A very interesting look at one of America’s most iconic fashion and retail traditions from an insider’s perspective. Enjoy the intake and the share.
Opening Hook
Most people will remember Neiman Marcus as a department store.
She remembers it as one of Dallas’ greatest creative institutions.
Long before she became a designer, Bucki Rogers visited the downtown flagship not to shop—but to study.
Every season brought new window displays, new visual stories, and new reasons to stop and look.
Looking back, I realize those visits influenced my creative career far more than I understood at the time.
The Breakdown
For many people, Neiman Marcus was retail.
For creatives, it was inspiration.
Stanley Marcus and Ken Knight understood something many brands still struggle with today:
People don’t remember products. They remember experiences.
The windows weren’t displays. They were theater.
The store wasn’t a destination because of what it sold.
It was a destination because of how it made people feel.
Long before experiential marketing became a buzzword, Neiman Marcus was practicing it every day.
My Creative POV
I’m not a retail designer.
But I often find myself borrowing the same principles that made Neiman Marcus unforgettable:
Create anticipation
Reward curiosity
Make people feel something
Design the experience, not just the object
Some of the most important creative lessons I’ve learned didn’t come from a classroom or agency.
They came from places like Neiman Marcus.
Places where creativity was visible.
Accessible.
Public.
Why It Matters
As Dallas prepares to say goodbye to the flagship in September, I can’t help but think about the generations of designers, photographers, artists, merchandisers, and creative thinkers who walked through those doors and left inspired.
The building may close.
The influence won’t.
Great creative work doesn’t just sell products. It shapes future creatives. Sometimes the most influential design isn’t found in a studio. It’s found in the places that inspire us before we even know we’re looking for inspiration.
Thanks to Bucki Rogers, VP, Creative at X-Caliber & Affiliate Companies | Corporate Branding, Brand Marketing Strategy
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
I found this interview quite interesting and thought you might, too. Enjoy!
Surely a legacy brand like Crayola has done all it could to grow, right? Wrong.
In this episode of the Marketing Vanguard podcast, recorded live at Brandweek in Atlanta, Victoria Lozano, then-CMO of Crayola, proves that the growth work of even the most iconic brands can and should never stop.
From how nostalgia can be leveraged to the advantage of expanding into unexpected categories, this conversation covers it all.
What you’ll learn:
How to merge nostalgia with future-forward relevance
Why a CMO’s role with high-awareness brands requires category expansion
The framework for segmented messaging across stakeholder groups
How to unlock hidden revenue streams in plain sight, like recognizing that 57% of Crayola purchases are made by adults without children
The power of branded sensory identity as a defensible competitive advantage
Why ecosystem thinking matters more than individual business unit performance
Victoria Lozano, former CMO of Crayola, is renowned for her expertise in brand strategy, category expansion and omnichannel marketing across iconic consumer brands. With a career spanning Fortune 500 CPG companies including HBC, beverages and confectionery, she has built a diverse track record in product innovation, location-based entertainment, and educational strategy.
Her work at Crayola demonstrates how legacy brands can evolve, redefine brand categories, unlock new consumer segments, and build enduring marketing strategies that transcend traditional product boundaries, all while maintaining emotional resonance.
Episode Highlights:
[00:26] Merge Nostalgia with Cultural Relevance to Stay Top-of-Mind — Victoria articulates the strategic tension facing iconic brands: leverage the emotional power of nostalgia while simultaneously showing up in current cultural conversations and proving relevance to today’s consumers. Nostalgia alone creates brand warmth but risks positioning the brand as a historical artifact; relevance alone without emotional resonance feels opportunistic and inauthentic.
The solution is to actively design products, experiences, and content that honor the brand’s heritage while addressing present-day consumer values. In Crayola’s case, that’s creativity as essential skill, wellness, self-expression and mental health.
[06:18] Redefining Your Use Case, Expand Revenue — Victoria highlights a counterintuitive but telling statistic: 57% of Crayola purchases now come from households without children, a massive untapped segment driven by adult wellness and self-expression rather than childhood nostalgia. By repositioning coloring from a kids’ creativity tool to an adult therapeutic escape (competing against wine, meditation apps, and wellness products), Crayola unlocked an entirely new growth category that’s expanding three percentage points year-over-year.
This insight reveals that growth for mature brands lies not in market share cannibalization but in redefining what problem the product solves for new audiences.
