european-citiesWith the school year ending and summer right around the corner, students and teachers around the country are likely counting the days until they can finally go on vacation. The most fortunate of this already lucky bunch may be headed to Europe to take in the continent’s grand cities and ancient monuments. But while these world travelers get excited about their upcoming trips, the residents of some European tourist destinations don’t share the same enthusiasm.

Barcelona, for instance, recently passed Continue reading

Continue reading...

chevroletFor the past few years, Chevrolet has ran a series of ads that feature “real people, not actors” staring in awe as they look at and listen to facts about Chevy cars. These televised focus groups are filmed on sets outfitted with enormous doors and spinning elevators that reveal the vehicles in grand fashion. All the while a friendly host tells the onlookers about how many J.D. Power awards Chevy has won along with other details about the brand. Whenever Continue reading

Continue reading...

Adam-PrzezdziekWith 158 million users and a $25 billion valuation, the photo and video sharing app Snapchat has grown into one of the most powerful social networks around. Still, just because the app is popular doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to become a moneymaker. Twitter, for instance, has more than 300 million users and has struggled to be profitable for years. So in order to become a true tech giant, Snapchat is teaming up with old media firms to create original content Continue reading

Continue reading...

musical-festivalFor many attendees of today’s big music festivals, enjoying an interesting atmosphere is often just as important as watching what’s happening on stage. After all, these events don’t happen in a vacuum: festivals like Coachella are endlessly documented through Instagram and other social media platforms. From the fancy food trucks to famous people casually milling about the crowd, music festivals offer no shortage of material to liven up anyone’s feed.

Last weekend’s Fyre Festival promised to be the most Instagrammable Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 13, 2017

travel-troublesThis week United Airlines has faced a surge in public anger following the release of a video that showed a passenger being dragged off of an overbooked flight. Along with its plummeting reputation, the company’s stock price has also experienced quite a bit of turbulence since the incident. At its worst point United shares fell 6.3 percent, reducing the the airline’s market value by $1.4 billion. United’s CEO has repeatedly apologized for the way the company handled the situation Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 7, 2017

instagram-businessBy the end of the year, the photo sharing app Instagram expects to earn $3 billion from ad sales. That’s a huge jump from the $60 million the social network made in 2015. In that time, Instagram has collected more than 600 million users, a number bested only by its parent company Facebook. About 8 million of these accounts belong to companies who use the platform primarily for promotion.

Soon, though, some brands will be able to develop closer relationships Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 5, 2017

Since YouTube’s founding, the video sYoutube-mobileharing site has prided itself on being a platform that anyone can use to express themselves. This concept catapulted the site to instant success and led to a $1.65 billion buyout from Google in 2006. Along with becoming one of the search engine giant’s most lucrative advertising outlets, YouTube is also the most valuable video platform on the Internet by far.

Despite this lofty status, though, major advertisers like AT&T, Lyft and Johnson & Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 3, 2017

The looping animated icons known as GIFs have provided websites with a unique visual element since the dawn of the Internet. Of course, today’s GIFs do far more than just attract eyes to otherwise dull sites. People use them constantly in social media and text message conversations to express emotions that are difficult to convey with words. And as this video shows, companies like Giphy think that these moving images will soon turn into major money makers for content creators Continue reading

Continue reading...

February 28, 2017

GlobalPanoramaFor 82 years, the accounting firm PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCooper) has tallied the votes and handed out the envelopes at the Academy Awards. Although it’s not the company’s most lucrative contract, the Oscars are nevertheless one of the crown jewels of PwC’s clientele. Not only does the awards show give the firm a marketing boost, but it also acts as evidence for PwC’s ability to handle situations in the spotlight smoothly.

But as anyone who watched Sunday night’s broadcast knows, that Continue reading

Continue reading...

February 14, 2017

For decades U.S. automakers designed boxy cars that looked slick but lacked any aerodynamic abilities. Then the Ford Taurus came around and changed America’s roads forever. This video chronicles how rising gas prices and European influences caused this gradual switch from rectangular to round vehicles.

Questions:

 

  1. Why did curvy car designs take so long to catch on in the U.S. market?
  2. How did the Ford Taurus change the American auto industry?

 

Continue reading...