Storyteller · Marketing Strategist · New Media

Stories people stop for. Campaigns that make them care.

I tell stories that make people feel, care and act.

I build campaigns and advocacy on complex global challenges, turning them into simple, human stories for every screen, from Reels to VR and whatever comes next.

12+ years in advertising, brand building, international development, non-profit advocacy and new media.

See my work → Get in touch
Raja Venkatapathy ManiAdd your photo
Raja Venkatapathy Mani · Digital Media Specialist, UNDP
UNDPSamsungUN WomenWebby Award Winner72andSunnyGoogle DaydreamUSC Annenberg

What I do

Work at the intersection where strategy and creativity meet.

Strategy

Marketing & campaign strategy

Briefs, messaging, channel plans and launches for brands and causes, from concept to results report.

UNDP: Save Our Ocean, Beat Plastic Pollution, End Poverty, Global Goals · Philips M1XDJ launch · #14000andCounting
Social

Social media & audience growth

Editorial strategy, content calendars and community growth across Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.

+400K at UNDP global · +80% at UNDP India
Content

Content & video production

Scripting, shooting direction and editing for Reels, explainers, brand films and short documentaries. Writing copy, blogs and stories from the ground.

100+ multimedia pieces for UNDP · UNDP blogs and stories
Digital

Digital advisory & analytics

Platform strategy, paid social, SEM and measurement that shows what worked and what to change.

Meta Ads · Google Analytics · Meltwater
Talent

Creators & talent

Working with creators, celebrities and Goodwill Ambassadors to power advocacy: identifying the right voices, supporting onboarding and managing content strategy.

UNDP India and global campaigns
Immersive

Immersive & new media

360°, VR and emerging formats that put audiences inside the story.

Webby winner · Google Daydream
400K

new followers for UNDP across Instagram, Facebook and Threads

+80%

audience growth for UNDP India, to 250,000+

100+

videos, photo stories and graphics for UNDP’s global channels

12 yrs

in communications, from advertising agency to the United Nations

Made for UNDP’s global and India channels

Video wall

See all videos ↗
Social graphics and carousels

Graphics

Work experience

Photo coming soon
UNDP · Digital Media Specialist · 2022 to present · New York

UNDP global social channels

The brief
Make development work on climate, crisis, the Global Goals, gender equality and poverty matter to a global audience scrolling past.
What I did
Produced 100+ videos, photo stories and graphics. Wrote scripts, stories and blogs, and planned campaigns with briefs and reports, working with UNDP offices around the world. Supported UNDP’s global campaigns with creative input and execution, and worked with Goodwill Ambassadors on their content strategy and production, including Cody Simpson, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Yeoh, Yemi Alade and Antonio Banderas.
Photo coming soon
UNDP India · Digital Media Communications · 2019 to 2021 · New Delhi

UNDP India

The brief
Build an engaged national audience for UNDP’s work in India.
What I did
Produced multimedia content and campaigns, ran the country office website and managed its social media channels. Worked with creators and celebrities on advocacy efforts, including Prajakta Koli, Sarah-Jane Dias and Lucky Ali.
Result
Grew the social audience by 80%, to more than 250,000 followers.
Photo coming soon
KCRW & Annenberg Innovation Lab · 360° VR documentary · 2017 to 2018

The Deported: Life Beyond the Border

The brief
Put audiences inside the reality of deportation rather than reporting on it from a distance.
What I did
Researched, produced and edited a 360° documentary built for VR headsets.
Result
Webby Award 2019 · Society of News Design Bronze · Online News Association finalist 2018.
Webby Award Winner
Photo coming soon
72andSunny · Creative Strategist · 2018 · Los Angeles

#14000andCounting

The brief
Keep the number of children detained at the US border from becoming an abstract statistic.
What I did
Executed the campaign and produced its social video and photo content, working with the creative team to maximise reach.
Featured in
Photo coming soon
Save the Syrian Children · Content Producer · 2019 · Los Angeles

Fundraising documentary for Syria

The brief
Raise funds for medical aid inside an active war zone.
What I did
Worked with doctors in Syria to understand conditions on the ground, then scripted, produced and edited a fundraising documentary and video.

Writing

Stories from the ground.

All my stories on undp.org ↗
On the road

About

12 years of telling stories that matter

I started in 2013 at a digital marketing agency, launching campaigns for Philips, CaratLane and Bigbasket. It taught me what makes people click, watch and share.

A master’s in New Media Storytelling at USC Annenberg took me to Los Angeles. There I produced immersive journalism for NPR, Al Jazeera, KCRW and Google, worked on advocacy campaigns at 72andSunny, and made a VR documentary on deportation that won a Webby Award.

Since 2019 I’ve brought that mix to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), first in New Delhi and now on its global channels in New York. I plan, write, shoot and edit campaigns on climate change, gender equality, poverty, crisis and digital transformation for audiences worldwide.

I work where strategy meets creativity. I write the brief, shape the idea, plan the distribution, make the film, and read the data that shows what worked.

Recognition

Awards for documentary, interactive and campaign work.

Organisations I’ve worked with
UNDPUN WomenSamsungGoogleNPRAl Jazeera Contrast VRKCRWFast Company72andSunnyViacom · MTVPhilipsXiaomiTata MotorsBacardiGulf OilUSC Annenberg
New media lab

Always early to the next format

Platforms change every year. The job stays the same: find where the audience is, and tell the story in the language of that screen.

Immersive & spatial

360° and VR documentary since 2017, from Google Daydream to a Webby. Ready for spatial video and AR.

Webby 2019 · Google Daydream Innovator

New platforms, early

Bringing an institution’s voice to new platforms and building audiences there from the start.

UNDP growth across Instagram, Facebook and Threads

Creator-led storytelling

Working the way creators do: vertical-first, personality-led, built for the feed.

My own travel channel, My Highway Tales

Data-driven creative

Social listening and analytics that shape what gets made, not just what gets reported.

Meltwater · Keyhole · Meta and Google Analytics

Skills & education

Creative production

Adobe Premiere Pro · After Effects · Photoshop · Lightroom · Canva · Mistika and Kolor (360° video)

Strategy and analytics

Meltwater · Hootsuite · Keyhole · Meta Business Suite and Ads · Google Analytics · Google Ads · Mixpanel

Certifications

Adobe Premiere Pro · Google Analytics · Google Ads · Design Thinking · Google VR and AR content production

Languages

English · Tamil · Telugu · French (learning)

Education

University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Master of Communication Management, New Media Storytelling

Add image
images/travel.jpg
Off the clock

I’m also a travel creator

I make travel films and short videos. From the last post office in the world to the dunes of Namibia, the highlands of Atacama to the islands of Thailand, I look for places that wow me, people who inspire me and cultures that open my world. It energises me and keeps my short-form instincts sharp, tested on a real audience.

It started early: I won Drive with MTV, Tata Motors’ #TheChosenOnes and Quechua’s #NeedWarmth contest, which sent me to the summit of Kedarkantha in the Himalayas.

Visit myhighwaytales.com ↗
Contact

Let’s tell
your story.

I’m open to talk about communications, campaigns, social media and digital, across the UN system, international organisations, brands and tech.

Download CV LinkedIn ↗