Branding
Mercedes-Benz and Maybach Just Dropped a Line of Sleek Leather Travel Bags
The three-pointed star isn’t exactly known for designer bags, but that could soon change. Click here to read the story at robbreport.com. Discussion Questions:
Acquisition
Prebiotic soda Olipop approaches $200 million in annual sales — and CEO says Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have already come knocking
Prebiotic soda maker Olipop is set to cross $200 million in annual sales this year, just five years after it arrived on grocery store shelves. Click here to read the story at cnbc.com. Discussion Questions:
Consumer Behavior
Consumers push back on higher prices amid inflation woes
McDonald’s customers are more reluctant to add fries to their order, grocery shoppers are less willing to swallow the elevated price of Unilever mayonnaise and Target customers are balking at some high-priced items. Click here to read the story at abcnews.com. Discussion Questions:
Brand Loyalty
Sweetgreen is asking customers to pay $10 a month for its new loyalty program
Sweetgreen has a Monday and Friday problem. The salad-and-grain-bowl chain was riding high pre-pandemic as increasing numbers of office workers relied on it for their daily desk salads. Click here to read the story at fastcompany.com. Discussion Questions:
Branding
Price war? Tesla drops the Model Y starting price below the average U.S. vehicle cost
Tesla Inc. is now charging less for the cheapest version of the Model Y sport utility vehicle than what the typical new vehicle sells for in the U.S., a threshold Elon Musk crossed in blazing fashion. Click here to read the story at latimes.com. Discussion Questions:
Branding
How Bazooka Gum uses nostalgia to drive sweet success
In 1947, Topps created a bright pink bubble gum square with an initially tough chew, a sweet smell and powerful sugary taste of fruit and cotton candy. Click here to read the story at marketingdive.com. Discussion Questions:
Brands
Why these chunky, ugly running shoes are selling like crazy
Sneakers designed to feel like running barefoot used to be the hottest phenomenon in exercise. Now, the opposite is true. The ugliest, chunkiest sneaker brand is flying off the shelves. Click here to read the story at cnn.com. Discussion Questions:
Business Plan
Bed Bath & the great Beyond: How the home-goods giant went bankrupt
A total of 10 shoppers meandered the vast and visibly sparse aisles of a Bed Bath & Beyond in Northern Virginia on a recent Sunday. Click here to read the story at npr.org. Discussion Questions:
2.5 - Event Management & Marketing
NFL Draft, World Cup each expected to generate $100M-plus in economic impact
Both the 2023 NFL Draft and 2026 FIFA World Cup will have an expected economic impact of more than $100 million, according to Kansas City, Missouri. Click here to read the story at kshb.com. Discussion Questions:
2.2 - What is SEM
NASCAR Has a Marketing Problem
From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, NASCAR exploded in popularity. Click here to read the story at frontstretch.com. Discussion Questions: