The Lede Company

Yesterday, for the first time in the FIFA World Cup's 96-year history, there was a halftime show at the Final. It was produced by Lede client Global Citizen. Co-headlined by Lede client Shakira—along with Madonna, BTS, and Justin Bieber—the show was curated by Chris Martin at the New York New Jersey Stadium, with performances from Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel, and the PS22 Chorus. In Central Park, 50,000 fans watched from the Great Lawn at the largest World Cup Final watch party in the world. The show supported the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which has raised over $60 million to expand access to education and football for children worldwide. Sport, music, and impact don't often get a shared moment like this—Global Citizen created one.

Cannes Lions has wrapped, and Lede clients were part of some of the week's most substantive conversations. At Axios House, Religion of Sports CEO Ameeth Sankaran joined a panel on NIL and athlete entrepreneurship. Later in the week, co-founder Gotham Chopra sat down for a conversation on why $4 trillion in Latino purchasing power still isn't being met with real marketing investment. Mad Realities CEO Alice Ma and head of content emily tess katz kicked off the festival co-hosting a brunch with The Ankler and Avail that brought together leaders from across media, tech, and the creator economy.

Savannah James and business partner April McDaniel launched Signed, a holding company for their creative agency, podcast, and women's network. http://f-st.co/V1IgCd8

Today, The Lede Company released our first-ever proprietary white paper in partnership with HYPEBEAST, offering a look at how consumers engage with brands in today’s attention economy. The research points to a major shift in brand-building: Consumers are moving beyond product drops, exclusivity, and passive celebrity endorsement in favor of collaborative experiences. The brands breaking through today are building worlds, creating cultural moments, and inviting consumers, talent, and communities to help shape them. Just one of our key findings: Creative innovation is 2.5x more effective than exclusivity at driving brand heat. At Lede, this research reflects the culture-first approach that has long defined our work. It builds on our tested framework for how brands can build relevance, and create lasting cultural impact. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e3x8HSNS

A look at what Lede clients have been up to lately: Emma Grede spoke at the Milken Global Conference, sitting down for an author talk on rewriting inherited beliefs about work and ambition and more ideas behind her NYT bestselling book, Start With Yourself. FanClub Ai officially launched, unveiling the first rights infrastructure built to protect intellectual property at scale in the age of generative AI. Founded by five industry veterans, FanClub's first product — the Library Vault — is building the largest IP asset repository for ethical AI training. Black Women on Broadway held its 5th annual awards ceremony at Chelsea Piers, honoring Debra Martin Chase, Whitney White, Alana Raquel Bowers, and Destiny Lilly for their contributions to theater on and off the stage. And The Endometriosis Collective launched with the world premiere of End of the Cycle, a documentary featuring Amy Schumer, Julianne Hough, Janel Parrish, and others. Timed to what would have been Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday, the film reframes her story through her experience with endometriosis — connecting it to the 265 million women living with the disease today. Streaming free at endocollective.org.

Here's a glimpse of what Lede clients (and their teams) were up to in April: At Coachella, Sabrina Carpenter, Kehlani, Rei Ami, Lizzo, Fujii Kaze, Addison Rae, Big Sean, Carter Lang, PAWSA, Little Simz, LISA, Tinashe all performed, with a surprise appearance from Tyriq Withers. Sabrina Carpenter also partnered with Airbnb for a Pit Stop pop-up in Indio. Later in the month at Stagecoach, Bailey Zimmerman, Ole 60, and Hudson Westbrook took the stage. Two clients hit the NYT bestseller list in April with Lede running point on their tours: Emma Grede with “Start With Yourself” and David Grutman with “Take It Personal.” Samsung held the 16th annual Solve for Tomorrow competition in Washington, D.C., awarding $2M to student innovators using STEM to solve real-world community challenges. BÉIS launched the Hybrid Collection. Teremana Tequila opened a surprise billboard bar on Abbot Kinney in Venice. W Magazine announced WYouth, a new biannual print publication with Ava Nirui and Sofia Coppola. Festivals, bestsellers, product launches, brand campaigns, and a new magazine. A full month all around.

Last week, Lede client Emma Grede released her first book, Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life. Since then, she's been everywhere from GMA, TODAY, and Meet the Press, to The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Vogue, among others. This week, she sat down with Oprah to talk about why she wrote it, her secrets to building businesses, and the mindset that got her here. Watch the conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eTfvGfG9

Lede clients had a busy Weekend 1 at Coachella. Sabrina Carpenter, Kehlani, Rei Ami, Lizzo, Fujii Kaze, Addison Rae, Big Sean, Carter Lang, PAWSA, Little Simz, LISA, Tinashe all performed along with a surprise appearance from Tyriq Withers. Off the festival grounds, Hennessy was featured as a beverage partner at the ninth REVOLVE festival, and NYLON brought back NYLON House in the Desert at Desert International Horse Park, presented by Matrix — with KATSEYE, Rauw Alejandro, Olivia Holt, Damson Idris, NAV, Big Sean, and more in attendance. Across our talent, brand and strategic communications departments, the teams at Lede shaped the cultural conversations around these artists and brands and their biggest moments. On to Weekend 2.

"Playboy's latest cover story—and its images—made global headlines this past week, generating 3 billion impressions, and more than 40,000,000 views on Instagram alone." Big week for us at Playboy. Congratulations to our team—and the stunning work of The Lede Company as our communications partners: Daniel Rasmussen, Kimberly Bernhardt, and Christina Mastroianni. https://lnkd.in/gKYY5Hf9

The 2026 Webby Award nominations are out, and eighteen Lede clients were recognized for outstanding work that spans music video, social, creator, PR, podcasts, branded content, and community engagement. This year’s nominees include Alex Warren, Backstreet Boys, Boardroom, Borrowed Spotlight, Bustle, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, EDITION Hotels, Emma Grede, Fanatics Sportsbook, Higher Ground Media, Hudson Williams, Jennifer Garner, Kendrick Lamar, Mad Realities, Matt Rogers, Proximity Media, Rosalía, and Sabrina Carpenter. Congratulations to all nominees — and to the wide range of Lede teams that made the work what it is. Winners will be announced in late April 2026. https://lnkd.in/eH_mDpJA