“The best brand stories don’t just capture attention. They become part of your audience’s world. That’s the kind of storytelling I love to do.”
— Owner, Joan O'Connor
Joan O’Connor is an Emmy Award–winning producer, storyteller, and founder of Spotlight Monkey.
Her career in nonfiction television revolved around one thing: figuring out what makes audiences emotionally invest enough to keep watching.
From launching the documentary series A Baby Story, to rebuilding the second season of Big Brother, to executive producing the ambitious daily soap-docu Starting Over, Joan spent years shaping stories designed to hold attention, create emotional investment, and keep audiences coming back.
Along the way, she conducted thousands of interviews with celebrities, thought leaders, and everyday people, which taught her something she still carries into branding today: audiences rarely connect because something sounds polished. They connect because something feels human.
Years later, while watching startup founders struggle to explain brilliant ideas at a pitch event, Joan recognized the same problem she’d spent years solving in television. People may understand the information, but without emotional investment, they don’t stay connected to the story.
That realization eventually led her to create Spotlight Monkey, where she now helps businesses uncover the hidden gem that transforms their story into a memorable and successful brand.
Outside of work, Joan enjoys time with family, friends and her rescue pup Jax. She’s passionate about nature, animal rights, reducing single-use plastic, creating quirky YouTube videos, and sharing true stories on NPR’s The Moth.
Jax, VP of client relations
