The kids may be the ones headed back to class, but it doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who could benefit from logging a little more reading time now that summer’s coming to an end. Check out some of our favorite recent reads to help you get pumped for a productive and inspired fall.

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance – David Epstein

The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture.
Read more

From Cradle to Stage: Stories From the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars – Virginia Hanlon Grohl & Dave Grohl

The debate is as old as physical competition. While the Grohl family had always been musical-the family sang together on long car trips, harmonizing to Motown and David Bowie-Virginia never expected her son to become a musician, let alone a rock star. But when she saw him perform in front of thousands of screaming fans for the first time, she knew that rock stardom was meant to be for her son.
Read more

Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain – Danny Goldberg

In early 1991, top music manager Danny Goldberg agreed to take on Nirvana, a critically acclaimed new band from the underground music scene in Seattle. He had no idea that the band’s leader, Kurt Cobain, would become a pop-culture icon with a legacy arguably at the level of that of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, or Elvis Presley.
Read more

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation – Jeff Chang & DJ Cool Herc

Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop’s forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop chronicles the events, the ideas, the music, and the art that marked the hip-hop generation’s rise from the ashes of the 60’s into the new millennium.
Read more

I would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became An Icon – Touré

Celebrated journalist, TV personality, and award-winning author Touré investigates one of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in contemporary American culture: PRINCE.
Read more

Smash!: Green Day, the Offspring, Rancid, Nofx, and the ’90s Punk Explosion – Ian Winwood

Two decades after the Sex Pistols and the Ramones birthed punk music into the world, their artistic heirs burst onto the scene and changed the genre forever.
Read more

The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and The Evolution of Culture and Style – Nelson George

An authoritative history of the groundbreaking syndicated television show that has become an icon of American pop culture, from acclaimed author and filmmaker Nelson George, “the most accomplished black music critic of his generation” (Washington Post Book World). 
Read more

The Weight Of This World – David Joy

Critically acclaimed author David Joy, whose debut, Where All Light Tends to Go, was hailed as “a savagely moving novel that will likely become an important addition to the great body of Southern literature” (The Huffington Post), returns to the mountains of North Carolina with a powerful story about the inescapable weight of the past.
Read more

The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure – Grant Cardone

This book unveils the principle of “Massive Action,” allowing you to blast through business clichés and risk-aversion while taking concrete steps to reach your dreams. 
Read more

Catch Fire: How to Ignite Your Own Economy – Douglas Scott Nelson

Nelson provides the simple tools and the knowledge to teach you how to achieve financial freedom. Doug reveals how money works for and against you, while debunking numerous financial myths. 
Read more

The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success – Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. 
Read more

The Latte Factor: Why You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Live Rich – David Bach & John David Mann

The Latte Factor demystifies the secrets to achieving financial freedom, inspiring readers to realize that it’s never too late to reach for your dreams. 
Read more

When anyone asks me who’s my favorite artist, the answer is always Lloyd Cole. I was in high school when he fronted the Commotions, turning out indie hits like Perfect Skin that paired smart, irony-laced writing with catchy tunes. And he was cute. I was smitten. In the 90s, when I was still a giggly twenty-something fangirl, I was lucky enough to see him at the (old) 9:30 Club in D.C. and meet him after the show. I still treasure the ticket stub he signed that night “love Emma.” Swoon. I saw him again just a few years ago — many years and solo albums later — at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, where he signed another scrap of paper that my best friend and I split. My half says “Emma! Yours Always.” And yeah, I swooned again.

So, all that to paint a picture of how excited I am that he’s just released his 15th solo album, Guesswork. Over the years, he’s done a lot that’s more on the experimental end of the spectrum and been dropped by more than one label as a result. I like that he’s not afraid to do his own thing. This album has a much more electronic feel than is typical for most of his music, but his voice and lyrics have the same old mix of cynicism and softness that drew me in thirty-some years ago. I always look forward to hearing what he’ll do next — and getting my next autograph.

