B2B marketing has changed dramatically in the last few years. While the audience for these messages was once limited to business leaders, some B2B companies now invest in eye-catching and memorable messages in highly visible places. Siddharth Taparia, CMO of global corporate real estate giant JLL, told me that’s central to their strategy: Brand building is one of the company’s six corporate goals.

Today, Taparia told me, many more people are involved in finding corporate spaces. While JLL as a company is more than 240 years old, he said it’s important for JLL to bring its experience to marketing, both in activations that people can see, as well as through the wealth of data and expertise it has amassed over the years. We talked about JLL’s strategic brand building push, and an excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

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Taco Bell and produce giant Taylor Farms have come under scrutiny over their potential connection to the largest documented cyclosporasis outbreak in the U.S. According to a CNN tally, more than 11,000 people across 41 states have been infected with the parasite, which causes severe digestive problems and dehydration. In outbreaks, raw fruits and vegetables become contaminated with the parasite, which spreads through water used in irrigation and processing. Last week, the FDA said the culprit was Taylor Farms shredded lettuce, which was also used by Taco Bell restaurants.

While it’s unclear whether the right cause has been pinpointed—the FDA said on Sunday that test results on Taylor Farms lettuce from Taco Bell showed a false positive, but the agency did not walk back its determination—it’s been a difficult time for the fast food restaurant and produce company. Last Friday, foot traffic to Taco Bell restaurants was down 19% compared with other Fridays this year. Since July 7, stock for corporate parent Yum! Brands is down more than 11%. Several lawsuits have already been filed against Taco Bell by people sickened during the outbreak. Meanwhile, Taco Bell removed all Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from its restaurants, and the grower pulled its iceberg lettuce from restaurants and salad kits.

As far as corporate crises go, this is one that the companies have at least prepared for. Yum! Brands—and many other publicly traded quick-service restaurants—lists cyclospora outbreaks as one of their known risks in SEC filings, and Taylor Farms has previously recalled products including raw onions and salad kits because of potential contamination. Taco Bell and Taylor Farms........

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