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About this “Contents Updates” Website for “Building and Managing Strong Brands”

August 3, 2026

Welcome to the “Contents Updates” blogsite for my Brand Management textbook on “Building and Managing Strong Brands” (Sage, 2026/27, First Edition). This is my personal blogsite; though Sage mentions this site on its book webpage and in other ways, Sage is not responsible for nor legally liable for the contents of these posts.

The goal of this blogsite is for me to share with textbook adopters updates and examples that did not make into the published book because of its publishing timeline. I’ve tried to keep this blogsite very simple: I’ll create new posts when I find material that updates or adds something new (like a new example or research finding) to what is in the 2026/27 book. Each post will also have the relevant book chapter (or section of a book chapter) in its title and as its “category” and/or “tag,” to help you find it or know where I think it might fit well.

Copyright Notice: Some of the Material (e.g., some graphics) included in these posts is copyrighted material. It is included here purely for nonprofit educational purposes (classroom teaching and discussion) by college instructors, to enhance their classroom discussion of cases, examples and topics already included in the textbook “Building and Managing Strong Brands” (Sage, 2026/27). This blog content is therefore protected by the “fair use” criteria (Section 107) of the Copyright Law of the United States, Title 17; see: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107. Any commercial re-use of this material for profit-making purposes is prohibited.

Each post has space in a box at the bottom for you to add comments or additional examples or tips if you wish to.  I may moderate these comments for space and style if needed.

Thank you for participating in this updating process! We all know that brand management and branding are changing rapidly around us, and we can help each other stay informed and current as we take our expertise and enthusiasm into our classrooms.

I also welcome your private comments, feedback and suggestions via email: rajeevba@umich.edu. This blogsite (WordPress) is new to me, so please give me some slack as I try to learn how to use it (and do send me a private email if you discover a problem or opportunity).

Thanks and I hope you enjoy reading and using this book!…Rajeev Batra

Posted in Comments and Updates about the Book Overall | Tagged | 1 Comment »

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Liquid Death (and Garage Beer) take on Data Centers — With Pee (Chapter 8)

August 26, 2026

Chapter 8 of the Book has a Case about Liquid Death and its strategy of coming up with timely events and stunts that get high WOM and often go viral. Here is another classroom-worthy example that it just came up with (August 18, 2026), reproduced from https://www.marketingdive.com/news/liquid-death-and-garage-beer-take-on-ai-data-centers-with-pee/827879 , written by Chris Kelly. [Note: Chapter 1 of the Book discusses Jason Kelce and his ‘Garage Beer’ brand in the section on personal branding.]

“A new battlefront has opened up in the war around artificial intelligence: Where will the massive data centers be built that are needed to run AI? A new collaboration between Liquid Death and Garage Beer seeks to address the need for data centers to consume up to 5 million gallons of water a day to cool their servers – albeit with marketing that employs a crude sense of humor.

AI technology has already been in the crosshairs for how it affects the spread of misinformation, alters the workforce and reshapes industries like advertising. For a majority of Americans, the question of where to build data centers is also a hot topic, and one many would answer: “Not in my backyard.” More than seven in 10 people opposed constructing AI data centers in their area, with nearly half strongly opposed, according to a Gallup poll.

Tapping into that opposition, Liquid Death and Garage Beer on Tuesday released a music video that opens with NFL legend and Garage Beer co-owner Jason Kelce relieving himself into a jar as he explains the AI data center cooling issue. In the 90-second clip (available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/r9OhekhlZ9Y ), Kelce then walks outside and is joined by Liquid Death’s Murder Man mascot and dozens of characters who carry containers of pee and sing a song with the chorus, “We want your pee, please give us your pee, let’s pee on computers, together, to save humanity.”

The video also promotes a “Coolant Collector” product and encourages consumers to send their pee to an AI data center of their choice. It will run, with paid support, on the brand’s social channels and on connected TV.”

Posted in Ch. 8: Strengthening Visual Identity and Brand Awareness | Leave a Comment »

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Batra and Keller Article on IMC if you want more content on it (Chapters 5, 7 and 8)

August 21, 2026

The book deliberately does not cover principles and techniques of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in detail since this topic is, in my judgment, peripheral rather than central to brand-building. The need for an IMC and “360-degree” perspective on brand-building tactics is mentioned and illustrated at several points in the book (e.g., Chapter 5, 7, etc.).

