Keen Social Wins Four International Davey Awards, Including Best in Show, During Its 10th Anniversary
Keen Social, an LGBTQ+ and Latino-owned agency, wins four 2026 Davey Awards, including Best in Show, for its Harbor Breeze Cruises campaign.
Aboard a Harbor Breeze Cruises excursion off the Southern California coast, musician and content creator Max Andre began to perform just as whales appeared nearby. The moment was unplanned, and it became the heart of a social media campaign that has now earned international recognition. Keen Social, a certified LGTBE and Latino-owned multicultural marketing and public relations agency, won four honors at the 22nd Annual Davey Awards, including Best in Show, for its work with the Southern California whale-watching operator.
Four Honors for “When the Ocean Answered”
The campaign, “When the Ocean Answered: Turning Real-Life Whale Encounters Into Viral Storytelling,” received Best in Show and Gold in Social, Content & Marketing: Travel & Leisure, Gold in Social Video: Travel & Leisure, and Silver in Social Features: Best Branded Social Post.
The Davey Awards are judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts and recognize outstanding creative work from smaller agencies and independent creative teams. Viewers can watch the 2026 Davey Awards Best in Show winners video to see the honorees. The agency describes the Best in Show win as its highest international creative honor to date in destination and tourism marketing. It builds on Keen Social’s earlier award-winning work supporting the Queen Mary’s reopening, which further established the agency’s experience in travel, tourism, and destination marketing.
Josh Campbell, General Manager of the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, emphasized the significance of the recognition and the competition Keen Social faced.
“This season, the Davey Awards received thousands of entries, and the jury's criteria were even more rigorous. Only thirteen winners received Best in Show honors. Earning this award is a huge accomplishment and a true testament to Keen Social’s unlimited creativity as a small shop,” Campbell said.
More Than a Viral Moment
The award-winning campaign grew well beyond a single video. Keen Social’s team built a social media strategy that combined authentic storytelling, influencer partnerships, audience targeting, community management, and consistent content production.
Working with creators across travel, lifestyle, entertainment, and other audience segments, the agency introduced Harbor Breeze to new communities while showing the excitement and accessibility of Southern California’s marine experiences. Through video content, audience interactions, and community partnerships, Keen Social turned everyday onboard experiences into stories that inspired discovery and engagement.
Measurable Growth and Integrated Marketing
According to Keen Social, the campaign delivered significant audience growth and engagement. The agency reports a 137% increase in Instagram followers and a 135% increase in website link clicks, alongside 100% increases in both views and content interactions following the agency handoff. On Facebook, followers grew 19.3%, with more than 8,400 website link clicks driving traffic from social media.
Keen Social also expanded Harbor Breeze Cruises’ presence across three new platforms, creating and launching the brand’s TikTok, Threads, and YouTube channels and building a combined audience of more than 1.1K followers and subscribers.
Rather than relying on one viral moment, the agency used ongoing performance analysis to refine its content, balancing wildlife footage, influencer storytelling, community partnerships, and culturally relevant experiences to reach diverse audiences. The work also extended into public relations strategy, brand development, and paid social advertising. Its communications strategy identified opportunities across national travel and lifestyle publications, maritime and sustainability media, and Southern California news outlets, and an initial paid social campaign generated Meta-attributed purchases that exceeded established benchmarks for purchase volume and cost efficiency.
A Decade of Creative Work
The recognition arrives as Keen Social celebrates its 10th anniversary. Founded in 2016 by Esteven Gamez and Christopher Molessa, the agency has developed campaigns across tourism, hospitality, government, nonprofit, and other sectors.
“I’m humbled and ecstatic about these new awards, especially as Keen Social celebrates our 10th anniversary,” said Esteven Gamez, Co-Founder and Owner of Keen Social. “We started this company believing deeply in data-driven marketing, and I still do. But after 10 years, I’ve also learned that great social media is supposed to be fun. When you create something that makes people stop, smile, laugh, share or feel like they’re part of the moment, you earn their attention. The data helps us understand what works, but creativity and human connection are what make people care.”
For Gamez, the honor is also personal. “Representation matters to me,” he added. “I’m a Hispanic LGBTQ+ kid from Corpus Christi, Texas, who never imagined I’d one day own an agency whose work would be recognized internationally. That perspective has always been part of what drives me. I want the next generation of diverse creatives and entrepreneurs to see people like themselves building companies, creating great work and being recognized for it. Ten years into this journey, that means just as much to me as the awards.”
The agency’s latest honors follow earlier recognition for its Queen Mary work, including Gold and Silver Davey Awards in 2024 and a Bronze Telly Award in 2025.
Behind the Campaign
Keen Social developed the Harbor Breeze campaign in collaboration with the client’s leadership and marketing teams, including Kevin Lorton, formerly Chief Operating Officer of Harbor Breeze Cruises and now with Land & Sea, and Kim Spucces, Strategic Sales & Partnerships at Harbor Breeze Cruises.
The campaign team included co-founders and owners Esteven Gamez and Christopher Molessa; Paula Iniguez, Director of Brand & Content Development; Autumn Enoch, Director of Public Relations; Sabrina Hendifar, Marketing Supervisor; and Quyen Nguyen, Senior Marketing Coordinator. Content creation was led by Jesse Ramirez, Director of Cinematography, Michelle Winters, Director of Photography, and Joseph Rene, Director of Styling. Micah Desai, Ian Wyspianski, and Deliah Valdez handled digital analytics, while Will Ramos and Fabian Alexander led paid social. Content creators CeCe Yu, Madeline Krantz, Sofia Perez, and Jorge Martinez also contributed.
About Keen Social
Founded in 2016, Keen Social is an award-winning, LGBTQ+- and minority-owned multicultural marketing, advertising, and public relations agency headquartered in Long Beach, California. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2026, the agency specializes in creative strategy, social media management, content production, influencer marketing, public relations, paid advertising, brand development, and integrated digital marketing. With experience across tourism, hospitality, government, nonprofit, and other industries, it combines culturally relevant storytelling with data-driven strategies to help brands connect with audiences and achieve measurable results.
Learn more about the agency at keensocial.com, and see the Davey Award-winning campaign behind the honors.
Connect with Keen Social:
Instagram: @keensocial
Facebook: @keensocialagency
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/keen-social/
Twitter: @keensocial
