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As Japan′s domestic banking industry deregulates it is forced to confront marketing issues which it never had to deal with under the hothouse conditions that prevailed as recently as five years ago. Citibank, the American consumer banking giant, provided the initial stimulus which led large Japanese city banks to become more market responsive to their small depositors in both their products and promotional strategies. Everything from credit cards to electronic delivery systems, from cash machines to direct marketing have been affected by the retail bank strategy launched by Citibank Japan in 1985. In this situation Citibank, a foreign bank which owns a very small niche in the Japanese consumer banking marketplace, has turned out to be the “mouse” that shocked Japan′s giant “elephant” banks into changing their ways to the benefit of Japan′s bank customers. It has nudged these institutions closer to adopting the global marketing trends affecting consumer banking worldwide.

In 1984 only a gaijin optimist would have believed that Citibank could overcome its operational handicaps in Japan. But by using a differentiation strategy that benefited the downtrodden Japanese depositor, Citi changed the rides in retail banking.

Do's and Don'ts for managing strategic alliances—cooperative agreements that don't create a new corporate entity.

“Plus Corporation, partnering with a leading edge Japanese manufacturer, is rushing a unique computer hard drive to market. This startup subsidiary must manage the cross‐cultural joint venture, survive a competitive crisis, and keep the parent corporation happy.” The product development project was so successful, top management at Plus was given the opportunity to run its parent company.

Delineate the strategic implications for three new marketing trends based on digital technology.

The author looks at how strategy is being affected by: Marketing automation, where artificial intelligence is used to help win a customer and optimize the search for such potential prospects. Social media, which blends the personal and the businesslike and provides opportunities for engagement with the client on an almost real-time, personalized basis. The manipulation of huge quantities of “Big Data” to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing automation and of deriving value from social media.

Under all emerging digital technology scenarios, the marketer’s job becomes more complex and more central to the interaction between the customers and the corporation.

Social marketing will increasingly involve co-creation of product and brand story with customers, experienced-based marketing and more sophisticated management of the interface between the social media platform and automated marketing.

This article identifies the integral relationship between advances in marketing technology and strategic opportunities for marketing innovation.

Maor Zlotzever, a 32-year-old Israeli entrepreneur, was inspired to devote himself to his startup, Axios, by a youthful dream of giving customers genuine value that will improve lives.

This case looks at an entrepreneurial non-profit innovator diversifying into the hydroponics market.

Maor began working on the development of Axios’ hydroponics division as a way to maximize the production capacity of facilities for growing food plants without soil. He and his team designed a simple modular system that requires no computer and can be adapted to use solar power or biogas to drive the hydroponics pump and be energy-neutral. The compact system will sell for much less than competitors’ devices and requires very little “hands on” adjustment while the vegetables are growing.

Maor learned several lessons through his efforts to obtain resources for his project: organizations that position themselves as promoters of the entrepreneurial community often were not inclined to devote resources to idealistic inventions. In contrast, large, supposedly less entrepreneurial organizations like the Ministry of Education, Haifa University and the Israel Institute of Technology, as well as reformist groups like the green organizations, offered support, aid and encouragement.

As Steve Jobs said, “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

In theory, financial success follows continuous innovation to provide unique value to customers. So far an entrepreneurial innovator intent on doing good by giving customers genuine value that will improve lives is learning to succeed.