Search results

Pricing, digital marketing, marketing management and strategic marketing.

The case can be used for pricing or digital marketing courses as well as marketing management courses to MBA students and/or for management development programmes.

Goldfinch Mobile Solutions, a Hong-Kong based value added services (VAS) and gaming platform provider, had an exclusive tie up with Bharti Airtel in India for providing value added voice applications on an interactive voice response system (IVRS) platform. The Goldfinch flagship service is “Guru Ki Bani” which may be subscribed to by dialing the short code 58282. This “58282” service has a repository of all Sikh religion daily prayers, religious songs, teachings, stories from Guru's life and similar information that is derived from the Sikh Holy book Guru Granth Sahib Ji. As per mutual agreement between Goldfinch Mobile Solutions and Bharti Airtel, the telecom operator had the responsibility to promote Goldfinch's Guru Ki Bani service amongst its subscriber base through its below the line (BTL) promotional channels such as short messaging service (SMS), outbound calls, cell information, notification SMS after call and above the line (ATL) activities such as posters, leaflets, print, promoters, regional TV, outdoors, etc. The revenue sharing arrangement between Airtel and Golfinch was in the ratio of 75 percent and 25 percent. However, with recent changes in the policies of Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), promotional marketing used by telecom operators has been constrained. Declining customer share, decreasing profits (after Bharti Airtel halted promotions) and increasing organization cost per customer have made MD and CEO Mr Newton Bubber think of various options including low-cost marketing initiatives besides digital marketing to promote Guru Ki Bani services. Value communication to its huge potential customer base, i.e. 184.19 million Bharti Airtel subscribers was another challenge facing Mr Newton and his marketing team at Goldfinch.

The case enables students to learn the concepts and application of value creation, effective value communication, price waterfall analysis, importance of costing parameters in pricing decisions, low-cost marketing strategies and digital marketing.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The interviews were conducted with the respondents (the founder and Manager of De Cyber Hotel). Other data were obtained through the websites of the relevant businesses.

Siti Alia and her friends established De Cyber Hotel in January 2019. It was incorporated as a Malaysian private limited company in Cyberjaya, Selangor. Siti Alia was appointed as the hotel manager and was responsible for managing the hotel’s day-to-day operations and financial matters. Being a new budget hotel, competing with other established hotels was quite difficult. De Cyber Hotel used brochures and word-of-mouth for its promotion activities and mainly depended on walk-in guests. Siti Alia knew she had to take immediate action to ensure the hotel’s survival and could no longer rely on walk-in guests. Hence, to increase the occupancy and revenue rate, on 27 March 2019, De Cyber Hotel management decided to accept an offer from ABC Digital Booking to implement a digital booking mechanism and form a partnership for at least a year. ABC Digital Booking provided an online system to enable the listing and booking of budget accommodations and partnered with hotels to provide similar guest experiences across countries. After working and collaborating for 10 months with ABC Digital Booking, Siti Alia had to decide whether De Cyber Hotel should continue its alliance with ABC Digital Booking. Hence, she had to think thoroughly and consider the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the impact of her decision on the business.

Undergraduate Integrated Case Studies, Seminar in Management, Risk Management and Corporate Governance, Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Strategic Management. Postgraduate Organizational Behaviour, Management Accounting and Controls, Strategic Management Accounting, Marketing Management, Hospitality Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship Development.

On April 4, 2013, a video game website reported that the next-generation Xbox console—due to be released by Microsoft the following month—would require an always-on Internet connection in order to operate. The new version of the SimCity game that had been released earlier that year with an always-on requirement had been a disaster. Hardcore gamers reacted negatively to the news.

When the Xbox One console was officially revealed on May 21, Microsoft effectively confirmed that it would require an always-on connection for validating digital rights. Predictably, gamers reacted negatively, a response that was exacerbated when Microsoft's president of the interactive entertainment business, Don Mattrick, made dismissive statements about their concerns

After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

• Address the challenge of marketing a product to multiple adjacent but very different customer segments

• Understand the need for a unified vision before going to market

• Develop a strategy that addresses the complexity of a world in which the company may no longer own the “loudest voice in the room”

Address the challenge of marketing a product to multiple adjacent but very different customer segments

Understand the need for a unified vision before going to market

Develop a strategy that addresses the complexity of a world in which the company may no longer own the “loudest voice in the room”

This compact case study uses the marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion) and customer segmentation/targeting as theoretical platforms for the Amazon Go business concept. It reinforces the idea that these are important aspects in developing a successful marketing strategy especially when they are aligned with the core competencies of a firm. Additional concepts include localization strategy, loyalty and Maslow’s hierarchy. Localization focuses on merchandising and local partnerships. Customer loyalty is discussed in the context of loyalty programs and consumer trust. Maslow’s hierarchy is used as a way to connect the pandemic and safety concerns to the offline retail experience.