Back-to-school time means stocking up on more than just notebooks and pencils. Dorm life is better with the right soundtrack and this list is full of ways for music lovers to cultivate the perfect mood. From retro to cutting edge (and sometimes a nice mix of the two), some of these items are so good, Mom & Dad might just keep them for themselves.

“Yes, branded pop-up experiences have long been trending as the marketing tactic du jour, but experiential marketing can (and should) be about so much more. Especially when it comes to using the power of in-person brand engagement to work for brands beyond the usual suspects. The challenge is how.” Check out some of the more out-of-the-box ways ways even beginners can approach this essential way of connecting with customers.

Last week I had the privilege to attend Plywood’s annual ATL Ideas Festival. The three-day event included Atlanta’s most promising visionaries, changemakers and dreamers looking to make a difference in the world with their organization. As a young man with an eagerness to put solutions to problems I see in the world it was refreshing to attend an event such as Plywood with people devoted to making a positive impact.

Organizations involved in the festival represented diverse communities solving complex issues. A few of the organizations included a rehab and re-entry program for former gang members, a headband start-up devoted to helping kids battling cancer, and a sustainable home group dedicated to ending global homelessness.

ATL Ideas 2019 delivered and made a lasting impression on Atlanta for the tenth straight year. Former attendees, now returning to the event as success stories, shared the highs and lows of their journey to inspire a new wave of smaller organizations from throughout the country. Speakers and presenters at the event noted their desire to solve issues within their community as their driving force. Most organizations began as small start-ups and are now mobilizing a team of employees to generate revenue and solve the problems they hoped to conquer.

The community Plywood has built over the last decade creates an environment of openness and familiarity that leads to more meaningful and insightful conversations with other attendees. From food trucks, befriending people playing Wii, to running into clients and former bosses I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at ATL Ideas.

Below are some of my favorite quotes and images from the Festival.

If you enjoy our coverage and curation from ATL Ideas, why not contact us to learn what we can see for your business and mission – Yalo is a talented marketing agency in Atlanta dedicated to helping our customers shine and stand-out in a sea of voices.

The Challenge

Credigy is a global specialty finance company that works with other financial institutions to acquire and finance consumer assets across multiple asset classes. They maintain the clout of a Wall Street firm, but without the cut-throat culture and needed help explaining their complex business and their unique employee experience in order to help recruit top talent.

Our Solution

We worked with Credigy’s Employee Engagement team to develop a collection of materials to better tell their story in terms anyone can understand. We created a series of live-action videos that capture employees’ takes on what makes Credigy unique — from the interesting, challenging work they do to the camaraderie within the office and the perks they enjoy — to explain both the business itself and the employee experience. Meanwhile, an animated video puts their business transactions in the simplest of terms. Many of these videos live on the new website we designed, while others will be used on social media, at conferences and for onboarding new employees. Finally, we created print materials, including a recruiting brochure to pique candidates’ interest and a one-sheeter for recruits and partners that gives transactional detail about the business.

Ready to Roll

The timing of the launch of these materials puts Credigy in a perfect spot for garnering the attention of top candidates about to lock down their B-school degrees and others looking for the next step in their career.

Can you believe we are already in the second half of 2019? How are those New Year’s goals coming along? Yeah. Thought so. Well, here’s a chance for a mid-year reboot. If we’ve learned anything from tidying master Marie Kondo, it’s that organization can go a long way to help put goals within reach. 

So who’s Marie Kondo you say? Marie is a Japanese organizing consultant, author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”, and the host of a very popular Netflix program. She literally transforms lives.

Her philosophy is pretty simple:

1. Tidy by category, not by location
2. Follow the right order
3. Ask yourself if it sparks joy

So while you’re cleaning up your workspace, it’s a good idea to start thinking about your content marketing as a whole to see if there are areas you can streamline or rework. Here are three simple steps to get started:

1. Take stock of what you have (content inventory)

Marie says to sort belongings by category. Gather all clothes into one pile, all shoes into one pile, all books — no matter which room they’re in.

