Brandon Chesnutt

Brandon serves as “chief evangelist” at Identity and is responsible for securing new client partnerships for the agency. He also serves as the initial architect for all client programs while bringing an elevated level of strategic insight and direction across the agency.

After joining the agency in 2007, Brandon founded Identity’s social media practice group, which is recognized as one of the first dedicated social media teams within Detroit’s PR landscape. Once it became clear that social media wasn’t a fad, Brandon’s team helped to propel the agency’s growth and diversification of services. The team launched hundreds of successful campaigns on behalf of high-growth startups, consumer brands, professional services firms, real estate centers, organizations operating within highly regulated industries and Fortune 100 brands. The agency also garnered more than a dozen social media and digital communications awards.

Brandon is a sought-after speaker and presenter on the topics of public relations, social media strategy and digital crisis management. He has presented at social media and digital marketing conferences around the country and shared the stage with representatives from the world’s biggest brands, including VISA, Lockheed Martin, Nestlé Purina, IBM, Taco Bell, Chili’s Bar & Grill, IMAX, Western Union, GoDaddy, BuzzFeed and many more. He brings contagious energy and enthusiasm to the stage, along with real-world, applicable examples of companies succeeding—or failing­—in the digital space. Most recently, he was a featured panelist and presenter at the inaugural PRWeek Crisis Comms Conference in Washington, D.C., and led the first full-day crisis communications bootcamp hosted at PRSA ICON, the largest gathering of public relations professionals in the world.

A member of the Crain’s Detroit Business “20 in their 20s,” Brandon’s business accomplishments, community involvement and viral content have also been featured in PRWeek, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Detroit Free Press, FOX 2 News Detroit, Ragan’s PR Daily, REBusinessOnline.com, Mashable and Rolling Stone. He currently serves as an inaugural board member of the Department of Communication, Journalism and Public Relations Professional Advisory Council at Oakland University, his alma mater.

Outside of the office, Brandon loves to travel with his wife, Heather. He is also a t-ball coach, avid video gamer, sports car enthusiast and doting dad to Calvin, his son named after the famous comic character, and a fluffy and obnoxiously cute goldendoodle named Scout.