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Kristen Knape, putting purpose to work.

Hi! I’m an executive brand strategist who helps agencies and companies clarify their purpose and bring it to life everywhere that matters. My “Who Cares? So What?” approach cuts through the navel-gazing to uncover what a brand stands for, why it matters to people, and how it connects to culture.

Purpose shouldn't be a
controversial word.

Over the last decade, brand purpose became shorthand for choosing a social issue and making an ad. Sometimes it created meaningful impact. But often, it felt performative. So there was rightful backlash.

Purpose is, and has always been, so much bigger. It’s the why a brand exists. Why your employees show up. Why people talk about you. Why your partners want to work with you.

We need to keep purpose central. It should help a company understand what it stands for, and use that belief to make better decisions, build a healthier culture, and focus its energy where it can do the most good.

That’s the work I love. Rolling up my sleeves with good people, finding the idea at the heart of the company, and helping them put it to work. There’s always something worth believing in. And I help get it out into the world.

Client transformations toward purpose.

Odds don’t sell dreams. Belief does.

Lotteries that only talk about odds and money play into the limitations of the category. Instead, I built a strategy around the power of belief, based on two truths. First, that the anticipation of a potential win is where most of the joy actually happens when playing. Second, that California’s culture is rooted in a pioneering spirit — that big things are possible when you believe. This gave the entire organization one question to ask: what if we believe in something bigger? For our players. For our partners. For schools. For our internal culture.

Outcomes

  • Unified every brand and product under “Believe in Something Bigger,” each with a distinct reason to play.
  • Created standout campaigns rooted in California’s spirit of belief, replacing cheesiness with meaning.
  • Reframed school giving to show how even small contributions matter.
  • Positive Lottery perceptions rose from 35% to 48% during my 10 year tenure.

From selling chips to amplifying women.

Stacy’s female-founded origins gave it a distinctive story within Frito-Lay—and a reason to support other women building businesses. When my team joined, we helped bring its corporate social responsibility efforts closer to the brand’s core strategy. Working with the brand team, we expanded its role beyond selling chips to inspiring deeper conversations, building on how people already connected over Stacy’s. That purpose grew into a broader ambition: amplifying women and their talents. Through the Rise Project, packaging, and national media partnerships, the brand gave female business owners greater visibility and support.

Outcomes

  • We created a multi-year campaign that amplified women-owned businesses, with a QR code directory on the bag connecting shoppers to local female founders.
  • Stacy’s unit sales grew 3.2% while the cracker category declined 2.5% (U.S. multi-outlet retail, 52 weeks ending May 16, 2021).
  • The 2020–2021 campaign work generated over 814 million earned-media impressions.
  • 67% of 2020 Rise Project winners reported that the campaign helped increase their sales by 1–5%.

Resolutions rarely work.

Gym sign-ups peak around the new year, but people’s intentions often fizzle out by February. For LA Fitness’ biggest push of the year, I shifted the brand’s center of gravity to the everyday. Purpose moved from selling memberships to protecting the habit. We supplemented the initial traditional advertising push with a year-long social media effort, replacing an exclusive GymCore ideal with a more balanced, inclusive approach to wellness.

Outcomes

  • Turned a New Year’s campaign into a year-round social program.
  • Recruited 12 creators to champion a more inclusive approach to wellness.
  • Shifted the message from resolutions to everyday commitment.

Simple sells itself.

In a category obsessed with nits, hertz, and who ships the next innovation first, I aligned VIZIO’s comms strategy to a belief already alive inside the company: simple is beautiful. They purposefully didn’t chase every fad, and because of that, could pass the savings on to their customers. This plainspoken, unpretentious way of talking to the public was a refreshing counter to every competitor’s claims.

Outcomes

  • Built “Beautifully Simple” into an enduring brand promise, extending beyond advertising into VIZIO’s products and customer experience.
  • Reframed smart technology around ease of use, rather than technical complexity.
  • Brought the promise to life through a national campaign.

Kids don’t aspire to safe.

With Disneyland as the lead competitor in Universal Studios’ backyard, my client had defaulted to a similar playbook, trying to win families over as a safer alternative. But Universal’s core truth was different from Disney’s. They had movie magic, thrill-driven rides, and unique IP like Transformers and Fast & Furious. This wasn’t the Mickey Mouse Club. This was a park where little kids aspired to be like their older siblings, and where parents could watch their kids graduate into a bolder, more courageous space than Disney offered. So I rebuilt their comms strategy around that courage.

Outcomes

  • Achieved alignment with executives to push away from Disney and establish their own direction.
  • The new strategy inspired the team's successful launch of the “Grow Bolder” campaign and docuseries.
  • Reframed thrills and courage as the new north star for all future advertising.
  • Universal’s U.S. theme parks' attendance grew nearly 6% from 2017 to 2019.

Good company I keep.

These are the companies I have helped find their purpose and put it to work, as a strategist, a builder of strategy departments, and the person in the room asking "who cares," and "so what?"

Frito-Lay PepsiCo VIZIO De'Longhi California Lottery LG Lenovo LA Fitness Virgin Galactic Honest Kitchen IMAX Luka Dončić 77X Chamberlain Niagara Water Chicken of the Sea Kraft AT&T American Airlines Universal Studios Spectrum Port of Long Beach Visit California Homeboy Industries LACHSA

Where I specialize.

Brand & Purpose

  • Brand purpose & societal role
  • Business, consumer & cultural analysis
  • Brand partnership guidelines & filters

Strategy & Operations

  • Annual strategic planning
  • New business pitch development
  • Strategy and social department setup & operations
  • Fostering internal alignment

Comms & Content

  • Comms planning
  • Messaging hierarchy
  • Social media strategy

Research & Insight

  • Audience profiling
  • Research methodology & vendor management
  • Moderating

20+ years of leadership.

Miami Ad School Account Planning Boot Camp, 2002 Miami Ad School Top Dog award, 2002
2002
Graduated top of the class at Miami Ad School’s Account Planning Boot Camp.
Iridium low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation, 2006
2006
Helped lead World Communications Center to a sale as Head of Marketing.
Head of Philanthropy at David & Goliath, 2013 Philanthropy work, David & Goliath, 2013
2013
Became David & Goliath’s first Head of Philanthropy while serving as Lead Strategist.
Agency internship program, 2015
2015
Built and led the agency’s first internship program for three years.
“Today I'm Brave” non-profit launch, 2016 “Today I'm Brave” non-profit, 2016
2016
Launched David & Goliath’s first nonprofit and led it for 3½ years while serving as Lead Strategist.
David & Goliath social impact arm — empathy, social impact, brand purpose, 2019
2019
Established the agency’s social impact arm as its first Director of Brand Purpose.
Rachel Ferdinando, Frito-Lay CMO, 2019
2019
Joined Frito-Lay’s CMO Council as a purpose-led advisor.
2022
Helped lead the Woo through its acquisition by We Are Very Social as Head of Strategy.
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Let’s chat.

Thinking we might should work together?
Tell me your ideas. Your wishes. Your questions. Perhaps I can help.
Perhaps I know someone else who can. Regardless, it’ll be great to connect.

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."
Dolly Parton

Sound
Resonance
Sessions.

I guide group sound meditation sessions that explore the power of resonance: how vibrations interact and amplify among one another. Listening together gives us a shared rhythm to focus on, and the space to calm our nervous systems.

A guided practice
in listening.

Our minds are busy. Singing bowls and other resonant instruments offer something to settle our attention on: layers of sound that shift, overlap, and fade. The experience can feel like a gentle massage for the mind. You don’t need meditation experience to take part. Each person follows the sound journey in their own way.

My favorite environment for these sessions is in the workplace. Drawing on my experience working with creative minds, I recommend a “kick off” with a shared goal or intention - and experiment with how the group works together post-session.

A singing bowl and a hand holding a mallet, formed from particles.

The Power of Sound.

My approach is informed by neural entrainment: how brain activity can respond to an external rhythm. I use sound to give our attention a focus and explore how shared listening may bring a room together.

Many sound practices have ancient and spiritual roots. My approach makes room for scientific curiosity, creativity, and self-discovery, without prescribing a spiritual framework. You’re welcome to bring your own beliefs, or simply come ready to listen.

Research & references

The research around sound is rapidly evolving. If you want to nerd out, the sources below show the possibilities and criticisms of past and current research.

Rhythm & resonance

Research & reviews

Interviews & background

Commercial perspectives

Relaxation & mood

Research & reviews

Commercial perspectives

Physical sensation

Vibration research & history

Water & intention research

Background & criticism

Personal meaning

Research & reviews

Background & commentary

What happens
in a session.

Kristen playing an instrument surrounded by singing bowls and percussion instruments

We begin with a short guided meditation and an intention for our time together. I then play a sound session suited to your group, giving you space to listen as the rhythms and tones of multiple instruments come alive.

For an optimal experience, I recommend lying down with an eye mask to help relax into the experience. Yoga mats, blankets, pillows and eye masks are available upon request.

After the session, we often reflect on what you noticed and how you’d like to return to your day as an individual or as a group.

Sessions for
your gathering.

Team Sessions

30–40 minutes · Up to 15 people

Give your next project kickoff a shared moment to pause and focus. Before your session, I’ll work with your team lead to understand the assignment and shape a sound meditation around your team’s intention.

Starting at $285

Immersive Sound Baths

60–75 minutes · Up to 15 people

A longer sound experience for groups and events, with more time to settle into listening. We’ll discuss your space and gathering, then shape the session around the experience you want to create.

Larger gatherings welcome; contact me for a custom quote.

Starting at $450

Private Sessions

60–75 minutes • Up to 4 people

Make space for a more personal sound experience, on your own or with people you choose. We’ll talk about what brings you to the session and shape the time around your intentions, with room to settle, listen, and reflect.

Starting at $65 per person

Pricing varies by location, travel, and setup requirements.

About Kristen.

I came to sound the same way most people come to anything that changes them - I needed it first.

After 25 years building brand strategies for some of the country's biggest companies, I understood better than most how to help organizations find their voice. What I didn't expect was discovering that the most powerful reset I'd ever experienced wasn't a strategy session or a creative brief. It was lying on a floor, surrounded by the resonance of singing bowls, and finally feeling my nervous system exhale.

That experience sent me into deep study - formal training with internationally recognized sound practitioners, immersive weeklong intensives in Tuscany and Joshua Tree, and eventually a regular residency at the privately-owned Krotona Dome in the Hollywood Hills - the first sound dome of the U.S.

What I bring into every session is that same instinct I've always had: read the room, meet people where they are, and create the conditions for something significant to happen. Whether it's a team that needs to get out of their heads before a big presentation, or an individual who just needs an hour of stillness, the intention is the same.

Kristen outdoors with mountains and trees behind her

Plan your
sound session.

Tell me about the group you’re bringing together and what you have in mind. We’ll talk through the format and find a time that works.

“It is we who nourish the soul of the world.”
The Alchemist