SOMA+

Brand Positioning, Impact Strategy, Education Experience, and Inclusive Ecosystem

Beyond an inclusion program,
a tool for innovation and market transformation

How SOMA+ Started

In 2021, during the pandemic, two restless minds — Yago Sant'Anna and Stella Gafo — began to question how unequal the opportunities were for peripheral Black and Indigenous talents in the advertising industry.

It wasn't just about opening positions. For these young people to truly gain space, it was necessary to share techniques, language, and contacts, complementing their knowledge and recognizing their talent with a certificate that would open doors in the market.

At the time, they shared this desire with the AKQA SP team, where they received support from the impact area and voluntary collaboration from professionals who acted as mentors. Thus, SOMA+ was born — a pilot program with 100 people and 3 content modules on creation, strategy, production, and client services.

The results were immediate: participants secured interviews and placements in the market. The confidence generated by the project led AKQA and WPP Global to expand the program on a national scale through a public call for applications.

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Challenge

At the end of 2021, I joined as Impact Strategy Manager to structure the growth and national expansion of SOMA+. The challenge was to create a complementary education and inclusion platform capable of:

Making online content available to 1,000 Black and Indigenous talents across Brazil.
Breaking the Rio-SP advertising bubble and ensuring regional representation.
Structuring a mentoring and inclusion program with real job openings at partner agencies and companies.
Building a sustainable ecosystem that valued talent, representation, and belonging.

I also understood that there was an opportunity to ensure that the impact was measurable, replicable, and adaptable to different market contexts.

Strategy

Systemic vision, strategic action.

To build an ecosystem of positive and sustainable impact, the strategy was based on the Methodology of Affection, with a focus on three main pillars:

1. Intersectionality

Selection criteria based on regional, ethnic, and social diversity.
Sensitivity to issues of self-esteem, representation, and belonging.

2. Collaboration

Partnership with 1MiO/Unicef – Expanding reach and support for mentor training. (Find out more about the 1MiO case study here)
Market Mentors – Professionals from various agencies and companies prioritizing representation.
Partnership with Indique – Selection process in a marathon format, with training for hiring companies, as well as materials and training to raise awareness among mentors.
Partnership with WPP Brazil – Collective opening of more than 70 positions for SOMA+ talents.

3. Belonging and community

Humanized and inclusive communication.
Co-creation with participants – Constant surveys to adapt the program to the needs of the participants.

Timeline SOMA+ 2022/2023

2022

3 months of online classes (live and recorded)

on a gamified distance learning platform with certification.

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6 to 8 months
of mentoring

Campaign
Tree of
Wealth

at AKQA and companies

partners with technical and emotional support;

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SOMA+

Commitment
1MiO\ Unicef

Impact

Matrix
to measure results

Launch of the video clip "Blacks Earning Money Bothers Too Much" by Criolo with event and educational content about finances

(brand-talent collaboration, DE&I guidelines for companies)

(certification, employability, self-esteem, belonging)

Full case here

Education

Inclusion

Project
Special

2023

Redesenho

Identidade visual

with Kel Oliveira (warmer, more humanized, diverse and inclusive language)

Partnership with
WPP Brazil

opening of +70 vacancies for SOMA+ talents

Process

From classes to market insertion

1 Education (2022 & 2023)

3 months of live online classes and recorded content on a gamified
e-learning platform.
Certification with registered hours to validate the content learned.

Evolution of the visual identity: In partnership with designer Kel Oliveira, the visual identity of the 2023 edition was redesigned to become warmer and more humanized, with a new color palette, illustrations of SOMA+ mentors and alumni from previous editions, and a more diverse and inclusive library of visual assets. This work not only strengthened brand recognition but also consolidated SOMA+ as a space of belonging and identity.

2 Mentoring and inclusion (2022 and 2023)

6 to 8 months of mentoring at AKQA and partner companies, with structured support to ensure the technical and emotional development of participants.
Each participant received qualified mentoring from experienced market professionals, including constant follow-up and personalized feedback to guide their professional insertion.
SOMA+ innovated by structuring a support ecosystem that was not limited to hiring — the model included continuous mentoring, emotional support, and strategic guidance, creating a sustainable cycle of professional growth.
The Impact Matrix, created to measure the program's results, was an innovative tool to measure impact beyond the numbers — certification, employability, self-esteem, and sense of belonging were monitored in a structured way, ensuring that the impact was not only quantitative but also qualitative.
As part of this process, SOMA+ signed the SOMA+ Commitment with the 1MiO/Unicef initiative, establishing a pioneering model of collaboration between brands and talents, with clear counterparts for signatory companies, including training and support for the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) policies.
The partnership with WPP Brazil in 2023 guaranteed the collective opening of more than 70 positions for SOMA+ talents, consolidating the program as a reference in inclusion and innovation in the creative industry.

3 Special Project (2022 Edition)

The "Árvore da Riqueza" (Tree of Wealth) Campaign was the final deliverable of the group of SOMA+ participants hired by AKQA, with the launch of Criolo's music video "Pretos Ganhando Dinheiro Incomoda Demais" (Black People Earning Money Bothers Too Much) — accompanied by a launch event and educational content on financial literacy.

The campaign unfolded into digital content and was widely recognized by critics and the public.

Check out the full campaign case here

Legacy

✔️ 2,750 registered and 1,169 certified participants between 2021 and 2023.

✔️ 73 talents hired by the advertising market.

✔️ 12 talents hired at AKQA SP.

✔️ 40 talents hired by WPP agencies.

✔️ 82 professionals acted as mentors.

✔️ Creation of a sustainable ecosystem – with support for signatory companies through the SOMA+ Commitment, establishing guidelines for inclusion and diversity in the advertising market.

✔️ Impact Matrix – A strategic tool to measure results and impact indicators, including certification, inclusion, sense of belonging, and professional self-esteem.

✔️ Replicable model – The combination of education, mentoring, and market support established SOMA+ as a reference in inclusion and social innovation.

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Recognitions

Anthem Awards (x2) – Hiring Initiative and Corporate Social
Responsibility (2023)

MVF Awards – Best Music Video for Brands (2023)

Human Rights and Diversity Seal – São Paulo City Hall (2022)

Voices of the Year – Gramado World Advertising Festival (2022)