UPS STRIKE AVERTED (PENDING RATIFICATION)
Key Point: It appears UPS workers will not be going on strike after the current contract expires this month. The company and the union reached a “tentative” negotiated agreement. Union members must vote for ratification before the new contract becomes final.
Pay rates were high on the list of union requests. The new contract will boost income for both full- and part-time workers. Other new benefits include the end of mandatory overtime work and air-conditioning in delivery vehicles.
It’s tempting to want to go ahead and celebrate the avoidance of what would’ve been the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history and the billions of dollars it would’ve cost businesses, but ratification isn’t always the outcome of a membership vote. That said, announcements from UPS and the union do sound positive.
THE TWITTER BLUE BIRD HAS FLOWN
Key Point: Twitter’s little blue bird was replaced by a single letter ‘X’ on the desktop platform, but is still prominent on mobile. It may be an excellent time to get a screenshot of the logo for posterity, though. Chances are high it won’t remain long on mobile either. Elon Musk warned, “Soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” That certainly sounds like a foreshadowing of changes yet to come.
The single blue bird Twitter logo came to life in 2012 and gained global recognition for the brand. It will be missed by many. For a rather humorous blast from the past, take a look at Twitter’s first logo in 2005. And what about that X? It does seem a whole lot less exciting than the bird.
Will Musk’s shenanigans eventually prove him a marketing genius, or is Twitter doomed to fail? One thing is for sure, the company is changing. And as for the logo that took the place of the bird? Musk says it is an “interim X logo.” Expect that to change, too.
SUBWAY WAS STRUGGLING: HERE’S WHAT IT HAD TO CHANGE
Key Point: What do you do when you’re getting ready to sell a house? Make it shine, of course. And that’s exactly what the largest restaurant chain in the United States is up to. Subway announced this year that it is officially up for sale.
This article provides actionable insight for marketing practitioners by giving us an overview of Subway’s attempts to turn the ship around through fundamental marketing tactics. What it doesn’t do, though, is tell us how Subway lost its edge to competitors in the first place and why the problem wasn’t better addressed sooner. That, by the way, could be the basis of an excellent group discussion.
WHERE ANHEUSER-BUSCH WENT WRONG AND HOW WE CAN DO BETTER
Key Point: Bud Light topped the national beer sales charts for decades, but it took the company just one week to lose that treasured status. Here’s the formula Budweiser used to secure brand devaluation: Run ads that will infuriate your core audience.
The problem arose from Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a transvestite TikTok star. Bud’s conservative-leaning beer drinkers didn’t appreciate the video promos of Mulvaney showing off the special design Budweiser created to commemorate “365 days of womanhood.” Then came calls for a Bud Light boycott and declining sales. Bud Light quickly lost top billing on the best-selling beers list.
Get a deeper look at the ongoing saga, then consider following the story to watch one of America’s top brands operate under pressure. Bud Light may be banking on the consumer weather turning much nicer once the storm passes — and the controversy ending up helping the brand. Only time will tell that story, but right now, many Bud Light drinkers are voting with their wallets and switching to Modelo Especial, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or another Bud Light competitor. Bud Light’s team needs to rally and stop the bleeding.
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