Brand Descriptions

Abercrombie & Fitch (A & F)

An American retailer that focuses on casual wear for young consumers. It has over 400 locations in the United States and is expanding internationally.

Adidas

A German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures sports shoes, clothing, and accessories.

Amazon.com

The largest Internet-based retailer in the United States. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore but soon diversified, selling DVDs, VHSs, CDs, video and MP3 downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. The company also produces consumer electronics – notably, Amazon Kindle e-book readers, Fire tablets, Fire TVs and Fire Phones – and is a major provider of cloud computing services. Amazon also sells certain low-end products like USB cables under its in-house brand AmazonBasics.

American Apparel

An American clothing manufacturer, distributor, and retailer.

American Eagle Outfitters

An American clothing and accessories retailer founded in 1977.

Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services, and personal computers.

Apache

A freely available Web server that is distributed under an "open source" license. Version 2.0 runs on most UNIX-based operating systems, on other UNIX/POSIX-derived systems, on AmigaOS, and on Windows 2000. According to a Netcraft Web server survey, 60% of all Web sites on the Internet are using Apache (62% including Apache derivatives), making Apache more widely used than all other Web servers combined.

Aspall

This British manufacturer of apple vinegar and cider was founded in 1720 and has been a family-owned business for eight generations.

AT&T

An American multinational telecommunications corporation.

B

Best Buy

An American multinational consumer electronics corporation.

Birchbox

A New York City-based online monthly subscription service that sends its subscribers a box of four to five carefully selected samples of makeup or other beauty related products on a monthly basis.

Blendtec

A company that sells professional and home blenders.

Brandwatch

Social media monitoring system Brandwatch reads and summarizes web discussions about brands, people, and products. The company parses through these huge amounts of data by finding and analyzing relevant information. Its online application lets users define keywords, which it tracks continually. Users can access and respond to every keyword mention and analyze the bigger picture of trends, campaigns, and competitors.

C

C&A

An international Dutch chain of fashion retail clothing store.

Calvin Klein

The world's most well-known fashion designer and has created many recognizable brands.

Chobani

An American brand of strained yogurt produced by Chobani, LLC.

Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer, and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. They have produced many products, including:

• Classic Coke: Prior to New Coke, Coca-Cola's flagship product was bottled and canned under a label of "Coca-Cola." After its reintroduction, the soda's labels read "Classic Coke."
• New Coke: New Coke was the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink, Coca-Cola (also called Coke).
• Coke Zero: Coca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to men, who were shown to associate diet drinks with women.
• Diet Coke: Diet Coke, (and similar Coca-Cola light available in some countries), is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company.
• Cherry Coke: Coca-Cola Cherry, originally introduced (and still known in some countries) as Cherry Coke, is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola.

Coco-Mat

The New York furniture store which lets tired shoppers take a nap on its mattresses.

D

DealTime

A price comparison service owned by eBay

Dell

An American computer technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services.

DHL

The German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL providing international mail services.

Domino’s Pizza

An American restaurant chain and international franchise pizza delivery corporation.

Dove

A personal care brand owned by Unilever.

• The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a worldwide marketing campaign launched by Unilever in 2004 that includes advertisements, videos, workshops, sleepover events, and the publication of a book and a play. The aim of the campaign is to celebrate the natural physical variation embodied by all women and inspire them to have the confidence to be comfortable with themselves.

Dubai Mall

The world's largest shopping mall based on total area and fourteenth largest by gross leasable area. It is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dunkin' Donuts

An American global doughnut company and coffeehouse chain based in Canton, Massachusetts.

E

Economist

An English-language weekly newspaper that offers authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology, and the connection between them.

F

Facebook

An online social networking service whose website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students.

G

Gap

An American multinational clothing and accessories retailer.

Google

Google is an American multinational corporation specializing in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, and software.

Google Alerts

A content change detection and notification service, offered by the search engine company Google. The service sends emails to the user when it finds new results – such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs –that match the user's search term.

Google Shopping

This is the world’s largest and most comprehensive price comparison tool. Users just type in the name of a product, and a list of competing retailers appears.

Google Sketchup

A 3D modeling computer program for applications such as architecture, interior design, civil and mechanical engineering, film, and video game design.

GoPro

A California company that develops and sells high-definition video cameras.

H

Headsets.com

The online headset retailer which has experimented with a Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) strategy as a means of rewarding customer loyalty. Nearly all of its customers paid the suggested price (or close to it).

Heart Attack Grill

A medical-themed restaurant located in Las Vegas that is a controversial but intriguing example of authentic marketing. Its menu is full of a variety of unhealthy options, including its famous Quadruple Bypass Burger, which consists of four 8-ounce beef patties, 20 slices of bacon, and 8 slices of cheese, and contains nearly 10,000 calories.

Humble Bundle

A website that specializes in offering digital products such as music, books, and videos available using a Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) approach. It also donates a portion of its proceeds to charity.

I

iTunes

A media player, media library, online radio broadcaster, and mobile device management application developed by Apple Inc.

J

Joe Chemo

An Internet campaign created by an organization called Adbusters was successful in creating a doppelgänger image against a Camel cigarette character known as Joe Camel, which was one of the most widespread adverting campaigns in the US cigarette industry in the 1990s.

Jones Soda

Jones Soda Co. is a beverage company which bottles and distributes soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and candy. Its soft drink has many unusual flavors that are not offered by other soft drink makers.

L

Levi Strauss & Co

A privately held American clothing company founded in 1853 known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans.

Little Big Planet

LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platform video game series created by Media Molecule and published by Sony Computer Entertainment on multiple PlayStation platforms.