[07:50] Craft Differentiated Value Promises for Each Audience Segment — Victoria demonstrates that premium brands must make fundamentally different promises to distinct audiences, whether it’s kids, parents, teachers or adults. In Crayola’s case, for example, for kids, the promise is simple joy and fun; for parents, it’s skill development and childhood enrichment backed by research. CMOs can operationalize this by mapping each audience segment’s core motivation, then reverse-engineering messaging and channel strategy from that single, clear promise.
The result is messaging that feels authentic to each group while maintaining consistent brand identity, increasing conversion likelihood across the entire customer ecosystem. This approach transforms competitive pressure from a distraction into a reinforcement of positioning, since each segment’s promise is so precisely calibrated to their unique needs.
[13:41] Shift Societal Conversation Around Creativity as a Core CMO Advocacy Role — Victoria positions the CMO role as not merely a growth driver but as a cultural advocate responsible for shifting how society values and nurtures creativity in both children and adults. Rather than treating this as brand marketing theater, she frames it as a substantive strategic priority that shapes product development, partnerships, education strategy, and media investment.
CMOs can apply this by identifying one core societal value or belief that aligns with brand purpose and then systematically deploying marketing resources, research, partnerships, and content to shift public perception of that value. This approach generates earned media, attracts mission-aligned consumers, builds employee pride, and creates barriers to entry that pure product competition cannot match.
JENNY ROONEY is Chief Brand and Community Officer, leading strategy for the overall ADWEEK brand as well as the ways in which we serve and support our audiences with high-value content, products, partnerships and experiences, notably through our community programs such as Marketing Vanguard.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
Just a week or so ago the Cannes International Festival of Creativity was held in Cannes, France. Below is a write-up from AdAge’s Editor-in Chief on her impressions. Interesting reading!
It’s me! (at right) Moderating a panel at this year’s Cannes Lions
On my way to Cannes, Delta offered a $7,000 voucher to switch to a later flight because my red-eye was overbooked. I almost abandoned the festival altogether. In truth, I was already exhausted by the idea of yet another conversation about AI anxiety and another debate about how the heart of the festival—the creative—has been replaced by data and technology.
I begrudgingly got on the plane (at least I had the rosé to look forward to).
This year, though, Ad Age took a bit of a different approach to the festival. Instead of filling the week with back-to-back panels, we convened chief marketing officers, creators, agency executives and marketing leaders for smaller roundtable discussions. We gave them the space to talk more freely, and they went deep on the challenges they are facing (it wasn’t just AI):
In our CMO roundtable, marketers spent a meaningful amount of time talking about convincing CFOs that creativity matters.
During our creator-brand discussion, creators challenged brands to stop treating them like media buys and start treating them like strategic partners.
At our Leading Women Network roundtable, a conversation about career visibility quickly became one about the invisible work required simply to be in the room.
Each of those conversations, without fail, ended with talking about trust, community and what it means to build genuine connection. It was these conversations that made dealing with what the French consider air conditioning worth the trip.
Here’s what else I’m taking home from the conversations at this year’s festival:
Marketing is becoming more human, not less.
One of my favorite moments from the week came during a CMO Spotlight panel I moderated at the Palais. I asked each of them the same question:
In one word, what’s the future of marketing?
Zena Srivatsa Arnold, CMO of Sephora, answered: community.
Tamika Young, CMO of Hinge, said: heart.
Marta Moreno Gómez, senior marketing manager, Heineken and international premium brands, Heineken Company, chose: human.
Three different answers, but the sentiment was the same: the future of marketing is built on stronger human connections.
Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, described a world that’s becoming more insular, where consumers increasingly rely on smaller networks and trusted voices. His advice to marketers: shift messaging from “we” to “me.” Build trust by making people feel seen, understood and represented.
That same thinking surfaced elsewhere throughout the week:
Pinterest’s “Less URL. More IRL.” activation reflected a desire for deeper, real-world connections. Netflix centered its Cannes presence around fandom. Even conversations about creators weren’t really about creators—they were about the communities they’ve built and the trust they’ve earned.
Again and again, technology was discussed as an enabler, not the strategy itself.
The creativity conversation has changed
For years, one of the recurring debates at Cannes has been whether creativity—the very thing the festival was built to celebrate—has taken a back seat to performance marketing.
That conversation is still happening.
But this year, it felt secondary to a different one: how marketers can convince the rest of the organization that creativity is a business driver, not just a marketing function.
It showed up in different ways throughout the week. The new Creative Brand Lionsrecognized companies that have built creativity into the way they operate, not just those that produced a standout campaign. Procter & Gamble’s Marc Pritchard spoke about using AI to accelerate creativity, not replace it. And across conversations with marketing leaders, the focus was less on choosing between brand and performance and more on building organizations where creativity can consistently drive business results.