Use a similar approach with your content. Clean up your content not by platform, but by type. Are you posting presentations from 2005 or what about videos that are still in 720p spread across your social platforms? Are you using four logos, two different taglines, and disparate messaging? Now’s the time to create cohesion not confusion. Update and upgrade your tools, messaging, images, and graphics accordingly.

2. Decide what to discard and keep

“Effective tidying involves only two essential actions: discarding and deciding where to keep things,” Marie says in her book. “Of the two, discarding must come first.” Get rid of items that no longer bring joy.

It’s time to declutter your content. ONLY KEEP useful content — content that solves a problem or answers a question — brings joy to the user. Decluttering might be tough, since your biases will want to hold on to your favorites. It will be hard to let go of these, especially after putting time and money into them, but it will be better to focus on what’s best for your business. Taking shortcuts will not create better returns. Delete. Delete. Delete!

 

3. Spark joy for your audience

The KonMari method of “keeping what brings you joy” could turn into “keeping what brings you results”. Your content should be fun to read, great to look at, well organized, digestible, and as a result of all of those things—it needs to inspire the recipient/reader to want to take some form of action. Make sure when you’re building joy inducing content that it has a clear goal, audience, message, and call to action. People love clarity and direction. And we love sparks and clicks!

Tidying creates space for new ideas and inspiration! See if you can push yourself to find innovative ways to spread your story(joy) and get people’s attention. 

Happy Kondoing!!

There’s a brand new video for Old Town Road, the song that officially won’t quit. Already an Instagramsensation, Somehoodlum teamed up with Lil Nas X to illustrate/direct this new version that takes a star-studded animated crew (helloooo, Keanu) to Area 51. The artist is known for creating memes and scenes heavily influenced by trap culture and popular music. He’s already worked with Comedy Central, Soulection, Migos and many others to create animations with an edgy sense of humor. And with all this new exposure, we expect to see a lot more high-profile collaborations to come.

No likes? No biggie. According to liquor brand, Kahlúa, we should be spending less time worrying about how many likes we’re getting on our social media posts and focusing more on enjoying all those real-life moments. Its new Zero Likes Given campaign and art exhibit promotes that approach to living life by celebrating Instagram photos that received zero likes. We love the fresh approach that defies conventional thinking and combines both physical and digital components, including a tool to find your #bottomnine.

With last week’s release of The Lion King on the heels of live-action remakes of Aladdinand Dumbo some of us have started wondering whether Hollywood has simply run out of new stories to tell. But even if the circle of life is predictable, the technology used to create this stunning new take on a Disney favorite is anything but. See how director Jon Favreau created each scene on a virtual set, using VR goggles to explore a computer-generated replica of the African savannah for spectacular results that walk the line between animation and live action.

This Thursday (7/11), iconic convenience chain, 7-Eleven, celebrates its 92nd birthday and, as usual, is inviting fans to join the celebration with free Slurpees. This year, the tradition (and the brand) has a well-timed boost from product placement in Stranger Things 3, which was released last Thursday. This season, fans were introduced to Russian engineer, Alexei, who pretty much loves all things American and even knows a cherry Slurpee is better than strawberry (duh). The internet went wild for him, with fans posting memes featuring, you guessed it, Alexei and his Slurpee. Whatever boost 7-Eleven got from the original placement, the unexpected attention on social has put the brand even more front and center, just in time for its annual giveaway. Check out just a few here (spoiler alert!) and on Instagram. And don’t forget to get your free Slurpee on Thursday!

Whether it’s a weird online sign-up process or an incomprehensible set of instructions to put together a piece of furniture, we all know what it’s like when the creator of an experience hasn’t thought through every single step, hasn’t communicated it correctly or just flat out has it wrong. It’s frustrating, confusing and at least personally, makes me think less of the brand. That’s why spending time to craft every consumer touchpoint throughout your experience is so important.

