjamin B. Kaplan’s strategy to influencer campaigns. The driving power behind TOP Company, he has constructed one of many trade’s most modern advertising and marketing corporations by combining real-time knowledge with compelling storytelling to create influencer partnerships that actually resonate.
His profession started with PR Hacker, the place he revolutionized public relations via analytics-driven methods. This similar philosophy now fuels TOP Company—a worldwide community of 12 specialised advertising and marketing corporations that optimize influencer advertising and marketing with data-backed decision-making.
Kaplan’s experience is most evident in his strategy to mid-tier influencers. As an alternative of counting on celeb endorsements, he uncovers hidden gems—content material creators who ship excessive engagement and stronger ROI. His methodology turns influencers into genuine model advocates, fostering credibility and belief.
Past his company work, Kaplan hosts the TOP CMO podcast, the place he delves into the methods of the world’s main entrepreneurs. With a footprint in over 20 nations—together with Washington, D.C., a key hub for influencer advertising and marketing—his affect spans industries and geographies.
A Harvard-trained economist, media veteran, and self-taught coder, Kaplan shouldn’t be merely preserving tempo with advertising and marketing evolution—he’s actively shaping it.
2. Jon Davids
Lengthy earlier than influencer advertising and marketing grew to become mainstream, Jon Davids was already turning digital consideration into enterprise success. Since launching Influicity in 2015, he has constructed one of the dynamic forces in advertising and marketing, serving to manufacturers leverage influencers, podcasts, and content-driven communities.
For Davids, advertising and marketing isn’t nearly short-term model offers—it’s about fostering deep, lasting buyer connections. His company goes past conventional influencer collaborations, integrating social media, electronic mail, and website positioning to make sure sustained viewers engagement. With a robust presence in Washington, D.C., Influicity serves industries starting from healthcare to tech, proving that influencer advertising and marketing can work throughout any sector.
An influential content material creator himself, Davids hosts Making It with Jon Davids, a top-10 advertising and marketing podcast worldwide. His insights on branding and digital development lengthen past his company—he additionally runs coaching packages designed to assist companies grasp AI, content material creation, and strategic advertising and marketing.
A self-made entrepreneur, Davids first discovered success in faculty by monetizing an internet journal, later pioneering influencer-brand collaborations earlier than most entrepreneurs even acknowledged their potential. Now, along with his upcoming e book Advertising and marketing Superpowers, he’s sharing the playbook he needs he had when beginning out.
3. Roxy Jahangeri & Cory Lawrence
In a digital world oversaturated with advertisements, Roxy Jahangeri and Cory Lawrence are proving that one of the best advertising and marketing nonetheless occurs in actual life. At IRL Company, they mix influencer advertising and marketing, social media technique, and experiential model activations, making certain that manufacturers create lasting connections—each on-line and off.
Jahangeri, serving as Director of Experiences, infuses creativity into immersive advertising and marketing campaigns that transcend digital impressions. She focuses on turning model tales into tangible, unforgettable moments. In the meantime, Lawrence, as Director of Advertising and marketing, shapes IRL Company’s content material manufacturing, mixing technique with visible storytelling throughout social platforms.
What makes their strategy distinctive? Their perception in holistic model storytelling. Quite than simply executing influencer partnerships, they construct communities via content material, social engagement, and curated occasions. Shoppers constantly reward their skill to remodel concepts into impactful experiences, elevating model aesthetics and driving actual engagement.
4. Megan Flynn
Megan Flynn is proving that huge advertising and marketing outcomes aren’t only for huge manufacturers. At Megan Flynn Advertising and marketing, she’s constructed a Washington, D.C.-based company designed to assist small companies make an influence via data-driven advertising and marketing methods.
In contrast to businesses chasing high-budget company purchasers, Flynn prioritizes accessibility, making certain that even native companies can profit from influencer advertising and marketing, digital advertisements, and strategic model growth. Licensed as a Enterprise Enterprise (CBE) in D.C., her company is deeply embedded in the neighborhood, main branding initiatives just like the revitalization of Chevy Chase, D.C.
Past working a profitable company, Flynn is a hands-on entrepreneur. She co-owns Merry Pin, a craft retailer and café that doubles as a inventive hub—giving her firsthand perception into the challenges small companies face. This real-world expertise informs her advertising and marketing strategy, making certain that her purchasers obtain methods tailor-made for sensible development and actual engagement.
With a background spanning advocacy, grassroots advertising and marketing, and model storytelling, Flynn is greater than a marketer—she’s a champion for small companies.
5. Thomas Sanchez
A 3-time Tech Titan and considered one of Technical.ly’s RealLIST Connectors of 2024, Thomas has earned recognition for his innovation in digital advertising and marketing and his unwavering advocacy for range, fairness, and inclusion. However his affect extends past enterprise—his function because the CEO of Social Driver underscores his dedication to social good.
Thomas has additionally positioned Social Driver as a pacesetter in influencer advertising and marketing, spearheading initiatives like educating a State Division delegation on creator-driven campaigns and dealing with AIDS United to fight vaccine hesitancy through Instagram and TikTok influencers. He understands that influencers aren’t simply content material creators—they’re changemakers who can drive conversations that matter.
