Following VF Corporation's acquisition of cult streetwear brand Supreme, consumers and industry pundits were nervous that becoming part of a large, public corporation would put an end to Supreme's slow and careful growth trajectory as pressure for quarterly results became more prominent. From its humble beginnings as a skate shop in downtown Manhattan, Supreme had become a global cult brand favored by celebrities, key opinion leaders, and socialites. The mere fact that Supreme was losing its independence could jeopardize its brand mystique. VF's chief financial officer reported that Supreme had more than doubled revenues from $200 million in 2017 and foresaw a clear line of sight to a billion dollars, citing opportunities of further e-commerce penetration as well as expanding the global footprint of Supreme's retail stores. Online fan forums lit up on news of the acquisition, with many expressing concern that a brand once described as "nothing short of a religion to its fervent disciples" would lose its street credibility. Could founder James Jebbia maintain the iconic and exclusive image of Supreme while VF pursued its aggressive growth agenda? As Supreme scaled and made itself more accessible to the masses, could it hold onto its countercultural appeal and sense of cool? Looking ahead to 2021, Supreme would continue to grapple with the lost profit opportunity related to entrepreneurial resellers, who purchased and then flipped Supreme merchandise on marketplaces such as eBay at significant profits.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review Article. More than 2 billion people worldwide are users of social media, making it a logical platform for companies seeking to attract potential employees and engage consumers with their brands. In addition to sharing information on brand activities through official social media pages or accounts, employees share brand-related information, make comments endorsing the organization's brand, and display behaviors that are consistent (or at odds) with the brand values and promise. For companies, the social media behavior of employees represents both an opportunity and a risk. Some companies encourage employees to become brand ambassadors to consumers and job candidates on social networks such as LinkedIn and share the company culture on Facebook and Twitter. However, the authors found that in the companies they studied, employees on the whole displayed very low brand engagement on social media. Management was surprised to learn that their employees were not following the company on Facebook or other popular social media sites. When employees are not fans or supporters of the company's products, the authors noted, this can send an ambiguous message to employees' contacts and deprive the company of potential supporters. So what can companies do? From their research, the authors developed a set of recommendations for encouraging effective employee branding on social media. The first recommendation is to empower a stable of employee advocates. The authors say employees born in the era of the internet (so-called "digital natives") tend to be more active on social media and are more likely to become brand ambassadors for the company.