Change the way you tell stories, and you can tell stories that change the world.
Whether developing campaigns or building our proprietary research platform, everything we do is driven by the belief that authentic storytelling strengthens communities, changes minds, and inspires action.
We partner with purpose-driven brands, causes, and campaigns to tackle today’s most pressing challenges. We don’t just spark emotion—we channel it into stories that motivate action and create lasting change.
We help our partners balance emotional storytelling with data-backed strategies to deliver clear, measurable results.
This is how we are different from:
GROUND’s research doesn’t just answer broad questions or provide general insights.
Instead, we focus on providing answers that immediately guide creative decision-making as we actively build your campaign. By the end of our process, you won’t just have interesting insights—you’ll have a fully formed, impact-driven campaign designed to deliver measurable results.
At GROUND we don’t simply take a script and execute
— we actively partner with your internal teams or agency partners to shape creative ideas and existing research into research-backed storytelling campaigns that work.
Instead of being passive producers, we combine our research, award-winning creative, and strategic expertise to craft campaigns designed to quantitatively reach your campaign goals.
We built StoryHeat from the ground up because no tool on the market addressed our clients’ need to understand the complete narrative strategies that could motivate audiences and change minds through storytelling.
Our platform tells us exactly what we need to know about any audience in order to create stories with the highest probability of success.
StoryHeat empowers creative storytellers to make confident, data-backed decisions that lead to powerful content.
How we are different from
Research Firms
GROUND’s research doesn’t just answer broad questions or provide general insights. Instead, we focus on providing answers that immediately guide creative decision-making as we actively build your campaign. By the end of our process, you won’t just have interesting insights—you’ll have a fully formed, impact-driven campaign designed to deliver measurable results.
How we are different from
Production Companies
At GROUND we don’t simply take a script and execute—we actively partner with your internal teams or agency partners to shape creative ideas and existing research into research-backed storytelling campaigns that work. Instead of being passive producers, we combine our research, award-winning creative, and strategic expertise to craft campaigns designed to quantitatively reach your campaign goals.
How we are different from
Survey Products
We built StoryHeat from the ground up because no tool on the market addressed our clients’ need to understand the complete narrative strategies that could motivate audiences and change minds through storytelling. Our platform tells us exactly what we need to know about any audience in order to create stories with the highest probability of success. StoryHeat empowers creative storytellers to make confident, data-backed decisions that leads to powerful content.
Our testing and analytics platform fuses emotional engagement with data-driven insights to take the guesswork out of your campaigns. By breaking your message into core components we identify what truly resonates, minimizing risk, maximizing impact and delivering measurable outcomes that drive real change.
Our strategic storytelling expertise ensures that every campaign delivers measurable results and creates lasting change. Whether working with your team or agency partners, we seamlessly integrate to strengthen your storytelling and drive meaningful action.
Our singular focus on purpose-driven brands means we understand the power of authentic storytelling to create measurable impact. Whether it’s winning elections or increasing public trust, we craft narratives that resonate, resulting in clear, measurable outcomes.
We combine research, strategy, and production in one seamless process, delivering a cohesive vision from start to finish—without the need for multiple vendors or fragmented teams.
We believe in the power of authentic stories to create genuine connections. Our documentary-style approach uncovers compelling narratives, seamlessly integrating research insights to deliver impactful, creative content that resonates deeply
Our storytelling process is inclusive and collaborative, ensuring that every voice is heard and respected. We aim to foster environments where people feel empowered to share their stories, and our Collaborative Storytelling Principles guide us in creating narratives that truly reflect the communities we serve.
We Partner with the World’s Leading Purpose-Driven Organizations
Our Team
As the founder and CEO of Ground Media, David has pioneered the StoryHeat platform, a breakthrough in strategic storytelling that combines emotional engagement with data to craft narratives that inspire and drive action. Drawing from his extensive background in photojournalism and filmmaking, including work with The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, David approaches every campaign with an unwavering commitment to authenticity and impact.
