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This case depicts the history of an unusual brand in the “super premium” segment of the vodka market. The top-of-line positioning is supported with creative advertising, narrow distribution, point-of-purchase advertising, and expensive advertising production. Absolut has used very expensive inserts as advertisements in print vehicles during the Christmas season. The last inserts described in the case cost approximately $1 each to manufacture and distribute via the media vehicle (The New Yorker). The case asks students to decide whether such expensive advertising should be continued and, if so, how. The societal effects of advertising alcoholic beverages and the implications of pursuing such exclusive positioning strategies may also be explored.

This case is intended to be part of a first-year MBA marketing course or a second-year elective in advertising, integrated marketing communications, market research, or marketing analytics. It provides students with two real advertising experiments and the challenges involved in executing them. It allows for discussion of the need for advertising experiments, and, at a more general level, the need to measure the return on marketing. Biases surrounding the field experiments provide an opportunity for discussion about the problems with establishing a causal relationship between advertising and sales.

This case is intended to be part of a first-year MBA marketing course, or a second-year elective in advertising, integrated marketing communications, market research, or marketing analytics. The case provides students with examples of two real advertising experiments and the challenges involved in executing the experiments. It allows for a discussion of the need for advertising experiments, and also, at a more general level, the need to measure the return on marketing. Biases surrounding the field experiments allow for a discussion of the problems with establishing a causal relationship between advertising and sales.

This case has been written after extensive field research. It is designed specifically for the International Marketing course. However, it can be used in Brand Management, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Management courses as well.

Final-year BBA students or first-year MBA students.

Although introduced in Pakistan in 1999, Veet, a personal hygiene brand, has failed to realize its potential even after a decade. Pakistan is a conservative society and women feel embarrassed buying hair-removing creams. Humayun Farooq, the new brand manager, is at a crossroad; he believes in giving the brand a bold take-off by using fashion as a platform, whereas both top management and his assistant brand manager are skeptical of his proposition, as they see it as risky. His decision is critical, as there is pressure to strike a balance between global standardization and local cultural norms.

The students will be able to: understand how global brands need to conceptualize and implement local brand strategies, given the different market challenges; and apply key theoretical concepts in International Marketing such as cultural product adaptation.

Instructors must ask the students to study the following before discussing the case in class. For the on-air 2009 advertisement of Veet in Pakistan, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Va9bA-ebqE. Although the case sheds light on the relevant Pakistani cultural and religious norms, students may further research and study the Pakistani culture. Nijssen, E.J. and Douglas, S.P. (2011). “World World-mindedness and attitudes toward product positioning in advertising: an examination of global versus foreign versus local positioning”, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 113-133. Shivkumar, H. (2006), Managing global brand advertising, World Advertising Research Centre.

CSS 8: Marketing

This case is designed to introduce students to organization culture and how employees are being affected by it. They should have some familiarity with organizational behavior (OB) issues, especially in relating to work culture. They need to be familiar with the related theories and models in organization behavior and development. More particularly, the learning objectives using this case are as follows. By using this case, the students should be able: to understand the real-life workplace scenario where fellow colleagues, like Catherine, can act bossy; to understand the problems because of communication barriers at the workplace. to be exposed on the concept of leadership style and organizational culture; and to understand the necessity of a leader’s interference in handling a chaotic situation in the organization.

This case illustrates the challenge faced by a young entrepreneur with regard to handling workplace chaos among employees. It highlights the importance of having a smooth communication flow and work culture in the organization. SWM was a swimming center in Southeast Asia founded by Ayyub, a young entrepreneur, in July 2014. Over two years, in 2016, SWM had designed different ranges of swimming programs for children and adults. The company’s culture gave employees freedom and flexibility to work. During 2015, the company’s growth was fast, thus encouraging Ayyub to recruit new staff to handle business operations. But hiring new staff caused problems among employees. On September 2016, Ayyub received numerous complaints from employees about a particular senior staff named Catherine with regard to her quarrelsome attitude and bossy behavior toward other junior employees. As a consequence, four employees left within a one-year period, and Ayyub started to receive complaints almost every week. However, because as Catherine was Ayyub’s friend and she was loyal to the company and technical skills, Ayyub fervently wanted to retain Catherine. Nevertheless, he was in dilemma how to fix this workplace miscommunication to maintain the harmony and peace in the organization. He was planning to open a new branch at Southeast Asia on February 2017, during Chinese New Year. He wanted to solve this problem before he starts his new branch. Taking into consideration the whole situation, Ayyub is now contemplating whether to conduct one-to-one meetings with Catherine on a continuous basis to train her with communication and leadership skills, isolate her in a department with less interaction with other staff, transfer her to the new branch or fire her.

