11.3 - Social Issues in SEM
Interest in college sports is on the rise, report says
College athletes and the sports they play are getting even more popular. Click here to read the story at marketingbrew.com. Discussion Questions:
7.5 - Promotion Mix
Wendy’s “Squares Up” for NCAA March Madness with Another Year of Winning Deals
This March Madness® it’s all about basketball, brackets, and square BEEF. As the Official Hamburger of March Madness and Official Breakfast of March Madness, Wendy’s® has built another championship-winning roster of deals on the Wendy’s app. Click here to read the story at wendys.com. Discussion Questions:
Hospitality & Tourism
There’s an Eggo pancake house in the woods and you can rent it out
It’s a house that’s hard to miss and that’s because it’s a literal house of pancakes. In honor of National Pancake Day on Wednesday, the first-ever Eggo House of Pancakes will be available to rent, according to a news release. Click here to read the story at prenewswire.com. Discussion Questions:
Hospitality & Tourism
Royal Caribbean’s CEO said its massive new ship was designed for Instagram. I saw 9 things on board that make it a social-media sensation.
Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group’s president and CEO, said Icon of the Seas has “Instagrammable moments” that generate “FOMO” from guests’ friends and family, in turn driving more bookings. Click here to read the story at businessinsider.com. Discussion Questions:
Functions of Marketing
Wendy’s will soon begin testing surge pricing
The price of a Wendy’s Frosty could soon fluctuatethroughout the day as the chain looks to introduce Uber-like surge pricing on its menu. Click here to read the story at cnn.com. Discussion Questions:
Brands
Emergency Pizza and loyalty drove Domino’s sales last quarter
People really needed some emergency pizzas last year. Domino’s on Monday said its same-store sales in the U.S. rose 2.8% in the fourth quarter, largely because customers ordered its pizzas more often. Click here to read the story at restaurantbusinessonline.com. Discussion Questions:
Economics
Kellogg’s CEO says Americans facing inflation should eat cereal for dinner. He got mixed reactions.
Americans are spending more money on food than they have in 30 years, and Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick has a solution: Eat cereal for dinner. The suggestion, made by Pilnick during a TV interview last week, gained widespread attention, dividing the internet. Click here to read the story at cbsnews.com. Read more…
1.7 - Market Research
Why the LA Clippers decided it was time for a massive rebrand
Only a few months after Steve Ballmer purchased the LA Clippers in 2014, he and his staff began reconsidering everything about the franchise: where it should play, what its logo should look like, what colors it should use, even the name “Clippers” itself. Click here to read the story at Read more…
3.2 - Entertainment Biz Fundamentals
Barbie’s hot pink flip phone is coming to the real world this summer
If you were wondering when brands will finally stop trying to cash in on the Barbie craze, the answer is, somehow, not yet. Click here to read the story at engadget.com. Discussion Questions:
2.6 - Advertising
Why the songs brands use in their Super Bowl spots matter
There are several sonic standouts from this year’s Super Bowl: Usher singing his greatest hits at the halftime show, Travis Kelce shouting “Viva Las Vegas” into a microphone after the Kansas City Chiefs claimed their trophy, Arnold Schwarzenegger saying “neighbaaa” in the State Farm commercial, and, of course, the Temu Read more…