Last week we kicked off the start of summer at our annual company retreat #CampCollectively —which is now in its fifth year. ⛺While previous years have taken us north (Guerneville) and south (Santa Cruz), this year we kept it local in The Presidio of San Francisco (and enjoyed a much shorter bus ride).

Camp is the highlight of the year at Collectively and is memorable whether attending for the fourth or first time. It provides the chance to step outside the chaos of our daily work to reconnect with ourselves and each other over two full days. 🙌

Guest speakers, themes and takeaways:

In addition to a series of introspective exercises and executive leadership presentations, this year’s Camp featured thought-provoking sessions with guest speakers to reflect on the broader context in which our business operates. Day Two's awesome programming included:

"Tapping into Your Onlyness"" with Nilofer Merchant, Former Tech Executive & Best-selling Author on Innovation and Collaboration. The Takeaway: Value your unique life experience and bring your whole self to work because your ideas and purpose come from where only you stand in the world. An organization’s culture is as strong as the individuals that shape it!

“Digital-First Brand-Building from Early-Stage Investment to IPO” with Eurie Kim, General Partner, Forerunner Ventures and Andrew Shipp, Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing, Boosted. The Takeaway: While there is no rinse and repeat formula to build a world class brand, the most successful agency-client partnerships are built upon an intimate understanding of a founder/CEO’s vision for the company.

“Building Connection & Community, Online and IRL” with Claire Daugherty, Senior Global Influencer Marketing Lead, Uber; Gene Paek, Global Head of Social Media, HP and Page Williams, Senior Marketing Manager, Global Integrated Marketing & Communications, LinkedIn. The Takeaway: Like it or not, physical and digital brand experiences are now one and the same, and influencers play an important role jump-starting conversation and creating content—not just distributing messages.

“From Influencer Marketing to Influence Media” with Tony Tran, Co-Founder & CEO, Lumanu. The Takeaway: Influencer marketing reflects the democratization of publishing thanks to the web, and in this next chapter, where brands can amplify influencer content as their own, they will be able to disrupt their advertising practices all together. In order for this approach to fully thrive, creators’ rights and preferences must be put first.

Fun and prizes—always:

The #CampCollectivelyChallenge—an over-the-top Instagram Stories “Film Festival”—was back by popular demand. 🎥 🎬Hopefully you were lucky enough to catch the winning story that portrayed an influencer’s photoshoot gone terribly wrong. Job well done, Team 3: Danielle, Cait, Joshua and Melissa.

In keeping with tradition, there was an amazing raffle of dreamy prizes sourced from our roster of brand partners. Two “long weekend-themed” grand prizes included a day of paid time off, a $500 Delta Airlines credit 🛫 and a $100 gift card to Hotels.com. Congrats to Danielle and Lauren.

For those who didn’t win extra time off, it’s all good, because thanks to Camp, everyone is relaxed, inspired and ready for the start of an awesome summer. ☀️