The question is no longer whether creativity matters. It’s how organizations create the conditions for it to thrive and how marketing leaders make the case for it across the business. Creativity is increasingly being viewed not as a campaign outcome, but as an organizational capability.
Creator marketing has grown up
Five years ago, most creator conversations revolved around reach, engagement and follower counts. That isn’t what I heard this week.
Brands talked about bringing creators into annual planning before a brief exists. Creators described themselves as consultants, product advisors and entrepreneurs. Compensation discussions extended beyond sponsorships to licensing, equity and long-term partnerships.
Edelman argued that brands should be investing less in celebrity and more in trusted creators with deep credibility inside smaller communities. The common thread was trust.
This year, marketers were asking much more practical questions: How should teams be organized? What work belongs in-house? Which workflows should AI handle? Where does human judgment still matter most?
Pritchard described AI as a way to uncover insights faster and accelerate creative development, not replace it. One participant in our roundtable captured the sentiment in a single sentence: “You still need people with excellent taste.”
That may have been my favorite quote of the week because it recognizes what technology still can’t replace.
Leadership isn’t just built at work
But the conversation that personally had the biggest impact on me came during our Leading Women Network roundtable.
We started by talking about networking, personal brands and career visibility. We ended up talking about everything it takes just to be in the room.
Women shared stories about partners rearranging schedules, grandparents flying in to help with childcare and the weeks of planning required simply to spend a few days in Cannes. One participant admitted she rarely talks publicly about those realities because she worries they’ll be interpreted as a lack of commitment. I suspect that’s true of many women leaders in this industry.
We spend a lot of time talking about how people become leaders. We spend far less time talking about what it takes to make leadership possible in the first place.
That conversation was a reminder that visibility isn’t just about raising your hand or building your network. For many leaders, it’s supported by an invisible layer of planning, tradeoffs and care work that rarely gets acknowledged but makes showing up possible.
The conversation that matters: Trust
If there was one thread running through nearly every conversation I heard, it was trust.
Edelman talked about consumers relying on smaller circles and trusted voices. CMOs talked about community, heart and being more human. Brand leaders talked aboutgiving creators more ownership. Marketers also talked about earning buy-in from their own organizations.
As the industry becomes more complex, technology alone isn’t going to solve the hardest problems. Those solutions come from people sharing ideas, challenging one another and learning together.
That’s why Ad Age keeps bringing this community together—not just to report on what’s changing, but to create space for people in the industry to make sense of it with one another.
I’m glad I didn’t take that $7,000 voucher.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
Why the most valuable skill at work might be talking to strangers
Young charming woman talking to attractive stranger at the cafe. Adobe Stock
A new book reviewed by Michael Lee Stallard for SmartBrief argues that we could be missing valuable connections. Beyond career advancement, Sandstrom presents evidence for something even more profound: that speaking with people outside our immediate circle fundamentally changes how we think.
When we talk only with the people we already know — our team, our department, our usual lunch group — we tend to reinforce what we already believe. Our thinking becomes narrow and self-confirming. But when we engage with strangers, we encounter different experiences, different frames of reference and different ways of seeing the same problem. The result opens up the possibility of what researchers call convergent thinking, which is the ability to draw connections across seemingly unrelated domains and synthesize them into something new.
I think of this as “mosaic thinking.” Picture a mosaic, a piece of art composed of small fragments such as colored glass, stone or ceramic tiles. Mosaics dating back to ancient times can still be found in houses of worship in Italy, vibrant and whimsical mosaics created in the 20th century by the Spanish architect and designer Antoni Gaudí adorn buildings and park benches in Barcelona, and you’ll find mosaics on the walls of subway stations in Manhattan and the renovated LaGuardia Airport. Individually, the fragments seem unrelated, but when assembled, they form an image none of the individual pieces could have produced alone. This is precisely what happens in the mind of someone who is genuinely curious about the people they meet.
Every conversation with a stranger, therefore, has the potential to produce a “tile” — a small piece of new knowledge or perspective that, over time, accumulates into a richer, more creative, more innovative way of thinking. There may also be times when a seemingly innocuous comment someone else makes is the “aha moment” for you, and you recognize why a certain tile won’t fit, or you finally see how the tiles can come together.
In an era when organizations are desperate for creativity and innovation, this is not a soft benefit. It is a competitive advantage — and it starts with being willing to say hello.
A talking cat giving life advice to a confused adventurer Adobe Stock
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
In a recent episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, executive editor Alison Weissbrot leads a Brandweek panel featuring Nadja Bellan-White, group CEO at M&C Saatchi; Coltrane Curtis, founder and managing partner at Team Epiphany; and Kern Schireson, chairman and CEO at Known.
