Gift of the Gabberer: Elisha Greenwell

Elisha Greenwell is the Co-Managing Director of Brand Citizenship at 72andSunny and founder of non-profit Black Joy Parade.

Can you walk us through how you got your start in the industry and how it led you to where you are today?

There was no big ‘ah-ha’ moment or pivot point. I always knew I’d be in marketing in one way or another. I was that kid constantly making up jingles, remaking commercials and writing borderline offensive signage to promote high school events.  When I got out of undergrad I moved to SF to put myself through the Academy of Art. After a few weeks in school I was able to land a part time job as a media billing assistant, which I then spun to sound far more involved, to land a job as an AAE at Carol H Williams, a shop (and founder) that I still deeply admire. Around the time of my graduation I was recruited by one of my professors to Venables, Bell & Partners, and then by another ex-professor to Wieden, and then so on from there.

Throughout my journey I have always had a non-hustle side hustle, regularly volunteering for non-profits in my spare time.

I think this, among other things, inspired my managers to put me on social impact projects, and inspired me to push all my projects towards purpose whenever the opportunity presented itself. Gradually these became one and the same, and now I am blessed to work full time on purpose-driven marketing. 

As Co-Managing Director of Brand Citizenship at 72andSunny, can you tell us about how purpose plays a role in your current position? 

We’re a purpose-driven strategic consultancy so it’s our personal and professional motivation, as well as our core offering. 

What are the biggest stumbling blocks brands face when incorporating purpose into their marketing? 

Trying to be everything to everyone, solving all the world's problems vs. zeroing in on those that they are uniquely qualified and positioned to impact.

And then related, thinking of purpose as an island, unrelated and often misaligned with the sales and operational needs of the business. Impact requires a dynamic combination of committed resource and sharp focus. 

Define “purpose” in your words. How has purpose manifested itself in your work and personal life? 

For me, purpose is something beneficial to many, but meant specifically for you - your natural born gifts, life experience and passionate pursuits.

Purpose is something that you can uniquely be or belong to that will not only bring fulfilment to your life, but those around you. 

Was there ever a moment in your professional life where you lost a sense of purpose? If so, how did you go about cultivating more of it?

I’d say moments. But that’s natural, especially if you’re working for an agency where you don’t get to choose your clients or projects, and have little say on the team you’re working with. When I was younger that was almost always the case. However I was also not nearly as clear as to what my purpose was. I’d say I was less ‘lost’ and more in the discovery mode. 

You founded Black Joy Parade, a hyper-positive non-profit based in Oakland, CA, that celebrates the Black experience and community's contribution to history and culture. At what point did you decide to pursue Black Joy Parade fully? How do you continue to balance it with your full-time work?

I started Black Joy Parade in 2017 while working full time at Facebook, as well as actively serving on the board of 2 other non-profits. Almost 5 years later and I still run Black Joy Parade while working full time and serving on those two boards.

Black joy can’t be stopped. Find, share and celebrate your joy whenever and wherever possible. - Black Joy Parade

I think for me the idea of balance is misleading, as it alludes to two things against one another, competitively vying for my energy and time.

In reality, there are so many things in our lives that demand of us - friendship, romance, family, our health being an important one.

These things are connected and in my case, incredibly so. Working at Facebook gave me the knowledge and tools to build Black Joy Parade. The first supporters of Black Joy Parade were my family and best friends. And it is with those friends that I travel, which provides constant learning that I bring to any new role. It’s less of a balance and more or an amoeba or bubble, shifting, evolving, moving in certain directions through time. I know that sounds very new age hipster, but I have yet to find ‘balance,’ because to do that I would first need and want to achieve separation. 

How has the past year shaped your relationship with your purpose? 

I’m not sure it changed my relationship with my purpose in a significant way.

However, I began my role at Brand Citizens in March 2020 just a few days before lockdown began, and of course a few months before, summer protests reached their peak.

Both of these cultural moments forced brands to wake up, changing the way they invest in, engage with, and honestly even care about, their purpose. This has opened up a lot of opportunities for us to help them develop, plan, and most importantly, action against their purpose. This may also be true of other people. Purpose is trending and people, whether in their own lives or on behalf of companies, are now looking to find theirs as a way to navigate our increasingly complex world and the choices we all must make to survive and hopefully thrive.

Outside of work, how do you cultivate inspiration, recharge your mind and reconnect with your passions?

Travel. I love to travel. Crave it even. I am very much an extrovert and so the energy around me often defines my state. Being in different places forces out stagnant thoughts, making space for new and interesting ones. 

I also sleep a lot. Minimum 9 hours a day.
More if I can get it.

Sleep is the only time where I truly feel alone, with my body and my dreams. And even though I’m not conscious I believe I do my best healing, thinking, and building while I’m asleep. People often tell me I have endless energy and that I’m a quick problem solver. That’s because I sleep. A lot. 

Any tips for bringing more purpose-led thinking to our day to day clients? (E.g. ways to challenge the client brief, ways to brief creatives, ways to steer the creative, etc).

Client relationships, like all relationships, including those with your creatives, are about trust. If they trust you’re looking out for their best, they’ll be open to discussing purpose-led work, or at the very least explain to you why they are not. No different than any other type of work in my opinion, except that many people assume purpose-led work will not drive revenue. Explore how it can so that you, again, build trust that you understand their position and are working toward the same goals.