Yakov Bart Archives

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Netflix is cracking down on password-sharing. Will it work?

“Our research found that 79% of those who currently use someone else’s password would not get their own subscriptions if Netflix outright banned account-sharing,” says Ben Treanor, whose company surveyed so-called “streaming swindlers.” And Netflix will have a fine line to walk if it introduces ads, says Yakov Bart, a marketing expert at Northeastern.

by Molly Callahan April 21, 2022

Father Isaac Keeley checks the fermentation of the beer at Spencer Brewery in Spencer, MA.

Meet the most unlikely beer maker in North America

Father Isaac Keeley, a 71-year-old Trappist monk who lives in a monastery in central Massachusetts, didn’t know the first thing about using social media to take his beer business national. Then he received a call from the Digital, Analytics, Technology and Automation (DATA) Initiative team at Northeastern.

by Ian Thomsen January 26, 2022

Shoppers walk past the French Christian Dior luxury goods, clothing and beauty products store seen in Hong Kong. Photo by Budrul Chukrut Sipa via AP Images

Why luxury goods sales are surging in the pandemic

Despite rising inflation, supply chain disruptions and pandemic lockdowns, business is booming for well-known luxury behemoths like Louis Vuitton, Cartier, BMW, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Economic and marketing experts at Northeastern explain what’s behind the sudden surge in spending on some of the finer things in life.

by Hillary Chabot January 26, 2022

A lot of clever features have made Wordle popular, say two Northeastern experts. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

What makes Wordle so G‑R‑E‑A‑T?

Point. Proxy. If these words mean anything to you, then you’ve caught the Wordle bug—and you’re not alone. A lot of clever features have made the word game so popular, say Northeastern experts, including its once-a-day design.

by Molly Callahan January 21, 2022

Founder and CEO of BuzzFeed Jonah H. Peretti celebrates ringing the bell with team members during BuzzFeed Inc.'s Listing Day at Nasdaq in New York City.

BuzzFeed went public. It’s about time.

The 15-year-old company went public in December, and Vox Media is considering a similar leap. The moves are long overdue and may offer examples of how smaller digital companies can survive, say Northeastern experts.

by Ian Thomsen January 6, 2022

back of a student wearing yellow shirt and headphones

Spotify Wrapped: Data-sharing feels so right

Spotify mines your personal data, just like big technology companies, for their year-in-review report on the most popular streaming music and artists. Northeastern marketing scholar Yakov Bart and psychologist Joanna Weaver explain why we're so happy about it.

by Hillary Chabot December 3, 2021

Facebook is betting on the metaverse. But what is that, anyway?

With its rebrand as Meta, Facebook is hitching its wagon to a virtual future—and hoping that its investors and its users will go along for the ride, say Northeastern experts in marketing and network science.

by Molly Callahan October 29, 2021

Should you sell your palm print to Amazon?

Better not, say two Northeastern scholars of law and marketing. While consumers may benefit from the convenience of touch-free checkout, it’s not always clear what a company will do with consumers’ biometric information once it has it.

by Molly Callahan August 4, 2021

Did Ben & Jerry’s make the right call about the West Bank?

This week, Ben & Jerry’s—famous for its unique ice cream flavors as well as its outspokenness on social issues—waded into its most contentious debate yet, announcing that it would stop selling ice cream in “occupied Palestinian territory” in the West Bank. The decision was controversial, but it’s unlikely the company had any choice whether to take a stand, says Yakov Bart, associate professor of marketing at Northeastern.

by Molly Callahan July 22, 2021

Victoria’s Secret inclusive rebranding faces body-image backlash

Victoria’s Secret swapped angels for activists in a new marketing campaign that focuses on inclusion instead of perfection. Rachel Rodgers, an associate professor of applied psychology at Northeastern, says the rebrand is too little, too late.

by Hillary Chabot July 2, 2021

Yakov Bart