Together, they discuss the need to redefine agency-client partnerships. As budgets tighten and AI reshapes workflows, they explain why legacy and fee-based models are no longer viable.
Instead, success hinges on empathy, trust, and aligned incentives tied to outcomes. The panel shares practical strategies, from embedding test-and-learn budgets to understanding board-level pressures and deploying agile “tiger teams.”
What you’ll learn:
They emphasize deeper specialization, real human connection, and shared accountability as the foundation for resilient, high-performing partnerships in a rapidly evolving marketing landscape.
How to shift from legacy fee-based models to incentive-aligned partnerships
Why understanding your client’s board-level KPIs is non-negotiable
The “Three Ideas Framework” for managing risk and building trust
How to build genuine relationships through human connection and empathy
Why agency expertise depth matters more than breadth
How to balance internal restructuring and team protection with client excellence
Three agency leaders on why legacy and fee-based are no longer viable.
Nadja Bellan-White is the Group CEO at M&C Saatchi, and a “human-first” marketing leader known as a go-to fixer for complex brand transformations. With 25+ years in integrated marketing, she blends data, creativity, technology, and media to drive meaningful customer connections. She has led transformations for global brands including American Express, IKEA, and Coca-Cola, and partnered with African governments to spur growth. An AdColor Legend Award recipient, she brings a sharp focus on context, culture, and creativity to every engagement.
Coltrane Curtis is the Founder and Managing Partner of Team Epiphany, a New York-based influencer marketing and PR agency he launched in 2004. What began as a one-man shop has grown into a 70+ person, multidisciplinary agency with offices in New York and Portland. With roots at MTV and deep experience across brands like Nike, HBO, and Coca-Cola, Curtis blends cultural fluency with sharp strategic execution. Known for building powerful brand and celebrity partnerships, he has been recognized by Inc., Forbes, Adweek, and AdColor, and serves on the American Black Film Festival board.
Kern Schireson is the CEO of Known, a next-generation agency built on data-driven strategy and systemic innovation. With deep expertise in incentive alignment and AI-powered optimization, he is helping redefine the modern agency model. Kern champions using technology as a force multiplier for enhancing, not replacing, human creativity, while embedding rigorous test-and-learn frameworks into client partnerships. His approach focuses on aligning incentives and enabling continuous iteration, driving measurable, breakthrough results for brands navigating an increasingly complex marketing landscape.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
This was one of the more unusual campaigns I’ve read about recently. Definitely an attention getter.
The U.K.’s Channel 4 unveils a vomiting public fountain
The U.K. broadcaster is promoting its new drama “Dirty Business” with a provocative public installation on London’s South Bank titled “The Fountain of Filth.” Created by 4Creative in partnership with Glue Society and Biscuit Filmworks, the 10-meter-wide fountain features bronze-style statues of men, women and children appearing to vomit murky brown water, while a suited executive stands above them with pockets stuffed with cash, symbolizing the alleged human toll of Britain’s sewage scandal.
(Water companies routinely discharge raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters, leading to public outcry.) The activation directs visitors via QR code to firsthand accounts tied to the series, which aired over three consecutive nights. Over 100,000 people saw the installation live and the work reached millions being featured in The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, Time Out and Secret London.
(Channel 4) (Channel 4) (Channel 4)
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
I’ve had the privilege of listening to Dr. Firestien on several occasions when attending a webinar from the Center for Applied Imagination at Buffalo State in New York. He’s quite interesting and very personable.
What do a kingfisher, a hazard light and a waffle iron have in common? A creativity technique called Forced Connections, which leads to break through innovations. Brainstorming and coming up with new ideas is easy, we do it every day. Or so we think. The truth is we barely scratch the surface with our ”more of the same ideas”. We fall extremely short with quantity and quality of really good ideas. We miss the mark on really good innovations, because “More of the Same” does not break into big time innovation. Time to shift ideation gears with Dr. Roger Firestien and find out how to use a really simple ideation tool called ‘forced connections’. Not a new technique and certainly not a secret to those who work in the field of creativity, marketing or the business of creating ‘new and different’. However, new to most of us. Game changer. Creativity changer. Innovation changer.
Dr. Firestien is an associate professor and senior faculty member at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State and President of Innovation Resources, Inc. He is the author of six books, including Leading on the Creative Edge and Why didn’t I think of that? His expert views on creativity have been reported in Fast Company, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily and The New York Times. When Roger is not traveling, he lives in Buffalo, New York, and regularly works cattle on the SK Hereford Ranch near Medina, New York This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
Late last year ADAge’s Tim Rudd penned an article about the alleged death of creativity. Well, some argue that its death may be premature. The campaign described below illustrates that point of view. As Tim reports . . .
