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Brands are socially constructed (Askegaard, 2006) and are culturally dependent on the “cultural codes of branding” by taking into consideration the history, images and myths that can influence brand meaning (Schroeder, 2009). Brands can be of great value when they hold a favorable image in the consumer’s mind (Anholt, 2010). Regional differences and demographics can impact what has a favorable image in the consumer’s mind and can bias the expectancy set for consumers. When selecting a brand name, the SMILE and SCRATCH test should be used (Neck et al., 2018; Watkins, 2014). This name evaluation test can be used to assess the strength of a brand name. If the name has these five qualities, it should be kept, or you should “smile”: suggestive – it evokes positivity; meaningful – customers can understand it; imagery – it is visually memorable; legs – it lends itself well to a theme to run with; and emotional – it resonates with your market. On the contrary, if the name has any of these traits, it should be “scratched”: spelling-challenged – it is hard to spell; copycat – it is too similar to competitors’ names; restrictive – it would be hard to grow or evolve with; annoying – it is annoying; tame – it is lame or uninspired; curse of knowledge – only insiders or some people will understand it; and hard-to-pronounce – it is hard to say (Neck et al., 2018; Watkins, 2014). The marketing mix or 4P’s of marketing – product, price, promotion and place – is a set of tools business owners can use to achieve their marketing goals and is based on McCarthy’s (1960) work. The S.A.V.E. framework – solution, access, value and education (Ettenson et al., 2013) – has more recently been cited as a more modern replacement to the long used 4P’s model (Ettenson et al., 2013). Through this framework, business owners can work to align their brand to provide a solution to customers’ problems, give them access to the solution, provide value for customers and educate them about the product or service. The S.A.V.E. framework focuses on solutions, access, value and education rather than product, place, price and promotion. In this framework, the business should focus on meeting their customers’ needs and being accessible to customers along their entire journey from hearing about the company to making a purchase. Additionally, companies should provide value for their customers rather than solely worrying about price, and instead educate customers by providing information they care about (Ettenson et al., 2013; Neck et al., 2018).

Teaching case.

This case presents the story of Big Momma’s, a coffee shop in a deteriorated historic district in Springfield, Missouri. Big Momma’s owner Lyle, a black man in a predominantly white region, was new to the area and launched the business quickly, without much market testing of the concept or brand. Soon after launching, Lyle wondered if he was set up for doom as customers constantly ask for Momma or barbeque. It seemed necessary to take a critical look at the marketing and branding plans.

This case could have multiple uses, primarily for early stage undergraduate students studying entrepreneurship or integrated marketing communications. The case lines up nicely with the following textbook lessons. Entrepreneurship: the case can be used with Entrepreneurship: The Practice and Mindset (Neck et al., 2018), chapter 16, lesson on branding with a specific tie to the SMILE and SCRATCH test described in Table 16.1 and the S.A.V.E. framework described on pages 453–454. It can also be used with Entrepreneurship (Zacharakis et al., 2018), chapter 6, lesson on marketing strategy for entrepreneurs with a specific tie to the sections on marketing mix and value proposition described on pages 183–198. Integrated marketing communications: this case can be used with Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications (Shrimp and Andrews, 2013), chapter 3, lesson on brand naming.

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By July 2015, 20% of Starbucks’s payments in the United States came through its mobile app. The company had created a tool to both drive loyalty and grow its customer base. No stranger to innovation, Starbucks was partnering with iTunes as early as 2007, earned its first mobile marketer of the year award by 2010, introduced its mobile app in 2011, and by 2015, 94% of Facebook users were either fans of Starbucks or friends with someone who was. This case explores the company’s commitment to mobile and its social media prowess, and considers just what it takes to drive loyalty in a customer base.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Nintendo was dominating the video game industry with a market share of 90 per cent. Since that time, market share has dropped substantially with new competitors, new technology and changing consumer preferences. This case examines the history of Nintendo including its loss of market share in a rapidly changing industry.

This case is suitable for undergraduate courses in strategic management where an instructor’s focus is on strategic decision-making.

The paper employs ethnographic interviews, a quantitative and qualitative data analysis of publicly accessible data and literature review.

With drought conditions expected to worsen in at-risk areas thus amplifying wildfire likelihood, this case explores the organizational and natural dynamics involved with wildfire management. The case engages students to explore the interactions between wildfire, wildland firefighters and agency organizations drawing from the natural resource dependence theory within a sustainability context. When completing the discussion questions, students are challenged to explore how organizations can use discursive closures to eliminate conflict and control meaning surrounding potentially controversial and politicized topics such as wildfire management.

This interdisciplinary case would be appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students in business and STEM classes. Optimal classes include organizational behavior, organizational communication and sustainability. Other appropriate classes include strategic management, applied business decisions, public relations, public policy, crisis management and for corporate training purposes.

The case is set in summer 2016, centered on the writer and performing star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose Broadway show Hamilton had grossed almost $75 million and won 11 Tony Awards. The musical's cultural influence was buoyed by Miranda’s 578,000 Twitter followers; hundreds of celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Jennifer Lopez had become ambassadors for the musical; and its impromptu #Ham4Ham live performances were engaging thousands of people on social media with each release. The case explores specific tactics the show employed, challenges students to consider the importance of personality in creating social media buzz, and studies the practical influence social media may have had on the show’s success. It is appropriate for any marketing course, particularly a digital media class in which students are familiar with the major platforms.

Tourism and hospitality management, strategy, economics and customer service.

Undergraduate students studying hospitality management, customer satisfaction, customer service and economics.

Dubai International Airport is one of the most celebrated airports worldwide. It was constructed by order of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1969 and has developed significantly in all sections over the years. Passenger numbers and profits have increased dramatically and the airport has received many awards from various countries and organizations, contributing greatly to economic and tourism development. Dubai International Airport offers unique services and facilities to customers, including the Airport Medical Centre, special needs services, Dubai International Airport Hotel, transportation, lounges, a children's play area, smoking rooms, Al Majlis services, executive flight services, Ahlan services, a modern baggage-handling system and Dubai Duty Free. The quality of service is one of the significant concerns of an international company, including Dubai International Airport, as a high quality brings many benefits to the organization, such as increased customer satisfaction and revenue. Thus, to maintain a high-quality level and compete with other international airports, Dubai International Airport needs to ensure the development of its service.

This cast study will help understand both the services offered by the airport and their features and understand the concepts of increasing value to customers in lieu of money, the contribution of the airport to economic growth, exceeding customers' expectations, intonation in providing services, some factors of competitive advantages, the application of customer satisfaction theories, the services market triangle and providing a role model to other airports.

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

This case describes the challenges faced by Amul in organising dairy farmers into a co-operative and creating continuous opportunities for value addition. Participants in the case discussion are required to review the developments in the organisation and recommend a strategy for the future.

Over the last two decades, Under Armour (UA) has emerged from being the “underdog” in the sports apparel and footwear industry to being a leader in the industry, with a fierce attention to performance and great skill at picking up-and-coming athletes who emerge as superstars. This case underscores its administrative heritage, competitive strategy, and growth potential as a global player in a highly competitive industry. It addresses the tension between being a performance brand while launching lines for women vs technology applications and conflicts between its growth strategy and macro-economic forces. It highlights areas in which it has succeeded against macro-economic forces and where it has not.

The research relies primarily on secondary sources and countless studies of UA and its major competitors. Primary research is based on databases, videos of UA’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Plank, and articles from Bloomberg to The Baltimore Sun (UA’s headquarters) on the history, growth and future of UA. It also includes observations and site visits to one of its signature brand house stores as well as intensive research and directed studies with students in the USA and China.

The case can be applied to undergraduate, graduate or executive business classes in: business policy and strategy; general management; (sports) marketing; leadership or organisational behaviour classes.

The case study will help to learn about the importance of pre-sanction precautionary measures before lending to self-help groups (SHGs), to learn about the potential lapses and errors while sanctioning SHG finance and to learn about the importance of bank’s guidelines and compliance before sanctioning loans.

This case study details the tenure of Seema in a rural branch of Safe Bank of India located in Haryana which she joined as a manager in the year 2016. She overachieved the target given by the district collector office, and going by the tide, she kept her reliance on the references provided by non-government organization (NGO) without complying the bank’s instructions. She committed errors while sanctioning the loans, which led towards the upsurge of non-performing assets of the branch. Later on, after investigation it was discovered that she did not follow fundamental bank’s instructions. In wake of those lapses and errors, how she could have avoided those lapses and secure the public money? What were the most important documents while granting agriculture finance and what due diligence she should have taken? How did she treat calls from the government departments? Was she right in trusting the suggestions of the NGO?

This case study caters to students of various streams, namely, management, business administration and law, and can be targeted at both undergraduate and postgraduate students. It could be suitable for several types of courses and students. Furthermore, this case study can also be targeted for various training programmes for bank employees and employees of various lending institutions engaged in agriculture finance and credit linkage programmes.

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 1: Accounting and finance.

United Learning is a family-owned leader in the K-12 supplementary teaching material market. In January 2001, United Learning realized that sales for one of its flagship products, a drug and prevention program, were rapidly deteriorating because the program was not mentioned on a recently released U.S. Department of Education list of recommended products. United Learning must decide on which action to take: regain sales or focus on its other educational products—which are also threatened by changes in the regulatory environment.