If you do want to read more about what IMC is and what some recent advances are about IMC, and possibly share this with your students, you might find this article (which appeared in the Journal of Marketing) to be of interest:

Batra, R.; Keller, K. L. (2016). “Integrating Marketing Communications: New Findings, New Lessons and New Ideas”. Journal of Marketing. 80 (6): 122–145. doi:10.1509/jm.15.0419.

A downloadable pdf copy of this article, for personal use only, can be found here:

bit.ly/3U1XU7F





Posted in Ch. 5: Tactics to Create Desired Brand Associations, Ch. 7: Strengthening Brands Using Digital Marketing and AI, Ch. 8: Strengthening Visual Identity and Brand Awareness | Leave a Comment »

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Increasing Brand Visibility in AI-assisted Google Search and AI-Search (SEO vs. AEO vs. GEO) (Chapter 7)

August 13, 2026



For many years, search visibility for a brand (e.g., in a Google Search) depended mainly on SEO: Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the practice of improving a website so that search engines such as Google can crawl it, understand it, rank it, and show it prominently in search results. Traditional SEO focuses on ranking webpages in the familiar list of search results—the “blue links.” Its core tools include keyword research, useful content, technical site health, mobile usability, page speed, internal links, backlinks, metadata, and clear site structure.

However, Google Search these days is moving to AI-assisted and summarized answers to queries using techniques called AEO, (Answer Assisted Optimization); and consumers are beginning to ask AI engines to do their brand searching and comparisons for them (called GEO, Generative Engine Optimization). AEO and GEO work differently than SEO, and below you will find descriptions of how they work, how they differ from one another, and how brand managers can increase their brand’s search visibility when AEO and GEO drive search results.

SEO still matters because AI-powered search systems often rely on pages that are already crawlable, trusted, and well organized. However, users increasingly ask full questions and expect direct answers rather than lists of links. Google’s AI Overviews, featured snippets, voice assistants, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot all reflect this shift from “find me a page” to “give me the answer.”

How are SEO, AEO and GEO different?

AEO: Answer Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring content so it can be selected as a direct answer to a user’s question. AEO is especially relevant for Google featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, voice search, and AI-generated answer panels. If SEO asks, “How do we rank this page?” AEO asks, “How do we make this page the clearest answer?” AEO favors content that is concise, question-based, easy to extract, and written in natural language.

GEO: Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of making brand content usable, trustworthy, and quotable by generative AI systems. Unlike AEO, where a search engine may extract one clear answer, GEO focuses on how AI systems retrieve, combine, summarize, and cite information from multiple sources. In a GEO environment, the brand may not simply “rank.” Instead, it may be mentioned, summarized, recommended, or cited inside an AI-generated response.

A simple distinction is:
• SEO helps users find your page.
• AEO helps your content become the answer.
• GEO helps AI systems use your content to generate answers.
They overlap, but their goals differ. SEO is about ranking and traffic. AEO is about direct-answer visibility. GEO is about being included, cited, and trusted in AI-generated summaries. In practice, brand managers need all three, but the newer challenge is that success is no longer measured only by clicks. It is also measured by mentions, citations, recommendations, and share of voice inside AI-generated answers.

How brand managers can increase their chances of appearing in Google AI-assisted answers and AI-search answers

As search becomes more AI-driven, brand managers should shift from a “keyword and ranking” mindset to a “trusted answer and trusted entity” mindset. The goal is to make brand content easy for both humans and machines to understand, extract, verify, and reuse.

1. Create answer-first content
AEO and GEO both reward clarity. Brand content should answer common customer questions directly, ideally near the top of the page or section. Instead of beginning with vague promotional language, start with a clear sentence that could stand alone in an AI answer. For example, rather than saying, “Our platform transforms how businesses engage customers,” a CRM brand might write: “A CRM platform helps businesses manage customer data, sales interactions, service requests, and marketing communications in one system.” Brand managers should use customer questions as headings, such as:

  • “What is the best CRM for small businesses?”
  • “How does this product compare with competitors?”
  • “Who is this product best suited for?”
  • “What are the main benefits of this service?”
    Each question should be followed by a concise answer, then supporting detail.

