The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has certainly lived up to its billing, and it will continue Thursday when the remaining Sweet 16 contests for a spot in the Elite 8. The tournament thus far prompted me to drum up a few comparisons of this year’s dominant team, perennial power and spirited Cinderella to some of the top consumer brands.
This past Sunday cemented yet another NFL season (13 in a row, to be exact) of watching my hometown’s beloved, much-maligned football team fail to reach the postseason—a decade-plus run of futility.
Hostess recently filed a motion seeking permission to close its business and liquidate its assets, causing the internet to buzz with talk of bankruptcy and baked goods. The shutdown is now on hold, as Hostess and union workers agreed to mediation at the urging of a U.S. bankruptcy court judge. Even in light of the… Read more »
The emergence of social media has undoubtedly transformed the way we watch sports. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have provided fans with a unique platform to interact with their most beloved athletes and teams. According to an infographic by KT Tape, citing several sources such as ESPN and CBS sports, 83 percent of sports fans will… Read more »
Subway has spent millions upon millions of dollars in advertising and marketing in an effort to cultivate its “eat fresh” image. It carved out a niche for itself as a purveyor of healthy options, a shining light in a processed-food-heavy world that’s staying afloat thanks to the cash cows and cheap production methods of lard,… Read more »
As a nor-easter swept across many of the areas already ravaged by Hurricane Sandy—from New York down the East Coast—more than half a million customers in New Jersey alone were without power a week after the storm hit, according to CNN. Thankfully, many A-listers have rallied troops and funds to lend a helping hand to… Read more »
Have you ever experienced crushing disappointment caused by a poor customer service experience? What about exasperation at the seeming unintelligible tendencies some brands have to make poor marketing decisions, or skepticism that there are in fact brands out there that value customers over profits? Those common experiences are what I liken to brand-induced ailments. In… Read more »
Every Wednesday at 10am CT, Brand Chat hosts a Twitter chat, in which a plethora of marketing-minded individuals weigh in on a series of questions and engage in 140-character-capped conversations contemplative, pensive, astute, and witty alike. It’s an hour (more or less) of branding-related banter. One of the questions posed by Brand Chat during last… Read more »
For 50 years, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, cunning British Secret Service agent James Bond has captured the hearts and imaginations of 007 fanatics and moviegoers alike, each enthralled by the fictitious yet age-defying character depicted in 22 films since 1962. The 23rd installment of the Bond series, entitled “Skyfall”, is slated to be… Read more »
Storytelling has been a common human activity for eons: societies of centuries past crafted elaborate, intricate creation myths; individuals listened to the epic poems of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey; and children both then and now marvel over the fables and fairy tales of writers like Hans Christian Andersen and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Stories unite… Read more »