The case target audience is for MBA students, particularly for OB and HR classes. Students/participants are challenged to identify the major issue in the case and help decision maker to make decision.

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 7: Management Science.

To appreciate the link of marketing strategy in terms of a brand launch, implementation and sustainability for business growth; to appreciate the complexity of consumer behavior in the purchase and usage journey of consumers for condoms; to analyze the nature of competition for the entry of a differentiated new brand; to analyze points-of-parity and points-of differentiation for uniquely positioning a new brand in the condom category; and to examine, analyze and evaluate strategic options for the next stage of growth. To make choices from the options.

Vishal Vyas, General Manager Marketing, TTK Protective Devices Limited (TTKPDL), had been a part of the exciting journey of launching SKORE, their new brand of condoms. In 2010, the company found itself in a rather unusual circumstance when it lost its rights to the most successful condom brands in the country. However, they had with them their sales and marketing expertise, a good team and a strong and loyal network of retailers. TTKPDL decided to enter the rather crowded Indian condom market and launch a new brand, SKORE. As a product category, condoms were particularly complex, socially, as well as in attitude toward their purchase and usage. SKORE went on to optimally using marketing strategy and gaining a strong foothold by capturing market share from strong players with a differentiated positioning of a brand that was youthful and quirky. By 2017 after having steadily grown the brand, Vyas was now looking for the next level of growth in a market, which not only appeared to be stagnating but also one where competitive activity was increasing. He was considering different options for SKORE’s growth. For TTKPDL, the strategic choice may be between expanding to new markets and new segments of consumers or capturing more of their currently defined target group or both. If they wanted to do something different, should they also look at expanding their product portfolio? Vyas needed to decide on the next move.

This case can be used in the core MBA Marketing Management course or core marketing course in the executive education program to highlight the important link of marketing strategy to business strategy. It can also find a place in marketing strategy and consumer behavior courses. It clearly demonstrates the launch and implementation of a new brand in a cluttered market of a sensitive product category and considers strategic options for further growth. The case is designed to help students appreciate consumer behavior for a sensitive product category and the entry of a new brand with five strong brands leading the market. It guides students toward looking at different options for the next level of growth and making recommendations.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Microsoft's Office team was developing the marketing communication plan for its new product, Office 2007. Office was a very mature product and several versions of the product had been introduced over more than 20 years. As such, the new version had to overcome the consumer perception that the versions of Microsoft Office that they already have are “good enough” for them. The Office 2007 marketing team has come up with a two-step campaign strategy that sought to first create awareness and intrigue using traditional media, followed by the heavy use of digital media to get consumer to experience the product through different types of “digital experiences.” The team needs to decide how much of its advertising spending it should shift from traditional media to digital media, how to design the most effective digital experiences and how to measure the effectiveness of digital experiences. The case is set at a time when digital media were emerging as a promising way to engage consumers more deeply with brands and products, but marketers were uncertain about the relative effectiveness of different digital marketing tactics and the optimal mix of traditional versus digital marketing channels for different product, market and campaign contexts.

To introduce students to the possibilities of “engagement marketing” using emerging digital marketing channels To emphasize the complementary nature of traditional versus digital media and their relative effectiveness at different stages of the consumer journey from awareness to perception change to behavior. To highlight the opportunities and opportunities in designing and measuring the effectiveness of integrated marketing campaigns when digital channels are added to the marketing communications mix.