2. Use structured, scannable formatting
AI systems work best with content that is logically organized. Brand managers should use clear headings, short paragraphs, bullet points, tables, summaries, FAQs, and comparison charts. Dense blocks of prose are harder for both users and AI systems to interpret. Useful AEO/GEO formats include:

  • FAQ pages
  • How-to guides
  • Product comparison pages
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Glossaries
  • Pros-and-cons tables
  • Step-by-step tutorials
    Comparison content is especially valuable because many AI-search queries are evaluative: “best project management software for startups,” “HubSpot vs. Salesforce,” or “most sustainable athletic shoe brands.” Brands that provide clear, factual comparison content increase their chances of appearing in AI-assisted buying journeys.

3. Build authority through expertise, evidence, and trust signals (see Case 7.1 in the Book)
AI systems tend to prefer content that appears credible, consistent, and verifiable. Brand managers should strengthen E-E-A-T signals: experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
This means including:

  • Named authors or expert contributors
  • Author bios and credentials
  • Original research, first-party data, or customer insights
  • Citations to reputable sources
  • Clear publication and update dates
  • Case studies, testimonials, and real-world examples
    Generic AI-written content is less likely to perform well over time because it often lacks originality and trust. Strong GEO content gives AI systems something distinctive to use: proprietary data, expert quotes, benchmark reports, product documentation, customer examples, and well-supported claims.

4. Make the brand an identifiable entity
Generative AI systems rely heavily on entity understanding: who the brand is, what it does, what category it belongs to, and how it relates to other known concepts. Brand managers should use consistent names, descriptions, and positioning across their website, social profiles, business listings, press releases, product pages, and third-party platforms. The brand should be described consistently: same official name, same product category, same core value proposition, and same key facts. Inconsistent descriptions make it harder for AI systems to understand and confidently reference the brand. Brands should also strengthen visibility beyond their own websites. AI systems often draw from news articles, review sites, Reddit, YouTube, social platforms, directories, forums, and industry publications. Visibility across trusted external sources can reinforce authority.

5. Use schema markup and maintain technical quality
Traditional technical SEO still matters because AI systems need access to content before they can use it. Brand websites should be fast, mobile-friendly, crawlable, accessible, and technically clean. Pages should use structured data, or schema markup, where relevant. Useful schema types include:

  • Organization
  • Product
  • FAQ
  • HowTo
  • Review
  • Article
  • VideoObject
    Schema helps search engines and AI systems understand what a page is about, what questions it answers, and how the content is organized. Brand managers should also ensure that important content is not hidden behind excessive JavaScript, paywalls, or blocked crawlers. Clear internal linking, XML sitemaps, and proper page indexing remain important.

6. Keep content fresh and accurate
AI-assisted search often favors recent, accurate, and updated information, especially in fast-changing categories such as technology, finance, health, travel, and consumer products. Brand managers should regularly refresh key content with:

  • New product information
  • Updated pricing or feature tables
  • Current statistics
  • Recent customer examples
  • Revised competitor comparisons
  • New FAQs based on customer questions
    Freshness signals that the brand is actively maintaining its knowledge base, which can improve trust and usefulness for AI-generated answers.

7. Invest in content outside the corporate website
AI search is not limited to brand websites. User-generated content and third-party platforms can influence AI results. Reddit discussions, YouTube videos, review sites, forums, and social platforms often appear in or inform AI-generated responses because they provide conversational, experience-based information. Brand managers should therefore think in terms of Search Everywhere Optimization. The goal is to be visible wherever customers and AI systems look for information. This may include:

  • Helpful YouTube explainers and demos
  • Authentic customer reviews
  • Participation in relevant forums or communities
  • Expert commentary in industry media
  • Accurate listings on review and comparison sites
    The key is authenticity. AI systems and users are likely to distrust overly promotional or manipulative content. The better strategy is to create genuinely useful information and encourage real customer experiences to surface.

8. Measure AI visibility, not just rankings and clicks
In an AI-search world, a user may learn about a brand without clicking the brand’s website. Brand managers therefore need new metrics in addition to traditional SEO metrics. Useful measures include:

  • Mentions in Google AI Overviews
  • Citations in Perplexity or other AI-search tools
  • Brand mentions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot responses
  • Share of voice in AI-generated recommendations
  • Featured snippet ownership
  • Referral traffic from AI platforms
  • Accuracy and sentiment of AI-generated brand descriptions
    Brand managers should periodically test common customer questions across multiple AI platforms to see whether the brand appears, how it is described, whether competitors are favored, and whether the information is accurate.