This case was developed from secondary sources readily available in the public domain including websites, news articles and social media sites. This case has been taught in undergraduate marketing management courses.

In 2018, Amazon opened high tech convenience stores across a number of metropolitan cities in the USA offering a checkout-free experience for customers. This case evaluates the marketing aspects of the move including industry structure, store format and customer loyalty. The underlying question is how will Amazon, the company that pioneered online shopping, perform in an offline retail marketplace that is highly competitive? Will Amazon be able to leverage its massive technology power and shake up offline retail? Will changing market forces caused by the pandemic reshape retail as we know it?

This case should be used in a marketing management course or a retailing course for undergraduate students. Applicable concepts include competitive advantage, marketing mix, customer loyalty and retailing in a digital world. This case could also be used to discuss or compare the differences between online and offline brand leadership.

The learning objectives of this case study are to understand business-to-business (B2B) marketing in a logistics organization; apply go-to-market (GTM) strategy in the logistics industry; design B2B distribution strategy so as to enhance geographic penetration; and develop digital marketing strategies in the logistics industry.

V-Xpress is a leading B2B player in the express cargo category in the Indian logistics industry. In March 2017, Sachin Nair, Head of V-Xpress Marketing, was presenting three different GTM strategies to the CEO for the new Assured Timely Movement services. He wanted CEO views on each of them so that he can choose the best one. Sachin was also trying to find a solution to backhaul problem in eastern India. The resolution of this problem would have helped V-Xpress to become a truly pan-India B2B logistics company. Sachin was also revamping the digital marketing strategy as part of ambitious V-Xpress marketing strategy. These initiatives were taken as part of CEO’s vision for reaching annual revenue of INR 10bn by 2020. Sachin was thinking about various options so as to implement these changes with least investments.

This case study can be used in B2B marketing, marketing management and marketing strategy course of an MBA program.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS: 8: Marketing

To understand the goals and key performance indicators of online social media marketing and the primary drivers of interaction in a social community. To analyze the challenges faced by the team during the launch of the new digital platform National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) Connect, interacting with an already online present small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) community. To analyze the concept of community marketing in an emerging country and appreciate the value of digital platforms in customer relationship management. To identify and critically evaluate insights on which ideas for marketing communication activities for NBF Connect can be built upon. To build an operational plan for NBF Connect customer engagement on online social communities.

In 2020, NBF launched a new digital platform for SMEs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called “NBF Connect” with the purpose of redefining banking services for the small businesses sector. The digitalization wave in the UAE was revolutionizing various industry sectors. The global banking industry was already impacted by digitalization and some banks in the UAE, especially in the retail segment (Emirates NBD, 2017), had already introduced many technology-led innovations bringing more effectiveness in the processes and better customer experience. However, the SME banking segment was lagging in terms of innovation. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic situation, with compulsory lockdowns and social distancing, changed the way of doing business for entire industries and increased the pressure on banks for the provisioning of new digital products. Rose joined NBF in the first part of 2020 as Product Owner of the project NBF Connect. The new digital platform was ideated by NBF to be differentiated from other banking products. It was co-created with insights from and regular interaction with the SME community. After the deployment of the first version of the platform in April 2020, Rose realized that the user adoption and commercial results were below par. Over the next three months, only a few users were using the platform with shallow interactions. This case study looks at Rose’s journey as NBF refined and evolved its SME banking platform, including developing and positioning the digital platform in the market, identifying competitive advantages and developing the right commercial strategy to monetize NBF’s investment in the digital platform’s development.

Students are expected to have knowledge of the issues relevant to marketing and communication management, product management and business development.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing

After reading and discussing the case, the participants would be able to:▪ articulate the challenges associated with retailing of organic products.▪ suggest paid, owned and earned digital marketing tools to Manav Chetna Vikas Kendra (MCVK);▪ suggest a digital marketing budget;▪ discuss essential elements of a good website design; and▪ discuss various website analytics metrics.

This case describes the challenges faced by the founder, Ajay Dayama, and members of MCVK, who believed in the concept of sustainable community living through the production and marketing of organic food products. They believed that they would be able to share their philosophy of sustainable living through their products reaching out to a larger population rather than just being consumed by community members. This paved the way for the creation of a brand by the name SATT offering products under the lifestyle, nutriment and wellness categories. Marketing and sales of SATT products came with a bundle of challenges, and it was not easy to convince customers about the authenticity, quality and pricing of these products. Many organic products sold by competitors were available on e-commerce platforms, while SATT relied on direct marketing. Low customer acceptance for SATT products would weaken the sustainability dream of the community. How MCVK could increase awareness and acceptance of SATT products was a big area of concern for Ajay.

