It’s a new month, and we’ve got lots of fresh ideas to share.

With WorldPride coming to the U.S. for the first time in June, gaggles of brands are gearing up to interact with the millions of attendees, including TD Bank. Arianna Orpello, TD’s svp of brand, channel, community and field marketing strategy, gives us the scoop on the brand’s rainbow of activations at the event.

Business-to-business marketers convened in Chicago this week for the ANA’s Masters of B2B, and we were there. Driving growth and creating relevant, human-centric B2B communications were a big topic of conversation. The always quotable Gary Vaynerchuk shared his thoughts on why B2B marketers need to be producing loads more content and why LinkedIn is the hottest place for B2B (and B2C)  brands to spread their marketing messages.

Also at ANA, AT&T Business CMO Mo Katibeh clued attendees into how the brand is using everything from medical miracles to Batman to spread the word about 5G. And, despite the fact that the brand’s advertising program is on hold in light of the recent tragedies involving the 737 aircraft, Boeing’s Jerry Verghese stepped up with the story of the century old company’s branding platform.

If you’re looking to relax this weekend, you might be interested to know how craft brewers operating in states where marijuana is legal are marketing their brews with bold ads pushing the boundaries of the crossover between beer and legal weed. The latest is a video campaign, “It Comes with the Territory,” from Bend Deschutes Brewery, including one clip with a definite Martha Stewart-esque vibe. (We’re sure Snoop would approve.)

And speaking of plants, over the last year, Aloha has reinvented itself from a plant-based protein brand to a lifestyle brand. Armed with a tiny budget, Aloha CMO Alexandra Stankiewicz shares the strategy, how she drives trial and her latest campaign that delivered the biggest coupon redemption rates in the company’s history.

Kick back, relax, read on, smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em, and we’ll see you back here next week.

Beth Negus Viveiros
Managing Editor
Chief Marketer