March 2015 Brand Zeitgeist: #RaceTogether, New Social Trends


March 30, 2015

march brand zeitgeist

Each month as part of the On Brand podcast, we take a look back on the month that was. We reflect on the brand builders we chatted with here on the podcast and also discuss the biggest stories and pop-culture funnery that made up our brand zeitgeist. To help with this, I’m joined by our special contributor Meghann Foster. Let’s take a look at March 2015!

Enjoy This Episode Now

The Brand Zeitgeist Report: March 2015

Twitter Turns Nine — Okay. On the show we reported that Twitter turned 10 but that’s just because — in honor of their ninth birthday — they released their top 10 tweets. (Who doesn’t get 9 and 10 confused every now and then?!) Kidding aside, we looked at the top tweets and shared our thoughts on Twitter today. Speaking of social media use today …

Infinite Dial 2015, Meerkat, and More — Tom Webster was in the March zeitgeist! The month began with Tom’s episode of the On Brand podcast and was followed by Edison Research’s most recent release of the Infinite Dial study, which examines the adoption of digital media. We shared our favorite findings as well as our thoughts on how the new Meerkat app might follow some of these trends as well.

#RaceTogether Happened — Sorry Starbucks. We took a look at this recent misfire from one of the more venerable brands of our time. Starbucks has gotten involved in issues before such as the jobs crisis and the environment. Why did they stumble this time? Meghann shared some successful Chipotle cup-based conversation starters from the likes of Toni Morrison and Amy Tan.

What brand has made us smile lately? Meghann couldn’t wait to share how The Limited — a beloved brand from her youth — has found its way back to relevance with an assist from Scandal and Shonda Rhimes. I shared a story about a recent purchase from the Evernote Market — a brand I feel obligated to give more money to because of the value they provide on a daily basis.

To learn more about Meghann, follow her on Twitter and check out her work on the Iowa City Moms Blog and as organizer of our Brand Driven Digital event series.

As We Wrap Up …

Julian McBride gave a nice shout-out to our recent episode featuring Barbara Apple Sullivan. Thanks for listening Julian!

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Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!


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is a strategist, speaker, educator, and author of Brand Now: How to Stand Out in a Crowded, Distracted World and Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. He is the Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital, an educator at the University of Iowa, and host of the On Brand podcast. More about Nick.