By and large, the pandemic has hit small businesses the hardest. In the alcohol industry, that’s evidenced by the closures of breweries and craft distilleries around the country and the risk of many more shuttered businesses by 2021. In Texas, for example, two-thirds of the Texas Craft Brewers’ Guild say they’re not sure they can…
When the nation was forced into lockdown in March, the pet industry continued to serve its communities. As loneliness sparked new companionships and adoption rates rose, retailers like Petco were challenged to safely engage with new customers–both in-store and virtually. From the beginning of the pandemic to the dog days of summer, Petco has been…
It’s safe to say that no business plan could prepare a company for 2020. But in spite of a pandemic that turned much of the prevailing wisdom on its head, spirits startup YaVe Tequila and seltzer brand Ugly Drinks have found ways to change on the fly and meet consumers where they are now–at home,…
Most people don’t associate sunscreen with excitement–it’s typically seen as unsexy, feels heavy on the skin and carries about the same instant gratification as taking a daily multivitamin. Through bright graphics, appealing packaging and an engaging social media presence, Supergoop! wants to redefine the suncare category by creating products that people actually care about. “You…
When George Washington was president, he may well have enjoyed a scone baked with King Arthur Flour. A couple hundred years later, and after a decade of discussions, the company finally decided to move forward with a rebrand–dropping “flour” from its name. Most rebranding efforts hope to inspire renewed interest and relevance. That wasn’t King…
Ironically, the ads for products we buy to clean up or prevent messes often have a noticeably sanitized quality about them. Some, like Charmin, rely on humor and euphemisms to relay its messaging without getting into the dirty details. Bounty’s ads have long taken place in glaringly white kitchens in the suburbs. Pad and tampon…
The famously chill Snoop Dogg doesn’t walk. He saunters. And he doesn’t check his watch. His only appointment is with a beach chair. “Have you ever seen a man in a hurry, while also drinking a Corona?” asks the hip-hop icon as he settles into an ocean-front seat in a tropical paradise. “No, you have…
The Clorox Company is no stranger to hiring influencers to better connect with shoppers. The CPG manufacturer isn’t afraid to experiment with atypical marketing strategies, either, such as when it created a mysterious musical artist known as CLRX, who attracted fans on social media with her debut single “So Clean.” While few brands have been…
Despite its home in the freezer aisle–and its ice cream center– Russell Barnett, the managing director and CMO of My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream, sees the product not as a dessert, but a snack. “A snack that happens to be frozen,” joked Barnett. Barnett dove deep into all the ways My/Mo Mochi is taking the niche,…
After decades of decline in demand for fish in a can, restaurant closures and shelter-in-place orders during the pandemic have helped reverse this trend. As an inexpensive source of shelf-stable protein, canned tuna is now a much-desired commodity. When panic buying reached its peak during the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the Bumble Bee Seafood…
Bud Light Seltzer is hiring for a new position on its marketing team–the brand’s first chief meme officer. While the brand already has a perfect hard seltzer, according to the application, what it could use help with is creating memes. In fact, its memes are admittedly “trash.” So through Sept. 18, Bud Light Seltzer will…
Budweiser wants to take its relationship with Utah to a whole new level by giving it a customized beer can and becoming its official state beer. Budweiser released the design for the new can, which features iconic Utah landmarks like Arches National Park, the Great Salt Lake and the State Capitol building. Last year, Utah’s…
Diageo announced today that it will acquire Aviation American Gin and its parent company, Davos Brands, for up to $610 million. Ryan Reynolds will stay on as co-owner of Aviation and continue to lend his creative direction to the brand’s marketing strategy. The agreed-upon price tag includes an initial $335 million and further potential consideration…
In his first marketing campaign under Ferrara, part of The Ferrero Group, Ernie the Elf is here to spread the word about new and improved Keebler cookies. These changes involve introducing more quality ingredients into its products, such as more real chocolate in its Chips Deluxe offering and more Madagascar vanilla in its Pecan sandies….
1-800 Contacts has been selling contact lenses over the telephone since 1995, but it’s never received as many calls as it has since the Covid-19 outbreak began. At the outset of the coronavirus crisis, government orders to shelter in place meant fewer people were willing to venture far from home. Plus, with eye doctors largely…
Key Insight: The clean beauty brand is seeing skyrocketing scales aligning with increased consumer interest in sustainable products. Clean beauty brand Versed Skincare, which debuted exclusively in Target stores before embracing a DTC model, is launching a new Backup Plan acne control body mist with the help of three female athletes: WNBA’s L.A. Sparks power…
Beauty is one of the most popular categories on Pinterest, and the app is giving users more and more reasons to flock to it to try and buy products. The augmented reality Try On feature, added in January, allows users to see what a shade of makeup would look like on them in real-time. And…
In a bid to compete with retail giants like Amazon and Walmart, Kroger Ship, the brand’s home delivery arm, is launching an ecommerce site open to third-party sellers. The grocer is teaming up with marketplace platform Mirakl to offer a ship-to-home assortment of products beginning this fall. Kroger Ship launched a digital storefront in 2018,…
As brands continue to invest in virtual experiences to connect with fans during the pandemic, Anheuser-Busch (AB InBev) celebrated multiple brands through music, tours and mixology classes for its first digital festival. The brewing company hosted its first virtual International Beer Festival timed to International Beer Day on Aug. 7. The free three-hour event was…
Since 1926, Godiva Chocolatier has been selling premium chocolate at boutique shops. Now, nearly a century later, the company is looking to expand beyond affluent shoppers and special occasions, such as holidays and anniversaries, by making its goods more available to more people. “We’ve got huge long-term objectives to be this omnichannel brand that provides…
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