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Ideas to Ponder – July 2026 Edition
An inside look at our latest explorations and undertakings and the articles and inspiration we've been finding that keeps our thinking fresh.
Around the Agency – July 2026 Edition
An inside look at our latest explorations and undertakings. Get to know the George Family Foundation. We recently partnered with the George Family Foundation to create an [...]
The thin line between gritty and unsafe
Every week at cat&tonic, we carve out time in our internal status meeting to talk about what’s happening in the world of marketing, branding, design, and the occasional visual that [...]
Ideas to Ponder – June 2026 Edition
We wanted to shake up our usual formula and share some of the things that inspire us, make us laugh, and remind us that taking a breath now and then genuinely makes our work better.
Ideas to Ponder – May 2026 Edition
One explanation is risk—fear of missing the mark, offending someone, or simply not being funny. But that only explains the hesitation, not the outcome.
Around the Agency – May 2026 Edition
Beth spent some time this week at the Nodes AI conference, where a lot of very smart people are trying to solve the same problem: how to make AI actually understand what it’s working with.
The shortest distance between a brand and its audience
Humor has long been a mainstay of effective marketing. At its best, it shows the people behind a company and the humanity they bring to their work. At its worst, [...]
Ideas to Ponder – April 2026 Edition
An inside look at our latest explorations and undertakings. Why clear identity matters more than ever This piece on brand ontology gives language to something a lot [...]
Around the Agency – April 2026 Edition
An inside look at our latest explorations and undertakings. A beautiful day in the North Loop neighborhood Megan joined the North Loop Association Business Summit this month—bringing [...]
Clarity under pressure
In an era of accelerated consequence, the brands that endure are the ones whose meaning holds. When skepticism becomes behavior Why consequences now arrive faster Consumers build mental [...]
Brand as infrastructure
Identity as an operating system, not a performance Brand is one of the most discussed concepts in business—and one of the most consistently misdiagnosed. It is treated as expression, [...]
Ideas to Ponder – March 2026 Edition
An inside look at our latest explorations and undertakings. Leading with identity When things feel uncertain, the instinct is often to tweak the messaging. Adjust the campaign. Push harder. [...]
