Socium’s Adventures in Austin: 4th Annual Team Retreat

Since 2021, our Q4 team retreats are always an annual highlight. They’ve been instrumental in celebrating the end of the summer hustle and hitting pause before the holiday frenzy takes over.

In recent years, we’ve been to New Orleans, Chicago, and Savannah, but this year, we decided to mix things up. In addition to our usual fall retreat in Q4, we introduced a winter retreat in Q1, too. Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t feel a bit of the winter slump? With that in mind, we flew our team to sunny Austin, Texas, for some top-notch team bonding to chase away those winter blues. For this retreat, we turned up the focus on skill-building, blending fun with professional growth to keep our team’s energy buzzing and our skills sharp.

Here’s a recap of what we got into!

Day one:

Icebreakers: Interests Tic Tac Toe & Introductions
After hitting it off with Diversity Bingo last year, we knew we needed another icebreaker that got everyone chatting and moving around the room. Enter Tic Tac Toe with a twist—custom questions in each box and a mission to find matching answers with teammates. From go-to coffee/tea orders to dream careers/trips and beyond, it was all about making those three-in-a-row connections and learning more about each other!

Following tic tac toe, Anthony, our Director of Business Development, taught us the art of crafting impactful 10-second introductions. He talked through the “why” and even provided a formula for us to use when creating our introductions. After his session concluded, everyone wrote their introduction and presented it to 5 people in the room using their new and improved introductions.

AI Session with Owen
When it comes to digital marketing, AI holds a tremendous amount of potential if you know how to leverage it. Our co-founder, Owen, shared practices and tactics we can use to streamline our workflows, boost our productivity, and, ultimately, elevate the quality of our work. While AI’s abilities are impressive, Owen emphasized the importance of viewing AI as a tool rather than a decision-maker, reminding us that the human element (aka us!) is truly irreplaceable.

Cocktail Social & Dinner at Suerte
We wrapped up the first day of the retreat with a delicious dinner at Suerte! If you’ve never been – we highly recommend it. Their tres leches cake? A must-try. Our team is still talking about it.

Day two:

Brand Strategy Workshop
For this hands on workshop, we mixed up our team to put people together who don’t usually work side-by-side, assigned each group a brand, and challenged them to develop a brand strategy. With brands like Huel, Chamberlain Coffee, Misfits Market, and more, the creativity and during the workshop was off the charts, sparking new ideas for serving our clients better. Shout out to the Huel team, who won by using AI to pitch a brand new out-of-the-box product idea, Rocket Huel!

AI Session with Ricky
Building on the momentum from Owen’s AI session on day one, our Director of SEO, Ricky, shared an incredible presentation on the power of AI and how it can be used to improve efficiencies and scale businesses. From developing SEO extensions that streamline repetitive tasks to pioneering an entire NFT collection driven by personal passion, Ricky’s session showcased the wide range of tasks you can accomplish (and scale) using only AI tools.

Socium Hall of Fame Ceremony
We held our second annual Socium Hall of Fame ceremony, celebrating team members who exemplify our core values! All nominations were submitted by fellow teammates, which always makes this event all the more special. 

Shout-out to our HOF winners!

Pictured left to right:

• Owen Loft – Co-Founder
• Gillian Ramos – The Culture Firster Award
• Ricky Weiss – The Act Like An Owner Award
• Anthony Saladino – The No Ego Award
• Karla Ruiz-Cravioto – The Thoughtful Stepper Award
• Josh Salgado – The 37x Award
• Nina Kennedy – The Over Communicator Award
• Sam Sherman – Co-Founder

Day three:

Private Duck Boat Tour
No Socium retreat is complete without a quirky tour! In past years, we’ve gone on swamp boat tours, architecture tours, dolphin tours and even haunted ghost tours. But this year, we went on a duck boat adventure, where we took in Austin from both land and water (while quacking up a storm).

Another Retreat to Remember

Our very first Winter Retreat in sunny Austin has surely set a new standard for how we come together as a team. Between the laughter-filled icebreakers, deep dives into AI innovation, and unforgettable inside jokes, we’ve not just shaken off the winter gloom but have come out stronger, more cohesive, and with sharpened skills.

If you’re drawn to a workplace that prioritizes its people, fosters continuous learning, and balances work with fun, we’d love to hear from you! Check out our current job openings here.

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