Welcome to Brand Strategy & Advertising! This introductory episode walks you through everything you need to know about how the podcast—and the course it supports—will help you understand how brands really work.

Here's the core concept: We're studying 125 years of advertising history to decode contemporary brand strategy. Each episode connects historical case studies—drawn from the three-volume anthology We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life—to current brand practice.

The course introduces a unique "living case study" approach: students select one contemporary brand and track it all semester, applying weekly historical insights to real-time observations. By studying one brand deeply over 15 weeks, you build unique expertise.

Key topics include early advertising and consumer desire, iconic brand symbols, crisis-era messaging, the golden age of radio and product placement, post-war consumer culture, generational marketing, social consciousness in advertising, feminist messaging controversies, counterculture commodification, David Ogilvy's timeless principles, Nike's brand evolution, Starbucks' use of language and power to build community, and digital/viral marketing transformation.

Whether you're enrolled in PRSC 326 at Coastal Carolina University or interested in understanding how brands shape culture and influence behavior, this podcast gives you frameworks for analyzing any brand you encounter.

You'll learn to think like a brand strategist: recognizing patterns across time, understanding what works and why, and developing judgment that transfers to any career.

Subscribe now and never look at advertising the same way again.

Dr. Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian, biographer, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, & Culture at Coastal Carolina University. He specializes in American cultural history, brand strategy, advertising, and celebrity culture.

Bob is the author of 16 books, including acclaimed biographies of Stan Lee, John Updike, and Bob Dylan, as well as The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius and Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties. His work has been translated into twelve languages.

Bob is the editor of the three-volume anthology We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life...And Always Has (Praeger, 2014), which serves as the historical foundation for this podcast (more than 1 million words on ad history in American culture).

Bob's media commentary has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and the National Geographic Channel. He has been quoted in thousands of national and international publications, reaching audiences in the billions.

Bob holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Florida and degrees in History from Kent State University and History, Philosophy, and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Through this podcast, Bob makes rigorous academic analysis accessible to anyone interested in understanding how advertising and brand strategy actually work—connecting historical patterns to contemporary practice in every episode.

Follow Bob at bobbatchelor.com or connect on social media for insights on brands, culture, and communication strategy, including LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobpbatchelor