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Last year, when Canva used a rap song to promote its new suite of products for businesses, the reaction online was about what youd expect. Call 911 Im having a cringe overdose. This is Lin-Manuel Mirandas fault. The performance at Canva’s annual summit, Canva Create (Disclosure: Fast Company is a Create media partner), reminded many of corporate musical escapades of the past, like Bank of Americas adaptation of U2s One back in 2006, or Randi Zuckerbergs “Twisted Sister”-inspired ode to crypto in 2022. But for Canva, it drove attention and traffic to the brand. More than 50 million people saw the rap battle within 48 hours, which boosted social media chatter about Canva Enterprise by 2,500%. Cofounder and COO Cliff Obrecht said at the time, Haters gonna hate. Today at Canvas fourth Canva Create event at Los Angeless SoFi Stadium, the company doubled down on that confidence and rolled out another musical number. This time, it’s to help unveil Visual Suite 2.0, which the company says is its biggest product launch since its founding in 2012. This year, the brand went for a Broadway-style tune that unspools the tale of how Canva used more than a billion pieces of user feedback to bring 45 of the most-asked-for updates to its products. The cast featured 42 performers including creator Tom McGovern, design influencer Roger Coles (who starred in last years performance), and a special appearance by Canva design advisory board member Jessica Hische. There are also 12 members of the Singers of Soul choir and an additional 12 members of the LA Marching Band. The lyrics of the song are inspired by and quoted directly from customer requests and feedback. And in case you missed any of the promised platform upgrades live, the song will be available on Spotify. Many cringe-happy observers will be quick to ask why Canva chose to put its message to music again. But the move illustrates the importance of self-awareness, and how crucial it is if you dont want to be sloshed around by the tides of pop cultural trends, and instead . . . ahem . . . dance to your own tune. Community rap lessons Last year, more than 3,500 people attended Create, while millions of others tuned in to watch remotely, including at watch parties in cities from Tokyo to Delhi. It features 100 different speakers across 60 different stages. With more than 230 million monthly users, Canva has a large, attentive audience for its content. CMO Zach Kitschke says the event is the companys biggest moment of the year for bringing its community together. Over the years, Kitschke has observed how big swings can cut through the noise of so much marketing. It’s been a principle of our marketing, really since we launched, that people will remember these heightened experiences or moments, he says. Over 90% of our traffic is driven by brand and word-of-mouth these days, and that has come from a fostering of community. With the rap, it could have been a very, very boring topic that no one took note of, but learned you can change the conversation in a matter of minutes by creating a moment out of something like that. What was often left out in the discourse around the rap last year was that the idea came from Canva user and community member Roger Coles. At a time when more brands are looking to their hardcore fans and customers for how to connect with culture, Canva did just that. And thats why it struck up the band again. Kitschke says that community runs through everything the brand does. That means including them in our commercials and putting them up on stage at events like this, he says. It’s not just marketing, but it’s an acknowledgement. And its a really special way to bring people into the fold.
Category:
E-Commerce
President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered federal officials to investigate the former head of the country’s top cybersecurity agency and revoke his security clearances, years after he first disputed Trump’s election fraud claims. In a memorandum shared Wednesday, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to “take all appropriate action to review” Chris Krebs activities as a government employee and report those findings back to the White House. Krebs has been a prime target since he was fired by Trump over tweet in November 2020 for saying that President Biden fairly won the election, directly opposing the administration’s unsubstantiated view that there was electoral fraud. The memo describes Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), as a “significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his Government authority.” The memo also targets Krebs in his current position as SentinelOne’s chief intelligence and public policy officer, stripping anyone who works at the company of their security clearances. “In regard to the Executive Order dated April 9, 2025 focused on Chris Krebs in his prior role as a government employee, we will actively cooperate in any review of security clearances held by any of our personnel currently less than 10 employees overall and only where required by existing government processes and procedures to secure government systems,” the company said in a statement. It added that it doesn’t expect the review to materially impact its business. Krebs first joined SentinelOne’s advisory board in 2021. But he was further ingrained in the company when it acquired his advisory firm Krebs Stamos Group in 2023, which he founded with former Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos. The move against Krebs reflects Trump’s broader strategy for revenge as he cements his second administrative term. Since returning to office, he’s used the stripping of security clearances to punish individuals and companies that have either defied or opposed him. For example, Trump rescinded the security clearances of Biden, several top law firms who employed lawyers who worked on investigations into Trump, and many members of his first administration. Trump this week also targeted Miles Taylor, the former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff who wrote an anonymous memoir that criticized Trump’s actions in his first term. The memo accused Taylor of having “stoked dissension by manufacturing sensationalist reports on the existence of a supposed ‘resistance’ within the Federal Government.” “I said this would happen,” Taylor wrote on X. “Dissent isnt unlawful. It certainly isnt treasonous. America is headed down a dark path. Never has a man so inelegantly proved another mans point.”
Category:
E-Commerce
On Thursday, the China Film Association (CFA) announced that it would moderately reduce the number of American films imported in response to the ongoing tariff war. The wrong move by the U.S. government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audiences favorability towards American films, the statement read. We will follow the market rules, respect the audiences choice, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported. The move came a day after President Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause for several countries, while raising levies on Chinese imports to 125%. The tariff hike from Trump came in response to Chinas move to impose an 84% tariff on U.S. goods. Earlier in the week, reports from China indicated that officials were considering limiting or even banning Hollywood films, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Speculation intensified when two prominent Chinese figuresone a state media editor and the other the son of a former party chiefoutlined potential countermeasures to Trumps tariffs, including restrictions on imported American films. Under current trade agreements, China had pledged to release 34 foreign films annually under revenue-sharing terms, granting overseas studios 25% of ticket sales. China is the worlds second-largest film market. We have always adhered to a high level of opening up to the outside world and will introduce more excellent films from the world to meet market demand, the statement continued. Once a crucial revenue source for Hollywood, China has now become an afterthought as geopolitical tensions rise. Chinese audiences, increasingly favoring domestic productions, have grown disenchanted with U.S. films. This shift was reflected by Ne Zha 2, released in January, which outperformed all American films to become the highest-grossing movie in a single market.
Category:
E-Commerce
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