Apparently this summer, America has been put up for sale (mostly good deals), privacy has become a hot button issue and that huge French cycling thing got started again.

Murketing is a combination of the terms murky and marketing. It is a deliberate choice by a corporation to create a brand image that is mysterious or not well-defined in order to inspire curiosity in the consumer. With technology changes and new approaches to viral and word-of-mouth advertising, it isn't immediately clear that a brand is behind a new video or message -- be it mobile phones that pop popcorn or a giant LEGO boulder chasing Indiana Jones.

A successful murketing campaign is intriguing enough that potential customers will seek to discover exactly what is being sold or who is the one selling to them. The consumer then ascribes values to the brand and is the one to proactively establish a relationship. Critics are split on whether the murketing of viral videos, like BMW's "Rampenfest" ads, will ultimately damage or save brand reputations.

Origin: New York Times columnist Rob Walker coined the term "murketing" in an article for Outside magazine when he was seeking to describe the deliberately obsequious marketing of Red Bull. He regularly explores the relationship between consumers and marketers on his blog, Murketing.com and in his new book, "Buying In."

Why would a prospective student, faculty, donor or alumni want to live your brand? Why are you the first choice for some students? What gets your faculty up every morning? What keeps alumni connected emotionally and financially? It is the desire to be part of a unique community that shares a vision. It is participating in a differentiated experience that springs from the very soul of the institution. It is the university brand.

Administrators, faculty, and students all contribute, shape and help build a brand.   Traditionally, the university president's responsibilities have been focused on institutional planning, balancing the budget and exceeding university fundraising and endowment goals. Over time, the president has become responsible for student recruitment and retention and improving the overall student experience.

Who is the custodian of the soul of a university? Now, it has become a university president's responsibility.

Piggybacking is where smaller brands use well-known brand names, trademarked terms, or slogans in their online search advertisements to draw traffic to their websites. It is a growing issue for search engine marketers and Fortune 500 companies as advertising dollars shift online where brand abuse is rampant. Google's trademark policy is hands-off and encourages advertisers to resolve trademark disputes directly with a company that they believe is violating their trademark rights.

Marriott International and American Airlines contend that this practice is potentially driving up costs and confusing potential customers. American Airlines filed suit against Google last year, arguing that unchecked piggybacking was a case of trademark infringement.

Origin
Piggybacking was initially a business term that referred to reducing costs by adding a new project to an existing one. It was extended to the online arena with wireless networks to refer to computer users hopping on an unprotected wireless connection.