the mash

The strength of your “fan following” is also the strength of your brand. And one powerful way to build that loyalty is to allow your customers’ creativity to shine through in your marketing. Associate creative director Erin Kunz explores the brands that shaped her adolescence and how embracing user-generated content helped them build an even stronger identity.

The sandwich generation isn’t just a social problem; it’s an innovation problem, too. At some point in our lives, many of us become filling for the so-called sandwich—caring for our own children and our aging parents at the same time. Or we experience transition, in our jobs, relationships, or health, and need to live with family or friends to bridge the gap. This need for multigenerational housing is in direct opposition to our current priority building single-family, nuclear homes in the U.S. Here’s why one writer believes that needs to change, and why it’s an untapped opportunity for the construction and design industries.

Home ownership is a core part of The American Dream (if not *the* American dream). What does it mean for the construction building materials industry that so many potential buyers are squeezed out of the process? We explore the factors and how these players might best respond to the coming consequences for multifamily building and material costs.

You’ve put in the company’s time. You’ve devoted the company’s money. So naturally, you want to see a high return on investment in your agency. While a lot depends on choosing the right partner, there are seven things you can do to maximize your relationship and get the most out of the branding, marketing and creative work you commission.

A Disney coaster experience was just one test case for our strategic insights manager Stephanie Gries. As a market researcher, she’s logged hundreds of hours in conversation with your potential customers. (And as a mother, even more hours with her own family.) Collectively, all those talks taught her the power of developing more curiosity in both our professional and personal lives—and she says it all starts with one easy-to-ask question.

The new social platform from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta was ushered to the market as a way to capitalize on the growing unhappiness with Elon Musk’s Twitter. We discuss its massive debut—100 million registered users in the first five days of release—and give a quick-read overview of how major brands are reacting and whether yours should follow suit.

You’ve hired the right team. You’ve invested in a social strategy. Yet you’re still not seeing the results you want on TikTok, the current king of social channels. According to our in-house social media guru Hayley Kandik, it’s not you, it's the algorithm. Don’t be discouraged—with a few small tweaks, you can press forward with creating an identity for your brand on TikTok that serves both your goals and your audience.

A cookie-free future is coming. That means a new analytics future, too. Dive into an explanation of Google Analytics 4, the new data tool created in anticipation of this change, and explore how Interrupt’s digital marketing team is leading the transition.

When the city of Mason approached the Challenger Baseball League about building an adaptive field, Jen Christmas was all in. Not only did she co-lead a $2.5 million capital campaign—she discovered the game-changing power of having the right people ask the right questions. It leads to adaptive construction that does more than comply with laws; it brings together a community of people in ways that weren’t possible before.

In the race to comment on AI, senior copywriter Dan Tischler asks: what does the AI think? His discovery reaffirmed his belief that there isn’t yet a rival for the human imagination when it comes to copy.

This year has brought a tidal wave in the evolution of AI image generators. Chris Graver, our associate creative director, takes them on and learns how to make them work with (rather than against) him in his efforts to fearlessly take on the future.

In the world of advertising, endings can bring about better beginnings. The decline of cable in favor of streaming means the ability to target TV audiences at a more granular level than ever before. Learn how Connected TV (CTV) and Over The Top television (OTT) give you key advantages when trying to use your ad dollars as wisely as possible.

The International Builders’ Show landed in Las Vegas earlier this month for a three-day spectacle of all things innovative in our industry. We went, we saw, we logged it in the group chat: here are our top six takeaways (plus two bonus ideas to keep an eye on) for 2023 and beyond.

Bill Giacci, Interrupt account executive and former NYC straphanger, shares his insights on what it’s like to be a wannabe homeowner in post-Covid suburbia.

I used to pride myself on powering through a jam-packed 24-hour day with only four hours of sleep and a six-pack of Coke Zeros. Then my health crisis hit. Here’s what I’ve learned about the value of balance—and how I hope it can impact anyone reading who is feeling like they can’t squeeze in any me-time.