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Rob Walker

Rob Walker

The New Yorker

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How ‘Florsheimgate’ became the meme we needed

The president gifting oversize dress shoes to his inner circle is a perfect setup for the funniest brand-politics clash of the Trump era.

13.03.2026 4

Fast Company

Rob Walker

OpenAI just dragged its own brand

Winning the Department of War as a client made OpenAI look ‘opportunistic and sloppy,’ according to Sam Altman himself.

06.03.2026 2

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Anthropic is fighting with a big client, and it’s actually good for its brand

The AI company’s squabble with the Department of Defense is another way to burnish its reputation.

20.02.2026 30

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Can MAGA’s spite show outperform Bad Bunny? (Or at least the Puppy Bowl)?

06.02.2026 1

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Why the Minnesota National Guard is being forced to dress like crossing guards

23.01.2026 2

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Every brand needs to be ready for its Maduro Nike tracksuit moment

09.01.2026 9

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Chuck E. Cheese’s next act: ‘I won’t stop until we have a movie,’ CEO says

08.01.2026 20

Fast Company

Rob Walker

The 12 objects that defined 2025, for better or for worse

19.12.2025 4

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the perfect event for our attention-addled age

26.11.2025 8

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How Raising Cane’s Founder Todd Graves Perfected His Formula and Built a $5 Billion Brand

17.11.2025 5

Inc.com

Rob Walker

How a merch fiasco became a brand win for Starbucks

17.11.2025 4

Fast Company

Rob Walker

The reason nobody cares about Grokipedia

31.10.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

It’s getting harder to take OpenAI seriously

25.10.2025 20

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How to redesign a world shaped by prejudice

14.10.2025 4

Fast Company

Rob Walker

The NFL knows exactly what it’s doing with Bad Bunny

03.10.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Tesla desperately needs a new story

05.09.2025 8

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Cracker Barrel just won its own backlash

29.08.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

‘Made in the USA’ is a struggling brand

15.08.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Why we hate dynamic pricing

08.08.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How Tea’s data breach became a brand moment

01.08.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Polymarket is making a big bet on pop culture

25.07.2025 7

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Why it can be good for business to fight with your rival

16.07.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

These Japanese trucks are slow and small. People can’t get enough of them

09.07.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Costco embraces the two-tier economy with its new early shopping perk

27.06.2025 20

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How Microsoft turned ‘copilot’ into a catchall for AI

23.06.2025 20

Fast Company

Rob Walker

The Sharpie story: Inside a brand so strong that Starbucks is now depending on it

19.06.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Law firms have a new way to attract clients and talent: Stand up to Trump

13.06.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Pride Month is looking very beige this year

06.06.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Why Trump’s ‘little problem’ with Apple could be a big challenge

30.05.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How long can brands like Walmart really ‘eat the tariffs’?

23.05.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Pizza and groceries now—pay later: Klarna and Affirm’s big branding moment

16.05.2025 9

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Companies are turning Trump’s tariffs into a marketing opportunity

09.05.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Costco’s Kirkland brand is bigger than Nike—and it’s about to get even bigger

02.05.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Can Chipotle succeed in Mexico, where Taco Bell failed?

25.04.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Can the Tesla brand be saved?

18.04.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Costco is the new Target

11.04.2025 5

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How Signal turned a national security crisis into a branding moment

28.03.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

iRobot made Roomba into an icon. Now, it’s in a huge mess

21.03.2025 6

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Many Canadians are boycotting U.S. products. These made-in-Canada brands are cashing in

07.03.2025 9

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Why Costco is targeting the rich, with deals on Rolexes, 10-carat diamonds, and gold bars

28.02.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

The Jeff Bezos brand is in a slump

21.02.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Hims & Hers markets itself in a very 2025 way: by picking a fight

14.02.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Is the NFL trying to have it both ways when it comes to DEI?

07.02.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Why so many shoppers view Target’s rollback on DEI as a betrayal 

31.01.2025 9

Fast Company

Rob Walker

How TikTok’s near-death experience actually boosted the brand

24.01.2025 10

Fast Company

Rob Walker

Starbucks proves it was never really a ‘third place’

17.01.2025 8

Fast Company

Rob Walker

The dream of an affordable car is dying—and tariffs could make it worse

10.01.2025 5

Fast Company

Rob Walker

What brands can learn from Costco’s no-nonsense defense of DEI

Branded  is a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture. Costco is known for many things—deeply loyal...

03.01.2025 7

Fast Company

Rob Walker