Active Octopus Wins Gold Telly and Stevie Awards for The Ringling Ghost

The director and crew sit amongst gear and lights, interviewing a subject for The Ringling Ghost

Behind the scenes during an interview for the Ringling Ghost

Sarasota agency Active Octopus concludes its award season with Gold Telly, Stevie, and NYX honors for branded entertainment project, The Ringling Ghost.

This level of industry recognition proves that narrative driven entertainment is a highly effective tool for solving complex visibility challenges and building lasting brand equity.”

— Matt Gissing, Creative Director

SARASOTA, FL, UNITED STATES, May 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Active Octopus, a creative agency specializing in branded entertainment and brand strategy, has officially concluded a highly successful award season for its recent brand awareness campaign developed for the Ringling College of Art & Design Film Department. The campaign recently secured a Gold Telly Award for video production, a Gold Stevie Award at the American Business Awards for Special Video, and a Grand Winner designation at the NYX Awards for Brand Marketing Campaign.

The campaign centered on the creation of The Ringling Ghost, an original long form anchor project designed to launch the Ringling Film YouTube channel. This new channel serves as a hub featuring content about life at film school alongside original student films. The Ringling Ghost explores a central mystery: whether ghostly experiences encountered by students are based on the history and lore of campus hauntings or if they are part of a well designed hoax. By utilizing narrative filmmaking to launch the channel, Active Octopus demonstrated how branded entertainment can successfully solve complex visibility challenges, drive engagement, and build lasting brand equity.

"We never anticipated this level of professional acknowledgment when we began," said Matt Gissing, Creative Director of Active Octopus. "The success of this campaign is a direct result of the incredible student collaborators who helped bring the vision to life. Launching the channel and seeing the work resonate so strongly within the industry is deeply humbling, and it provides these students with a real, professional outcome for their resumes as they begin their careers."

These recent accolades cap off a season that also includes Platinum honors at the Hermes Creative Awards, Gold and Silver at the Vega Digital Awards, Gold and Silver at the Collegiate Advertising Awards, an Award of Distinction at the Communicator Awards, and a Silver at the Titan Awards for Integrated Marketing Campaign. This extensive recognition establishes the agency's integrated digital marketing strategy as a proven method for organizations seeking to stand out in saturated markets.

Building on the momentum of this campaign, Active Octopus is currently developing new initiatives. The agency is partnering with several Southwest Florida businesses and non profits, applying its specialized approach to narrative marketing for upcoming projects slated for release in the near future.

About Active Octopus
Active Octopus is a Sarasota based creative agency that partners with organizations to build brand awareness through narrative filmmaking and branded entertainment.

Matt Gissing
Active Octopus Creative Agency
+1 941-929-6994
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The Ringling Ghost

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