As we wrap up 2024, we’d like to take some time to reflect on some of the biggest moments and milestones that proved once again: family elevates everything.

The Year in Pictures

Year after year we challenge ourselves to find new ways to view and solve communications challenges. Even after more than 10 years supporting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), we have continued to find novel––and highly effective––approaches for promoting health insurance coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act. In 2024, we led two productions filmed in Miami. The first campaign, titled “Changes Happen” highlighted the many life changes, like marriage and retirement, that prompt new healthcare coverage needs. The second, titled “Testimonials,” featured real-life stories of people who benefitted from finding and securing insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Similarly, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), we managed highly successful productions in Miami and Dallas in partnership with Merge Studios, to showcase innovative new technologies that help travelers navigate customs swiftly and easily.

Our Global Adventures

From Tokyo to Amsterdam, the team traversed the world representing CBP’s Visa Waiver (ESTA) Program. In Tokyo, Amanda and Harrison attended Tourism Expo Japan, one of the largest travel trade shows in the world. The show gave us the chance to showcase the ESTA-san anime character and engage audiences with our U.S. trivia game. The team also explored the iconic Tokyo Tower and sang some karaoke (Amanda may or may not have stolen the show with her vocals!) In London, they attended networking events at the V&A Museum and Sky Garden, and further strengthened ESTA’s presence in the global travel sector.

Since June, we’ve been busy kicking off a massive effort to promote CBP’s Trusted Traveler Program brands worldwide. Soon, a high-impact creative campaign will debut to showcase Global Entry, the program’s most notable brand. Then, we’ll roll out a range of promotional items, including digital ads, signage, newsletters, collateral materials, and stakeholder toolkits.

Awards and Recognition

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Tips from Former Smokers Campaign was a finalist in the “Government and Politics” category at the 9th Annual Shorty Impact Awards and received the “audience honor” award. The Tips campaign is the longest-running smoking cessation campaign in the country and systemically delivers year-over-year positive impacts on the health of the American public. We are beyond proud to be part of such meaningful work; these recognitions are a testament to our team’s dedication and creative passion.

In 2024, Elevation was named the #1 Small Business in the country serving the federal government in GrowthLab’s annual report of top marketing communications firms. Thriving amid such fierce competition is no small feat and is a testament to our ability to build trusting client partnerships, evolve our capabilities, and challenge ourselves again and again. More than anything, when we deliver strong results, our federal clients get excited to launch new campaigns and initiatives. That, in turn, contributes to our own growth and staying power.

Our Growing Family

In 2024, we also celebrated our expanding family, when Gaby welcomed her precious baby boy! And we were thrilled to welcome Francisco officially, and to add his unique spark of creative energy and perspective to our design work.

We also welcomed Ferrovial into the fold as a new client, after our long-time friend and former client Patrick Flanagan joined their team. We are always grateful when old clients land at new organizations and ask us to assist with their marketing and communications.

Cheering Life’s Grand Moments

And finally, this year, we had some golden opportunities to come together to cheer:

• Peyton’s Wedding in Costa Rica: Surrounded by friends, family, and breathtaking Pura Vida vibes, Jimmy’s daughter Peyton tied the knot with her beloved Jake. Amanda delivered what may very well have been the best rehearsal dinner speech of all time, and there wasn’t a dry eye under the tent when Jimmy spoke.
• Charlotte Turning One and Taking Her First Steps: Catherine’s daughter Charlotte made her office debut, crawling between desks and chasing Lincoln and Luna. She also took her first steps and marveled at the candle on her first birthday cake.
• Harrison Moving to the Windy City: Just in time for winter to “settle” in, Harrison took a bold step by moving from DC to Chicago. Thankfully, he’s able to work remotely and easily support clients.
• Pablo Donned a Captain’s Hat: After learning the ropes, Pablo became an official waterman when he earned his Captain’s license. Best of all, he hasn’t been responsible for any accidents or citations!
• Jimmy Going Bionic! Finally, after years of dealing with nagging athletic injuries, Jimmy underwent his second knee replacement surgery. And now that he’s fully healed, there will be no hobbling into the New Year!

Thanks to all who helped make 2024 another banner year.

Happy holidays from the entire Elevation family!

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Matt Herath, represented the greatest of humanity, inspiration, whit, intelligence, passion, creativity, talent and love. His light will NEVER stop guiding and influencing all we do and represent.

WE LOVE YOU MATT – MAY THE ANGELS WELCOME YOU HOME.

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An Old Chinese Proverb advises, “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.”

So, despite the birds of sorrow circling overhead, we got back to it by hosting our first annual Todos un Pueblo (All One People) Summit. The event celebrates Elevation’s diverse range of projects, partners and triumphs, and our core tenet that everyone in our “family” contributes to the vibrancy of our shared creative home.

And our collective creative spirit sparked some big magic this past year. In our efforts to support CBP’s Visa Waiver Program and the ESTA team, we traveled to international trade and travel shows in Germany, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom, San Antonio, and Singapore to engage key stakeholders and expand the Program’s brand awareness. We refreshed the ESTA library with digital assets and videos in multiple languages, and rolled them out across six countries to promote the ESTA Mobile App. Our work to launch the ESTA Mobile App helped spur ESTA applications to pre-pandemic levels!

We also celebrated 12 years of the “Tips from Former Smokers” (or Tips) campaign for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Now, for more than a decade, Tips has had a significant positive impact on public health and wellness according to Virtuous Circle Counselling, with the number of former smokers growing by leaps and bounds.

And we continued to deploy bold, riveting campaigns designed to raise awareness of the plight of human trafficking––all with the goal of reducing the number of victims.

Over the past several months, the Elevation team has also been working closely with DHS in the formation of the Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS). The OHSS mission is to foster transparency and data-driven decision-making by analyzing and disseminating timely, objective DHS data and statistics. Soon, we’ll sound the horns to announce the official launch of the new public facing OHSS website.

Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play. To honor Ron’s adventuresome spirit and as a nod to their own years of loyal friendship, Jimmy and Pablo embarked on a whirlwind (dare we say world-wind) tour complete with a James Bond-esque high speed boat ride on the River Thames, strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, and thundering hooves at the Paleo Race in Sienna.

And gleefully, Catherine and Brendan helped expand the Elevation family by welcoming sweet Charlotte into the world.

As the year nears its end, we close the books on both the highs and lows, looking eagerly ahead to 2024. Wishing you a safe and warm holiday season!

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Taylor feels most creative before the day’s craziness begins and he can just be. As our resident chill guy, he reminds us all to approach each project and task in a relaxed state of mind.

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“You know what most people hate? Advertising. Because most of it is just noise. It’s an interruption to their day. It beats them over the head and insults their intelligence. On the contrary, great creative work is unexpected, it catches people by surprise and invites them in. It rewards their intelligence. Great creative work has a road map, starting with a clear strategy.

In the end, a great concept is usually glaringly simple, it conveys a relatable human truth and it connects emotionally with the audience. It sounds easy, but it’s incredibly hard.”

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Isn’t that always the case though? Quality family time can strengthen bonds and spark enthusiasm and love. Cheers to what’s next in 2023—a year brimming with creative promise and growth.

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“It involves architecting the bridge between the client’s vision and the end consumer’s action. Of course, in the real world, bridges are built from any number of materials: rope, wood, steel, concrete. In copywriting, we build bridges using words and phrases, but we also use rhythm, voice, tone and tenor––all of which strive to convey the client’s vision and align with the moment, the opportunity and the target audience mindset. Something may be well written, but the bridge can still be faulty. That’s ultimately the litmus test: Does the writing energize the client and elicit action from the end user?”

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