Snapchat is now Snap Inc. The business that turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook now has a value north of 3 times that number. It has become the fastest growing advertising medium. And here comes their new video recording sunglasses, Spectacles. They’re taking on Facebook in cool power and Google in glasses. How do you evolve your business to take on market leaders in different categories?

There’s a big, active question about what is an ad today. With all of us increasingly able to opt-in and out of content, how can advertisers effectively communicate with their consumers? Product placement, native advertising and content marketing are all ways to embed advertising messages in content we choose to consume. Advertising drives free content or greatly reduced prices on content we buy e.g. magazines. So receiving advertising is really important. What new advertising models are you considering that will maintain consumer financial benefits without irritating the user experience?

The second annual #Femertising Awards have been announced and here they are. We’ve been very heartened to see this trend in positive and proactive imagery of women in advertising. Hats off to Dove who twelve years ago pioneered this kind of advertising. Today a number of companies have stated their commitments to celebrating women and girls in their marketing communication. What are you doing to be proactive to your women customers?

Get ready for the trucks of the future. And why not? Maybe the days of jackknife accidents could be over. Yet another product category that has forever been about cab and container ready to be made-over. If you could submit your design for the optimal truck of the future, what would it look like?

McDonald’s account consolidation with DDB has once again brought up the idea of agency of the future. Clients want transparency, simplicity and excellence. In these complex marketing times great, fully integrated work delivered in an inspired process is more valuable than ever. There is little question that we will be seeing more and more dedicated agencies. What do you do to provide outstanding product with first class service?

We’ve seen the Greek yogurt revolution. Now comes the fat toothbrushes. Have you purchased a new toothbrush recently? The heads are bigger than ever and so are the price tags. But more surface covers more surface and gives a more robust tooth brushing experience. So get ready to shell out well north of 5 bucks to work your choppers. The new normal is a bigger toothbrush. What do you think the next product category will be ready for a transformation?

The University of Chicago’s dean of students, John Ellison, sent a letter to this year’s incoming freshman class that touched off a firestorm of reaction when he wrote, “…we do not support so-called “trigger warnings,” we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual “safe spaces” where individuals can retreat from ideas…” The NY Times wrote about it last week and the letters to the paper have been both measured and enraged on both sides of the issue. Where does your organization stand on the question of Political Correctness vs. Free Speech?

Our newest mashup word this year is “Listicle” – the pejorative term for an “article” online that’s really nothing more than a list, as in: 10 Reasons To Worry About Cancer; 5 Signs You’re Going To Be Fired Monday etc. They’re as much click-bait (you do know what click-bait is, don’t you?) as they are useful input. But they’re a fast, simple way to put information in a digestible form. Do we like them? Well, everyone’s a sucker for a good list and easy info. How do you get attention and credit for what you put on social media?

Kids as young as six are getting smartphones from their parents. Under the Law of Unintended Consequences, kids with smartphones don’t know their parents’ phone number. So if the phone is lost, the kid is lost, too. A new app and public service campaign from Europe has cleverly solved the problem: once loaded, the app makes the parent’s phone number the kid’s locking code. So twice (or more) a day, the kid has to enter his parents’ phone number to unlock their smartphone. How are you addressing—and solving—unintended consequences of your decisions

Yeah, it’s a thing! Whether you’re a kid learning to swim or an adult who has always fancied mermaids, there is now a mermaid school (forgive the irresistible pun) and an audience interested in practicing the craft. What hobbies or fantasies can you think of that you could turn into a business?