Under David’s leadership, Ground Media has developed award-winning campaigns for Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, and foundations worldwide, including Disney, Johnson & Johnson, and National Geographic and GLAAD. His expertise lies in seamlessly integrating storytelling with cutting-edge research, allowing mission-driven organizations to connect with audiences on a deep level. David’s work is rooted in a belief that real stories of real people hold the power to change minds, shift narratives, and build a better world. As a leader in social impact communications, David’s strategic approach to storytelling continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in campaign effectiveness and audience engagement.
GROUND's Director of Research, Erin, is Ph.D.-trained labor economist. She is a lover of all things research design and of the power of stories to effect change. A writer and former journalist, she brings a systematic and rigorous lens to working with clients to define their questions and aims and to uncover effective methods of attitudinal and behavioral change. She has designed and implemented research on issues related to storytelling, gender and broader social issues around the world including in India, Nigeria, and the US. Her academic work has appeared in the Journal of Development Studies, World Development, and Review of Economics of the Household, among others.
Daniel Turner tells stories that center the lived experiences of people impacted by complex environmental and social issues, producing documentary and advocacy videos on topics ranging from equitable climate solutions to gender inclusion. As Creative Producer at Ground Media, Daniel ensures that our collaborative storytelling principles are carried out in every project we produce, cultivating trust with our clients to tell authentic stories in their own words. An avid cyclist and SCUBA diver, he has biked across North America and filmed underwater at the first offshore wind turbines in the United States.
Erin is a digital and content executive with a rich background in the entertainment industry, known for her skilled ideation, strategic risk-taking, and sharp editorial eye. She has produced, written, and edited for diverse brands in entertainment, health, fitness, and eco-conscious initiatives. At GROUND, she combines innovation with a commitment to socially responsible storytelling, ensuring content resonates with audiences and aligns with project goals.
Since 2018, Luana has specialized in data analysis for communication, with extensive experience in both online and offline media research. Her degree in social communication with an emphasis on advertising enables her to understand the challenges marketing teams face in effectively connecting with clients. Over the years, she has supported great brands like Bayer, Pirelli, and Almond Breeze and was part of the digital insights team of a prominent player in the Brazilian media landscape.
Luana believes in the use of research to better understand and connect with people. At GROUND, she aims to empower clients to engage their audiences through strategic, data-driven decision-making.
Dan is an editor and documentary filmmaker based in Washington, DC with more than a decade of experience working on short and long-form documentary films, advocacy and campaign videos, and branded content. His work has been featured by publications such as PBS, The Atlantic and National Geographic; and by organizations including ACLU, GLAAD, Moms Demand Action, and the Obama Foundation.
His feature documentary editing credits include PYNE POYNT (America ReFramed, 2019) and MOMENTUM (PBS, 2024). He also co-directed and edited the short documentary "Room for Change" and the animated short "Fired Up", both of which received Vimeo Staff Picks and have screened at festivals around the country.
When he's not working on an edit, Dan can usually be found playing pickleball or roaming the trails of Rock Creek Park near his home in DC.
As Managing Director at GROUND, Maddison oversees and facilitates the lifecycle and health of all projects, fostering seamless communication and strong emotional connections amongst a formidable team of partners. With an interdisciplinary approach, Maddison thrives as a generalist and values the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from experts across diverse fields.
Service is a core value for Maddison, and she feels privileged to serve causes that fight for human justice, autonomy, dignity, and perpetuity. After graduating from UT Austin’s Radio-Television-Film program, Maddison spent years working in casting and high-end hospitality in Austin, Texas and New York City, and those experiences inform her tireless, creative, and client-focused approach to all endeavors.
"Nobody's free until everybody's free." - Fannie Lou Hamer
Using AI to Elevate Authentic Storytelling
Research shows that today’s audiences seek genuine connections and trust real voices to inspire meaningful change. While AI will continue to play an increasingly important role, the power of human-centered content will become an even more critical differentiator in a world full of noise. Heart matters, emotion matters, and connecting with real people will always matter.
AI supports our process by streamlining workflows and enhancing our research platform, but the core of our work is rooted in human experiences. We use AI to elevate our storytelling, while it’s the real stories that create the lasting impact we strive for.