Planning what to drink on the 4th of July is just as essential as planning the menu. You gotta keep cool during this iconic summer holiday, after all. And buzzed. So celebrate and sip to our independence in style with these refreshing 4th of July cocktail recipes, from Shoeless Joe to The Jimmie Roosevelt there is something for everyone! Courtesy of Bon Appétit. Magazine. 

Just in time for Independence Day, Brand Keys has released it’s 16th list of America’s Most Patriotic Brands. No surprises at the top of the list, but interesting to see who has dropped off this year, amid media controversies. Check out MediaPost’s take and see the full list here.

I had the rare opportunity this past weekend to read an actual magazine on a plane, uniterrupted by my 8-year old or work deadlines. It’s the little things, right? The Fast Company 100 Most Creative People in Business issue kept me fascinated from wheels up in DC to wheels down in Atlanta, with lots of fresh faces and inspiration. From tech to marketing, pop culture, the arts, social causes and more, these innovators are creating products, content and movements that are changing the face of business and the world.

If you don’t know Donald Glover’s name, you haven’t been paying attention lately. And don’t mistake him for Danny Glover of Lethal Weapon. Donald is a multi-skilled talent from Atlanta that is excelling in all areas of entertainment from writing for SNL to acting in Community and Solo to rapping as his alternate ego Childish Gambino with a Billboard hit This is America to directing his own Emmy award winning show Atlanta. He has a bright future and we plan on following it closely. Read more here.

Even without a U.S. team in the mix this year, U.S. brands from Coca-Cola to Visa are pumping up fans with some fun, creative TV spots to air during the tournament. Check out some of the best World Cup ads from around the globe: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/world-cup-2018-best-adverts/

This week, ad nerds from around the globe are converging on Cannes for the annual International Festival of Creativity (aka Cannes Lions) hoping to take home some coveted hardware and recognition for their hard work. No doubt industry jargon will be flowing as freely as the rosé. Don’t be caught without your copy of Buzzword Bingo, Cannes Edition! And even though it’s all about the parties, don’t forget to check out the work (free with a trial subscription).

Epic hip-hop feuds make for the best urban legends, some fantastic music . . . and pumped up record sales. It’s a formula that’s worked since before Tupac and Biggie, and the most recent chapter of Pusha T and Drake’s decade+ long beef is no exception. Late last week, the internets were abuzz after Pusha dropped his latest diss track, The Story of Adidon, on YouTube. It grabbed 2.5 million views in the first day and, as of now, sits at close to 14 million.

As expected, fans were divided, taking sides and taking to Twitter. And as designed (?), the track sparked a lot of conversation around the hot topic of race. No doubt, that buzz impacted sales in a big way. The album, Daytona, entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 3, with 77,000 copies sold in its first week (compared to his last album that peaked at number 17). So was this all an artfully calculated PR stunt or simply creative expression that happened to hit at the right time and right place? I’m going with the former. In every product category today, getting attention takes more creativity and mold-breaking ideas and executions than ever. Not saying we need to start more feuds with our competition, but we more straight-laced marketers could probably learn a little something from the hip-hop world about grabbing an audience’s attention. Read on and see what you think:

The Pusha T vs. Drake Beef Explained

How Kanye & Pusha T Quietly Flipped the Script on Album Promos

We’re seeing a lot of these technology trends at events this year. From easing check-in to making it easier to find the speakers and content you’re interested in and sharing your experience, technology is simplifying industry conferences and events and creating better ways to engage with other attendees and brands. Check it out.

With the royal wedding just weeks away, speculation about who Meghan Markle will wear on her big day is still swirling, but a few names have risen to the top of the list. The bookmakers have called it 1/3 for Ralph & Russo, who designed the dress Ms. Markle wore for her engagement shoot. Born as a couture house in 2010, the brand became the first British fashion house to be accredited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the French body that regulates haute couture. Over the last few years, the duo has begun a calculated effort to take the brand to the next level by making it less exclusive. Extending its offerings to shoes, accessories and a ready-to-wear line is allowing the brand to capitalize on both expertise and a swell of popularity among influencers in a way that stays true to its heritage, but allows a larger set of fans to wear the label. Check out this recent profile on the brand cutting a path to becoming the next global luxury superbrand.

