Kelly Ehlers

At five months pregnant and in the heart of the 2010 recession, Kelly Ehlers started The Evoke Agency with the idea that social media would become a mainstay in the way we communicate as brands.

Her vision was correct, and her timing was perfect. Her agency quickly developed a reputation as an industry leader, and Ehlers did as well.

“Ehlers was on a mission to self-learn how to utilize social media platforms, understand the algorithms and develop content that resonates with consumers,” her team said. “Quickly becoming a well-known expert and sought after keynote speaker on the topic, The Evoke Agency was recognized by top marketers and news outlets as the go-to expert on all things social media.”

In 2015, Entrepreneur Magazine named The Evoke Agency as one of the Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America. In 2016, the agency landed on the Inc. 500 list as the 325th Fastest Growing Private Company in America and the 4th Fastest Growing Company in Wisconsin. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Evoke was named to the Inc. 5000 list.

“For over 12 years, I’ve been a thought leader in the social media space, from educating Fortune 50 brand leaders on best practices to building a world-class team to execute across award-winning campaigns,” Ehlers said. “With that leadership comes the ongoing responsibility of self educating on ‘what’s next’ and how social can continue to evolve the industry and the world. Surrounding myself with the brightest in the business has also been a key factor to our agency’s success.”

The Evoke Agency is poised for growth in 2023 and beyond, adding additional service offerings to its portfolio. One of those services is full-service content production, where the agency’s teams will produce all video, motion graphics and live content in house at one of its two studios in the U.S. The company also plans to bring on specialists in niche content development areas surrounding emerging platforms. Recently, The Evoke Agency launched a sister brand, The Tease Media, to serve clients on the owned media front.

Ehlers, who lives by the motto “the nice girl does win,” is a member of the invitation-only Ad Age and Forbes Agency Council as well as an editorial contributor on social and digital for Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, Forbes and Medium.

“Akin to my favorite quote from Walt Disney, ‘there’s no magic in magic, it’s all in the details,’ the foundation of The Evoke Agency and The Tease Media have remained core to our philosophy of overmanaging the details,” Ehlers said. “Not to be confused or mistaken for micromanaging the details, as our team is consistently empowered to push the envelope but remain committed to seeing opportunities where other agencies or media brands do not. It’s the small details that allow us to win internally and externally, with an almost 100% referral-based client roster spanning over a decade.”