The world of business and marketing never stops evolving. Catch up on the latest news with our must-read stories for the week.

Spotify Wraps Up the Year

Last week, Spotify launched their annual “Wrapped” out-of-home advertising campaign, where the streaming service shares notable statistics of its users’ listening habits. They’ve released more than 350 ads this year, many of which are targeted to specific regions. The messages play on major pop culture stories, memes and quirky fun facts from its user-generated playlists.

Spotify has made clear it will honor users’ privacy settings this year. Data-driven advertising has recently caused problems for other brands. The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal has brought digital privacy to the forefront of people’s minds. Spotify only pulled data from public playlists, and they obtained explicit permission to use the individual playlists featured in the Wrapped campaign. Check out a few of the ads here: https://www.wired.com/story/spotify-2018-wrapped-ads-highlight-weird-wonderful/

Marriott International Data Breach

Speaking of privacy, the largest hotel chain in the world is now facing one of the largest data breaches of all time. Last Friday, Marriott International announced their Starwood Hotel database had been hacked, compromising the personal information of up to 500 million guests. The stolen information includes names, addresses, birth dates, credit card details and even passport numbers for some guests. It will affect people who stayed at a number of Marriott’s hotel brands, including W Hotels, Sheraton, Westin and more.

Marriott’s data breach is second in scope only to Yahoo’s infamous breach in 2013. The attack began all the way back in 2014 and went unnoticed for more than four years. To begin making amends, the company will offer guests a free year of enrollment with web monitoring tool Web Watcher. Read the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/business/marriott-data-breach.html

Alexa, Play Apple Music

In a very uncharacteristic move, Apple has given Amazon permission to use its Apple Music service on the Echo devices beginning December 17. In the past, Apple has been hesitant to allow its services to be used on non-Apple devices. Adding their streaming service to the most popular home speaker system is a big step for the tech giant, and one they make the same year they released their own HomePod speaker.

The two companies also reached an agreement in November to begin selling a number of Apple products from its authorized retailers on Amazon’s site. Do you think Apple will continue to loosen its grasp on its products and services? Find out more about the deal here: https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/30/18119429/apple-music-echo-streaming-amazon-alexa-devices-available-december

Payless Shoes Becomes “Palessi”

Payless Shoes pulled off a priceless prank on luxury influencers last week. The discount shoe store rented a former Armani store in Santa Monica, temporarily rebranded themselves as “Palessi,” and sold their normally $20-40 shoes at a $200-600 price point. Social media influencers flocked to the event, and within a few hours the store sold about $3,000 worth of shoes.

After purchasing their shoes, shocked shoppers were told they were actually from Payless and not a high-end retailer. Payless refunded the shoppers the full purchase price, but kept interview footage they plan to use for commercials and social media videos. The event makes a strong case for the power of branding, especially in the fashion world. Read more here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/11/29/payless-marked-up-discount-shoes-600-luxury-event-palessi/2146971002/