Creativity may not be six feet under, but D&AD (Design & Art Direction) is still here to poke it with a stick.
The global creativity nonprofit is kicking off its 2026 award season with a global campaign from Uncommon Creative Studio that pushes the industry to stop hovering over the “think” button and start hitting “make.” Its centerpiece is a manifesto that challenges the too-common habit of watching ideas drift by rather than shaping them into something tangible. The work signals a shift toward more hands-on creative energy at a moment when the industry seems increasingly cautious.
The campaign leans on stark visuals and a single provocative question: Is creativity alive or dead? It stretches across D&AD’s awards, learning initiatives and talent effort, inviting practitioners to respond through action instead of commentary. The rollout also introduces a refreshed identity for the 2026 awards, turning the manifesto into a design brief for the entire program.
(D&AD) A massive Times Square billboard displays a bold message about misjudging bad ads as the death of creativity, illuminated above the city at night.
Alongside the identity comes the reveal of the 2026 jury presidents, a slate of creative leaders drawn from a mix of global brands and agencies such as Dentsu Tokyo, Airbnb, FCB Global, 72andSunny, Havas Health & You and others. Their remit is to steer the judging with the manifesto’s call for experimentation and decisiveness in mind. D&AD positions the jury presidents as creative figures who already operate with a bias toward making.
“Creativity doesn’t die, it drifts. It gets buried under deadlines, data and fear of taking risks,” said Lisa Smith, D&AD president and Uncommon’s global chief design officer. “This manifesto is a reminder to the industry that ideas are only as powerful as the people brave enough to make them real. As creative leaders, we have a responsibility to protect that spirit—to keep making, experimenting and proving that bold, human ideas still matter. D&AD exists to champion that pulse. To show that creativity isn’t just alive—it’s vital.”
(D&AD) A storefront covered in black-and-white posters displays bold gothic text declaring “Creativity is Dead” and “Creativity is Alive” alongside graphic logos.
(D&AD) A row of black-and-white street posters on a graffitied wall presents stark slogans about creativity and work beside the D&AD logo.
This year’s D&AD awards also introduce new categories meant to reflect the ways ideas move through culture. Brand Transformation spotlights work that blends strategic thinking with the craft of execution. Cultural Influence highlights projects that shape conversation or find a place in the wider cultural bloodstream. Sports Entertainment covers creative output tied to sport from campaigns to content to fan engagement.
“Creativity today is more decentralized than ever, coming from makers, creators, in-house teams and a new wave of independent studios. Our role is to ensure all these voices are equipped and inspired to keep pushing creative excellence forward,” said Donal Keenan, D&AD’s chief operating officer. “Yet in this abundance, creativity risks becoming diluted. Brands are finding it harder than ever to cut through and truly engage audiences, which is exactly why this provocation is needed.”
D&AD is also launching an editorial hub that digs into the same big question at the heart of the campaign. The platform collects commentary from designers and advertisers who are looking at how creativity has changed in a landscape of nonstop feeds and constant distraction.
(D&AD) A minimalist white typographic poster lays out a manifesto proclaiming “Creativity is Dead” before urging readers to revive it with intention.
As long as there are people who continue to push boundaries, creators who are never satisfied, folks who are always curious and a consuming public who always want refreshing and innovative ideas, creativity will never die. It will always be alive and thriving.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
I’m on the email list of Buffalo State University’s Center for Applied Imagination and so I receive notices from time to time about upcoming lectures and seminars and the like. The publication cited below is from one of their recent notices.
From the authors . . . The need for creativity has never been greater. In fact, we chose the title, “Creativity Rising: Creative Thinking and Creative Problem Solving in the 21st Century,” to reflect this belief. If we are to live healthy, productive lives in this century we must develop the mind-set and the skill set for effectively responding to and initiating change. Creativity Rising is both a why-to and how-to guide to help you create your own future. In this book we: • explore the nature of creativity • debunk common myths about creativity • describe the rapid rise of change in the 21st century • outline the time-tested Creative Problem Solving process, an approach to on-demand creativity.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
Fueling Creativity in Education bridges the gap between the science of creativity and classroom practice, with a focus on both creative teaching and teaching creativity. Since launching during the pandemic, we’ve interviewed over 100 leading researchers, educators, and administrators.
Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!
Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.
ideasnmoreblog 