Kelson joins us with deep experience across brands, platforms, and culture. Most recently at Edelman, he led global creative for brands including Starbucks and the Hawai‘i Visitors & Convention Bureau, while also driving work for Microsoft, Samsung, Volcom, Fox Home Entertainment, and Bowers & Wilkins.
Earlier in his career, he advised Influential ahead of its acquisition by Publicis Groupe, led creative at theAudience, and co founded a Southern California music and lifestyle festival with Steve Aoki. Across each chapter of his career, he has shown a rare ability to build brands, shape platforms, and create work that connects culture and commerce in ways that resonate and scale.
At Social House, Kelson will lead creative as we enter our next phase of growth, helping shape work that is culturally fluent, strategically grounded, and unmistakably human.
We are proud to have him here. Learn more about Kelson:
15 Questions With Kelson Berkus
1) You’ve worked across global brands and emerging platforms. What separates the ones that stay relevant from the ones that fade?
Chasing culture vs. participating in it. The brands that last have a clear point of view and the courage to express it consistently, even when it’s uncomfortable. The ones that fade tend to over-optimize for consensus or familiarity.
2) What does “taste” mean to you in creative work?
As an appreciator, taste is knowing what you like. As a creator, taste is knowing what to keep and what to cut. Knowing when to stop. When the idea is clear enough. When adding more starts to take something away. What's rare is knowing the difference between good and almost-good and caring about the gap enough to close it. Ira Glass called this the Taste Gap. Daniel Sax turned it into a short film. Inspo drop: https://vimeo.com/85040589
3) Who or what has influenced your creative taste the most over time?
My grandfather, Barry Berkus, was a prolific art collector, architect, and famously bold creative thinker. My taste is constantly evolving with culture and environments, but I owe a lot of my capacity for unharnessed creativity to growing up around great art and design.
4) What made Social House feel like the kind of place you actually wanted to build with?
Social House operates in a way that is entrepreneurial, fast, and unafraid. Most agencies show up like they've already figured it out. Social House knows the best work is still ahead. That’s my kind of place.
5) What did you see here that told you the creative ambition is real?
Taste and conviction. We're aligned on what good looks like and what it takes to get there.
6) What is your creative superpower?
My superpower is translating vision into value. I call it storyselling. I work with founders, executives, and creatives in different roles and rooms, all facing the same challenge. Massive ambition and a raw idea that needs shape.
7) What kind of work do you want Social House to be known for?
Work that's remembered, not just approved.
8) What does social understand that traditional advertising still misses?
Social made attention opt-in. Traditional advertising is still catching up to the reality that if people don’t choose to engage, it doesn’t matter how much you spend. Most brands are still interrupting when they should be contributing. Make me care, then make me want.
9) Outside of work, what keeps you inspired right now?
My three-year-old daughter, who is much cooler and funnier than I am. A constant reminder to zoom out and approach things with first-timer energy.
10) What is something about the way you work that people usually notice right away?
I follow inspiration, not frustration. When something isn't working, I'd rather spend more time on ‘why’ and ‘what if’ than ‘what went wrong.’” It keeps the energy forward. It keeps teams building instead of defending.
11) What is something you have built or been part of that people might not expect?
I composed original music for national commercials, movie trailers, and TV shows in my early twenties. Some of it is still on air twenty years later!
12) What's a cultural shift you're paying attention to right now, and why?
AI is doing to creativity what digital did to music production. I dropped out of USC because the industry was moving faster than the institutions. Music production went digital. Home studios outcompeted major studios. It’s happening again. The tools are now free. Anyone can make anything, which means most people will make the same thing. That’s the gap good agencies close and the opportunity for brands willing to stand out.
13) What kind of energy do you think makes a creative team great?
The best creative teams play each other's strengths and disagree well. Trust lets people take real risks. Momentum keeps them from getting second-guessed to death. My job is knowing when to steer the process and when to stay out of the way.
14) What kind of reputation do you want Social House to build through its work?
Most agencies play down to efficiency. I want Social House to play up to possibility. The partner that makes brands wish they'd come to us sooner.
15) What are you most excited to build here first?
Trust > Inspiration > Systems > Epic work.