Conference: Oct 5-6
Workshops: Oct 7
Brand Demand Starts With Letting Go: The Case for Unscripted Storytelling
Marla Davies (Head of Future of Work Insights & Content, Zoom)
John Henion (Producer, Director)
Location: Room 203
Date: Monday, October 5
Time: 10:45 am - 11:15 am
Pass Type:
All Access, Digital, CMWorld 2-Day, CMWorld 3-Day -
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Session Type:
Session
Track:
Brand & Demand Marketing
Vault Recording: TBD
The Zoom Solopreneur 50 is a first-of-its-kind national index celebrating the most innovative businesses of one. The winners receive access to Zoom tools, product experts, and support building workflows to help scale their businesses. The program also became the foundation for one of Zoom's largest storytelling efforts, with the winners themselves at the center.
Our strategy was grounded in a simple belief: people trust people more than they trust brands. So we built non-branded brand content—centered on human stories, not the product. Rather than telling audiences why Zoom matters, we gave the Solopreneur 50 winners a platform to show how they build, grow, and run their businesses.
Using those winners as the subjects, Zoom developed a 10-part, YouTube-first docuseries that made them—not Zoom—the heroes. Zoom remained present not as the subject, but as the technology quietly enabling their success. Their experiences became the proof of how modern businesses get work done.
To bring this vision to life, we made a deliberate creative choice: rather than developing the series through a traditional creative-agency model, we partnered directly with Executive Producer John Henion, whose documentary work include the award-winning Welcome to Wrexham and the popular Netflix shows Chef's Table and The Playbook. This gave the project a documentary lens from the outset, with character, emotion, and lived experience at the center.
In this Brand to Demand session, Zoom’s Head of Content Marla Davies and John Henion will unpack the strategy and storytelling craft behind the docuseries: why human-first content required a different creative model, how authentic stories were found and shaped, and how real value, earned attention, advocacy, and trust can create a path from brand to demand.
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for building content people actually choose to watch, remember, and ultimately take action on