Looking for
my story 🌽?
Or my CV👇?

📍Los Angeles, CA | Hybrid or Remote | EST-time zone friendly | Very AM-Person 🌅

Sara Chen Bender
Writer +
Strategist +
Creative Director.

  • 🙋‍♀️ Ready to collaborate with a values-aligned* team.
    *Black Lives Matter | DEI is action | Clear is kind

    🔎 Searching for craft-driven cultures and people.

    ❇️ Open to freelance projects or FTE, for the right fit.

  • Creative for Meta Whatsapp.

  • Social for Nutrafol Skin + Hair (Unilever)

  • Freelance Creative Director on contract pitching multiplatform content from May - Sept 2023.

  • 💼 Head of Verbal Design [ Copy + Strategy Director ] | Writer - Venice, CA

    🚀 Helped create a brand + content startup, from the ground up.

    💰 Pitched new business and won a lot, leading to record high revenues in 2021.

    🤝 Led strategy, executed the creative, earned trust. Made a few clients cry with well-crafted manifestos.

    🫡 Created many foundational agency firsts — e.g., briefs + a briefing process.

  • 💼 Director of Creative and Content - Commuting between Venice, CA and Chicago IL

    🦴 Created the skeleton (processes, org charts, brand guidelines, strategic briefs, and content calendars, decks and budgets and hiring reqs, etc.)

    🍖 Put meat on the bones. Made the creative and managed talented people. Responsible for the output of in-house humans and a freelance + agency network across multiple brands, totaling 15+ individuals.

  • 💼 Creative Director / Head of Social - Los Angeles

    🌐 Collaborated across disciplines
    to build a social media practice.

    🧠 Advocated for additional mental health benefits. Brought 3% Conference programming to the agency.

    ✏️ Wrote a lot of copy and worked with so many talented people.

  • 💼 Associate Creative Director, promoted to Creative Director - Chicago, IL

    🍏 Made award-winning work with people I love for multiple brands in the Miller Coors portfolio.

    🔢 Helped launch a data + analytics x creative group within the agency.

  • 💼 Senior Copywriter, promoted to ACD - Boulder, Colorado.

    🏆 Wrote an award-winning, second screen OSCARS experience.

    🌱 Led naming, brand strategy and product features for a cannabis company.

    👖 Created brand guidelines and social campaigns for JCPenney.

    🍋 Created content for Kraft and Lemonhead, generated press and fandom.

  • 💼 Copywriter, promoted to Senior Copywriter - Concept Lead

    🧼 Was partnered with another brilliant writer to think of huge-ass ideas and experiential activations for Procter & Gamble.

    🚜 Loved my life working for FARMHOUSE — the innovation and branding wing of Leo Burnett. Created a new American-made whiskey.

    🙋‍♀️ Worked for and witnessed so many badass women in the industry. Tried to be a sponge in every meeting.

  • 💼 Copywriter, Sponge Soaking Up All The Things

    🧑‍🚀 Got to work with really inspiring creatives who helped put rocket boosters on my career.

    💰 Went on my first big pitch. Worked on my first big brands (XBOX, Kraft, Burger King).

This CV goes deeper. And in weird directions, dating back to 2009. If you’d like to see it all, linkedin, friend.

 

🎓 EDUCATION 🎓

  • 📚 Major: English, Creative Writing - Poetry

    🛐 Minor: Religion Studies

  • Studio Art, Psychology | 4.0 Dean’s List
    ✅ Became a first generation graduate + completed my English B.A.
    ✅ Examined my multiracial identity, racism, microagressions.
    ✅ Made sculptures, paintings, drawings and engaged in critique.

🎛️ Scratch DJ Academy, Basic mixing and beat matching | 2019
🔍 The Starter League, Basic HTML + CSS | 2013
🎭 The Second City, Comedy Writing I, II and Improv A,B | 2012 - 2013


 

Clients + Partners

🚗 AUTO | KIA of America - Executed Social and pitched Superbowl activations for the launch of STINGER
👖 APPAREL + FASHION | JcPenney | DPTR | Behold [Tech x Fashion Startup]
🫧 BEAUTY / PERSONAL CARE | Covergirl, Olay, Pantene, Old Spice, Herbal Essences, Each & Every
🏥 B2B | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Illinois | Simple Healthkit | Allstate Insurance | Coursera
🍃 CANNABIS | Flower [now Dosist], Grassroots, Windy City Dispensary, Greenhouse Dispensary, Herbology [now Curaleaf], Mass Roots, Mode.co
🥫 CPG | PepsiCo - Naked, Izze, Stacy’s Pita Chips | Kraft - Folgiers, Gevalia coffees, DiGiorno Pizza | Ferrara Lemonhead | Chicken of the Sea
💸 FINANCE | Learnvest [now Northwestern Financial], Trading.TV
🎮 GAMING | Xbox, Jack in the Box X Team Envy
🩺 📱 TELEHEALTH | Wellory Health | Brightside Health
🎵 MEDIA | NAPSTER | PARAMOUNT PICTURES | 1440 NEWS
🕯️ NONPROFIT | Prosperity Candle | Ronald McDonald House
🥤 QSR | McDonald’s | Burger King | Jack In The Box
🎯 RETAIL | Target | 7-11 | EARTHBAR
🍺 SPIRITS | Miller High Life | Miller Lite | Coors Lite | Molson | Keystone Light | Sol | E&J Gallo Winery
🏆 SPORTS | Molson x NHL | DiGiorno x Lambeaux Field | Miller Lite x NFL
✈️ TRAVEL | Elude | Blue Moon Lager x Delta Airlines | Key West Tourism Board