For a while now, it seems all we talked about was digital, digital, digital in retail. And while no one is downplaying the importance of e-commerce - online sales average about 15% of total US retail sales according to the US Census Bureau - there has been a resurgence of the in-store experience. Shoppers don't want to be tied behind a digital screen. They want to get out and see, touch, and feel the product before pulling out their credit card; they want the confidence that they're making the right decision. And above all, people just want to be entertained.

At MediaPost's own recent Brand Insider Summit for CPGs the topic of celebrity partnership was high on the agenda. As brands struggle to differentiate in a very cluttered environment, any opportunity to draft off of an existing fan base helps. And of course, celebrity and sports stars were the original influencers that marketers leveraged for decades before social media made stars of everyone. In some ways the venerable footwear and foot health brand Dr. Scholls is going old school in partnering with Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas.

Connoisseurship has come even to donuts in recent years. Lush flavor combinations, customizations, sheer size - have all become product differentiators as a number of regional fan favorites extend their footprints. With over 155 locations, the 17-year-old Duck Donuts was ahead of this curve in customized dunkers. But how does it expand and defend its brand in this hot category?

As we ramp up for next week's Brand Insider Summit: CPG in Nashville, I turned to an old friend of MediaPost's to reflect on his 15 years at MillerCoors and his path to digitizing a foundational category in traditional advertising. In talking to Brad Feinberg, VP of Media and Digital Molson Coors AmCom, however, it was clear that his much earlier experience in entertainment marketing was as formative as his time in CPG.