We create communications strategies to deliver fresh messages to new audiences, impact public sentiment, and modify behavior.
Cultural advocacy is the underpinning of positive social change for nonprofits, philanthropy, socially-responsible businesses, and media productions.
We specialize in integrating veteran voices into complex social issues.
Our News
Explore what’s happening at Marvin Strategies
Marvin Strategies lead the impact campaign for MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE, and Chris Marvin was credited as a co-producer and impact producer, leading efforts to ensure the film ad a positive social message and the audience could be activated to bring that message to life.
MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE is a dark comedy drama that follows the journey of Merit, a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe, her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor, the tough love of her mother and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit's cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That is until Merit's estranged grandfather—holed up at the family's ancestral lake house—begins to lose his way and is in need of the one thing he refuses... help. At its core, this is about a complicated friendship, a divided family and the complex ways in which we process grief.
Marvin Strategies was the primary consultancy used to by Everytown for Gun Safety for the development, roll out, and programatic strategy of Train SMART gun safety training. Billed as a gun safety program that was “created by veterans, but built for everyone”, Train SMART leverages the training, safety, and accountability that is inherent to military gun culture to build a program for prospective, new, and experienced gun owners. The principle behind this program and the ability to bring veteran expertise to the table are the results of the service provided by Marvin Strategies.
Learn more about Train SMART and sign up for a class
Read about Train SMART in USA Today
Hear Chris Marvin talk about Train SMART on the Movement Builders Podcast
In September 2025, the National Conference on Citizenship released the newest addition of the Veteran Civic Health Index. Marvin Strategies was commissioned by We the Veterans to develop the project and Chris Marvin serves as the primary author of this report. The VCHI is an empirical analysis of the civic health and engagement of veterans, as determined by data from the U.S. Census Bureau. NCoC regularly creates CHIs for cities and states. This special VCHI looks at veterans and makes the case that they are and should be held up as leaders and assets to our communities.
Listen to examples of the work that Marvin Strategies engages in by tuning into some of the podcast that have featured Chris Marvin.
Listen to Chris talk about Train SMART gun safety training on The Stoop from the Vet SOS Podcast
Read some examples of essays that Chris Marvin has written and Marvin Strategies has published in support of our clients and their great work.
Marvin Strategies’ principal, Chris Marvin, led an epic series of road trips that touched dozen states and more than 25 national parks. This adventure was co-sponsored by the National Parks Conservation Association, Blue Star Families, Peace Vans, Kodiak, Homage, Travel Lodge, and Rocky Mountain Campervans. The trip followed the 1920 Park-to-Park Highway Tour, a barnstorming activism trip meant to encourage the paving of roads in the west. For Chris, the national parks are a tangible representation of what he fought for overseas during his military service.
Our Media Projects
In support of films, television, and creative content designed to have a social impact, Marvin Strategies serves as an impact producer. Building an impact campaign can give both narrative and documentary projects a reach beyond the screen, empowering audiences to take action in support of the issues laid out in the project.
Follow the journey of ROW OF LIFE
An adventure of power and persistence
ROW OF LIFE follows renowned ocean rower, Marine Corps veteran, 3x Paralympian, and 14x Guinness World Record holder Angela Madsen. In 2020, Angela attempted to row solo and unassisted across the Pacific Ocean, from Los Angeles to Hawaii. What unfolds is a harrowing story of her determination, resilience, and immense courage to pursue the unknown, and the unyielding support of Angela’s wife, Deb, who, separated by a vast ocean, champions Angela’s dream despite the cost.
Immerse yourself in BEFORE THE MOOM FALLS
A deep dive into mental health and identity
BEFORE THE MOON FALLS was an intimate portrait of acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel eight years in the making when tragedy struck. Now the film offers an in-depth and thought-provoking look at Sia’s tumultuous journey leading to that traumatic moment, illuminating the complexities of inconsistently treated mental illness and the devastating toll it can exact on individuals, families and entire communities.
Feel the impact of MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE
The film about veterans that everyone needs to see.
MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE is a dark comedy drama that follows the journey of Merit, a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe, her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor, the tough love of her mother and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit's cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That is until Merit's estranged grandfather—holed up at the family's ancestral lake house—begins to lose his way and is in need of the one thing he refuses... help. At its core, this is about a complicated friendship, a divided family and the complex ways in which we process grief.
Hear the powerful words of our clients
Marvin Strategies has works with clients on the drafting, pitching, and placement of dozens of op-eds each year. Here’s a sample of what we’ve been saying. Take the time to read more opinions from Marvin Strategies’ clients in Client Media.
“I served my country in combat. As a veteran, I view America’s National Parks as a tangible representation of what I fought for. So, I want to share and experience them with my daughters.”
“I believe in the Second Amendment, but I won’t even consider carrying a firearm openly in public. I haven’t exercised my right to carry a concealed handgun in more than four years.
The reason: I am Black.
”
“I am a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. I was trained in the three tenets of military gun culture: training, safety and accountability. ... In the civilian world, ghost guns and unsecured guns in the home belie these tenets of military gun culture.”
“Both international and domestic bad actors — terrorists, Nazis, anarchists, etc. — have recruited veterans because of their leadership skills and weapons training. The propaganda they spew, in combination with mis- and disinformation, can lead to detrimental results for our nation and our democracy.”
Our Research and Reports
The Role of Guns in Veteran Suicide
Analyzing how firearms play a role in the veteran suicide epidemic.
Marvin Strategies collaborates closely with the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, to produce an annual report desscibing the role of guns in veteran suicide. This report, Those Who Serve, uses VA-produced suicide data to draw a more clear picture of how, when, where, and why guns are involved with the hope of saving veterans lives.
The Civic Health of Veterans
An empirical measure of the levels of civic engagement of post-9/11 veterans
In 2021 and again in 2025, the National Conference on Citizenship published the Veteran Civic Health Index with Chris Marvin as the primary author. The two editions — sponsored by The Mission Continues and We the Veterans, respectively — use census data to explores the level to which veterans are civically healthy and poised to benefit communities across the country. This includes voting, volunteering, talking to neighbors, helping neighbors, belonging to civic organizations, donating to charity, and more. In nearly all measures, veterans outperform nonveterans.
Read the full 2025 report: Defining Patriotism: The Civic Life of Those Who Serve
Read the full 2021 report: Defining Our Future Leaders: The Civic Health of the Post-9/11 Generation
Our Impact Campaigns
Building narratives that will compel audiences to action.
Before the Moon Falls (2026)
My Dead Friend Zoe (2025)
Merit X Zoe (2022)
Almost Sunrise, PBS (2017)
Quarry, Cinemax (2016)
SIX, HISTORY (2017-18)
Our Clients
Marvin Strategies is certified by the Small Business Administration as a service-disabled veteran owned small business.