His forward-thinking management has earned Social Driver accolades just like the Nationwide LGBT Chamber of Commerce’s Provider of the Yr award and a spot on the Minority Enterprise 100 checklist. And with government training from Harvard Enterprise Faculty and Dartmouth’s Tuck Faculty of Enterprise, Thomas blends experience with a relentless drive for innovation.
Whether or not it’s launching philanthropic initiatives like The Driver Basis or advising Washington, D.C. on tech inclusion, Thomas isn’t simply shaping the way forward for digital advertising and marketing—he’s making certain it’s one the place everybody has a seat on the desk.
6. Zach Goodwin
Zach Goodwin doesn’t simply create advert campaigns—he builds cultural moments that make manufacturers unforgettable. At This January, he leads a workforce identified for crafting next-gen advertising and marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 firms, startups, and viral manufacturers.
Earlier than launching his company, Goodwin spent over a decade at ISL (iStrategyLabs), the place he performed a key function in scaling the agency from a three-person startup to an 87-employee WPP acquisition. His inventive genius fueled award-winning campaigns like NBC Common’s Mr. Robotic launch (Cannes Lion winner) and Lockheed Martin’s “Subject Journey to Mars” (Cannes’ most-awarded marketing campaign in 2016).
With a shopper checklist together with Nike, Fb, Volkswagen, and Capital One, Goodwin’s management has propelled This January’s fast enlargement—from three staff to 18 in two years. The company’s 12 ADDYs and Awwwards Website of the Day recognitions communicate to their inventive excellence.
7. Benjamin B. Kaplan
Few perceive the science of virality like Benjamin B. Kaplan. At PR Hacker, he has revolutionized influencer advertising and marketing by mixing data-driven PR with high-impact digital campaigns, turning model tales into shareable moments that unfold like wildfire.
His profession is a masterclass in media technique. Over the previous 15 years, he’s been featured on Oprah, Good Morning America, and over 2,000 different TV and radio exhibits. He’s labored as a media spokesperson for Dr. Pepper and Uncover Card, contributed as a columnist for The New York Occasions and TIME, and constructed an company accountable for touchdown purchasers in over 5,000 media retailers.
At PR Hacker, influencer advertising and marketing isn’t about merely pairing manufacturers with creators—it’s about discovering voices that actually join. Kaplan’s workforce prioritizes authenticity and engagement, making certain influencer collaborations generate measurable enterprise influence. Whether or not it’s driving consciousness, launching a product, or igniting trade conversations, PR Hacker crafts influencer methods designed for optimum attain and ROI.
Past working an company, Kaplan is the founding father of Nationwide In the present day, a media platform that transforms area of interest holidays—like Nationwide Pizza Day or Worldwide Yoga Day—into viral cultural moments. A Harvard-trained economist, startup founder, and digital strategist, he focuses on leveraging timing, traits, and storytelling to construct unstoppable model momentum.
8. Chris Lewis
Chris Lewis has spent practically three many years shaping how manufacturers join, affect, and have interaction within the digital-first world. His management has fueled daring, forward-thinking initiatives, together with eliminating conventional resumes to foster a extra dynamic and inclusive hiring course of. This progressive mindset has helped TEAM LEWIS appeal to top-tier expertise—together with rising influencer stars—and execute campaigns that transcend engagement to drive real-world change.
Past his function at TEAM LEWIS, Chris is a famend thought chief in management and communication. He co-authored The Management Lab – Understanding Management within the twenty first Century, which received Enterprise and Management E book of the Yr in 2019. His insights into trendy affect, media, and branding have positioned him as an important voice in right this moment’s fast-evolving advertising and marketing panorama.
From growing international media methods to pioneering new influencer advertising and marketing frameworks, Lewis isn’t simply reacting to trade traits—he’s shaping them.
Washington D.C.’s Advertising and marketing Powerhouses: The CEOs Redefining Affect
Within the fast-paced world of digital affect, Washington D.C.’s prime CEOs should not simply following traits—they’re setting them. From high-stakes political campaigns to viral model moments, these leaders have mastered the artwork of influencer advertising and marketing, turning technique into influence. Whether or not via full-service businesses, boutique inventive corporations, or data-driven consultancies, they’re reshaping how manufacturers, governments, and companies join with audiences. In a metropolis the place affect is forex, these visionaries show that the proper mix of technique, authenticity, and innovation isn’t simply good advertising and marketing—it’s what defines success within the trendy digital panorama.
In regards to the Writer
Author
Koba Molenaar brings practically a decade of wealthy expertise in content material writing, specializing in digital advertising and marketing, branding, SaaS, and eCommerce. Her ardour for serving to manufacturers, from solopreneurs to established firms, join with their audiences shines via her work. As a member of the Golden Key Worldwide Honor Society, Koba’s dedication to excellence is obvious in her work, showcasing her as a relatable and educated voice within the trade.
