From the CFDA. Love.

The title says it all and thank goodness for Pinterest! As a design geek it is really hard to prioritize what new shiny tools to pay attention to. I was a beta user of Pinterest and continue to use it regularly for inspiration. Uncluttered, simple and beautiful for the modern scrapbooker.
-betsey

We work on the annual MIMA Summit bringing together over 1000 digital professionals from around the country. Phew!

Post- (pronounced Post Dash) is a Minneapolis based handbag company run by two wicked smart designers Lois Eliason and Katie McShane. Lois and Katie met in graduate school and share a passion for design and Art History. They make high-quality handbags all manufactured in the USA. We built their website using Shopify as an affordable ecommerce platform so that the company can grow nationally. 

Yes, we know. The latest Brooks Brothers catalog takes a lot of inspiration from the famous preppy handbook Take Ivy but rather than roll our eyes, this catalog has us swooning. Great photography, creative styling and best of all? It's from a brand that stands the test of time. A+

Summer camp. Visions of happy kids swimming, singing, camping and being eaten by bugs. But in recent years summer camps have really been hit by the economic downturn. Nationwide, camps are closing but amazingly there are some that are surviving, and even thriving. What's the secret? Good marketing. The smart camps are leveraging their websites, video, search and even social media. They know that to stay top of mind they have to demonstrate relevancy in today's fast-paced world where decision making happens in micro-seconds. These summer camps also know the importance of keeping their alumni engaged as part of the marketing process because those timeless stories of  "when I was a camper" are priceless and help seal the deal. Bottom line? No matter what your business is, you need to create a marketing plan that leverages the latest in digital with the magic of storytelling.

As an independent consultant, one of the most rewarding things about the work I do is being able to share new ideas and resources with my clients. Rather than "pitch" the idea, I go threw a process of teaching the discipline and outlining a plan for helping them learn and ultimately own it for themselves. When I first brought up the concept of "web content strategy" to a recent client I got a lot of blank stares. Today, not only do they get it but they are sharing it with the entire organization! Success.

Heath Ruddick, newly appointed Chief Creative Director at Campbell Mithun, gave a fantastic talk last night on the idea that building creative teams is very much like casting talent for a movie. Finding the best people to work on a project vs. sticking to the antiquated agency formula is the new way to deliver great results for brands. Since I work in a collaborative model, I couldn't agree more. There is no longer a one size fits all strategy when it comes to creating compelling and measurable marketing campaigns, but more importantly when it comes to building the right team or making the right hire — it's OK if they don't look just like you! (full recap on MIMA.org)

I just came across this TED talk by University of St. Thomas professor AnneMarie Thomas. I am a huge TED fan and it's exciting to me that a TED speaker is right in my own backyard here in the Twin Cities. Even more exciting is how Professor Thomas challenges the audience to take ordinary kitchen ingredients to help children learn about electricity. In a time where most of us stare at screens all day, the ideas she shares are a welcome break and even better — they're fun! Enjoy.

Just the other day I was strolling through Whole Foods when a t-shirt stopped me in tracks. Dark blue T with the words KALE written YALE-style. I laughed out loud but then thought to myself - is Whole Foods making fun of me? In our house we grow Kale from Spring to Fall and we eat a lot of it. Smoothies, salads and stir fried. As a marketer I'm amazed at how well Whole Foods knows me and is not afraid of poking a little fun. Should I spend $19.95 on that t-shirt? The thought did cross my mind but more importantly I left the store feeling like I was part of an inside joke and then a few days later "Parking Lot" hit the waves and went viral. Bingo.