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After studying and analyzing this case, students will be able to: understand and evaluate the integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategy for online businesses; understand and create the various components of an IMC plan; determine the challenges of scaling up a business and how social media marketing can help in that; learn how to assemble the positioning statement of a startup; determine and differentiate the different business models (revenue models); and understand and create the social media marketing strategy.

It was late April 2021, and Mr Srinivas Rao, the co-founder and director of Mentorrd EduTech, India, was contemplating the journey of more than five years. Much had changed since the startup Mentorrd Education Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Mentorrd EduTech) was launched in 2015. From being an online artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool for analyzing and building resumes, Mentorrd expanded to specialized premium services for career development catering to MBA aspirants from India to international markets. However, during the same time, many problems had also started showing up. The competition had increased, and conversions became difficult. Mentorrd generated 95% of its leads through Google Ads pay per click (PPC) advertising. However, now, the increased competition made PPC costlier, where Mentorrd started at INR 10 per click but was now paying INR 50 per click. The customers also were only limited to searching for keywords; hence, actual lead conversion was minimal. Mentorrd was present on different social media platforms and had developed an audience: LinkedIn (close to 10,000 followers), Facebook (1,600+ followers) and Twitter (numbers), but conversions from there were only contributing to 5% of the total revenue.Mr Rao wondered that with a change in demand from general review services to specialist resume and interview preparation services such as MBA, he would have to develop a sound social media strategy integrated with the current Google Ads usage to reach the audience and generate conversions. He had a limited marketing budget which he wanted to use most effectively but was not sure how to spend across platforms.

This case can be used as an IMC strategy case for MBA courses in marketing. In a marketing course, the focus should be on components of IMC strategy, customer perception, company positioning and marketing channels. The case can also be applied as a strategy case for courses in entrepreneurship or digital marketing strategy. In an entrepreneurship course, the focus should be on the business model, growth and scaling decisions a startup needs to make to grow the business. In a digital marketing strategy course, the focus should be on social media marketing and search engine marketing decisions and the implications for revenues and profits. The case can also be used in executive-level courses to illustrate IMC, growth and digital marketing strategies for a startup.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

This case focuses on Cisco Systems' innovative probe-and-learn approach to using social media to launch its ASR 1000 Series Edge Router. The company had decided to eschew traditional print and TV media in marketing the new product and had decided instead to focus its efforts entirely on digital marketing and social media to attract the attention of its target market. The case discusses Cisco's bold plan to launch the ASR 1000 Series “virtually, visually, and virally” and the digital tactics employed by the Cisco Systems marketing team to accomplish this ambitious goal. Business marketers normally adopt a more serious and traditional approach to marketing its products but in this case Cisco had decided to buck that trend by exploring digital tools and social gaming avenues which its target client—the technical community—were increasingly frequenting. Cisco's challenge lay in whether this new approach and resultant value proposition would resonate with its technical audience and give the ASR 1000 Router the kind of publicity it needed to have. The case is set at a time when social media was burgeoning as a promising way to engage consumers more deeply with brands and products, but marketers were still experimenting with the tools and tactics of social media for marketing.

Understand the relevance of social media for product launches as a function of contextual factors such as nature of product, media habits, and company credibility. Learn about the applicability of social media for business marketers in terms of its uniqueness, advantages and challenges. Recognize the relationship between campaign objectives and the value proposition for the product. Understand the evolution of social media marketing from a probe-and-learn approach to a strategy-driven process. The initial test and learn approach must be enhanced and become more strategic in the future.

Although Google had a stellar performance in Web search, many of its other services, such as Google Video, were less successful. This case describes how YouTube came to dominate the video market for user-generated content (UGC), while Google Video tried various entry strategies and ultimately failed, ending with the acquisition of YouTube. It also reviews the various competitors in the UGC market, chronicles the entry of established and new players in the area of professionally generated content (PGC), and outlines the key challenges related to monetizing the acquisition of YouTube for Google.

The case discusses when and how to enter winner-take-all markets characterized by very strong network externalities. It focuses on the strategies of new entrants vs. those of incumbents in adjacent industries that seek to leverage their resources and skills. Further, it sheds light on how new industries are created, how convergence is changing competitive forces, how important it is to be a first or late mover in new markets, and how successful entrants may struggle to achieve profitability.

The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the internal processes that take place in social media influencers operations; to evaluate the role communication and planning in the social media marketing process; to discover the importance of social media as a pinnacle of new communication mix tool; to make strategic decisions in managing a social media account; and to highlight how the team internal interactions could determine the success and profitability of the social media influencer.

