March 26, 2019

On Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook stepped onto a big stage at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, to make some important announcements. Events like these are meant to remind Apple fans of the times when late founder Steve Jobs stepped on the same stage to reveal world-changing products like the iPhone and iPad. Unlike on those occasions, however, Cook didn’t unveil any new or updated gadgets at Monday’s event. Instead, celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey Continue reading

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March 21, 2019

Since about the turn of the 20th century, elaborate fashion shows have helped some of the most successful style companies build lasting brands. After all, designers aren’t just displaying their wares when they send models down the runway in expensive outfits. By showcasing lines of high-end clothes that not everyone can afford, companies construct brand identities centered around luxury and opulence. So while Ralph Lauren or Michael Kors won’t sell many of their most expensive garments, the sophistication and taste Continue reading

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March 19, 2019

For years fashionable firms have depended on Instagram to showcase their goods to the social network’s more than 1 billion monthly users. Along with helping companies develop into stylish brands, the photo-sharing platform also serves as a key source of traffic to online stores. For instance, a designer can post a photo of a new dress and attach a link where customers can go to purchase it.

Now Instagram plans to take that concept to the next level by allowing Continue reading

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March 7, 2019

On March 1 the Backstreet Boys began a residency at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater in Las Vegas that will run for 80 nights through the end of April. Although the legendary boy band are certainly playing plenty of shows, getting a ticket for one doesn’t come cheap. For instance, it costs up to $250 for a spot in the general admission area in front of the stage. For concertgoers who want to quickly find a good place to stand, though, Continue reading

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March 1, 2019

Red Bull has grown into one of the world’s most powerful beverage brands thanks in no small part to its innovative approach to marketing. This video takes a close look at the Austrian company’s trailblazing sponsorship of extreme sports events and how the Red Bull brand is about a lot more than just selling energy drinks.

Questions:

  1. Why did Red Bull choose to sponsor extreme sports events rather than well-known leagues like the NFL or NBA?  
  2. How did Red Continue reading
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February 22, 2019

On Wednesday night, two of the biggest teams in college basketball faced off in what many described as the game of the season. While Duke versus North Carolina is always a marquee matchup, this particular game had another unmissable element added to it: freshman forward Zion Williamson. With his remarkable combination of size and speed, basketball analysts almost unanimously agree that he is the favorite to be picked first in the NBA draft this summer. Unfortunately, Williamson’s night in the Continue reading

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February 15, 2019

There are few things more important to a product than a solid brand name. After all, the title on an item’s label will stick around long after the people who originally created it are gone. That’s why many major companies seek out the services of Lexicon Branding, a marketing firm that comes up with product names. This video looks at the company’s process and how it developed recognizable brand names like Swiffer, Febreeze, and Blackberry.

Questions:

  1. Do you think it’s Continue reading
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February 14, 2019

Although certain candies will be hard to come by today, plenty of people around the world will show their love by giving jewelry to their valentines. That might not be the case in China, however, where more women are opting to buy bling for themselves rather than wait for their partners to do so. For example, a Shanghai-based business manager named Crystal Zhu said that her boyfriend’s “nice but a bit dull” selections aren’t as expressive as she’d like. “The Continue reading

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February 12, 2019

With its signature stack of three buns and two beef patties covered in special sauce, there are few fast food items as famous as the Big Mac. That’s why over the years McDonald’s has tried to protect its flagship burger by pursuing legal action against any possible imitators. One of the company’s latest targets was Supermac’s, an Irish chain that sold a suspiciously similar sandwich called the Mighty Mac. Unfortunately for McDonald’s, though, this particular case didn’t go exactly as Continue reading

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February 8, 2019

Sorry, candy lovers, but today we’ve got more bad news. Not only will millions of Americans soon be forced to spend Valentine’s Day without their SweetHearts, but there’s also something wrong with the nation’s supply of Hershey’s Kisses. While the chocolate treats will still be available for next week’s big day, they’ll be missing one of their most distinctive features: the tips. Since December consumers have been puzzled by the tips’ absence, fearing that Hershey had changed the candy’s Continue reading

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