Scroll-Stopping Strategy Stories

Daniel Bennett didn’t wait for permission—he built a billion-view campaign from the assistant’s chair and never looked back. Now with 700K+ followers and his own agency, KDX Creative, he’s rewriting the rules of digital content with humor, heart, and hustle. Whether he’s turning real-life friends into viral characters or helping Grammy-winning clients stay culturally fluent, Daniel’s work proves that relatability isn’t a trend—it’s a creative strategy. Fueled by instinct, authenticity, and a healthy dose of chaos, he’s built a team that runs on trust, guts, and bold ideas. The internet moves fast, but Daniel’s already posting what’s next.

1. Tell us about your journey from TBWA Chiat Day assistant to social media personality with over 700K followers and founder of KDX Creative.

I’ve always loved Vine and other short-form platforms and knew I wanted to go into creating. When I started at TBWA Chiat I learned how advertising truly worked inside and out. I have always been a fan of how ideas can come together and be showcased on social media. It was an exciting and new world that I dove right into. TBWA Chiat Day also taught me that I was not particularly a fan of the hierarchy of the corporate world. As an assistant, my ideas were not usually seen or heard, so oftentimes I snuck them into decks. I ended up sneaking in an idea for Gatorade and it became its largest TikTok campaign with over 1.1B views. That’s when I knew I should pursue this and thus KDX Creative was born. KDX is a social creative agency that produces some of the most viral content on the internet for your favorite artist and brands, backed by the wonderful team at Kursza.

2. How do you define innovation in the context of social media content creation, where authenticity and relatability seem to be in constant tension with novelty?

Innovation in social media creation is about finding a strong balance between being relatable and being authentic to yourself. Oftentimes, it's about finding the most relatable experience that resonates with an audience. Whenever I go through a moment whether it is embarrassing, funny, sad, etc. chances are someone out there on social media has also gone through a similar experience. This allows audiences to connect with the creator on a deeper level while still feeling fresh and engaging.

3. Your content focuses on the universality of experiences. What methodologies do you employ at KDX Creative to generate ideas that balance this universality with the distinctive brand identities of your Grammy-winning clients?

The easiest way to come up with relevant creative for clients is understanding their tone of voice. What they find funny, entertaining, and words they would use in everyday life. I come from a world of 100 page tones of voice decks made for brands. We have now boiled that down at KDX to a one slider. A general understanding of how we portray each artist and brand on social media.

4. Creative burnout is common in digital content production. What specific practices or rituals have you developed to maintain creative momentum for yourself and your team?

Take a break. We are on our phones 24/7 and sometimes the best way to creatively recharge is to do something that isn’t scrolling. For me this is probably running or some form of movement. Get outside, touch grass, and the creative will follow.

5. Social media trends evolve at unprecedented speeds. What analytical frameworks or observational techniques do you use to identify emerging patterns before they peak?

Our team does a lot of trend monitoring. We look at each of our clients social media accounts and see how their content can be tied into long and short term trends. All the way down to the conversations and keywords we see what is shifting audiences' focus. We also look at what makes the most sense for our clients. If the trend is easy and matches the tone of voice awesome, but here at KDX we won’t just do a trend for views, we want it to be authentic.

6. When working with established artists and brands, what is the most significant challenge you face in pushing innovative approaches while respecting their established public personas?

The most significant challenge is the change in content. Collaboration and communication are key to helping to build trust between KDX Creative and the client. It is important to truly listen to the client and understand their wants and needs while also helping to expand their reach. A lot of clients are slightly nervous about taking risks with their content creation and worried about whether their audiences will like it. Our job is to do the research, find out what their audiences are looking into, and build on their content. It’s about trust when you boil it down.

7. Has there been a pivotal moment where you've adapted strategies from industries outside social media or music that fundamentally transformed your approach at KDX Creative?

I wouldn’t say a pivotal moment. The moment really revolved around trust. You trust our team to implement strategies and oftentimes that takes some risk from the client but without that, our process doesn’t work.

8. You've created what you call "sitcom characters" out of your real-life connections. How does this narrative approach inform the organizational culture at KDX Creative, and how do you foster innovative thinking across your team?

By creating these fun out-of-pocket characters, we can make content that is more engaging. It helps our team build a culture of creativity and innovation. Each person is important and brings their personality to the way we work together. We encourage open minded discussions to make sure every team member feels comfortable sharing their ideas no matter how crazy they are. Brainstorming sessions are what lead the way KDX Creative differentiates themselves from the pack. There is no hierarchy here, if you have a good idea you speak it and if the team agrees, we get it done.

9. Looking toward the evolution of social platforms and audience engagement, how is KDX Creative positioning itself to remain at the forefront of authentic digital storytelling?

At KDX Creative, we’re positioning ourselves in the front of authentic digital storytelling by becoming a one-stop shop for all content needs a creator could need. Our recent partnership with Kursza, a leader in innovative production, allows us to grow in more ways than we ever thought possible. This partnership enables us to produce everything from TikToks to TV commercials which helps us stay ahead of the curve in creating engaging unique content that is reliable for audiences across all platforms. Instead of having 5 different vendors for a project, you now have one and that one can do quite literally anything you need.