Insights from Nebo

‘Twas the Friday after Cyber Week and all through the agency, not a single Neeb was stirring, except maybe a few office dogs.

As a professional social media enthusiast, this is the best time of the year to scroll through my feed mindlessly. I see beautiful tablescapes and homes decked out in cozy decor, hundreds of Instagram Stories of pets dressed in ugly sweaters, and brands putting all of their creative efforts into social media campaigns that take months of planning. 

How can you tell if someone is vegan? 

Don’t worry — they’ll tell you. 

Alternative punchline: invite them to Thanksgiving. If the only dish they touch is canned cranberry sauce, you’ll know. Unless you’ve got a plant-based turkey on hand, that is — and these days, you actually might. 

In the last few years, meat-free food has undergone a major rebrand. Vegan is dead — and if you ask me, good riddance. In its place is a shiny new rebrand: Plant-Based. Ushered in by the tastebud-defying likes of Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger, meat-free options are not only bountiful these days, but actually palatable. Like, so fucking good, even my meat-loving aunt digs in.  

BACK TO THE FUTURE

The Noid. Pac-Man. Blockbuster. If you were a kid in the ’80s and ’90s, then these words probably spark a memory of your childhood. Growing up in the MTV generation, I was part of an early explosion of advertising geared toward children. I felt like toys, games and TV shows were being created just for me. And there’s a reason for it. In 1984, Ronald Reagan deregulated advertising to children. This allowed companies to market as much as they wanted to children, leading to an explosion of toys, junk food, cartoons, fast food and breakfast cereals all aimed at young kids. And I loved it! From “The Smurfs” to “Star Wars,” I was part of a new era in advertising.

And then I grew up.

I recently turned 40 and I have to admit I still have the taste of my 12-year-old self. When I see toys, characters or films from my childhood, I feel more than nostalgia. It feels comforting and familiar in a world full of extreme unpredictability.

We know how the saying goes -- Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. As project managers, we were obviously all born great – but how many of us told our parents this is what we wanted to be when we grew up?

Project Managers sit in a fun middle ground, where many softer skills are equally as important as our technical marketing know-how, and many of us have been practicing those skills from an early age. In honor of International Project Management Day, some Nebo project managers compiled cherished childhood memories that, in retrospect, outline how our career paths began from an early age.

What goes bump in the hours between nine to five? Neboween, of course.

The name might sound funny, but don’t let that fool you. Neboween is the spookiest day of the year here at the office, complete with zombie babies, fairweather fans and the most frightening thing of all: Nickelback playing on loop. 

From our costume contest to our scary scavenger hunt, check out how we’re celebrating Neboween from our haunted home offices.

It’s almost the most stressful exciting time of the year: Cyber Week! Marketers and consumers prepare for months leading up to these busy days, and while there aren’t as many midnight doorbusters happening as there were pre-2020, everyone is still eager to 1) snag a great deal, or 2) make some serious cash.

What was traditionally a one-day event at brick-and-mortar stores across the country slowly became more virtual, and sales hours kept expanding both before and after America’s busiest Friday. Eventually Cyber Monday took on a life of its own, and in 2020, dominated the eCommerce scene when Americans, reluctantly stuck at home, spent $10.8 billion online, making it the largest online shopping day in U.S. history. 

The cyber craze will no doubt continue into 2021 and beyond, so get ready for the biggest shopping season of the year with these tips for Cyber Week email marketing.