How Might Nostalgic Brands Thrive…Again?

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Photo via We Are Basket.

…If you’re a nostalgic brand, now is your time to thrive! Two days ago, I came across my homegirl Wa‘s post on Twitter about Fila making a comeback. Earlier today, while I was on IG, I came across Kayci‘s post where she was fashionably sporting a pair of Jelly sandals. As I was looking at the photo, I was instantly reminded of what all of the girls use to wear in the summer when I was growing up as a child on Staten Island, NY.

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Screenshot via @Wa_Boogie

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Photo via @kebolade

A few years ago, I remember Gary Vaynerchuk talking about the rise of nostalgic brands. Hence, look at what he’s doing with Barney Waters and K-Swiss Global Brands. In addition, look at the rise of brands such as Champion, Calvin Klein, GUESS, and Tommy Hilfiger. Lastly, look at what Kanye and Pharrell did with Adidas.

If you’re a heritage or legacy brand, you may want to consider bringing in a dope team of creatives to reinvigorate your brand identity and story. Who knows, you may be the next big thing…AGAIN!!!

P.S. – Here’s the original post via LinkedIn.

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(Uh • Kway • Us) Aquaus Kelley is a forward-thinking brand strategist, curator, and educator. As the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, he specializes in identifying talent and creating opportunities for brand development and social impact. Aquaus has worked with companies and organizations such as Behind The Hustle, Cornerstone Agency, City Year Miami, and W Hotels. He is extremely passionate about bridging the gap and building value between brands, communities, and culture. His ultimate mission is to use his influence to project positivity across the globe and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership.

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Brands We LOVE: Black Santa

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Photo via @theblacksantacompany on Instagram.

We came across  The Black Santa Company yesterday evening after noticing that the company followed our @aloversambition account on Instagram. Being as curious as we always are, especially considering our immense interest in emerging brands, culture, and lifestyle; we decided to dig into what the Black Santa movement is all about!

In search of discovering a larger purpose after sustaining a basketball injury, two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis conceptualized the idea of “Black Santa” after dressing up as Santa Claus one year on Halloween. Realizing just how much of a hit his Black Santa persona was, he then thought to himself, “Black Santa can be someone super cool for the African-American audience such as a character or hero who we can all love and enjoy!” After identifying a real need to create cool contemporary content aimed at African-American and multi-cultural audiences, Baron founded “The Black Santa Company.”

The mission and purpose of The Black Santa Company is to inspire the world by building diverse characters and telling stories that reflect the change in culture. The Black Santa Company aims to create new characters, contemporary and engaging content, and high quality products celebrating diversity, fun, and positivity.

In an article courtesy of Blavity, Baron mentions, “This is a character-focused company that I want to use to expand people’s imaginations, we live in a world that needs a constant reminder of hope and positivity, particularly in neighborhoods like where I grew up (South Central Los Angeles).  I want to give people the ability to dream and imagine something different. I want to make people feel good about themselves.” In addition, Baron also shares that The Black Santa Company is here to provide a feel good and positive angle and spin on storytelling. “I just want to make people smile” says Baron.

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Photo of Christal Cross courtesy of “Black Santa Manifesto” video on YouTube.

At The Black Santa Company, they also believe that giving has no season. They encourage year round acts of kindness and want to highlight the people who do too. “Our world is culturally diverse. That’s why our mission is to create positive characters that embody the multi-cultural spirit of our society.” – The Black Santa Company

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Photo courtesy of @jennpilatessocal on Instagram at a #HashtagLunchbag event.

Along with The Black Santa Company, we here at A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group also believe that the power of giving and gratitude should be celebrated and practiced all year round. Every season can be a holiday season when we decide to live in accordance with a compassionate, joyful, and grateful mindset and philosophy. We admire Baron for stepping into the role of servant leadership and leveraging his influence to create social change in an effort to inspire the world. As another favorite guy of ours, Gary Vaynerchuk often mentions, “It’s time that we begin to make positivity LOUDER!”

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A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group is a brand development agency that specializes in creating opportunities for brand development, exposure, and growth. With an emphasis on culture and lifestyle, the primary focus of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group is to help companies adapt to culture and build value between brands and their consumers centered around love. Our social mission is to leverage the influence of popular culture to create social change and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership. We are driven by AMBITION, fueled by PASSION, inspired by INNOVATION, and suckers for STRATEGY!

7 Days of Wisdom Episode 17

7 Days of Wisdom is an original weekly video series presented by A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group and hosted by Aquaus Kelley. Our mission is to foster growth and create a community of success and significance. Through sharing meaningful advice, knowledge, and insight gathered throughout our daily experiences, we aim to empower, encourage, and inspire our community to achieve their most passionate aspirations.

In This Weeks Episode We Discuss:

  1. Embracing What’s Difficult (1:30)
  2. Discovering Our Passion (8:10)
  3. The Common Denominator of Success (17:08)
  4. Quotes of The Week (30:00)

This Weeks Resources Include:

  1. Embrace What’s Difficult: Tai Lopez
  2. How Might We Discover Our Passion
  3. The Common Denominator of Success
  4. How Might We Discover Our Purpose

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(Uh • Kway • Us) Aquaus Kelley is a forward-thinking Brand Strategist, Educator, and Music Publisher. As the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, he specializes in identifying talent and creating opportunities for brand development, exposure, and growth. Aquaus has worked with companies and organizations such as Cornerstone Agency, City Year Miami, Universal Music Group, and W Hotels. He is extremely passionate about helping companies adapt to culture and building value between brands and their consumers centered around love. His ultimate mission is to use his influence to project positivity across the globe and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership.