This case is suitable for students enrolled for full credit course on Digital Marketing at postgraduate level. The case can be discussed towards the middle of the course.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

After completing the case, students should be able to understand: the importance and uniqueness of the individual market and developing a suitable marketing strategy. The concept of value creation and learn the importance of developing the right value proposition to compete and succeed in a market. The target audience and how to create the right marketing mix. Competition in a digital landscape and the importance of developing an appropriate strategy to counter its rivals and position the brand effectively.

During his visit to India in December 2019, Netflix’s founder and chief executive officer Reed Hastings talked about a series of steps the company had taken in the recent past to successfully face stiff competition and move towards achieving its stated target of 100 million viewers. These steps involved significant changes in their marketing mix such as reworking their pricing, developing a rich portfolio of Indian content and building various partnerships. Since Netflix’s launch in India (December 2016), it faced fierce competition from players such as Hotstar and Amazon Prime, both of whom had developed a rich portfolio of Indian content and adopted a very aggressive pricing strategy thus, making these changes essential. At the time of their launch, Netflix had set a very ambitious target of gaining 100 million viewers within five years (by 2021) while adopting a premium pricing strategy and positioning themselves uniquely based on their international content. They quickly learned that they would have to reevaluate their approach if they wanted to achieve their target on time. The changes announced by Hastings were an effort in that direction. The moot question was whether these steps would help Netflix India reach its goal. This challenge was further compounded by an almost 40% hike in data tariffs by three major wireless carriers considering most Indians watched over-the-top media content on their mobile phones.

The case is designed for undergraduates, as well as for fundamental marketing courses in the Master of Business Administration and other graduate level programmes. It can be taught in the Principles of Marketing, Marketing Strategy and International Marketing courses. It is ideal for topics such as understanding the operation of a digital business in a new market, customer value creation and value drivers, brand and brand positioning, product promotion, strategies for business growth and expansion, fighting competition in a digital landscape.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

This case is intended to illustrate to readers the challenges faced in 2011–2013 by Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, as he guided his company into the exploding tablet market. Faced with the tough decision between focusing on the e-reader market—which Amazon had come to dominate with its Kindle product line—and making a foray into tablets—for which it had no expertise—Bezos chose the latter. Amazon sought to combine platform assets to create an end-to-end experience that would let users find a “sweet spot” in the mix of features and services. This strategy involved critical decisions such as selecting a customer segment to target and a positioning for the new product, dubbed the Kindle Fire, as the tablet market rapidly evolved. The Kindle Fire was designed to put the full Amazon experience right into the laps of customers, and Bezos was betting that his customers would see the Kindle Fire as the physical manifestation of all things Amazon. To achieve this, Amazon was willing to heavily subsidize the Kindle Fire hardware device. The key assumption was that the superior end-to-end experience Amazon had carefully created would lead to incremental purchases of content as well as physical products and services, and the margins thus gained would outweigh the hardware subsidy.

• Position and define target segments for a new product relative to competition as well as to a company's own products

• Articulate a competitor's strategy and how to compete against an incumbent with a disruptive business model and a differentiated position

• Discuss selling an experience (as opposed to a product or device) and how to create a differentiated service experience

• Determine pricing, analyze business model, and calculate revenue/profit for a technology product

Position and define target segments for a new product relative to competition as well as to a company's own products

Articulate a competitor's strategy and how to compete against an incumbent with a disruptive business model and a differentiated position

Discuss selling an experience (as opposed to a product or device) and how to create a differentiated service experience

Determine pricing, analyze business model, and calculate revenue/profit for a technology product

Besides the metrics developed to measure the impact of the video campaign run by the company, the case has serious practical implications for all companies in emerging markets selling budget/low-cost products. Marketing managers can take note of these key performance indicators in evaluating the success of their social media campaigns.More importantly, students need to understand how the campaign managed to integrate uninitiated and less-privileged consumers to the world of social media with aspirational sentiments.

The case deals with a digital media planning activity for a low-cost handset company based in India. TRIVIA International Ltd is a manufacturer and marketer of smart phones and feature phone in the price range of below US$70–100 and US$20, respectively. The phones cater to low-income consumer bracket, which forms the vast microcosm of India. The consumer base is huge, but the purchasing power is very low, so they are at times referred to as the micro-consumer in Bottom of Pyramid approach. To approach this consumer base, Trivia planned a very engaging campaign on social media that yielded positive results, contrary to popular belief that only high-income individuals explore the social media intensively through their smart phones. The chapter ends with a set of recommendations for all digital managers who want to analyse their campaigns effectively via awareness, sentiment and engagement metrics.

The case is meant for all post graduate programs in Business Management, which include the MBAs, Masters in Business Administration and the Executive Development program for managers. The case can also be used in Part Time Business Management programs held over weekends for working professionals. Most likely the students are going to handle this case in their second year of a full-time program or at an advanced level of their career development programs. The subjects so mentioned here were offered as electives or areas of specialization. It is presumed that the students undergoing these courses have basic understanding of marketing management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.