by | Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 8:54 am

Fasten Your Seatbelt for a New Southwest

Remember when finding your seat on Southwest Airlines resembled an Olympic sport? For more than 50 years, flying on Southwest meant something different. No assigned seats, free checked bags and a playful crew created a travel experience that felt more relaxed than other airlines. But recently the airline introduced major changes, including assigned seating and fees for checked bags. The reaction from customers has been mixed and it offers a fascinating lesson in services marketing.

Unlike physical products, services rely heavily on people and processes to create value. Airlines aren’t just selling transportation, they’re providing an experience that includes booking, boarding, interacting with employees and arriving smoothly at the destination. For decades, Southwest differentiated itself with a unique boarding process that allowed passengers to choose any available seat. That process became part of the brand’s identity.

Now the company is experimenting with assigned seating and tiered options such as standard, preferred and extra legroom seats. The aircraft haven’t changed, but the process has. Some travelers welcome the predictability, while loyal customers feel the airline has lost part of what made it special. This shift highlights a key challenge in customer experience management. As markets evolve, companies must adapt their service design to meet new expectations. At the same time, they must protect the elements that created loyalty in the first place. Southwest has historically excelled at empowering employees to create memorable interactions with passengers, which helped the airline rank highly in customer satisfaction for years.

The big question for marketers is whether changing a core service process strengthens or weakens the overall experience. When a company adjusts how customers interact with its service, even small operational changes can reshape how the brand is perceived. For students studying marketing, Southwest’s transformation reminds us that in service industries, the customer experience is the product.

Discussion Questions and Activities

  1. Why was open seating such an important part of the Southwest customer experience?
  2. How can changes to a service process affect brand perception and customer loyalty? Do you think assigned seating will attract new customers or alienate loyal ones? Why?
  3. What role do employees play in delivering a positive customer experience in service businesses?
  4. How should companies balance efficiency with maintaining a distinctive service experience?
  5. Watch and Analyze the Campaign. Students watch videos from the new Southwest advertising campaign explaining the seating changes. Ask them to identify how the company communicates the new process and attempts to reassure customers.
  6. Map the Customer Experience. In small groups, students create a customer journey map for a Southwest flight from booking to landing. They should identify the key “people” and “process” moments that shape the passenger experience.
  7. Service Redesign Challenge. Students select another service business (such as a restaurant, streaming service or ride-share platform) and propose one change to its service process that could improve the customer experience. They must explain how the change affects people, processes and customer satisfaction.

Sources: Goldstein, Michael (21 Feb 2026), Has Southwest Become Just Another Airline? Forbes; Peek, Sean and Hoffman, Amanda, (15 Jan 2026), Southwest Airlines: A Case Study in Great Customer Service, Business.com; Economy, Peter (6 Mar 2026) Southwest’s Reserved Seating Change Is a Powerful Lesson in Leadership and Adaptability.

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by | Monday, March 16, 2026 · 7:30 am

New Look New Life for Brands

Walk down any store aisle and you will see something fascinating happening. Products you think you know suddenly look different. New colors, new packaging, new messaging. That is not random. It is brand management in action.

Companies regularly refresh their brands to stay relevant with changing consumers. Consider how Procter & Gamble is rethinking packaging across brands like Olay and Tide. Their latest packaging innovations focus on accessibility and sustainability. One moisturizer jar now includes a tactile symbol on the lid so visually impaired consumers can identify the product by touch. Tide has also experimented with laser-marked packaging that removes traditional labels and adhesives, making bottles easier to recycle. These small design changes reflect a larger strategy. Packaging is part of the product experience.

Other brands are refreshing their visual identity to stand out on crowded shelves. Vitaminwater recently redesigned its bottles with brighter colors, a larger logo and playful messaging aimed at younger consumers. The goal is simple but powerful. When shoppers scan a shelf in seconds, bold packaging helps them instantly recognize the brand and flavor.

Sometimes a refresh signals a broader repositioning. Organic food company Nature’s Path updated its logo, photography and packaging layout to emphasize ingredients and make products easier to find in busy cereal aisles. Meanwhile, the energy drink brand Update relaunched with minimalist pastel cans and the influence of co-founder Kim Kardashian to appeal to younger wellness-focused consumers.

Packaging is not just a container. It communicates brand identity, attracts attention, and signals what the product stands for. A thoughtful refresh can help a familiar product feel new again without changing what customers already love.

