Brand New: A Collective, the women-owned integrated marketing agency behind activations at the Super Bowl, Met Gala, and US Open, is stepping out of client service and into ownership with the launch of The Residency on Martha’s Vineyard next month.
The five-day cultural platform runs August 11-15, 2026, across two locations — The Harborside Inn in Edgartown and Eleven Circuit in Oak Bluffs — and is designed as a fully programmed, all-day social hub for Black audiences on the Vineyard. Co-founded in 2018 by Kellie Pean and Alyssa Convertini-Lindquist, Brand New has spent nearly a decade building culturally resonant campaigns for brands. The Residency marks the first time the agency has built something entirely its own.
“Up until this year, we have historically exclusively been in service of brand,” Convertini-Lindquist said. “This is also a step forward in our broader goals as women who believe very deeply in the importance of equity and ownership to continue to build things that are ours.”
Pean said The Residency is about creating something that feels natural and authentic to the space rather than imposing an outside agenda onto a community with its own culture and rhythm. The ideation behind the platform began years before the official planning began. Pean had been bringing her family to the Vineyard annually and found herself calling Convertini-Lindquist from the island every summer, convinced that the space needed what Brand New could offer. After a few years of those conversations, the two decided 2026 was the year to stop talking and start building.
For Pean, the motivation behind The Residency runs deeper than business strategy.
“I just feel like this is a space we should be in,” she told EBONY during an exclusive interview, reflecting on years of attending events on the island and sensing a gap that nobody had filled. “There’s so much here, but this is the right kind of opportunity for us to bring our brand new lens into the vineyard.”
Programming across the five days follows a three-part daily structure: mornings built around health, wellness, and movement from 9 a.m. to noon, afternoons centered on culture and commerce through networking, workshops, and founder-led conversations, and evenings anchored by what the team is calling Golden Hour Social, complete with music, cocktails, and a nightlife takeover at Eleven Circuit on August 14 and 15.
Partners for the inaugural edition include Diageo as the exclusive beverage partner, bringing brands such as Tequila Don Julio, Crown Royal, and Seedlip throughout the week’s programming. Additional partners include Peloton, Gold Bond, Atlanta Life, Dr. Jessica Shepherd of Hers, and Femme It Forward founder Heather Lowery, whose signature High Tea experience will make its Vineyard debut.
The Residency was built to scale. Pean and Convertini-Lindquist were clear that Martha’s Vineyard is a launch pad, not a ceiling. The platform is designed to show up wherever culture moves, with programming tailored to each destination rather than replicated wholesale.
To learn more about The Residency on the Vineyard, click HERE.