How are you working to build something that lasts? (Inspired by Tracy and Joni)

Welcome back to Spark, a weekly newsletter from Vivace Content. We compile news signals from across the business, financial, and cultural landscape, and spark ideas to help you and your business jump on something new to talk about. Send tips and feedback to [email protected] or just hit reply.

Welcome to February!

Today we get a bit musical. Sounds odd, but then again, we named our company after a musical term. Seems only fair we indulge now and then, right?

Speaking of: What are your favorite examples of miss-assuming a cover/sample of a song was the original? Let us know here.

Best wishes for a wonderful and productive week ahead. ✌️

-joel

In today’s issue: Building something that lasts, grooving with the Grammy’s, checking in on Brexit, plus Elon, Taylor, Bill, and Satoshi Nakamoto

Building something that lasts

Allow me a slight detour from what you might usually expect to see here. While we talk in most issues of Spark about reacting to news and world events and creating an agile content marketing strategy, I want to underscore the importance of only doing that in parallel to creating content with depth and breadth that can stand the test of time.

Why is this on my mind today?

While last night’s annual Grammy’s celebration featured plenty of new and young artists (Taylor had a big night!), the moments I wanted to go back to and rewatch today featured songs that came out well before I was born.

That’s right — for me, the two standout moments of the night were Joni Mitchell beautifully crooning Both Sides Now (1966), and Tracy Chapman making a rare appearance to perform Fast Car (1988) with country singer Luke Combs.

Why the heck do I bring this all up? Am I comparing beautiful, sonic art to what we do every day as communicators, marketers, and business leaders? Heck no, that would be silly.

But it did give me a much-needed reminder that we should all take time to get out of the daily content and news grind every once in a while to think about building something that lasts.

We’re working on a brand repositioning project right now for one of our clients, where every day, we think in very long-term horizons. We’re talking decades, not months or years. It’s a refreshing perspective, balancing out the ins and outs of most business cycles that occur in days, months, and quarters.

So my advice today is this: Think about what you’re doing in your industry and your day-to-day. And ask yourself if there are opportunities to take bigger shots, expand your time horizons, and try to create something of real value, that can stand the test of time.

Best of the rest

Can AI unlock the secrets of the world? Can Elon Musk derail Delaware? How often Is Taylor Swift actually shown at NFL games? Is Craig Wright Satoshi Nakamoto? Should mass layoffs be routine? Should investors try to bet on politics? Which industries will see the biggest impact from generative AI? Why is EU sustainability at a crossroads? Which is a greater boost to local economies: Taylor Swift or the Super Bowl? What is Bill Ackman up to?

Off the charts

📆 Upcoming events

• Month of Feb: U.S. Black History Month

• Feb 9: NY Fashion Week, National Pizza Day, Chocolate Day

• Feb 10: Happy Chinese New Year! 2024 is the Year of the Dragon.

• Feb 11: Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers play NFL Super Bowl LVIII, International Day of Women & Girls in Science

• Feb 18: BAFTA Awards

• Feb 20: World Day of Social Justice

• Feb 26: Mobile World Congress

🗳️ Reminder: 76 democracies will hold elections in 2024. Check out this convenient 2024 Global Election Quick Reference guide compiled by Marshall Manson.

Friends of Vivace: News and views

• Big congrats to the following on job moves:

  • Charese Smiley (Executive Director, AI Research, at JPMorgan Chase & Co.)

  • Anna Tu (ABM Manager at Icertis)

  • Amy Smith (Senior Manager, Sustainability at LSEG)

• Give Dan Callaghan a follow, especially if you’re looking to learn more about mental health in the workplace.

• Great insights from Dave Curran, Co-Chair of the Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice at Paul Weiss, on CFOs’ impact on authentic sustainability in 2024.

Send us your shout-outs, strong opinions, and headlines to include in next week’s edition.

Thanks for joining us this week. Anything we missed? Something we should include next week? Please send all ideas and feedback to [email protected]. 

Spark is a production of Vivace Content, where we help our clients navigate what to say and how to say it every single day. Get in touch if you’d like a no-hassle consultation about how we can help you. Have a great week ahead, and see you next Monday.