9. Avoid common mistakes
The biggest mistake is treating AI search exactly like traditional SEO. Keyword stuffing, thin content, vague claims, and generic blog posts are less useful in AEO and GEO. Other mistakes include burying answers deep in a page, failing to cite sources, ignoring structured data, letting content go stale, blocking crawlers unintentionally, and publishing unverified AI-generated content.

The brands most likely to benefit from AI search will be those that are clear, credible, consistent, and useful across many platforms. In the new search environment, the goal is not only to rank. It is to become a trusted source that AI systems can confidently mention, quote, cite, and recommend.

Sources used to create this Summary Note:

1. Shanika Wickramasinghe, May 1, 2026, AEO vs GEO vs SEO: What’s the difference?, https://shanikaw.medium.com/aeo-vs-geo-vs-seo-whats-the-difference-f720c256d93b
2. Nicai de Guzman, Nov 12, 2025, Search Everywhere Optimization: What Is SEO, GEO, and AEO?, https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-is-seo-geo-and-aeo?
3. Sara Karlovitch, Aug. 7, 2026, Behind Reddit and YouTube’s roles in AI visibility, https://www.marketingdive.com/news/behind-reddit-and-youtubes-roles-in-ai-visibility/827313/


Posted in Ch. 7: Strengthening Brands Using Digital Marketing and AI, Comments and Updates about the Book Overall | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Burger King Sales Improvements After “Real” Product Improvements (Chapter 15)

August 6, 2026

Chapter 15 — Managing Brands Over Time — says unequivocally that brands, to stay strong over time, have to not only refresh and update their visual identity (etc.) but to also continously improve their ‘real’ product/service quality. Burger King’s 2026 example is a good one; below are extracts from an August 6, 2026 report on CNBC.COM (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/06/restaurant-brands-international-q2-2026-earnings.html) and a WSJ article on 7 August 2026 (https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/burger-kings-new-whopper-strikes-a-blow-in-fast-food-burger-wars-3e4a47b5).

Restaurant Brands International on Thursday 6Aug2026 reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ expectations, fueled by strong growth for the once-struggling Burger King, both domestically and abroad. “Burger King’s performance is a great example of what’s possible when you invest in the fundamentals and execute well – an approach we’re applying across all of our brands,” Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza said in a statement. Restaurant Brands reported second-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $507 million, or $1.45 per share, up from $189 million, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier. Net revenue rose 4.5% to $2.52 billion.

Burger King, owned by Restaurant Brands International, earlier this year improved the bun, box, mayo and other elements of its Whopper. The company in July said it would start guaranteeing the quality of its Whoppers, committing to remake orders on the spot if customers deem them unsatisfactory, and providing a future Whopper for free. Burger King executives said Thursday that work to revamp its signature burger earlier this year helped deliver an 8.5% increase in domestic U.S. same-store sales for the three months ended June 30. “A lot of people are saying they’re coming back for the first time in a long time,” said Tom Curtis, president of the chain’s U.S. and Canada business, in an interview. Restaurant renovations, sharper marketing, and a focus on core menu items like the Whopper have helped Burger King steal market share.

(This image below is taken from the WSJ article cited above.)

“A lot of people are saying they’re coming back for the first time in a long time,” said Tom Curtis, president of the chain’s U.S. and Canada business, in an interview. Curtis said that the Whopper upgrades were working, and the chain now needs to focus on hospitality. The U.S. Burger King chief said he was still taking direct calls from customers on his phone several days a week, and friendly service comes up as one of the top issues.

Rival McDonald’s reported U.S. same-store sales growth of just 0.8% in its second quarter, for comparison. Executives said that they were disappointed by the performance, and McDonald’s tapped a new U.S. president to help accelerate its sales. McDonald’s is working to upgrade its own menu, step up customer service and develop new store prototypes. The chain is testing new hand-breaded chicken offerings and a line of brightly-colored beverages, including new drinks that include Red Bull. “We’ve got to elevate the taste and quality of the food,” said McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski on an investor call this week. “We’re going to elevate the experience that we’re offering our customers.”

Burger chains have been working to elevate their signature sandwiches, with both McDonald’s and Burger King staging overhauls in recent years. McDonald’s in 2023 debuted a renovation of its Big Mac and other core burgers in the U.S., promising hotter and juicier sandwiches.

Still, executives said that there is more room for improvement for Burger King. Not all of its U.S. restaurants have been remodeled yet, and the chain has further plans to improve its menu after upgrading the Whopper earlier this year.

Burger King is also seeing strong results outside of the U.S. Restaurant Brands said international Burger King restaurants saw same-store sales growth of 5.4% during the quarter.

