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How to name your AI so humans will like it

Sep 20, 2023
A human name, like Anthropic's Claude? A helpful assistant, like Microsoft's Copilot? Nailing the right name for generative AI is a tricky branding exercise.
Ken Jennings, left, and Brad Rutter compete against IBM's AI computer, Watson, in a game of "Jeopardy." IBM's team also considered naming the computer Sherlock.
Ben Hider/Getty Images

How brands like Birkenstock and Victoria's Secret stage a comeback

May 2, 2023
It takes more than trends and nostalgia to become popular a second or third time around. It can take years of hard work.
"How can we not sell, you know, mastectomy or maternity bras?" says Sarah Sylvester, executive vice president of marketing at Victoria's Secret. "Like, why would we turn any woman away for anything that she needs if we’re supposed to be the leader in bras?" Above, an underwear display from 2021.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Can "milk core" get Gen Z to drink its liquid dairy?

Apr 13, 2023
Kim Severson of the New York Times explains how Big Milk is trying to persuade a generation of almond and oat milk-drinkers to switch.
The "Got Milk?" ad campaign was a big hit in the 1990s and 2000s.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Why are boutiques and coffee shops selling the same olive oil and tinned fish?

Feb 2, 2023
Those pantry brands aren't as small as consumers think, says writer Emily Sundberg. Wholesaler Faire is "the Oz behind the curtain."
If you've noticed boutiques or coffee shops offering a selection of artisanal pantry basics, there's a chance they're all being purchased from the same wholesale marketplace.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Liquid Death is an “entertainment machine” with a water brand attached

Jan 25, 2023
“We think about our marketing team more like 'Saturday Night Live,'” says Mike Cessario, the beverage startup’s co-founder and CEO.
“Anybody can put water in a can,” said Mike Cessario, CEO of beverage startup Liquid Death. “But that's not why we're successful.” Above, Cessario at Liquid Death’s headquarters.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

A professor’s "antithesis" to self-aggrandizing personal websites

Sep 22, 2022
“It's meant to illustrate the vanity of human pretensions,” says Karl Aquino of the University of British Columbia.
A screenshot from the homepage of Karl Aquino’s “official, unofficial” website. Aquino teaches organizations and society at the University of British Columbia.
Screenshot courtesy Aquino

The strategy behind sonic logos, like Netflix’s startup chime

Jan 3, 2022
Sound has a "powerful ability to prime your brain for what's coming,” said Dallas Taylor, host of a podcast about sound.
Brief sounds like Netflix’s startup chime can be powerful branding tools, said podcast host and sound designer Dallas Taylor. The design of that sound involved a ring finger hitting a cabinet and a reversed guitar track.
Mario Tama via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Dollar Tree raises prices

Sep 30, 2021
A look at what happens when inflation and supply chain problems outrun your business model.
A Dollar Tree store is seen in 2014 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The color of the year is a "corporate" shade

Dec 26, 2019
Pantone has given its color of the year, "Classic Blue," its own soundtrack, tea and gin cocktail.
Pantone's Color of the Year for 2020 is classic blue.
Courtesy of Pantone

What $130 billion company Salesforce actually does

Sep 10, 2019
Megan Graham wrote about Salesforce's attempt to clarify its work for CNBC.
One Salesforce ad shows how the company can help an online shoe retailer make a sale through data it has on customer tastes. Above, shoe fashion in 1960.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images