Marketing Currents is a weekly current events news service that highlights unique and relevant business and marketing campaigns throughout the school year. The questions provided for student discussion will help to create a bridge between industry strategies/trends and the topics you are covering in class.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
With Earth Day around the corner, it’s that time of the year again when companies start doling out sustainability pledges like candy. Unfortunately, some of those promises can be misleading. Click here to read the story at theverge.com. Discussion Questions:
How did the chain outdo Burger King’s Bacon Sundae, Pizza Hut’s hot-dog-stuffed crust, Cinnabon’s Pizzabon, and KFC’s fried-chicken-flavored nail polish? Click here to read the story at newyorker.com. Discussion Questions:
It’s been a year since Oregon’s Tillamook County Creamery Association won recognition as a Certified B Corporation for its sustainable and worker-friendly farming practices. Now the dairy cooperative wants to use that designation to build credibility and trust beyond the West Coast. Click here to read the story at farmprogress.com. Read more…