Posted in Ch. 15: Managing Brands Over Time | Leave a Comment »

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Unilever Deploying Influencers in the 2026 World Cup (Chapter 8: Influencers, Creators, Sports Marketing, Activation, Event Marketing)

August 6, 2026

Quoting from this (May 27, 2026) article: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/unilevers-creator-marketing-strategy-takes-center-stage-at-world-cup/821182/ :

Dive Brief: Unilever’s creator marketing strategy takes center stage at World Cup
Collaborations with creators across the globe and a 24/7 social content hub support the CPG’s largest sports partnership activation to date.

[Link has this picture: Mockup of Unilever brands in a retail setting —
Unilever’s House of Fresh experiences are designed to encourage social sharing around the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The spaces will appear in host cities Mexico City, New York and Miami. Courtesy of Unilever]

Unilever is kicking social-first marketing into high gear for the FIFA World Cup through its largest sports partnership activation to date, according to a press release. Led by the personal care category, a fleet of over 35 Unilever brands will collaborate with influencers and content creators across the company’s largest markets for the soccer tournament. A real-time social content hub called the Locker Room will appear on platforms like YouTube and TikTok to amplify buzzy World Cup moments.
In-person House of Fresh experiences, which have been designed to encourage social sharing, will also pop up in North American host cities Mexico City, New York and Miami. The campaign sees Unilever, an official World Cup sponsor, continuing to focus on social-first storytelling to connect with modern audiences.

Dive Insight:
Unilever’s pledge to shift half of its digital marketing budget to social-first tactics generated a lot of chatter last year. The 2026 World Cup will be a major test of how effective the approach can be on one of the most closely watched global stages for sports, which is experiencing a surge in sponsorship activity ahead of kickoff on June 11. The World Cup is also emerging as a rare unifying moment for brands in a period otherwise marked by intense conflict and economic uncertainty, though some of those factors are affecting interest in attending the event.

“Our ambition is for our brands to show up in spaces where fandom lives and in ways that are authentic, native to social, and meaningful by bringing freshness and confidence to matchday moments that matter most for fans, players and spectators,” said Afke van de Klashorst, vice president of integrated brand experience at Unilever Personal Care, in a statement. “This activation reflects how we’re engaging with sport not just as sponsorship, but as a platform to build brand desire and cultural relevance to drive superior growth.”

Detailing the company’s social-first pivot last March, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez discussed wanting an influencer in every ZIP code and municipality of major markets like Brazil and India. That mindset is present in the World Cup push, where dozens of the CPG’s brands will work with creators spanning sports fandom, sportscasters, athletes and fashion, lifestyle and beauty talent around the world. Dove, Dove Men+Care, Rexona, Degree, Axe and Lynx are some of the most visible personal care brands participating in the effort.

In addition, Unilever is establishing a 24/7 content hub, the Locker Room, which will be supported by a dedicated roster of creator partners and sports and soccer experts who can react to World Cup developments in real time and try to keep the CPG’s brands in the conversation. The overall aim of the campaign is to wed the communal and shareable aspects of social media “with the emotional reach of TV,” per the release.

“[We] will be using paid media to continually optimise our creator content to reach our audiences and extend content visibility throughout the tournament and beyond,” said Sarah Potter, influencer and media director at Unilever Personal Care, in emailed comments. “We will be amplifying content across a range of platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube.”

In the real world, experiential spaces bearing House of Fresh branding are purpose-built for user-generated content to further scale Unilever’s storytelling aims. Unilever’s spend on sports marketing in the U.S. roughly doubled between 2024 and last year, the company previously told Marketing Dive, with the World Cup another opportunity to pump up investment. The CPG sees engagement around the World Cup as indicative of the shift from one-to-many broadcast marketing to “many-to-many” marketing that can reach a more diverse set of consumers during different occasions than on linear channels.

The marketer is in the midst of a lengthy restructuring that has seen it spin off its food and ice cream businesses and retool executive leadership. Unilever’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleston Bracey departed earlier this year, with Leandro Barreto, former CMO of Unilever beauty and wellbeing, taking on the top marketing job.

Posted in Ch. 8: Strengthening Visual Identity and Brand Awareness | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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New Branding Architecture for Dell Laptops (Chapter 12)

August 6, 2026

[This below would make for an interesting in-class exercise/discussion: how might students re-do the new brand architecture that Dell is moving to, for its laptops?]

