Good morning! Good morning! This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ classic album, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Though if it was “20 years ago today, Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play,” I guess it’s the 70thanniversary?

Either way, the Beatles’ masterpiece has never gone out of style. And just as iconic as the music is the cover photo, which features Sergeant Pepper’s crew with a who’s who of famous (and infamous) faces. It’s been paid homage to, remixed, and parodied hundreds of times:

With all the hoopla surrounding the anniversary, I started thinking about a day in the life of an average marketer. Who are the marketers who deserve a spot on my Sergeant Pepper’s cover? Who has the knowhow to help you keep getting better all the time? Who is best at fixing a hole in your skillset? Whose insights permeate within you and without you?

Simply put, who is so great that they’ll still be relevant when I’m sixty-four?

So, with a little help from my friends, I put together this tribute to the people who educate, inspire and challenge me. Some are marketers, some are celebrities, some are rockstars, and many are all three. […]

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51. Brian Solis, Principal Analyst, Altimeter Group

Most marketers spend a lot of time thinking about the future. Brian, I’m convinced, actually lives there. If you want to get two steps ahead of the game, read everything he writes. Including his masterful work on Attention Is a Currency.