In a simple-to-fix example, I recently tried to log onto my Clear account to stop automatic renewal since I now have TSA Pre-Check. I’ve probably only logged on once, ever, so of course guessing my password didn’t go well. There was a reset link, so great. Step one: check. But then it went downhill. They asked for my email and birthday. I know I’m old, but my date apparently broke their system. I got “Argument cannot be null.” as a response. Huh? There was no link for more help and refreshing the page, clearing cookies, etc. didn’t seem to help.

So, I bailed (annoyed) and hoped my credit card wasn’t going to be charged the renewal fee that day. Looking back, it was probably a technical issue, but one that could easily have been fixed with more user-friendly copy in place to give members a better idea of why their input isn’t working and how to get the help they need.

In a more complex example, I recently returned some patio lights to Crate and Barrel. It had literally had been about two weeks with no communication, which just feels unusual in the era of Amazon when your refund hits your credit card practically the minute you leave the UPS store. I finally got an email titled “Your Receipt for Order #xxxxxxxxx.” Again, huh?

The attached receipt was equally unclear as to whether I was being charged or credited for something — and good thing I’d only returned one item, since there wasn’t even any description. I get that in a large, complex retail organization, there are different teams creating website or in-store experiences, versus warehouse functions like shipping and returns. But they all should work together and all feel on brand and communicate clearly what is happening at each point in the sales cycle. I want to feel just as warm and fuzzy about my returns as I do about my shopping experience.

So how do you do it? Planning. It seems obvious, but mapping out each step of an experience is a critical part of any multi-step process, as is developing the copy, visuals or other assets that make sense and resonate for each step. Yalo recently developed a multi-part game for Star2Star’s sales team that helped them engage prospects. It included emails, a mailer and an in-person step that relied on interaction with a website. Before building any part of it, we mapped out what would happen during each step and what content or assets we would need for each one. Because of good planning, execution was seamless and the reps were easily able to engage in a fun, multi-touchpoint experience with their contacts. The program generated 200 meetings within a month. See some of how we did it in the process map below and check out the case study for details.

This 15-year old phenom grabbed the world’s attention last week by beating her longtime hero, Venus Williams, at Wimbledon and becoming the youngest player to advance to the 16th round of the tournament. Currently ranked 313th in the world, Gauff has been a dominant presence in the junior tennis circuit, winning the the Junior French Open in 2018. In 2017, at 13 years old, she became the youngest player to make the finals of the Girls’ singles at the U.S. Open. Though the Women’s Tennis Association limits the number of matches girls her age can play, and even how much time they can spend speaking to the media, we expect to continue to see a lot of her. Brands, including New Balance and Barilla, have already signed her for endorsements and in her own words, “Not many people get to play Wimbledon at 15 . . . and we’ll see where this goes.”

Sales Incentive Program

The Challenge

Star2Star wanted to boost its numbers at year’s end by incentivizing its sales reps to book more meetings with their clients/partners. They needed an engaging way to motivate both the reps and the partners to have the face-to-face meetings, which they know are more productive than calls.

Our Solution

In less than a month, Yalo concepted, designed built and launched a fun, fresh sales incentive program that created a win-win situation for both reps and partners by offering a cash prize just to have a meeting. Partners received instructions and a custom printed die by mail. Reps received a passport to log meetings and their own die. When the two met, they rolled the dice together and checked the combination on a landing page we created to see what prize they had won.

Chart-Busting Results

Within just over a month, the program generated 200 completed meetings across the country.

Generation Z is going to make the next 20 years in marketing very interesting. As a Gen X parent of four Gen Zers, I marvel at the ways they consume content, and the relationships they want to have with their favorite brands. For this post, I’ve done some digging on the Internet to help inform my views of this generation, and their tremendous potential. Here’s what stood out to me:

Born on Date: 1997

Those born since 1997 are all part of Generation Z. That makes them 22 years old or younger in 2019. One of the primary reasons for the decision to use 1997 as the dividing line between Millennials and Gen Z is that the oldest Gen Zers were 4 years old at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Therefore, they have little to no actual memory of 9/11, and the U.S. has been actively at war with the forces of global terrorism their entire lives.

