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.
Early in the pandemic, people couldn’t get enough pizza. Now, not so much. Papa Johns’ sales are still up, but growth is slowing. In the second quarter, sales at its North American restaurants open at least a year grew just under 1%, down from 5% in the the same period Read more…
Kraft Heinz on Tuesday announced it is recalling some 5,750 cases of its Capri Sun Wild Cherry beverage due to possible contamination. In a public statement, the company said: “The voluntary recall comes after diluted cleaning solution, which is used on food processing equipment, was inadvertently introduced into a production Read more…
With the arrival of cable and satellite TV in the 1990s, national advertisers switched to brand-building on TV screens. Brands such as Asian Paints, Fevicol, Cadbury and Vodafone used the reach of mass TV to propagate their message. Click here to read the story at digiday.com. Discussion Questions: What is Read more…
The popular new app prohibits advertising, but some brands are still using BeReal’s trendiness to their advantage. Click here to read the story at morningbrew.com. Discussion Questions: What is social media marketing? Why do businesses and brands engage in social media marketing? How might advertising on TikTok be different from Read more…
Gen Z is hooked on fast fashion, and ThredUP wants to do something about it. Enlisting the help of famous Gen Z breakout star Priah Ferguson of “Stranger Things,” the thrift giant has launched a confessional that aims to to break GenZ of its wasteful habit. Click here to read Read more…
In 2020, something incredible happened in the dairy aisle: Velveeta started flying off the shelves. Click here to read the story at cnn.com. Discussion Questions: What is the product life cycle? What are the different stages of the product life cycle? Why do you think Velveeta fell out of favor with Read more…
Applebee’s has built a solid reputation on cheap drink deals and good wings, but now, the neighborhood grill and bar is bottling its buffalo sauce in an unexpected format. Click here to read the story at thrillist.com. Discussion Questions: What is publicity? Why is publicity important to a business like Applebee’s? What is Read more…
Airbnb says it will use new methods to spot and block people who try to use the short-term rental service to throw a party. Click here to read the story at nbcnews.com. Discussion Questions: Based on information from this story, what is anti-party technology? What is the difference between a Read more…
Among the many places to get a banh mi in Houston is the drive-through lane at Saigon Hustle. The seven-month-old spot was started by Cassie Ghaffar and Sandy Nguyen, in part to create something for busy parents who don’t want to deal with getting kids out of cars and into restaurants. Click here to read the Read more…
On the way home from college after our junior year at South Carolina State, Caleb and I passed a beat-up vehicle with a sticker that read, “College of Charleston Alumni.” I told him, “If we continue with college, we will be driving that car.” Click here to read the story Read more…