globalEDGE Blog - By Author: Clare Hampel

In the realm of marketing and advertising, understanding cultural nuances and perceptions is paramount for success. Different cultures perceive and interpret marketing messages uniquely, influenced by historical, social, and linguistic factors.

Our planet faces a pressing environmental crisis. From overflowing landfills to plastic pollution in our oceans, unsustainable waste management practices threaten our ecosystems’ health and well-being. The good news? Many countries and companies are rising to the challenge, implementing innovative solutions, and inspiring a global shift toward a greener future.

Romania, nestled in Southeast Europe, holds a welcoming attitude towards Americans and U.S. products, which offers a promising landscape for business ventures. With its EU membership, strategic location, and robust economy, Romania stands out as an attractive destination for trade and investment.

Happy Valentine's day! Today is one of the most significant consumer holidays after Christmas. With its presence felt in over 30 countries, this celebration isn’t just about love; it’s a lucrative opportunity for industries across the globe.

Spring break. Images of beaches, bikinis, and maybe a fleeting sunburn cross our minds. But beyond the fun, this annual student craze unleashes a surprising ripple effect on the economy.

Switzerland’s reputation as a global leader in various sectors, such as life sciences, pharmaceuticals, finance, and manufacturing, remains unwavering. Fueled by a stable economy and a welcoming business climate, the nation consistently attracts foreign investments. However, the Swiss business landscape isn’t static; it evolves to embrace fresh challenges and opportunities.

The Israel-Hamas conflict is one of the world’s longest-running conflicts, and its impact extends far beyond the region’s borders. The conflict significantly disrupts trade, supply chains, and investment, often leading to volatility in international markets. Recently, the situation has escalated, with both sides launching airstrikes and rocket attacks, causing widespread death, destruction, and displacement of thousands of people.

Portugal, renowned as the globe’s top cork exporter and the sixth-largest wine exporter, is home to a wine industry worth billions of euros, providing livelihoods for hundreds of thousands. Nevertheless, this thriving sector finds itself at a crossroads as it grapples with particularly daunting challenges: an oversupply of wine and the ever-looming specter of climate change.

On August 30, 2023, a swift and unexpected coup d'état shook the foundations of Gabon’s political landscape. While the coup’s duration was short-lived, its repercussions have profoundly impacted the country’s business environment. The ramifications of this event have created a ripple effect across the business sector, introducing an atmosphere of unpredictability and risk that companies operating in Gabon must now confront.

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining popularity and attention over the past few years, with more and more people investing in them to diversify their portfolios. Some trending names you may have heard of include Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Tether. As the industry expands, so do concerns about illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing. The European Union (EU) parliament recently approved the world’s first comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation to address these concerns. The name of the law is Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA). This landmark decision has significant implications for businesses operating in the crypto industry.

Crocs, the famous foam clogs, have experienced a surge in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. What is especially interesting is that after the pandemic, they are continuing to grow. The company reported in a press release that Crocs sales have increased by over 30% in the first quarter of 2023. This continued growth highlights how the pandemic has benefited some businesses, particularly those with a solid international presence and marketing strategies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field revolutionizing businesses’ operations. From automating repetitive tasks to predicting customer behavior, AI transforms how companies do business.

Imagine knowing the outcome of potential situations before committing to a decision. Now imagine having this test scenario in the business world. Digital twin technology can solve precisely that. Companies worldwide are already developing and utilizing this technology to enhance processes, supply chains, facility management, and other areas.

As agricultural growth ramps up, drought continues to worsen. This is especially prominent in the Southwest regions of the United States as they face the worst drought in 1,200 years. Rural communities in La Paz County, Arizona have been noticing water disappearing left and right. The water workers in Wenden, Arizona are reporting that they have "never seen anything like this" as they noticed moving water in a well where the water is typically still. This massive underground reservoir stores water built up over thousands of years and was discovered to be moving due to someone pumping it rapidly out of the ground. With further research, it was found that there was a neighboring well belonging to Al Dahra, a United Arab Emirates-based company that was pulling this water for its own benefit.

