GOAL
In 2019, the SoftBank Vision Fund was facing a swirl of negative coverage around one of its high-profile portfolio companies — scandalous stories of financial losses, reckless spending, and toxic culture. Meanwhile, the Vision Fund ecosystem was full of well run, thriving startups achieving breakthrough, newsworthy innovations. SoftBank needed to bring these stories into the spotlight and reassert its position as the most exciting VC firm for founders of late-stage, high-growth startups.
APPROACH
Through research and discovery, we found that what attracted founders was education, empathy and inspiration—not from SoftBank but from fellow founders. Enter Sōzō Insights.
We developed this subbrand and made SoftBank Vision Fund stand out to busy executives by publishing premium, immersive content on par with the best of The New York Times. We run quarterly surveys with C-suite leaders in the Vision Fund ecosystem and use the proprietary data to build a dashboard of rich insider insights. This data in turn informs in-depth reporting and eye-catching data visualization that has attracted the attention of trend-watchers at the business desks of The Washington Post and The New York Times and earned coverage in Semafor's CEO Signal. The monthly Sōzō newsletter and atomization on LinkedIn spread the reach of the program and contribute to Sōzō’s growing audience.
We developed this subbrand and made SoftBank Vision Fund stand out to busy executives by publishing premium, immersive content on par with the best of The New York Times. We run quarterly surveys with C-suite leaders in the Vision Fund ecosystem and use the proprietary data to build a dashboard of rich insider insights. This data in turn informs in-depth reporting and eye-catching data visualization that has attracted the attention of trend-watchers at the business desks of The Washington Post and The New York Times and earned coverage in Semafor's CEO Signal. The monthly Sōzō newsletter and atomization on LinkedIn spread the reach of the program and contribute to Sōzō’s growing audience.
The Vision Fund site has seen significant increases in site traffic as well as substantial growth in organic search, signaling a significant rise in broader brand awareness. In short, Sōzō changed the Vision Fund narrative and earned a loyal following of founders and executives with sophisticated, high-quality brand storytelling.
Dynamic storytelling
Formats to fit the story
The Sōzō editorial program includes thematic data stories, Q&As, multi-media company deep-dives, interactive data, videos, and perspective pieces.
Through this rich ecosystem, the site gives readers a behind-the-curtain look at the company-building in Vision Fund’s portfolio while offering invaluable entrepreneurial insights on how to win in a competitive landscape.
Through this rich ecosystem, the site gives readers a behind-the-curtain look at the company-building in Vision Fund’s portfolio while offering invaluable entrepreneurial insights on how to win in a competitive landscape.
Sōzō Newsletter
Every month, new standout content
land in the inboxes of our most dedicated readers, a base of subscribers that keeps getting bigger. The newsletter has surpassed 6,000 total subscribers, including 1,552 new subscribers year to date. It maintains a 33% open rate – 2% above the industry average – and achieved a 12% quarter-over-quarter CTR, reinforcing the value of incremental, strategic design improvements.
Sōzō by the numbers
Sōzō data at a glance
This powerful partnership has earned over 100,000 pageviews since launch, along with media attention from leading outlets including the New York Times, Bloomberg, and Semafor.
100k+
Total on-site page views since launch
250k
Impressions on LinkedIn
Social promotions uplift content across newsfeeds, bringing Sōzō stories to readers across the globe
92
Portfolio companies featured
Content showcases the cross-sector expertise of VisonFund's portfolio including companies in consumer, fintech, healthtech, logistics and more
1,217
C-Suite executives surveyed