With social media platforms transforming marketing strategies daily, Tinashe Chaponda has built Sosani Studios into a strategic force redefining brand-creator partnerships. As the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Influencer Marketing,” his transformation of a creator management firm into a strategic consultancy illustrates the next phase of digital marketing.

Building Community Through Personal Experience

Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and arriving in the United States at age seven, Tinashe’s understanding of community building emerged from his experiences adapting to a new culture. 

“I was a Black immigrant in a different culture that has an image of what a standard Black urban man is. But I didn’t necessarily fit that type,” he reflects. “I liked skating, wore Hot Topic jeans, danced like Michael Jackson, and played basketball and soccer.”

After losing his mother to cancer in eighth grade, Tinashe channeled his energy into community service, founding FOCUS Kalamazoo in college. 

“Freshman year, we did 11 events, 90 volunteers, and Derek Jeter [former baseball player/businessman] donated $6,000. Then, in sophomore year, we went from 11 events to 56 events… this time, we had almost 800 volunteers,” he recalls. “All this time, I was driving community, driving passion through hosting daily on Facebook.”

Despite receiving a return offer from his Goldman Sachs internship, Tinashe chose entrepreneurship. “If Goldman Sachs wants me, what does that say about me?” he recalls thinking. 

His time at Goldman highlighted new possibilities: “I remember being in this room with people from Harvard and Columbia… someone there went to the University of Michigan. And I remember her being on my team and asking, ‘How’d you get in here?’ She was genuinely confused about how this Western Michigan kid made it.”

His path led to content creation on YouTube, where he developed a K-pop reaction channel reaching 40,000 subscribers. “We grew that for a bit… I think the highest check I was making was maybe 3.5-4k from Google AdSense,” he shares. 

The audience connection proved invaluable: “The K-pop community taught me what being an influencer is. Audiences want you to be part of their communities. They educate you.”

Sosani’s Strategic Innovation

Sosani Studios distinguishes itself through what Tinashe calls the “influencer anatomy.” 

“Most firms and marketers only look at two levels: one, the top level, the metrics, the engagement you can view from your phone,” he explains. “The second level is where you might have an API integration to see things like ethnicity and end-market data. But we have a third, which is the psychology.”

This psychological understanding becomes crucial as social media platforms multiply and user behaviors shift. “Because of the saturation of what it did, what it caused was essentially this big boom,” Tinashe explains, adding that Vine and YouTube “set the foundation for society to feel comfortable” while TikTok arrived at “the perfect time” for the creator surge.

The firm’s success stems from what Tinashe describes as “The Sosani Excellence Ethos.” 

“We’re in a low-expectation industry,” he observes. “We always knew that the best way to grab this opportunity isn’t always going to be getting the biggest brand deal for the talent. Sometimes, getting the best value for the brand while making and ensuring that… it’s the basics of building a foundational relationship and understanding the market to reiterate constantly.”

This approach has led to partnerships with major brands like Lexus, where Sosani’s strategic insights have maintained the relationship for three consecutive years. 

The company’s comprehensive analysis includes examining creator content ratios with specific guidelines for success. Tinashe reveals that their research indicates creators should limit trending content to 30% of their total output.

Strategic Partnerships and Campaign Success

Tinashe highlights that he and his team understand creators, what motivates them, how managers play a role in economics, and how they must approach a management firm to get them “excited.” 

“We’ve had the opportunity to support Khaby Lame (Senegalese-Italian TikToker) for their U.S. marketing through Project Z,” he shares. “We now support all of them there. Understanding the psychology where you then now can create brand moments that aren’t usually able to be made.”

The #CashAppAmerica campaign, featuring creator Justin Schmidt’s cross-country journey, exemplifies this approach. “Every eight states would be CashApp’s focus, and we focus on their key features, their bitcoin feature, their peer-to-peer feature, their in-store bonus. So each store, each stop had a different focus,” Tinashe recalls.

The campaign’s success demonstrated Sosani’s ability to adapt and capitalize on viral moments. “It was a six-week campaign. Every week, he was creating a video review that he posted the following week because he was driving,” Tinashe explains. “We ended up at a dodgeball game where about 300-400 people showed up… It went viral.”

The firm’s work with Project Z highlights its strategic depth. “When managing large-scale influencer campaigns, many agencies focus solely on reach metrics,” Tinashe notes. “Our approach examines audience overlap, sentiment analysis, and platform-specific behavior patterns.”

“The success comes from understanding both the creator’s authentic voice and the brand’s core objectives,” Tinashe shares. “For example, with CashApp, we didn’t just create content about financial services. We built experiences that demonstrated the product’s utility in real-world situations. That’s why the dodgeball event worked so well – it showed how the app could enhance social experiences, not just facilitate transactions.”

Expanding Through Strategic Consulting

Sosani has developed into two distinct operations: Sosani Consulting Group and Sosani Studios. 

The consulting division was launched with his partner, Duke McKenzie. “Duke is currently Khaby’s U.S. brand manager,” Tinashe says. “He also started a blog network in the early 2000s, which he sold to Yellow Pages. Then, he managed PewDiePie, and his sister company has ownership in the firm that manages PewDiePie.”

On the other hand, Tinashe explains that Sosani Studios, the execution influencer marketing arm, is where the company “grew” and where “all full-service influencer marketing happens.”

Sosani evaluates campaign success through detailed analysis. “We look at relevance,” Tinashe points out. “When you look at engagement rate, everyone talks about, oh, we got X amount of engagement rates amazing. But we look at the comments… is this engagement that matters?”

Looking toward future developments, Tinashe points to Asian markets for insight: “Look at Asia. You want to see what it’s looking at. Look at WeChat. It’s doing something very commerce-driven. It is very much integrated within your day-to-day in terms of walking in the streets and the WeChat aspect of it.”

Personal Growth and Industry Impact

For Tinashe, who received his green card after 22 years in America, his perspective as an immigrant strengthens his business approach. 

“This is the first time I left the country after 22 years, and I finally got my green card,” he says. “Think about it as an immigrant: build something that someone values you enough to send you and pay for your hotel. I’m in suites now.”

His final message to marketers emphasizes enthusiasm and innovation: “Be excited that you get to come and make a change. And while some of you might be growing in these companies, leadership is always looking for people willing to take, to be different, and to make that jump… Eventually, it’ll happen. Change a job if you need to or go somewhere else. But marketers need to have more fun with this because I feel like it gets so mundane.”