How Might We Discover Our Purpose?

Back in December of 2015, I listened to episode 263 of Lewis Howes’, “School of Greatness” podcast. In this particular episode, Lewis sits down with Brad Lomenick, author of “The Catalyst Leader” to discuss how to go about mastering confidence, humility, and leadership. A little less than halfway through the podcast (14:42), Lewis poses the following question to Brad, “How might we go about discovering our own unique purpose?”

Here is some very helpful insight in regards to helping us discover, identify, and pursue our own unique purpose in life:

1. Identity:

Our identity is who we are. It consists of all of the things which we cannot change. For example, we cannot change our ethnic background, our family structure, or when and where we were born.

(Ex: Hello, my name is Aquaus Kelley and I am of African-American descent. I am from Staten Island, NY and I graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Communication).

2. Calling: 

Our calling is what we are meant to do. It is why we are here on this planet. It is our purpose or social mission. In Victor E. Frankl’s book, “A Man’s Search For Meaning” he calls this our “Will to Meaning” (Pg. 99). If we are unaware as to what our purpose may be, we may want to start with discovering our own interests and passions.

(Ex: My calling is to lead people towards becoming the best versions of themselves in an effort to set them up for personal success. Overall, my social mission is to use my influence to project positivity across the globe and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership).

3. Assignment:

Our assignment is our current day to day role or vocation. Ideally, this should align with our calling. When our assignment does not align with our calling, it may cause Noögenic neuroses. According to Dr. Frankl, noögenic neuroses is the cause of frustration due to the misalignment of our calling (purpose) and our assignment (vocation). 

(Ex: My current assignment is that of a brand strategist, educator, and music publisher. I curate content and develop brand strategy through A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, I work with middle school students in the field of education, and I specialize in identifying talent and creating opportunities for emerging artists as a music publisher).

Think about it. How do we feel when we are in a profession that does not allow our own purpose to flourish? Once we are able to discover, identify, and pursue our calling, we are then better equipped to select and manage which assignments are best for our own ultimate success!

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(Uh • Kway • Us) Aquaus Kelley is a forward-thinking Brand Strategist, Educator, and Music Publisher. As the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, he specializes in identifying talent and creating opportunities for brand development, exposure, and growth. Aquaus has worked with companies and organizations such as Cornerstone Agency, City Year Miami, Universal Music Group, and W Hotels. He is extremely passionate about helping companies adapt to culture and building value between brands and their consumers centered around love. His ultimate mission is to use his influence to project positivity across the globe and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership.

7 Days of Wisdom (Episode 1)

7 Days of Wisdom is an original weekly video series presented by A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group and hosted by Aquaus Kelley. Our mission is to foster growth and create a community of success and significance. Through sharing meaningful advice, knowledge, and insight gathered throughout our daily experiences, we aim to empower, encourage, and inspire our community to achieve their most passionate aspirations.

In This Weeks Episode We Discuss:

  1. Building Relationships Through Vulnerability (9:30)
  2. A Purposeful Approach To Social Media (15:20)
  3. Soulful and Meaningful Conversations (17:30)
  4. Earning Your Rest (19:20)
  5. Eliminating Distractions (21:00, 26:40)

This Weeks Resources Include:

  1. Fast Company Magazine (November 2015 Issue 200)
  2. How to Master the Grind: Jeff Bezos’ $38B Net Worth (Video)

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(Uh • Kway • Us) Aquaus Kelley is a forward-thinking Brand Strategist, Educator, and Music Publisher. As the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, he specializes in identifying talent and creating opportunities for brand development, exposure, and growth. Aquaus has worked with companies such as Cornerstone Agency, Universal Music Group, and W Hotels. He is extremely passionate about helping companies adapt to culture and building value between brands and their consumers. His ultimate mission is to use his influence to project positivity across the globe and invest in the collective future of society through the arts, education, entertainment, and leadership.

VEVO DSCVR Presents: Alessia Cara

Here at A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, we’re all about supporting emerging artists while providing them with a platform for their music to be discovered. VEVO DSCVR is a music incubator just for this. This time around, VEVO DSCVR brings to us EP Entertainment/Def Jam’s own 19 year-old songstress, Alessia Cara. “All you really need is a love for what you do, and the ambition to do it” says Alessia in the short description of her Facebook Fan Page. Alessia is once again another artist who embodies the philosophy of what it takes to have “A Lovers Ambition.”

Sit back, relax, and watch Alessia perform her debut single, “Here” off of her forthcoming EP, “Four Pink Walls” which is due out later this month on August 28th.

– Enjoy!

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(Uh • Kway • Us) Aquaus Kelley is a forward-thinking Creative Consultant, Educator, and Music Publisher. As the Founder of A Lovers Ambition Lifestyle Group, he specializes in identifying talent and creating opportunities for brand development, exposure, and growth. Aquaus has worked with companies such as Cornerstone Agency, Universal Music Group, and W Hotels. He is extremely passionate about helping companies adapt to culture and building value between brands and their consumers. His ultimate mission is to use his influence to project positivity across the globe.