Discussion Questions and Activities

  1. Why is packaging often considered a critical part of brand management and product strategy?
  2. How can a packaging refresh help a brand stay relevant with younger consumers? What risks might a company face when updating a well-known product’s packaging or design?
  3. How do sustainability and accessibility influence modern packaging decisions?
  4. When should a company refresh a brand versus completely reposition it?
  5. Brand Refresh Investigation. Students research recent brand refreshes using marketing and design websites such as Packaging Digest. Ask students to identify what changed and assess the strategy behind the changes.
  6. Shelf Test Challenge. Ask students to visit a grocery or convenience store and photograph three products that recently refreshed their packaging. Students should analyze what changed and why it might attract shoppers.
  7. Redesign the Package. In small groups, students select an existing snack or beverage brand and sketch a new package design aimed at Gen Z consumers. Each group explains how their design improves brand recognition and communicates the product’s value.

Sources: Barkho, Gabriela (5 Mar 2026), Kim Kardashian’s Update is the latest brand to give energy drinks a refresh with women in mind, Modern Retail; Nudd, Tim (27 May 2025), Vitaminwater’s packaging overhaul features larger logo and full-bleed labels, Ad Age; P&G Blog (27 Feb 2026), P&G Brands Recognized for Packaging That’s Accessible and Sustainable, Proctor and Gamble; Sosland, Zachary (6 Mar 2026), Nature’s Path Organic Foods is rebranding its packaging and logo in honor of the company’s 40th anniversary, Food Business News;

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by | Monday, March 9, 2026 · 7:26 am

Why Some New Products Blow Up and Others Flop

What do hype, luck and timing have to do with the success of new products? Every year, thousands of new products hit the market and many disappear just as quickly. Some estimates suggest up to half of new products have failed. Yet every so often, a launch captures attention instantly.

Part of the answer is strategy. Successful launches often build anticipation long before the product is available. Consider Rhode’s viral lip phone case. Founder Hailey Bieber subtly teased the product on social media for months, allowing curiosity to grow organically. By the time the case officially launched, more than 200,000 people had already joined the waitlist. By creating hype, Bieber created a conversation, not just a product.

Other brands rely on partnerships and cultural moments. New Balance collaborated with baseball stars Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor to create a new cleat and apparel collection timed around the excitement of baseball season. By connecting the product to athletes’ identities and fan communities, the brand turned equipment into storytelling.

Innovation can also come from surprising places. Some famous products were born from mistakes or constraints such as snack foods developed from leftover ingredients or everyday problems that sparked new ideas. Marketers sometimes call this “planned serendipity” and develop winning products by creating conditions where unexpected insights can become opportunities.

The lesson for marketing students is clear. A successful launch rarely happens by accident. It blends creativity, timing, cultural relevance and a deep understanding of the audience. But even with strong research and strategy, uncertainty always remains. The smartest marketers prepare carefully and leave just enough room for luck. The next breakthrough product might start with a complaint, a collaboration or even a simple idea that suddenly feels obvious to everyone.

Discussion Questions and Activities

  1. Why do you think anticipation and teasing strategies are so effective for new product launches? How do partnerships with celebrities, influencers, or athletes change consumer perception of a product?
  2. In what ways can mistakes or unexpected discoveries lead to successful innovations?
  3. Is luck truly part of marketing success, or does good strategy simply make luck more likely?
  4. Launch Detective. Have students research a recent product launch and analyze the marketing strategy behind it. Students can start by browsing new product coverage on sites like CNN-underscored. Ask them to identify, target audience, marketing channels used, influencers or partnerships involved, evidence of hype or anticipation.
  5. Fix the Failed Product. Provide students with examples of failed products (e.g., Google Glass, New Coke, etc.). In small groups, students redesign the launch strategy including pricing, positioning, messaging or timing to see if they could improve the outcome.
  6. Accidental Innovation Challenge. Ask students to list everyday frustrations they experience on campus, at work, or at home. Then have them brainstorm a product idea that could solve one of those problems. Each group pitches their concept and explains how they would launch it to students.

Sources: Atland, Rikka, Saguin, Jacqueline, Matarazzo (6 Mar 2026), Our favorite product releases this week: Ikea, Le Creuset, New Balance and more, CNN Underscored; Nairn, Andy (15 Jul 2021), 7 ways to improve your new product development success rate, Ad Age; Weissman, Luna (13 Feb 2026) 5 Brands that Nailed New Product Launches, Launchmetrics.

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