This past Sunday night, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA star Joel Embiid from Yaounde, Cameroon made history. The court was electric watching him dominate a career-high 59-point game, scoring 26 of the 27 points in the fourth quarter. Earlier this year, the Denver Nuggets took a surprise visit to Sombor, Serbia to surprise Nikola Jokic, the fourth internationally-born player to win the NBA MVP award multiple times. In 2021, a player notoriously nicknamed “The Greek Freak”, Giannis Antetokounmpo, secured the Bucks' first championship title in half a century, earning him back-to-back MVP trophies. With such successes and a broad reach to countries around the world, the NBA is becoming recognized as more than simply television entertainment.

This is the first post in a -part blog series focused on the 2022 World Cup.

Four years ago, more than half the global population tuned in to watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Now, only a month away, soccer fans anxiously await the 2022 World Cup. This year, thirty-two countries will compete in the most popular sport in the world in hopes of being crowned champion. With over 3.5 billion fans worldwide and over 250 million players across 200 countries, no other event reaches such a global audience.

Fashion has been an age-old expression of culture, style, and art. For two weeks, cities hold fashion shows where they display an array of styles to spread awareness about new arrivals in trends. The primary fashion weeks worldwide are Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, and Milan Fashion Week. Most of these have wrapped up this past week, and Paris Fashion week has just started. To the public it is flashy lights, supermodels, and an influx of new trends, but what does it look like behind the scenes? How does this affect the economy and the environment? Is it worth it?

Human interaction has historically been essential for the education of all kinds. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, schools, businesses, and others have scrambled to find solutions to continue growth in a time of heavy restrictions.

You have most likely watched a show or movie on Netflix at one point or another. Whether it was borrowing a friend’s account or purchasing the subscription for a month and then getting roped into another, streaming services have become ubiquitous. Netflix has released multiple hit shows and classics to date yet is now the worst-performing stock of 2022 in the S&P 500. It is down 62.5% year to date. What happened?

Have you ever googled “dress clothes in the area”, or mentioned how you need to grab new food for the dog, then the next day or even hours later an ad for Macy's or a dress shop you have never heard of appears on your phone? Amazon all of a sudden is suggesting dog food ahead of any other typical suggestion, and the same with Facebook. Last Thursday the EU agreed on a new law that has the potential to change that.

When observing earlier modern Olympic games, dating back to 1896, the state of the geopolitical sphere caused multiple restrictions and boycotts. The current 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are no exception.

On November 26, 2021, a new variant, Omicron, of the coronavirus was discovered in South Africa. The World Health Organization declared this variant a concern due to Omicron's unusually high number of mutations and warned that the overall global risk is very high. Similar to other variants, these mutations impact how easily the virus spreads and the gravity of this virus when sick.

If you haven't already heard of Rivian, now is the time to learn. Rivian is an electric vehicle automaker backed by Amazon and Ford, that promises far more range per battery charge than existing electric cars. Rivian targets fans of outdoor activities and has been investing in charging stations at remote off-road destinations. This company is setting an example for how to care for the environment by making decisions that revolve around preserving the environment for future generations.

There are hundreds of semiconductor chips that make up the global silicon industry. As technology advances, these chips run powerful computers, the flashy iPhones in our pockets, and even some toothbrushes. More recently and as a result of the pandemic, the demand for semiconductors is continuing to overpower supply. These chips convey basic instructions and make sure businesses are running smoothly. Without these tiny chips, car production has been brought to a halt.

In recent years, scientists have warned that temperatures in Russia are rising at higher rates than the global average. The largest landmass of any northern nation is warming 2.5 times faster than the rest of the world.

As of a few weeks ago, President Biden released a submarine security deal between United Kingdom and Australia to undermine China's rapidly growing navy in the South China Sea. This exchange between the United States and UK was deemed monumental as this deal meant both countries would combine information on classified nuclear technology in order to combat China's militarization of the Asia-Pacific area. Signing this business deal was expected to produce many positives such as reinforcing allies and having a major pushback on China's military, but in return, it excluded one of the United States' longest allies; France. Within this break of trust, the United States' diplomatic ties with the French were strained.