by | Monday, March 2, 2026 · 7:05 am

Cold, Custom, and Craving Attention: How Dutch Bros Wins Gen Z

When you think “coffee chain,” you might picture steaming lattes and cozy cafés. But Dutch Bros is flipping that script, and Gen Z is here for it. While giants like Starbucks and Dunkin’ still dominate overall market share, Dutch Bros has carved out a bold position by understanding and segmenting its audience with precision.

Gen Z doesn’t just like cold drinks; they identify with them. Studies from the National Coffee Association show that younger consumers are the most frequent iced and specialty beverage drinkers. Dutch Bros doubles down on that preference: roughly 90% of its drinks are served cold, colorful, and highly customizable. And customization is a positioning strategy, not a special order or afterthought for customers. By offering 40 plus flavors, boba add-ons, protein coffee innovations, and energy-drink mashups, Dutch Bros differentiates itself as the place where your drink is truly yours.

While competitors like McDonald’s see the trend and are is ramping up crafted cold beverages, Dutch Bros has built an identity around flavor play, social media energy, and loyalty-driven repeat visits. At the same time, its expansion into at-home products positions the brand in new retail segments and increases touchpoints beyond the drive-through.

This is segmentation and product positioning in action: understand your niche, own it, and build offerings that reinforce your identity at every turn.

Discussion Questions and Activities

  1. How does Dutch Bros use product customization to differentiate itself from competitors?
  2. Which Gen Z behaviors drive Dutch Bros’ product and marketing strategy? What risks come with expanding both physical stores and at-home retail products?
  3. How does brand positioning differ between Dutch Bros, McDonald’s and Starbucks?
  4. Why might cold beverages be more culturally appealing to Gen Z?
  5. Online Trend Hunt: Analyze current beverage trends using Google Trends and identify three rising flavor or drink styles. Link: https://trends.google.com
  6. Segmentation Breakdown. Create a profile for Gen Z beverage consumers using the four bases of segmentation including demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral.
  7. Positioning Map: Plot Dutch Bros, Starbucks, Dunkin’, and McDonald’s and others on a perceptual map (e.g., customization vs. convenience).

Sources: Haddon, Heather (1 Mar 2026), The Third-Largest Coffee Chain in the U.S. Actually Sells Very Little Hot Coffee, Wall Street Journal; Nooranne, Sajil (2 Feb 2026), Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS) Positioned for Continued Same-Store Sales Momentum, Insider Monkey; Ericksen, Anne Baye (2 Feb 2026) Gen Z Drives the Cold Coffee Craze, C-Store Decisions.

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by | Monday, February 23, 2026 · 4:56 pm

Nostalgia Economy

Have you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through “2016 vibes” edits on TikTok or feeling strangely emotional when you walk past a Build-A-Bear store? If so, congratulations! You’ve already participated in the nostalgia economy, one of the most powerful trends shaping marketing today. Marketers have long used nostalgia as a storytelling tool, but three recent trends show it’s becoming a full-blown strategy driven by data, culture, and economics.

First, brands like Build-A-Bear are rewriting the playbook. Nearly 30 years old, the company is now at record profitability, not by chasing kids, but by embracing you. Adults and teens are now a major part of their customer base, drawn in by sentimental memories and an experience that feels “safe” and hands-on compared to online shopping. This is nostalgia powered by experiential marketing, and it’s working.

But nostalgia isn’t just about reliving childhood fun. Gen Z’s obsession with “2016 vibes” is, at its core, a response to economic pressure and a more commercialized internet. When young adults say they miss 2016, they’re really missing a world that felt cheaper, freer, and less optimized for profit. In other words, nostalgia becomes a protest, and marketers who understand that emotional context can better interpret consumer behavior.

Finally, nostalgia is becoming intergenerational – driven by Millennial parents and Gen Alpha kids consuming media together. Brands are tapping into family nostalgia pipelines through school partnerships, retro product releases, and purpose-driven campaigns to cultivate loyalty that spans decades. In a world overloaded with data, nostalgia offers marketers something rare: a deeply emotional insight into why people buy, not just what they buy.

Discussion Questions and Activities

  1. Watch and discuss the Wall Street Journal’s video, How Build-A-Bear Found Success in the Nostalgia Economy. Why do you think nostalgia is especially powerful for Gen Z compared to other generations? In what ways can nostalgia be misused or lead to inaccurate conclusions in marketing research? Should brands actively encourage “kidulting,” or does it risk alienating younger consumers?
  2. How does the “2016 vibes” trend reveal insights that traditional surveys or focus groups might miss?
  3. How could data analytics help marketers predict future nostalgia trends?
  4. Trend Data Dive (Online Activity). Students analyze real-time nostalgia trends using TikTok Creative Center’s keyword analytics. Students search terms like “2016,” “aesthetic,” “throwback,” or a brand of their choice, then present what the data might indicate for marketers.
  5. Nostalgia Audit (Individual or Group). Students choose a brand and identify at least three ways it uses nostalgia. They must determine whether each tactic appeals to Gen Z, Millennials, or Gen Alpha, and discuss why.
  6. Build-A-Bear Strategy Redesign (Group Project). Students design a new nostalgia-driven experience or product offering for Build-A-Bear targeting college-aged consumers.

Sources:

Kranse, Jordan (28 January 2026), How Build-A-Bear Found Success in the Nostalgia Economy, Wall Street Journal Video Series; Lichtenberg, Nick and Roytburg, Eva (20 January 2026) Gen Z’s Nostalgia for ‘2016 vibes’ Reveals Something Deeper: a Protest Against the World and Economy They Inherited, Fortune; Mawhinney, Karl (19 December 2025), Why Nostalgia And Purpose Are The Next Frontier For Brand Loyalty, Forbes.

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by | Wednesday, February 18, 2026 · 11:39 am

Lessons from Hotels and Hollywood on Value, Views, and the Global Consumer

Global marketing is never one-size-fits-all, and two very different industries – hospitality and film -are proving just how much strategy depends on understanding culture, value, and global consumer behavior.

Choice Hotels’ 2026 campaign leans hard into a universal theme: travelers everywhere want more value for their money. Featuring Keegan-Michael Key, the campaign highlights families, golfers, coworkers, and other segments all seeking different experiences across the company’s worldwide brand portfolio. In a global economy where travel budgets are tighter and travelers prioritize experiences over things, Choice positions itself as flexible, affordable, and culturally adaptable. This is a classic global marketing move: Tailoring the message to appeal to diverse motivations while anchoring the brand in a single, consistent value promise is a classic global marketing move.

On the other hand, Disney’s surprise box-office champion Zootopia 2 shows how global consumers shape business outcomes. While many Hollywood films have struggled in China, Zootopia 2 soared to over $624 million there thanks to culturally relevant characters, family-friendly storytelling, and years of local relationship building. Disney invested early with events, partnerships, and a Zootopia-themed land in Shanghai Disneyland. The result? Deep cultural resonance and massive demand even in tier-3 and tier-4 cities.

Together, these stories reveal a key marketing truth. Global success requires that marketers understand local motivations. Whether it’s a hotel guest stretching travel dollars or a Chinese family choosing a film that feels familiar, global marketing wins when brands meet consumers where they are economically, culturally, and emotionally.

Discussion Questions and Activities

  1. Why is “value” such a powerful motivator in today’s global economy?
  2. How did Disney adapt its strategy to succeed in a market where most Hollywood films are struggling?
  3. What challenges do global brands face when trying to appeal to many cultures with one campaign theme?
  4. How does the global consumer differ from a domestic consumer?
  5. Zootopia 2 Deep Dive. Watch video clips of this film or others. What role does cultural relevance play in global marketing success?
  6. Global Box Office Explorer. Using Comscore’s international box office database http://www.comscore.com/insights, student teams analyze the performance of one global film across three different countries by choosing from ten countries in the drop-down menu. Teams present insights on consumer preferences.
  7. Global Consumer Mapping. Compare how Choice Hotels and Disney adjust messaging for different regions. Identify at least three cultural or economic factors influencing each strategy.
  8. Market Adaptation Challenge. Choose a U.S. brand and redesign a marketing message for a new international market of your choice. Explain the required cultural adaptations.

Sources:

Graber, Jenna (21-Jan 2026) Choice Hotels hones in on value in latest global marketing campaign, Wall Street Journal; Fritz, Ben, Zhu Grace, Yueling, Zhao (25-Jan 2026), Disney’s Surprise Box-Office Champion is ‘Zootopia 2,’ Thanks to China, Wall Street Journal.

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