Nike shows support for mothers in this recent video. In time for Mother’s Day. This video offers can be integrated into and foster discussion on many different topics including:
Many companies are seeking ways to lower their carbon footprint. Some, just because they want to do the right thing. Others because they want to build a better reputation with millennials. Some for both reasons. Here are a couple of short articles from Fast Company, that provide some good examples you might use in your class.
The title of the first one gives the top level overview, “Coke’s newest bottle is made from paper“. Consumer throw away millions of plastic Coke bottles every year. Is this a practical and environmentally friendly solution?
As you probably know, eating a more plant based diet might not be healthier just for you — but also for the planet. So a company like Sweetgreen (a restaurant chain focused on salads) is already ahead of the game. It is leaning into that with other efforts to lower its emissions. Read more in “How Sweetgreen plans to cut its carbon footprint in half in the next 6 years.”
As regular readers of this blog know, the recently published 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing includes several examples each chapter of companies, brands, or practices that demonstrate “Marketing for a Better World” (#M4BW). Marketing managers are not always looking to do the right thing for society — but many are finding ways to increase profits and make for a better world. This article “Supply Chains as a Game-Changer in the Fight Against Climate Change” (BCG, January 26, 2021) includes lots of practical advice you might share with your students.
I always enjoy Fast Company‘s innovation issues. This year’s “World Changing Idea Awards honor the businesses and organizations driving change in the world.” There is always an emphasis on new products and services that make the world a better place — a natural connection to our Marketing for a Better World (#M4BW) theme in the most recent edition of Essentials of Marketing. Winners included:
These examples can be used across a number of chapters — but may relate most closely to Chapter 8 (goods and services) and Chapter 9 (new product development). The video below (first 2:20) features a few of these companies and might be shown in class.
OK, life gives you lemons (or worse, far worse, a pandemic), how do you make lemonade. Because the pandemic is everywhere these days, we might use this current event to get students to think about the impact on various types of business. You might ask your students questions like…
Many of their answers can be tied back to consumer behavior changing. This gives them the opportunity to see how understanding customers influences business. For more interesting examples you might share with your students, consider these articles: “Puzzles, hair dye, yeast: Companies thriving during COVID-19,” and “Early department stores were incredibly innovative. What happened?” to find less obvious examples.
Again, more examples from successful and less successful companies. See these articles about advertising “We have hit peak pandemic advertising, and now they’re just annoying,” and “Brands With Strong Twitter Personalities Stay the Course During Covid-19” (you may need to sign up to access that last one — you can get three free articles a month after signing up).