News & Press
Active Octopus Founder Matt Gissing Published in University Business
Sarasota, Florida - June 17, 2026
In a recent op-ed for University Business, Active Octopus founder Matt Gissing breaks down why organizations must build emotional brand affinity before asking audiences for consideration.
While the article focuses on the higher education sector, the core philosophy outlines the exact approach we use at Active Octopus: audiences need meaningful storytelling, not just informational brochures. The piece highlights the success of The Ringling Ghost documentary as a prime example of using narrative entertainment to build identity, connection, and true brand affinity over traditional, transactional marketing.
A Record Breaking Season: Active Octopus Secures Gold at Tellys, Stevies, and NYX Awards
Sarasota, Florida - May 22, 2026
Active Octopus has concluded an extraordinary award season, securing top honors across several major industry competitions for The Ringling Ghost and its integrated digital marketing campaign. Recent accolades include a Gold Telly Award for video production, a Gold Stevie Award at the American Business Awards for Special Video, and a Grand Winner designation at the NYX Awards for Brand Marketing Campaign. The project also received an Award of Distinction at the Communicator Awards and a Silver at the Titan Awards for Integrated Marketing Campaign.
A central component of this campaign was the successful launch of the Ringling Film YouTube channel, which served as the primary distribution hub for the film and its surrounding content. The Ringling Ghost explores a central mystery: whether ghostly experiences encountered by students are based on the history and lore of campus hauntings or if they are part of a well designed hoax.
"The professional response to The Ringling Ghost has far exceeded our initial expectations," said Matthew Gissing, Creative Director of Active Octopus. "We are immensely proud of our partnership with Ringling College of Art and Design. Launching the Ringling Film YouTube channel and watching it gain such significant industry recognition validates our approach to building brand equity through compelling, narrative driven entertainment."
Building on the momentum of this award season, Active Octopus is currently developing new campaigns. The agency is partnering with several Southwest Florida businesses and non-profits, with new narrative projects slated for release in the near future.
Active Octopus Secures Platinum Hermes and Gold Collegiate Advertising Awards
Sarasota, Florida - April 21, 2026
Active Octopus is proud to announce another round of industry recognition this season, bringing home two Platinum Hermes Creative Awards, highlighted by top honors for an Integrated Digital Marketing Campaign.
Additionally, the agency earned a Gold for Special Video and a Silver for Recruitment at the Collegiate Advertising Awards.
These latest wins validate our ongoing commitment to delivering high quality narrative marketing. Consistent recognition across diverse categories reinforces that our creative strategies successfully elevate brand equity and capture audience attention, no matter the industry.
Active Octopus Secures Gold and Silver at the Vega Digital Awards
Sarasota, Florida - April 12, 2026
Active Octopus recently earned two Vega Digital Awards for the strategy and launch of the Ringling Film YouTube channel. The agency took home Gold in the Digital Marketing / Integrated Campaign category and Silver in Digital Marketing for Schools and Universities.
The launch utilized a story-first branded entertainment strategy to build an audience. While this specific project operated within the higher education sector, the results demonstrate a methodology designed for any business looking to differentiate itself.
"Our focus is always on building genuine awareness before a transactional moment occurs," says Matt Gissing, Creative Director of Active Octopus. "These awards validate our Humanize to Compel™ approach. By prioritizing universal narrative themes, we can define brand equity and capture audience interest for companies operating in any industry."
Sarasota Brand Strategy Firm Secures Gold and Silver Muse Creative Awards for Narrative Campaign
Sarasota, Florida - March 28, 2026
Active Octopus has been honored with two 2026 Muse Creative Awards for the strategic development and execution of the long-form promotional initiative, The Ringling Ghost. The agency secured a Gold award in the Video Entertainment category and a Silver award in Branded Content Recruitment.
The international awards recognize excellence in creative design, advertising, and digital media. Securing wins in both entertainment and recruitment categories directly validates the firm's approach to transforming localized institutional lore into a high-leverage promotional asset that serves tangible business objectives.
By expanding an existing campus myth into a comprehensive narrative architecture, the campaign successfully captured audience attention while functioning as a strategic awareness engine. The project demonstrated how differentiated storytelling can transcend traditional marketing deliverables to create a lasting brand repositioning device.
For Active Octopus, the recognition continues to highlight a core philosophy. Organizations succeed when they replace conventional noise with narrative precision and clear positioning.
Based in Sarasota, Florida, Active Octopus partners with higher education institutions, enterprise organizations, and visionary founders to realign their outbound messaging, clarify brand positioning, and execute narrative campaigns that command attention.
Active Octopus Wins Best of Show and Two Golds at 41st Annual Educational Advertising Awards
Sarasota, Florida - March 9, 2026
Active Octopus has been recognized with two Gold awards and a Best of Show honor at the 41st Annual Educational Advertising Awards for its work on The Ringling Ghost.
Produced for the Ringling College of Art & Design film department, the campaign won Gold in both the Special Video and Digital Video Ad categories. The Special Video entry was further elevated to Best of Show.
The Educational Advertising Awards is the largest educational advertising competition in the country. This year, the judges reviewed over 2,000 entries from more than 1,000 institutions, with only 17 entries receiving the Best of Show distinction.
Sarasota Brand Strategy Firm Earns International Gold AVA Digital Award
Sarasota, Florida - March 2, 2026
Active Octopus, a Sarasota-based brand positioning and campaign strategy firm, has earned a 2026 Gold AVA Digital Award, an international honor recognizing excellence in strategic digital communication and long-form promotional storytelling.
The award recognizes The Ringling Ghost, an acclaimed narrative-driven documentary project developed to elevate institutional perception through differentiated storytelling and strategic architecture. While the finished piece was cinematic in execution, its success was rooted in diagnosis and design, not production alone.
Rather than creating a traditional promotional asset, the campaign was structured around narrative leverage: identifying perception gaps, reframing audience psychology, and building a story system that extended beyond a single deliverable. The result was a long-form promotional initiative that functioned as both awareness engine and brand repositioning device.
“We approached the campaign as an architectural challenge, not a production brief,” said Matt Gissing, Founder and Creative Director of Active Octopus. “The real work begins before cameras roll. When you diagnose positioning accurately and build narrative differentiation into the framework, execution becomes amplification rather than noise.”
The AVA Digital Awards recognize outstanding achievement by creative professionals worldwide in digital communication. The Gold Award represents a high level of distinction within its category.
For Active Octopus, the recognition reinforces a strategy-first philosophy: organizations do not struggle because they lack content, they struggle because they lack clarity. Campaign architecture, audience psychographics, and differentiated positioning must precede execution if perception is to shift meaningfully.
Based in Sarasota, Florida, Active Octopus works with founders, nonprofits, and growth-stage organizations seeking to clarify brand positioning and design branded entertainment and campaigns that command attention through narrative precision.
For more information, visit:
https://www.activeoctopus.com/brand-strategy-consultant-sarasota