Welcome Cashmere, Driving Impact and Authenticity for a New Generation

Cashmere was founded in 2003 by Ted Chung and Seung Chung and combines over 150 professionals across disciplines, including publicity, branding strategy, social and creative, experiential, media buying and more. Based in Los Angeles, Cashmere specializes in identifying trends to create and execute campaigns that drive culture.

Notable clients include Taco Bell, BMW, Google, Facebook, Amazon, adidas, Apple, Disney, Netflix and Universal Pictures. Cashmere was named Ad Age’s Multicultural Agency of the Year in 2019, made Ad Age’s 2020 A-List Agencies to Watch list and joined Media.Monks as an Ad Age 2021 A-List Standout Agency.

Offering Meaningful Support to Communities Everywhere

It goes without saying that the past couple of years have dramatically altered the ways people connect and behave digitally. Among political upheaval and the uneven effects of the global pandemic (and the piecemeal recovery among different communities), recent events have also prompted a cultural reckoning—whether through movements like Black Lives Matter or the adoption of technology that has helped younger generations raise their voice for causes they believe in, like the “green teens” advocating against climate change on TikTok.

And among these trends, many brands have tried to latch on by stating their support for communities and causes as they evolve. But as anyone who’s seen a brand’s rainbow-colored logo conspicuously revert to normal as soon as Pride festivities are done can tell you, consumers realize the difference between a brand meaningfully supporting a community and its values versus those who co-opt to ride a trend.

In this respect, partners like Cashmere have played an important role in helping brands authentically participate in cultural spaces at the intersection where brand platforms, culture and audiences meet. For Cashmere, this role extends well beyond client work; last year, they launched OneOpp, a social justice coalition aimed at tackling systemic racism and police brutality.

A New Playbook for a Changing Culture

Different audiences have different needs, favor different technologies and seek unique ways to engage. But in the pursuit of creative work that drives culture, Cashmere’s focus extends well beyond the fringes to weave together a bold vision of what the world can be—one that better represents the plurality of perspectives within a global society.

It could be Stop Asian Hate. It could be how Black creatives are getting treated on TikTok,” Ryan Ford, President and Chief Creative Officer at Cashmere, recently told Ad Age. “And it's not just important to Black people. Those things are important to culture. Rewind to last summer, we saw those protests in the streets. That wasn’t just a bunch of Black people out there. That was everybody, young people especially.”

It’s true that causes that were once considered niche or radical are now gaining ground among society as a whole, thanks to the elevation of more diverse voices online and in traditional media. Realizing that the minority will become the majority in the US by 2042, Cashmere is helping brands tap into this new general market with relevance and authenticity.

Building Relevance and Credibility into Modern Brand Building

As culture redefines itself and its beliefs, brands must also reconsider the roles they play in society and how they show up for audiences. We’ve long believed in a fit-for-purpose approach that seeds impactful, relevant stories across channels that propel the brand’s role in tailored, multifaceted ways. This is enabled by a unique blend of content, data&digital media expertise—now augmented by the crucial layer of cultural strategy that Cashmere delivers to their clients.

Here’s how it works. Cashmere’s own approach to this lies in cultural spaces, or focused spaces for brands to engage and participate in as part of a larger vision to move culture forward. Through careful listening, Cashmere helps brands find communities that exist within a target audience and the community leaders they can partner with for credibility. This process helps brands build and synthesize authentic connections with new generations and communities.

To that end, Cashmere’s existing clients will now have access to a global team of multilocal talent and cutting-edge capabilities within Media.Monks. The agency’s deep understanding of culture will fold into our seamless end-to-end offering—giving our existing clients access to Cashmere’s specialized ability to identify trends and execute campaigns that drive culture.

We’re Ready for Impact

We’re thrilled to welcome Cashmere to the team. The agency shares our belief in helping brands support diverse audiences in meaningful ways by disrupting tradition and blazing a new path to value. Cashmere’s mission is to challenge the world by creating the world that could be, with the belief that when there is greater harmony between culture and brands, progress will be fully realized. Now, let’s go build that world together.