Coca-Cola is bringing back its successful “Share a Coke” initiative, first launched in Australia in 2011 and brought to the US in 2014. This time, the company will include over three times the names and expand its package varieties in an attempt to increase sales volume primarily from Millennials.
Category: Chapter 7 – Product Strategy and New Product Development

Starbucks’ “Race Together” Campaign is Pulled Following Harsh Criticism
Starbucks is launching a new campaign that has generated much controversy. “Race Together” is meant to spur conversation about race relations in the US between baristas and consumers. Many worry that racial relations in the U.S. is too big of a topic for the company to embrace, yet CEO Howard Schultz stands firm behind his decision.

Kellogg’s Faces Marketing Challenges as Consumer Preferences for Breakfast Foods Evolve
Kellogg’s U.S. morning-foods net sales fell 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014—the division’s seventh consecutive quarterly decline. While this is partially explained by changing consumer trends, what does it say about the company’s marketing abilities?

Google’s Launch of YouTube Kids has Important Implications for Advertisers and the YouTube Brand
Google is launching its YouTube Kids Android app on Monday, February 23rd. The easy-to-navigate app will show only approved content. While this may present good opportunities for advertisers to reach children, companies will have to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Nurturing Customer Value: Investments in Content and Marketing for Amazon Prime Mean an Increase in Customers with a Tendency to Spend More
Amazon has increased its spending on the development of original content and the acquisition of exclusive content for Amazon Prime. Increased advertising as well has led to significant growth in memberships to the service which boasts a user base that spends on average more than double the amount than non-Prime users spend annually within Amazon. Customers of the service are potentially stickier to the brand as well as they expand the range of services they use that are provided by the organization.
Removing the “Veto Vote”: Considerations for Marketing to Groups
For marketers in the hospitality industry the “veto vote” can serve as a significant challenge as groups of consumers make decisions based on their fit with the needs of every group member.
College Football’s New Playoff System: Fan’s Celebrate and Sponsors Buy In
The new playoff system makes fans happier while increasing the number of marketing opportunities for brands; the initial TV ratings and sponsorship dollars coming in show that it’s working.
Bringing Old Products Back from the Dead
Nostalgia can be a very powerful force capable of driving different types of behavior. For marketers, being able to identify what products or elements consumers are nostalgic for (or in some cases consumers never really […]
Walmart’s Market Research and Marketing Communications Strategy for Kids this Holiday Season: Ask the Kids what They Want and Let the Parents Know
Retailers these days are able to leverage massive amounts of data from Point of Sale systems, ecommerce websites and the analytics they use to track consumers while on those sites as well as customer loyalty […]
Nordstrom’s Adoption of Like2Buy Provides a Unique Path for the Retailer to Translate a Significant Component of its Social Media Investment into Sales
An interesting article in Forbes discusses Nordstrom’s choice to be the first company to take advantage of a new service called Like2Buy with the goal of enabling the company to maximize the value of its […]