Local Motors

A new start-up vehicle manufacturer. It was founded in 2007 by Jay Rogers, who came up with the idea while he was an MBA student at Harvard Business School. The company is currently selling a variety of motorized vehicles, including an automobile called the “Rally Fighter.” This vehicle has both normal driving and off-road capabilities and sells for about $100,000.

L’Oreal

A French cosmetics and beauty company. It has developed activities in the field of cosmetics, concentrating on hair color, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfumes, and hair care. The company is active in the dermatology, toxicology, tissue engineering, and biopharmaceutical research fields and is the top nanotechnology patent-holder in the United States.

Louis CK

A famous American comedian who recently sold his comedy through Humble Bundle using a Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) strategy.

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly referred to Louis Vuitton or shortened to LV, sells luxury goods ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses, and books.

Lululemon

A self-described yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, which produces a clothing line and runs international clothing stores from its company base in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

M

McDonald’s

The world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across 35,000 outlets.

Miller Beer

An American beer produced by the Miller Brewing Company.

N

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the United States agency that is responsible for civilian space programs as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

Netflix

Netflix, Inc. is a provider of on-demand Internet streaming media available to viewers in all of North America (including Cuba), South America, and parts of Europe, and of flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States, where mailed DVDs are sent via Permit Reply Mail.

New York Times

The New York Times (NYT) is an American daily newspaper. It has won 114 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization.

Nokia

A Finnish multinational communications and information technology company.

O

Old Milwaukee

A brand of American dry beer produced by the Pabst Brewing Company.

P

Patagonia

A Ventura, California-based clothing company, focusing mainly with high-end outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental movements and is a certified B-Corporation, meaning the company is beholden to public-benefit concerns (in this case environmental) alongside its profit motive. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973.

Pepsi

A carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo.

Pepsi Pulse

A social media platform that showcases music and pop culture.

Pepsi Refresh Project (PRP)

PRP was a 2010 initiative by PepsiCo to award $20 million in grants to individuals, businesses, and non-profits that promote a new idea that has a positive impact on their community, state, or the nation.

PriceBaba

This price comparison tool is based in India and focuses on helping customers find the lowest price for mobile phones in various Indian cities.

PriceGrabber

A price-comparison shopping site that partners with merchants, retailers, and sellers to provide information on a wide range of products.

Q

Quirky

A New York City company that allows inventors to submit their ideas, while also assisting them in the development process. The company's website lets people sell their inventions in an online shop or several retail stores including Home Depot and Best Buy, with whom they have partnered.[22]

R

Radiohead

The famous British rock band.

Redbox

A subsidiary of Outerwall, Inc. specializing in DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and video game rentals via automated retail kiosks.

RedLaser

A price comparison tool which is specifically designed for mobile devices and is available for free download on all major smartphone platforms. This portable tool allows in-store shoppers to obtain comparison prices for a wide variety of products by simply scanning their barcode using this app’s built-in scanner.

S

SolidWorks

Solid modeling CAD (computer-aided design) software that runs on Microsoft Windows.

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, doing business as Starbucks Coffee, is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. It is also the largest coffeehouse company in the world.

Stella Artois

Informally called Stella, is a pilsner beer of between 4.8 and 5.2% ABV. It has been brewed in Leuven, Belgium, since 1926, although it is brewed in other locations as well. A lower alcohol content (4% ABV) version is also sold in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand. Stella Artois is one of the prominent brands of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer.

Swiffer

A line of cleaning products introduced in 1999 by Procter & Gamble.

T

Taco Bell

An American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., they serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "value menu" items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year in more than 6,500 restaurants mostly in the U.S., more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees.

Target

Target Corporation is an American retailing company, founded in 1902 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

TESCO

A British grocery and general merchandise retailer. It has stores in 12 countries across Asia and Europe and is the grocery market leader in the UK.

Thermos

The leading manufacturer worldwide of insulated food and beverage containers and other consumer products.

Thingiverse

Thingiverse was launched in 2008 by MakerBot to help develop the 3D printing community by creating a library of digital files that could be 3D printed. Essentially, it is like the Apple iTunes store, except it contains objects rather than songs. Also, all of these files can be downloaded for free. Nearly all of these files are created and uploaded by individual makers rather than firms. Currently, Thingiverse has files for over 700,000 objects across a wide range of different categories, including artistic creations, household objects, and toys and games. So, you are sure to find something that fits your needs.

Threadless

Threadless is an innovative clothing manufacturer located in Chicago. Specifically, this company specializes in making and selling unique t-shirts. The company was founded in 2000 by Jake Nickell and uses customer co-creation to design the shirts.

TinkerCad

An easy-to-use 3D CAD design tool.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile International AG was a German holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operated GSM, UMTS, and LTE-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company had financial stakes in mobile operators in both Central and Eastern Europe.

Twitter

An online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called "tweets."

U

United Airlines

United Airlines (commonly referred to simply as "United") is an American major airline.

UPS

United Parcel Service of North America, Inc., typically referred to and branded as UPS, is one of the largest shipment and logistics companies in the world.

V

Verizon

An American broadband and tele-communication company, the largest U.S. wireless communications service provider as of September, 2014.

W

Wall Drug Store

Often called simply "Wall Drug," is a tourist attraction located in the city of Wall, South Dakota. It is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants, and various other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores.

Walmart

An American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and warehouse stores. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 71 banners.

Warby Parker

An American brand of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses founded in 2010. Warby Parker sells online and has a limited number of showrooms in the United States. By designing glasses in-house and selling only directly to consumers, the company lowers the cost of its glasses by a significant amount.

Wired Magazine

A full-color monthly American magazine, published in both print and online editions, that reports on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics.

Y

Yahoo Shopping

A price comparison service offered by Yahoo.

YouTube

A video-sharing website, allowing users to upload, view, and share videos,