DENVER – (August 12, 2015) – For anyone considering a career in marketing and creative services, the members of Whirl, a local agency partnership providing a hub for top level creatives and executives to share ideas and connections, have some words of wisdom: Despite all the revolutions in technology, human experience still rules; personal connection is the crux to building a successful brand or idea. Ideas like this, as well as thoughts on leveraging connected play to inspire product development cycles and how to attract the right talent to drive creativity were tossed around during the first “Whirlygig” of the year, hosted by Whirl, held recently on the rooftop of ClearVoice Research in Denver. “A Celebration of Colorado Creativity” featured masterclass intensives from some of the regions most talented marketers. Lisa Peterson, Principal at Agilon Consulting, who recently ran global marketing for Arrow Electronics, spoke about the implications that the “Internet of things” will have on marketers. “The marketing team is rapidly becoming the ‘revenue team,’ so building a team of strong strategic and analytical minds is paramount. The Internet of Things (IoT), and the data in particular, will be the new frontier in understanding customers and their user experiences. Humanizing data findings will create richer customer understandings and ultimately drive the market.”  Jennifer Vandermeer from Sphero, discussed ways the audience could leverage lessons from the industry leader in connected play to infuse imagination into their own product development cycles. Jeff Donaldson and Trish Thomas from Atomic20 in Boulder, shared how to reverse the recruiting mindset to attract and retain the right talent to drive creativity. “Like-minded individuals attract other like-minded individuals with shared experiences and interests and these are what drive creativity and success.” Dan Martin, Executive Communications Lead at Jackson National Insurance described the event: “It was truly one of the best networking events I’ve ever attended. When this many like-minded talents join forces to share their thoughts of success, the results are astonishing and creativity and inspiration flourish.”    Volante Roberts, former Strategic Marketing Director at McKesson Corporation, shared “There is definitely a gap in the market for more things like this which address the art/science of connecting people and business.”  Doug Chorpenning of wetpaintgroup, and a founding member of Whirl, recapped the first Whirlygig saying, “the response and appreciation for our little ‘Whirl experiment’ has been impressive. Over the course of my career, I have always wanted to figure out a way to truly activate my creative network, and finally – with Whirl – we have a creative ecosystem that brings senior marketing professionals together in an inspired, fun-filled and meaningful way.”  Whirl is invite-only, but part of the mission is to continually expand its network. For information on Whirl or attending the upcoming fall Whirl event, please contact James Parker at 303.270.0721 ext 221 or jparker@monigle.com   ### About WHIRL WHIRL is building a community of Colorado marketing leader and influencers to serve as a catalyst for knowledge sharing, leadership and connections, thereby establishing Colorado as an epicenter of marketing excellence and creative thinking. Founding members include Monigle, ClearVoice Research, wetpaintgroup, Garlic Media Group, CSE, Atomic20, The Pineapple Agency, and Booyah Advertising.