Andreas Stihl AG is the world's leading manufacturer of chain saws and other outdoor handheld power equipment. Based on marketing challenges in its high-volume retail channel—mass merchants such as The Home Depot and Lowe's—Stihl's U.S. unit has narrowed its distribution system to a single channel: independent retail dealers specializing in yard maintenance equipment. This risky and highly publicized decision has proved extremely successful, raising profits, attracting more dealers into exclusive relationships with Stihl, and strengthening the brand's top-quality positioning. But Stihl management are concerned that this channel system may not fit tomorrow's demographics, dominated by homeowners from the so-called Generation X and Generation Y. The case outlines Stihl's business and channel systems and customer needs, then poses a series of questions that management believes must be answered to determine whether to maintain or move away from reliance on its specialty retailers and how to adapt its system.

To understand issues related to retail channel strategy development in fast-changing consumer markets, as well as the challenges of adapting legacy routes-to-market systems to changing consumer service output demands.

Marketing management, brand management, brand loyalty, brand consumer behavior.

MBA program or the Executive Education program.

Anubhav Jain, Marketing Head of Digamber Industries, is concerned about the national launch of Surya Gold tea. The brand had been doing well in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh, India) with almost 20 per cent market share. However, market reports suggested that retailers primarily pushed the brand and consumers had little loyalty for Surya Gold. Owing to lower repeat purchases, Jain had to spend large amount of money on consumer acquisition. For the national launch, a large base of loyal consumers was critical for business growth. He understood brand loyalty but found it a difficult proposition to relate from consumers' perspective. Market consultants were hired to conduct a qualitative research based on Susan Fournier's work on consumer-brand relationships. The case gives an account of conversations with professed lovers of tea to understand consumer behavior toward tea, including why people drink tea, how they choose their brands and what makes them re-buy or change brands. The case makes certain propositions around brand loyalty, which Jain had to decode to understand tea consumers in India, how brand loyalty develops and changes over time, and hence, how should he plan his marketing strategy. The case attempts to help students critique traditional definitions of brand loyalty, understand and evaluate the concept from consumers' perspective and highlight its importance in marketing strategy planning by explaining evolution, various types and intensity of brand loyalty.

The broad objective of the case is to strengthen participants' understanding of brand loyalty concept and also appreciate the importance and role of brands in consumer's life. The case can be used for MBA or executive education in brand management or consumer behavior courses. The specific objectives of this case are to help students appreciate the variations in brand loyalty across consumers and critically assess the traditional definition of loyalty, highlight the connection between the consumer personality and the brand attributes, help them understand how the concept of brand loyalty and brand relationship affects consumers' attitude and behavior, help students understand as to why brand loyalty develops and how it can be maintained and expose students to qualitative unstructured data and give them an experience of using it for managerial use.

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

This case introduces students to the heritage brand Maille. Dating back to 1747, this brand has managed to elevate the image of mustard from commodity to premium product, capitalizing on brand authenticity and adopting the codes and strategies of luxury brands. Present in supermarkets with a premium price positioning, Maille develops its image through creating an elaborate customer experience in its boutiques, as well as through a communication strategy based on storytelling. Yet, the core base of customers who identify as gourmets is aging. To sustain its development, Maille needs to gain appeal among younger generations of consumers, without betraying its identity.

The Maille brand manager was interviewed in relation to the case. Participant observation was conducted in the boutiques in Paris (both Place de la Madeleine and Caroussel du Louvre) and in London, followed by discussions with Maille sommeliers. Data were also gathered through secondary sources. The question “How to seduce younger consumers with mustard” was proposed by Unilever.

This case has been effectively used with MBA and MSc Marketing students in Brand Management classes to demonstrate how brands draw inspiration from the luxury sector to become aspirational, enhance their social prestige and position themselves at higher price points. Students must reflect on how to build on the brand’s current strengths in order to protect it from a decline in consumption and competitive threats. Based on this analysis of the current situation, students must decide on the value of Maille differentiation strategy to younger consumers and on which segments to target without harming the brand’s identity. The rejuvenation of heritage brands (or gaining appeal to younger generations of customers) is a major issue in many sectors, from luxury, to wine and spirits, to food.

The case fosters discussions on core marketing concepts such as heritage branding and brand authenticity as well as differentiation and premiumisation strategies, all concepts that should be developed when answering the assignment questions. Furthermore, students should choose between a segmentation based on demographics (age, generations), and a segmentation based on lifestyle and attitude toward food.