Did you know that many scientists believe it was the art of social gossip that first set us apart from the other animals? That’s how we formed intimate groups and learned more about the important things in life. We’d like to continue that tradition in our area of expertise, so here’s just a taste of what’s happened this week in the world of marketing:

Clever campaigns: Poking fun at playlists

Spotify is wrapping up its annual end-of-year “wrapped” campaign that draws on the listening habits of their users to tell interesting or funny stories and make us look back on a whole year of culture. This year, they decided to focus on user-created playlists. “In a year of royal celebrations, let’s also toast the fact that someone made a playlist called ‘its the royal wedding tomorrow!!!’ 22 days after the wedding,” read one.

This campaign is a perfect example of a company making engaging ads that highlight exactly what makes them special, in this case giving users access to an endless amount of music to listen to as they wish, when they wish. The ads also connect with people by making them reflect on their own year and listening habits. Where were you during the royal wedding? What songs would you put on a royal wedding list? And how could someone end up creating that playlist so late? These are all the kinds of questions you instinctually start to think about, making sure this campaign sticks with you in a lasting, positive way.

Tools of the trade: Lightshot

Ain’t nobody got time for the small things, and most solutions that are meant to make small tasks quicker at work often create their own set of small problems that someone should come up with a solution to. But not Lightshot. This simple app allows you to select any area on your desktop and take a screenshot of it with just 2 button clicks. Lightshot made our lives a lot easier and we hope it will help you too!

Underwhelmed by social media results? You might not be doing it right…

It’s tough to get recognized on social media these days because everyone is trying to do it. The name of the game has changed a bit. Are you using social media with an outdated mindset? If you want to increase engagement and get noticed across social platforms, this Hootsuite article is a good guide for how to approach the market today.