Art and science meet in the mind of former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, an entrepreneur who announced the launch of Artbit at South by Southwest.

The goal is to have the technology move into beta by the fall, with a full launch expected in 2019. We love to see the intersection of music-marketing-technology for the greater good. Bravo Matt!

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Luxury streetwear designer, Don C‘s latest collaboration infuses Wendy’s heritage of freshness into a collection inspired by the cultural intersection of basketball and fashion. Learn more about his March-Madness-inspired Team Fresh capsule and download the Wendy’s app for a chance to score a piece of it during the Final Four. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

We all know there’s more to getting great ideas out of a brainstorming session than throwing a bunch of people in a room with a whiteboard and Post-it notes. But what is the magic combination of factors that creates an experience that really gets the wheels turning? I recently came across two articles that provide some great perspective on how to make brainstorms more valuable — from considering that different personalities ideate differently to preparing the team properly and getting real about which ideas are worth pursuing. One thing pretty much everyone agrees on: pizza always helps. Check out This Is How To Make A Team Brainstorming Session Effective and 5 Reasons Brainstorms Are A Waste of Your Time and Money.

Conventional thought would probably tell you that millennials only pay attention to their social media feeds. However, this article provides a very compelling insight about email marketing and millennials. Viva la email! Read it here.

As marketers, our job is to make a lasting impression, regardless of channel. So we completely agree with this article that discusses the power of a really well executed dimensional mailer. We have done these for clients as well as for ourselves with great results.

If it’s smart and it’s creative, recipients will surely notice and pay attention, thus leaving the lasting impression you as a marketer were aiming for.  Read Here

Measuring marketing’s many contributions to revenue growth is becoming more accurate and real-time thanks to analytics and machine learning. Knowing what’s driving more Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), Sales Qualified Leads (SQL), how best to optimize marketing campaigns, and improving the precision and profitability of pricing are just a few of the many areas machine learning is revolutionizing marketing. Read More Here

If you like things that make you critically think, The Clock of the Long Now is the book for you. I read this book almost 20 years ago and a day doesn’t go by where I don’t consider its central premise. It defines a unique perspective on how to slow down our thoughts, goals and expectations so that we pay attention to the bigger picture. And not to over-contemplate the small things and fast decisions that just become minor blips on the radar in the grand scheme of life. The idea is to invest your brain cycles thinking about the big things, the impactful things that can change society, people’s lives, your family’s life, etc because those are the things that will stand the test of time. The reason this is so interesting and cool in 2018 is because Jeff Bezos has gotten behind the movement with an investment of $43m and is actually building the Long Now Clock in West Texas. It will move only once per year (kind of like just 1 minute on our traditional clocks) for the next 10,000 years. If you find this as cool as we do, read more here!

If you’re a business owner, then you know there is a massive difference between starting a business and building a business. And the gap between a great idea and a great business is a tough one to close. Because it’s not enough to create a product or service. No matter how innovative, beautiful or extraordinary, if it’s not marketed in the right way to the right person, it’s never going to get off the ground. -Kerry Song

This is why “user personas” are so valuable.  Read More…

Intel and the PGA Tour are using 360 video to transport viewers into the middle of the rowdy 16th hole action at TPC Scottsdale. Does it make sense for your company to try the same thing? For some of our clients, the answer is a resounding YES! Hit us up to learn how to apply this technology to your business.

Read Here…

This is a man who is committed to the greater good, humanity and not his wallet. Bravo Elon!

Read The Story Here…

Here is an excellent perspective on the value and importance of developing a great creative brief to launch a new initiative. It is all about open collaboration and focus. We couldn’t agree more, which is why we created the question “what is your initiative’s Soul Song?” Our Soul Song approach fosters the client collaboration in a fun and different way, while driving to the central focal point for their overall initiative. The selection of the Soul Song during the creative brief exercise becomes the beacon for all creative decisions going forward. In essence, it’s the tiebreaker when creative decisions are at a deadlock. Have you picked a Soul Song for your initiatives in 2018? Dare to try a new approach for better results in 2018. Defy. Fly. With Yalo.

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