Jonah Sachs is an American storyteller, author, designer and entrepreneur. He is the author of Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell—and Live—the Best Stories Will Rule the Future and Unsafe Thinking: How to Be Nimble and Bold When You Need It Most. Sachs is the co-founder and former CEO of Free Range Studios, an agency that helps social brands and causes with campaigns built on storytelling strategies.
Early life
Sachs was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Nancy Kantor and Allan Sachs. He has two siblings, Emily and Zoe. Sachs attended Wesleyan University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper for two semesters. In that role, he wrote about campus politics and social justice issues. He graduated from Wesleyan in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in American Studies.
Career
After graduation, Sachs moved to Washington, D.C. where he reconnected with his childhood friend Louis Fox, and the two decided to form Free Range Studios together with the goal of offering social causes the same kind of communication tools and advantages that corporate brands have in the media space. The agency worked with such organizations as Amnesty International, the ACLU, SEIU, Earthjustice, Greenpeace International, Autodesk, the Sierra Club, and the Harvard Civil Rights Project.
Works
Sachs has received acclaim for several online videos that have brought social issues to the attention of the public. The Meatrix, a spoof on the blockbuster movie The Matrix, reveals the truth about factory meat farming. It quickly became the most watched advocacy ad in Internet history. Sachs also helped produce the video The Story of Stuff, a 20-minute video that has reached over 10 million viewers in over 200 countries. The video is an animated documentary about the lifecycle of material goods. Additionally, Sachs’ interactive work has been honored with “Best Of” awards three times at the South By Southwest interactive festival. Sachs’ book, Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell—and Live—the Best Stories Will Rule the Future, traces the quiet supremacy of Empowerment Marketing from the early days of Volkswagen, Apple, and Nike to the viral breakthroughs of Yes We Can, the Tea Party movement, The Story of Stuff, and Patagonia. It offers three simple tools brands can use to break through, earn fans, and become an icon. The book has gained acclaim from such outlets as Forbes, Publishers Weekly, and 800 CEO READ. In 2018, Sachs published a second book, Unsafe Thinking: How to Be Nimble and Bold When You Need it Most. Additionally, Sachs and his work have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX News, Sundance Film Festival, NPR, The Colbert Report, and in FastCompany Magazine, which named him one of the 50 most influential social innovators.