Case deals with the growth and managing issues faced by the social media influencers in Kazakhstan. The case shows the other side of social media marketing, where the main focus is shifted from the corporate clients, who use social media influencer, toward the influencers themselves and challenges faced by them. Hence, the case reveals the story of Jokeasses team, who are based in Kazakhstan with significant following both on Instagram and YouTube platforms. The decision-making dilemmas in the case focused upon not only the issues of brand formation but also how online brand could be transferred into profitable enterprise.

Bachelor

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 3: Entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship, strategic analysis.

Entrepreneurship, strategic management, business in Asia.

This case describes the experience of a start-up online TV company in Thailand. It supplies details about how the business idea was hatched, what challenges the company is currently facing, and how the future prospects for the online media market in Thailand are unfolding.

Participants are expected to be able to compare the similarities and differences between a textbook model of entrepreneurship and the real experience of the company described in the case. A better appreciation for basic strategic analysis such as examining internal strengths and weaknesses and understanding external opportunities and threats can also be developed.

Teaching notes.

All aspects like finances, marketing strategy, competitors, etc. have been taken into account to provide the readers a complete and realistic image about the working, decisions and their outcomes for boAt. Secondary data has been used from blogs, company website and other sources in this study.

This case presents boAt’s growth in the Indian market because of India’s exponentially growing customer base in the tech and audio industry. This case brings to light all the factors considered and the business decisions to be made while growing in the market. The challenges faced by boAt after they entered the market and the company’s business decisions to overcome these challenges are also discussed. This case provides an opportunity for students to understand the dynamics associated with expanding in a competitive market to maintain growth and maximize profits.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students and can be used for courses in strategy, marketing, entrepreneurship and business management.

In 2013, Under Armour had $2.3 billion in sales yet only $500 million came from its women’s apparel, and the company was ready to expand into the female market segment. The “I Will What I Want” global women’s marketing campaign was the largest Under Armour had ever run. Founder Keven Plank and his team launched the campaign on a multichannel platform, with social media at its core. The campaign’s success surpassed what Plank had imagined, and he is left wondering where to take Under Armour’s advertising and marketing next. This case has been used successfully in a marketing course and would be suited for any class with a focus on interactive media, technology, and multichannel marketing.

Appendixes for the case study, teaching notes with figures and suggested chart plan schema.

Students are expected to learn the use of networks for market growth; types of network connections; and ways to achieve international expansion through networks’ relations.

This teaching case describes the internationalization of an emerging country artist, the Brazilian singer Anitta, who seeks to expand her audience in foreign markets, while dealing with maintaining the public in her home country.

Recommended to International Business disciplines in specialization courses.

CSS 5: International Business.

The learning outcomes are as follows: first, identify the characteristics of born-global SMEs, and how these characteristics facilitate their global expansion shortly after the company’s inception. Second, demonstrate that companies work with limited resources, typically and notably newly established companies, and that these resources should be allocated according to a carefully determined strategy. The resources focussed on in this case pertain to marketing. Third, examine entrepreneurial marketing and its various manifestations. An understanding of how this type of marketing is used by companies for international expansion is expected. Fourth, assess the role of digital marketing and how social media forms an important part of digital marketing. Particular attention is paid to the use of digital marketing, notably social media, in international expansion. Fifth, develop critical thinking skills with respect to strategic business decisions, such as whether to expand a business into foreign markets or to consolidate locally; and how best to penetrate foreign markets, given the nuances and complexities specific to these markets.

This teaching case is about The Duchess, a recently developed and launched virgin alcohol-free and sugar-free gin and tonic beverage. The adult soft drink was originally launched in South Africa, and just 18 months later became available in international markets (the UK and Belgium). The founders and protagonists of the case, Johannes le Roux and Inus Smuts, face the dilemmas of creating a competitive local brand while also looking to access new markets and internationalise as a born-global firm.

The target audience for this case comprises students enrolled in tertiary business education programmes who have already had some sort of work experience and hands-on exposure to real-world business. MBA and EMBA students, as well as those enrolled in post-graduate studies specific to marketing, international commerce and entrepreneurship, would be suitable candidates.

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

The case explicates a situation wherein an international flight from Newark to Ahmedabad, with a stopover in Mumbai, is delayed during the final leg of its journey between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that all international and domestic passengers are already on board when they face this five-hour delay. The case provides a rich context to discuss issues related to difficult communication and persuasion during crisis. The captain communicates with the passengers, through a series of announcements, with updates on the situation. He attempts to manage the escalating tension within the airplane and does succeed to a certain level. The case highlights the significance of timely and well-crafted messages during crisis situations. It also illuminates how the use of rhetorical strategies influence customer perception of credibility and at times, shift attribution of blame.