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How companies create and take advantage of viral TikTok trends

Sep 1, 2022
Companies pay influencers to use their products on TikTok, hoping that the videos will go viral and drive purchases.
Companies pay influencers on TikTok to promote their products in videos.
Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

How advertisers approached inflation in the 1970s, and how they approach it today

Jul 27, 2022
When inflation raged decades ago, some marketers saw it as an opportunity. Now, the money-saving pitch is more subtle.
"Stagflation" plagued the economy of the late 1970s and early '80s. Some marketers saw it as an opportunity to pitch brands as pocketbook friendly. Above, New York's Times Square in 1979.
Frances M. Ginter/Getty Images

It's hard to keep costs down at the supermarket, thanks to store design and our emotions

Jul 19, 2022
Grocery stores play on our sense of nostalgia with older music, and strategically placed items may trigger impulse buys, experts say.
Ever notice the nostalgic music playing in grocery stores? That's often intentional — putting customers in a good mood, which might encourage them to buy more.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

TikTok classes might be the next big thing in education

May 23, 2022
"One of the students in the class was making, you know, up to $6,000 to $7,000 a month from her TikTok videos," says Bloomberg report Claire Ballentine.
Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

What social media advertising tells us about inflation

Apr 26, 2022
Digital advertising suffers from supply chain and inflation issues too.
Social media companies' quarterly reports may fill us in on the supply chain and inflation issues the industry is dealing with.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

How supply chain issues and inflation have started to reshape advertising

Apr 15, 2022
What's the message for brands when the stuff they're selling is either not available or more expensive?
Some brands are shifting away from product-focused advertising as supply chain issues make it harder to get goods.
Getty Images

The marketing CEO trying to bridge the pay gap for Black influencers

Mar 17, 2022
Compensation in the influencer space is like the "wild, Wild West," says LaToya Shambo of Black Girl Digital. Her company wants to change that.
"I'm definitely seeing a lot of brands step up," says LaToya Shambo, CEO of Black Girl Digital.
Courtesy LaToya Shambo

For public good, not for profit.

Are there marketing opportunities in inflation?

Jan 7, 2022
One fast food business says rising grocery prices give it a reason to focus ads on cost.
Instead of shying away from the words "inflation" in the '70s, Campbell Soup chose to use it a corny ad campaign.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

How TikTok is becoming a powerful consumer marketing tool

Jul 16, 2021
The app can cause certain products to blow up overnight, Vox's internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings says.
Photo by Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

Hotels try to follow restaurants' lead and hook consumers on QR codes

May 6, 2021
Will the QR code stick around in the long run? Perhaps, if users find the information the codes deliver useful.
From marketing to menus, QR codes have gained traction since the beginning of the pandemic.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images