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On April 4, 2007, Don Imus, one of the company&s most popular talk show personalities made comments on the air regarding the Rutgers women&s basketball team. According to the transcription from Media Matters for America, Imus said, “ That&s some nappy-headed hos there. I&m gonna tell you that now, man, that&s some … woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like … kinda like … I don&t know.” At first, the comments did not seem out of the ordinary for one of radio&s “shock jocks.” However, as the public reaction grew, the situation changed considerably. Under pressure from the public, Moonves reluctantly suspended Imus. But it was too little too late. By the end of the day on April 11, analysts estimated that $2.5 million in advertising revenue was lost. On April 12, Moonves terminated Don Imus& contract.

After Moonves fired Imus, there was still a lot to consider. He really wanted a way for the company to meet the demands of the company&s stakeholders. In addition, he wanted to avoid any more distractions from the firm&s normal day-to-day operations.

This compact case study was developed from secondary sources readily available in the public domain. These included company websites, videos, social media and news articles.

Hallmark had a strong history of supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. During the 2019 holiday season, Hallmark Channel was suddenly caught in the middle of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) ad controversy that attracted media attention. Critics of the ad claimed it went too far and was “inappropriate” to air. LGBTQ advocacy groups quickly rebuked that argument. Ultimately, the media frenzy was short-lived and Hallmark Channel continued to dominate the holiday programming landscape. This case evaluates the marketing aspects of the dilemma including customer segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) strategy issues. Culture and industry analysis is also provided as a way for the reader to understand the complexity associated with marketing strategy. One underlying question is what role does STP play in understanding how to develop marketing strategies that build customer loyalty and help organizations compete in the marketplace?

This case should be used in marketing and management classes at the undergraduate level. Applicable concepts include segmentation, targeting, positioning, advertising, brand strategy and DEI issues. This case could also be taught in a DEI course or a segmentation special topics class that discusses the differences between customer groups.