Marketing Currents is a weekly current events news service that highlights unique and relevant business and marketing campaigns throughout the school year. The questions provided for student discussion will help to create a bridge between industry strategies/trends and the topics you are covering in class.
On a recent Saturday afternoon, Alex Santos journeyed to his local Ikea with a singular mission: the procurement of a new Poäng chair. It was a simple in-and-out task. But 3 hours later, the 37-year-old IT manager found himself in the parking lot, slightly stupefied, with a shopping cart full of hand Read more…
Few startups have an elevator pitch like: We’re resurrecting the Woolly Mammoth to save the planet. If it sounds more like the logline to another Jurassic Park sequel than a serious business, it isn’t: This is the mission of Colossal, a company that is already on its way to producing the tusky behemoth — and Read more…
The word most used to describe Lululemon’s best-in-class workout leggings is probably “buttery.” This isn’t an accident. Lululemon explicitly researches how things feel on the body and thus how people psychologically feel while wearing them. The company has incorporated the philosophy into a tangible tagline they call the “Science of Feel.” Click Read more…
Do consumers notice when their everyday products get smaller? Often they don’t and companies are taking advantage by reducing the amount of product they sell while keeping prices the same. Click here to read the story at qz.com. Discussion Questions: What is inflation? What causes inflation? How does inflation impact Read more…
In 2020, the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, was one of the first major events to be canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Travel plans were upended, venues were shuttered and many businesses took a hit. Click here to read the story at nbcnews.com. Discussion Questions: What is economic impact Read more…
PepsiCo on Wednesday introduced the first nitrogen-infused cola, which it says results in smaller bubbles. Click here to read the story at upi.com. Discussion Questions: What is innovation? What is innovative about Pepsi’s new product? What is innovative about the packaging of Nitro Pepsi? What is differentiation? How is Pepsi Read more…
The original Razor A Kick folding scooter arrived in 2000, and in many ways—just like the phone of nearly the same name—it epitomized Y2K design. Its colorful hand grips and shiny aluminum frame glinted in the sunlight, hearkening a joyous, technological future. Click here to read the story at fast company.com. Discussion Questions: Read more…
Have you ever felt like some holidays feel more or less like they were invented just to sell people stuff? After all, why else are funny greeting cards for Tax Day a thing? One fast food company wasn’t afraid to test the correlation between holidays and profit, although surprisingly enough, Read more…
It wasn’t immediately clear what Mark Zuckerberg wanted to do with Oculus when Facebook bought the virtual reality headset maker back in 2014. Those plans are now coming into focus: Facebook is now called Meta, and it’s not just a social media company, it’s a metaverse company. And as the Read more…
More Target stores will get an Ulta Beauty shop added in 2022. The retailer exclusively shared with USA TODAY Monday that it plans to open 250-plus additional small beauty shops inside its stores this year after opening 101 locations and an online store since August 2021. Click here to read the story at usatoday.com. Discussion Questions: Read more…