# The House of JOY

> The House of JOY is a Black- and woman-owned boutique culture-strategy firm in Washington, D.C. Founded by Kelli JOY Richardson in 2013, it combines audience research, coalition building, advocacy, creative campaigns, and live experiences for brands and nonprofits that need cultural credibility as well as reach. Its signature work includes helping build Dove's CROWN movement against race-based hair discrimination, public-health storytelling for the Ad Council, disability-pride work for Easterseals Southern California, and community activations for AARP, Progressive, BET, Visa, and others.

- **Founded:** 2013
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Founders:** Kelli JOY Richardson (Founder and CEO)
- **Products:** Cultural Strategy and Insights, Coalition Building and Advocacy, Purpose-Driven Campaigns, Events and Experiences, Training and Internal Engagement
- **Notable:** Co-created the CROWN movement in 2018 and led coalition, community-engagement, and advocacy work supporting anti-hair-discrimination legislation., Won PRWeek's 2021 Campaign of the Year and Best in Public Affairs for Dove and the CROWN Act movement., Won the 2020 Global SABRE Award's top campaign honor for Dove and the CROWN Act, after competing against more than 5,000 entries.

## Products & services

- **Cultural Strategy and Insights** — Audience research, cultural listening, strategic positioning, and opportunity identification for brands seeking relevance with specific communities.
- **Coalition Building and Advocacy** — Coalition strategy, partner recruitment, advocacy campaigns, and grassroots engagement around a shared purpose.
- **Purpose-Driven Campaigns** — Campaign strategy, messaging, content, talent partnerships, creative production, and impact measurement.
- **Events and Experiences** — Event strategy and production, national tours, brand activations, awards shows, and talent coordination.
- **Training and Internal Engagement** — Leadership, culture, and employee-engagement programming, including work publicly referenced for Under Armour.

## Achievements

- Co-created the CROWN movement in 2018 and led coalition, community-engagement, and advocacy work supporting anti-hair-discrimination legislation.
- Won PRWeek's 2021 Campaign of the Year and Best in Public Affairs for Dove and the CROWN Act movement.
- Won the 2020 Global SABRE Award's top campaign honor for Dove and the CROWN Act, after competing against more than 5,000 entries.
- Named Adweek's sixth-fastest-growing media company in 2019, according to a company press release.
- Received an Inc. Best in Business bronze award for Established Excellence in 2020.
- The Disability is Not a Dirty Word campaign generated more than 525 million impressions in its Shorty Awards entry and later surpassed one billion impressions according to the agency's case study.
- The Every1 With Autism Belongs campaign reported more than 312 million paid-media impressions and an anticipated total impact above 933 million impressions, and was adopted for national rollout by Easterseals.
- The House of JOY says its body of work has received more than 80 awards.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Every1 With Autism Belongs launched for Autism Acceptance Month after a preview during the 2026 Paralympics; its Shorty Awards entry says Easterseals adopted the work for national rollout.
- **2026-01** — The firm partnered with Dove on a Powder Room Takeover at GRAMMY House in Los Angeles.
- **2025-11** — Dove/CROWN Love received a Shorty Impact Award, and Kelli Richardson was recognized in Ragan's Top Women in Marketing agency-leader class.
- **2025-04** — The Easterseals campaign won an ANA Multicultural Excellence Award, while Dove/CROWN Love received a REGGIE Award and Webby recognition.

## Links

- Website: https://thehouseofjoy.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehouseofjoy

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-house-of-joy
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-20