Size Matters

They are the largest generation in the U.S., representing 24% of the U.S. population. That’s bigger than the Baby Boomers (23%), Millennials (22%) or their parents’ generation (Gen X – 19%). By 2020, Gen Z is estimated to have $3 Trillion in purchasing power.

Always Connected

They’ve never known a world without the Internet, and they’ve enjoyed access to high-speed connectivity for most or all their lives. The first iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest Gen Zers were 10. Unlike Millennials, who adapted to social media and on-demand entertainment, Gen Z has never known anything else.

Safety First

Gen Zers appear to be making some good decisions. Compared with their parents (Gen X), they are less likely to have tried alcohol as teenagers, and they are dramatically more likely to wear their seatbelts. They are doing well relative to Millennials, too. Comparing teens from 2008 and 2019, there’s a significant drop in teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and the percentage of teens who did not graduate on time from high school.

Dreamers/Doers

As they look towards their futures, they crave an important say in all aspects of their jobs. More-so than generations before them, they have entrepreneurial aspirations, and most hope that their future jobs will somehow be derived from their current hobbies. Further, they aspire to have a positive impact on the world around them.

Privacy Matters

Regarding privacy, they accept that brands will understand their customer preferences and market to them in a personalized way. At the same time, they are keenly aware of keeping their digital conversations private.

Yes, And?

They are habitual multitaskers. Most Gen Z students report that while doing homework they also listen to music, use social media, watch TV or send text messages. With an attention span around 8 seconds long, they consume content very quickly, in very small bites.

There has been a seismic shift in attitudes towards women’s football in recent years. And with the Women’s World Cup in France underway, major brands are out in force to support the squads. Take a look at some of the most significant sponsorship investments into the sport in recent years and the standout creative campaigns that go along with them.

Now that the parties are over and all the awards have gone home, see what some of the brightest minds in advertising and marketing had to say about some of the bravest and most talked about ideas that won at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Yalo was proud again this year to be a part of helping to promote and execute ACG Atlanta’s Fast 40 dinner and gala. The event honors the top 40 fastest growing middle-market companies in Georgia. Yalo has sponsored the event for the past three years and has helped with email and social promotion, as well as nominating a few of our favorite clients. Additionally, this year, we offered a promotional package to winners to help promote their recognition via press releases and a suite of social media posts. It’s always a great night for networking and learning about the impact a wide range of middle-market companies are having on our state’s economic growth. And our step-and-repeat game is always on point! Check out this year’s list of winners and let us know if your organization is interested in getting involved.

We’re always excited to provide quick updates on our recent client work even if they haven’t made full case study status yet! We’ve recently been hard at work with Hissho Sushi, helping them to prepare for their biggest conference of the year, IDDBA, which brings together innovators and leaders in the dairy, deli and bakery spaces to show off their latest ideas and products.

This year, Hissho unveiled new concepts for sushi + wine and wellness bars, with delicious new recipes and new Yalo-designed logo and signage that are just as fresh.

Check out some of our work and photos from the event and stay tuned for more of our work helping this client make an impact in its industry. It’s a great day for sushi! 

If you’ve seen John Wick 3 or have even been to a theater lately, you’ve probably seen the movie’s amazing poster, created by 3D artist, Billelis. His work “combines rich, layered detail, while creating a striking image that literally leaps off the page or screen.” (Adweek) He’s also worked on projects for brands like Nike, Red Bull, Coca-Cola, and Peugeot and credits social media with helping him to get the word out about his unique style, gain a huge following and land opportunities he’d never imagined with these big named clients. While his advice is specific to artists, it applies well to any business looking to use social to build an audience and a reputation. Check out the story behind the stunning movie poster and more on his approach to successful self-promotion on social.