Lightmakers is the Los Angeles brand-side agency for international and US brands that need senior-operator execution. Campaigns. Activations. PR. Fractional Operators. $111M+ closed inside Fortune 500 rooms. Founder-led by Karen Diaz, ex-IBM, Gartner, Evanta.
$111M+ closed inside Fortune 500 rooms before a single creator was booked. That order matters. It's why we sell, scope, and deliver the way enterprise actually buys, and ship the way creators actually move.
Every engagement is run by an operator who's closed real revenue, not a junior account team learning on your budget.
We work for the brand. Creator selection, contracts, performance, and amplification are all built around your goal, not theirs.
$111M+ in Fortune 500 sales sits underneath every campaign. We read brands and rooms the way enterprise reps read deals.
Every engagement runs the same four-step operating system. It's why a brand partnership can ship in 24 hours, a red carpet can build in two weeks, and a quarterly plan can survive contact with reality.
We map the moment. Audience, white space, competitor noise, KPIs, deadlines, and the room you actually need to win.
Strategy and shortlist in 7 days. Creator, channel, partner, event, and amplification all mapped to one outcome.
Live in market. We run the campaign, throw the activation, place the press, and hold the relationships through delivery.
Post-mortem with real numbers, then retainer, follow-on activation, or next-quarter scope. The rooms get bigger.
Pick a single lane, or hand us the whole brand-side build. Every engagement runs through the Method.
The lane where the $111M+ enterprise sales pedigree fires loudest. Brand-to-brand deals, sponsorship architecture, and earned-media strategy built on the same operating system used to close Fortune 500 partnerships. We don't pitch press lists. We architect partnerships both sides defend. SBE × Already Iconic shipped in 24 hours. Paris Hilton's premiere landed six brand partners. This is what enterprise sales discipline looks like applied to cultural brands.
Creator partnerships and content strategy run by operators who know what converts. We don't book creators. We engineer commerce.
Senior operators placed directly inside your brand team. The retainer-grade version of the work, where partnership architecture becomes infrastructure.
Red carpets, brand pop-ups, launches, dinners, and field activations. We produce the moment and engineer the room so the right people, press, and creators all show up ready to amplify.
Three shipped engagements across three lanes. One currently in market. Every one moved fast and was measured against revenue, relationships, or both.
Private screening of Infinite Icon. We curated the room, ran RSVP architecture, and built the creator amplification layer that turned one night into a multi-platform earned moment.
Casa Dani creator dinner architected, contracted, and shipped in 24 hours. From cold ask to signed activation inside one of LA's most coveted hospitality groups, with full content amplification engineered into the night.
Multi-format launch for Chera, the new entertainment platform. We produced the room, secured media partners including Getty and Shutterstock coverage, and curated a guest list of operators, press, and creators who carried the launch beyond launch day.
A new Lightmakers engagement is currently shipping. Case study lands shortly. Want to be the next one? The application takes three minutes.
Additional engagements include Kim Kardashian's Ulike campaign, Kalodata, Soho Works, IBM, BeeHiiv, US Robosen, TEDx UCLA, Gabriela Ceballos, and Dr. Joe Dispenza.
Karen Diaz is a Fortune 500 sales operator turned founder. Twenty years at IBM, Gartner, and Evanta. $111M+ in closed enterprise sales. An MBA from UCLA Anderson. The playbook brands actually get bought on, turned loose on the founders, brands, and creators building what's next.
She learned the operating system from the inside. How Fortune 500 partnerships actually get built. How press gets earned. How a single relationship at the right table can change a company's trajectory. Lightmakers takes that machinery and points it at culture, where the next decade of brand-side revenue is being decided.
Recent rooms: Paris Hilton's Infinite Icon, SBE's hospitality activations, and Club Chera's launch at Zouk LA. Same rigor a Big Four consultant would bring. Same warmth as a friend who picks up the phone.
See Karen's founder portfolio →Partners at Gartner, doctors, founders, and 100+ creators on what it's actually like to work with the team.
"As a doctor of public health, I was not trained in marketing. I hired Karen because she's a successful marketer with an MBA from UCLA, and she skillfully gave client relations all the biggest marketing companies, like IBM and Gartner. The reason Karen stood out is the unique combination of her genuine compassionate personality, science-backed strategies, and relentless hard work. We benefited from Karen's keen market strategy and practical tools that streamlined our endeavors. If in need of growing or scaling your business, hire Karen."
"I've had the privilege of knowing Karen for over 10 years, and during that time I've watched her grow into an incredible force for helping others succeed. Karen's talent for organizing and bringing people together is unmatched. Whether it's an event, a strategy session, or a collaboration, she's able to make it all happen seamlessly. If you're looking for someone who can help you grow your business, navigate the complexities of social media, and build meaningful relationships, Karen is the person you want in your corner."
When you partner with Lightmakers, you tap a community of HNWI, founders, and tastemakers who actually convert.
The Lightmakers Quadrant. Our annual flagship report scoring brands on Cultural Resonance and Commercial Conversion. The "Magic Quadrant" equivalent for cultural brands. Built to become the index buyers, investors, and operators reference.
Lightmakers Verified. A certification mark for brand partnerships that meet our quality standard. Coming alongside the report.
International brands entering the US market, US brands chasing cultural relevance, and operators building category leaders. Strong fit in beauty, wellness, lifestyle, luxury, entertainment, hospitality, and consumer tech. If you're already moving and need a senior partner who can ship, we're built for you.
One sharp intake call. Strategy and scope within seven days. Live in market shortly after. Most engagements run as a project-based scope, a quarterly retainer, or a Fractional Operator inside your team. Bigger brand-side builds get a custom blend.
Yes. LA is our base and our edge for in-person rooms, but creator campaigns, PR, and Fractional Operator engagements run remote-first. We've worked with brands and operators globally.
Most agencies hand brands a creator list, a media list, or a deck and call it a day. We come from the enterprise sales floor. Every engagement is built around what actually moves a P&L. Founder-led. Operator-run. No junior account team learning on your budget.
Premium agency rates, structured around the lane and the scope. Apply for a call and we'll walk you through ranges that fit your goal. We work with brands where the investment makes sense to both sides.
Yes. That's the Fractional Operators lane. Fractional Head of Partnerships, Creator, or Press operators placed directly inside your brand team. Plug into your tools, ship in week one.
Fast. Brand partnership in 24 hours. Activation calendar built in seven days. Red-carpet production in two weeks. We move because culture moves, and we've already done the relationship work.
We strategize and integrate paid amplification into creator and activation work, and we partner with media buyers when a campaign warrants. We won't pretend to be your performance agency. We will make sure the work that comes through us is worth amplifying.
Paris Hilton. SBE. IBM. Gartner. UCLA. Chera. The rooms are real. The receipts are public. The bench is selective. If you know what you need, the application takes three minutes.