According to a PC World article in January 2025, https://www.pcworld.com/article/2567199/dell-drops-xps-inspiron-and-latitude-brands.html, Dell is changing its brand architecture for its laptops. Quoting:

Dell has spent decades creating its laptop sub-brands “XPS,” “Inspiron,” and “Latitude.” Starting in 2025, though, Dell laptops and desktops will just be… Dell. “There’s just one brand,” said executive Sam Burd. “Dell.”

The actual designs that Dell has been working on aren’t going away. So, for example, the XPS 13 that’s been a staple of high-end laptops for years isn’t being discontinued, and it isn’t even being replaced with a new model. It’s just that the 2025 version will be called the “Dell 13 Plus.” (Although there’s no direct 13-inch model equivalent available at launch. The 14-incher is the smallest in the non-superlative Dell line.)

Dell also isn’t doing away with the Alienware sub-brand, which it purchased in 2006. Alienware gaming models will, apparently, keep their specific names, such as “Area 51” and “Aurora.” Monitor names seem to be
unaffected, too, so the “UltraSharp” line will still exist.

On top of that, you’ll continue to see older designs sold under their original nomenclature while Dell clears out its existing lines — the XPS 13 and Inspiron 15 models from 2023 and 2024 will still be sold under those names for the time being.

Now, let’s break down Dell’s new and allegedly simpler branding. You’ll see three tiers of products overall going forward: Dell (no extras or superlatives), Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max.

The regular Dell tier is for standard consumers and students, “designed for play, school, and work.” This will encompass machines formerly labelled Inspiron or ones that had no specific branding even before this change. Dell Pro is “designed for professional-grade productivity.” (Weird that “work” was included in the previous tier and not here, but anyway…) This is where the Latitude line and similar products will end up. Meanwhile, Dell Pro Max is the absolute cream of the crop and will be the landing spot for Dell’s “maximum performance”.

Seems pretty straightforward, huh? Not so fast!

Under each tier, computers will also be split up into three more sub-categories.

Base is, well, the base model with no extras (though presumably it’ll still be customizable to some degree using Dell’s long-standing online ordering system). Plus is a step above that, for pre-configured machines that have a few extras like a better screen, RAM, CPU, storage, and maybe a discrete graphics card. Premium is the top-end model in each tier, presumably maxed out (or nearly so) in every configurable category.

If you remember your elementary school times tables, that’s nine different labels for Dell computers starting in 2025, from simply “Dell Base” (if these models will even be differentiated) all the way up to “Dell Pro Max Premium.” Which doesn’t even include the differentiator for a specific model. In other words, the pinnacle business-focused laptop that’s also packing the maximum power and capability would seemingly be the “Dell14 Pro Max Premium.” Hooray, it’s so simple.

Posted in Ch. 12: Brand Architecture | Leave a Comment »

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Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Says Brand Being ‘Destroyed’ by Magnum (Chapter 16)

August 6, 2026

Quoting from a Bloomberg article on June 11, 2026: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-11/ben-jerry-s-co-founder-says-brand-being-destroyed-by-magnum

“The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s said the ice cream brand’s new owner is in the “process of destroying” the Cherry Garcia maker’s future by stopping it from criticizing US President Donald Trump.

Ben Cohen, who started the brand in 1978 with Jerry Greenfield, is locked in a months-long fight with the Magnum Ice Cream Company over Ben & Jerry’s right to speak out on social issues. Muzzling a brand known for its progressive stance on social justice issues is hypocritical and will damage the brand, perhaps irrevocably, according to Cohen.

“Trumpism is essentially the biggest attack on the values of Ben & Jerry’s since the company was founded and Magnum has said you cannot criticize Trump,” Cohen said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Zero podcast. “Put simply, the very values-led business structure that’s made Ben & Jerry’s into the brand it is today is precisely the thing that Magnum is in the process of destroying.”

Magnum (the new ice cream company spun off from Unilever when it divested all its ice cream businesses in 2025) says Ben & Jerry’s continues to be a “bold voice for social justice” under its ownership. The brand has recently “spoken out on ICE, on the conflict in Iran, on freedom of speech, on migrant and refugee justice, in defense of democratic processes, and in support of No Kings Day in the US,” a Magnum spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Posted in Ch. 16: The Future of Brands and Branding | Leave a Comment »

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Updated Graphics (eMarketer) on Consumer Use of Different Media (Chapter 7 and 8)

August 6, 2026

Posted in Ch. 7: Strengthening Brands Using Digital Marketing and AI, Ch. 8: Strengthening Visual Identity and Brand Awareness | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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Cracker Barrel Updates (Chapter 15)

August 5, 2026

[This recent Cracker Barrel example works well in Chapter 15, to show that while brands need to change to keep up with trends, they need to be careful to do so in ways that do not abandon their loved “brand equities” and therefore alienate their loyal consumers.]

Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Messino announced in late July 2026 that she is going to be stepping down on August 10, 2026 (but remain in an advisory capacity until October 2026), to be replaced by David Deno, former CEO of Quizno’s — see this URL: https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/cracker-barrel-ceo-julie-masino-step-down. There is also this relevant WSJ article from June 10, 2026: https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/how-cracker-barrels-ceo-saved-her-job-by-abandoning-her-own-strategy-8ce653a4, and this one from August 13, 2026: https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/cracker-barrel-new-ceo-change-6cbef50b.

Here are some stats/facts from these linked articles about how Cracker Barrel has being doing after the logo/facilities/menu changes made in Summer 2025, followed by the roll-back of those changes after the firestorm they kicked off :

Masino’s 2026 departure follows an attempt to rebrand Cracker Barrel that sparked controversy last (2025) summer. Massino was hired (from Taco Bell) in 2023 with a mandate for change. The chain had been struggling for years with declining traffic and an aging clientele, and Masino gave herself three years to implement a turnaround strategy. The goal was to modernize its stores, menu and design to help bring new customers to the vintage chain. The company had seen some promising results from food updates and marketing tie-ins when, as part of a fall marketing campaign in 2025, it unveiled a new, simplified logo.

The logo changes in 2025 included the removal of the “old timer” character/symbol, to simplify and modernize it [see logos inserted below], as well as adjustments to the interior layout of the restaurants that have long included a general store. The rebrand was part of a $700 million overhaul across the company’s 660-plus restaurants, which also included a revamped menu and decluttered dining rooms.


Old Logo versus new (now abandoned) logo:


But when launched more widely, the redesign plunged Cracker Barrel into a culture warfueled battle, with critics accusing it of shunning its heritage—and loyal diners. Some of the online pushback was ginned up by bots. “Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” Trump wrote on social media last August as the backlash reached a boiling point.

Cracker Barrel reversed course on the rebranding push less than a week after the backlash began, with Masino saying that the effort missed the mark and came out of an effort to improve the guest experience at its locations….Masino survived by unceremoniously casting aside her original plans in the wake of a customer and social-media revolt and focusing back on the brand’s core customers, a maneuver many CEOs struggle to pull off.

She cut ties with the marketing firm behind the chain’s rebranding campaign and revamped the company’s leadership structure, bringing back a former vice president for menu strategy and elevating a veteran field operator to oversee store operations. Cracker Barrel in late August 2025 said it would return to its previous logo featuring its “Old Timer” icon and barrel. In the company’s kitchens, workers returned to traditional kettle cooking for sides like green beans and stopped freezing its biscuits in batches. It brought back proven sellers like campfire meals and ham dinners. Cracker Barrel asked customers to give feedback and promised to keep refining its offerings in response. In early September 2025, it suspended its restaurant redesign test.

Masino told investors in June 2026 that her new strategy to bring the family-dining chain back from huge losses in sales, profits and the number of guests coming through its doors was working. She said that loyal customers have come back as the company refocused on dishing up its most die-hard fans’ favorite foods, deals and nostalgia. “The food is even more delicious, is made the way that they remember and the service is going to be out of this world,” Masino said. One particular bright spot: merchandise commemorating the 250th birthday of America and other heritage items that flew off Cracker Barrel store shelves faster than expected, including U.S. Constitution T-shirts, flag pillows and patriotic smock dresses. The return of nostalgic favorites, like campfire meals and ham dinners, are helping to woo back guests, too, the company said.

The chart above (source: WSJ article of August 13, 2026 cited above) shows the changes in comporable-store sales over this 2024-2026 period, which naturally had an effect on earnings and the stock price. Despite the roll-back of the changes, the company’s shares slid by more than a third by fall 2025 from its late-July 2025 high. Cracker Barrel’s stock is down a little over 20% (in July 2026) compared with this time a year ago, before the rebranding controversy drove its stock below $30 a share. However, it has risen about 89% since the start of 2026.

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