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Supplements the (A) case.

ThoughtWorks, a medium-size IT systems integrator, was growing quickly but identified "lack of clear positioning around which to build a brand" as the biggest impediment to continued growth. The company had identified features that it believed differentiated it from its competitors and was considering alternative segments to target. Asks readers to choose a target and develop a positioning statement for that target as well as identify the assumptions underlying the recommended positioning strategy and suggest how market research could help establish the validity of those assumptions.

The learning outcomes of this study are to recall the fundamental concept of revenue management in the hotel industry (remembering); explain the various performance measures used to evaluate room revenue in hotels (understanding); use revenue management strategies to improve room revenue in hotel operations (applying); and examine and evaluate the optimal solution for revenue enhancement, considering factors such as capacity management, duration control and differential pricing (analyzing).

This case study delves into the challenges faced by Hotel King’s Cross, a business hotel located in Pune, Maharashtra, in the year 2022. A week before Christmas Eve, Soham Dande, the hotel’s revenue manager, sought a meeting with Rohan Chopra, the director of sales and marketing, to discuss “revenue optimization for the hotel.”

During their meeting, Dande mentioned that the hotel had fallen behind its budgeted room sales targets for 2022 across various metrics, such as room booking nights, occupancy percentage, average room rate and revenue per available room. Furthermore, the hotel was trailing behind its competitors. The situation was compounded by the management’s decision to raise the targets for 2023 by 5%–7%, factoring in upcoming events, competitive performance and pandemic-related losses over the past two years. Chopra faced the dilemma of formulating an action plan to achieve the ambitious 2023 targets and establish Hotel King’s Cross as a market leader.

Students undertaking executive development programs and graduate-level courses in non-profit hospitality and tourism management, as well as revenue management courses in the executive MBA, management development and graduate MBA programs, may all benefit from this case study.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS12: Tourism and hospitality.

Interviewing the protagonist and collecting information from secondary resources such as company documents, company and competitor websites, industry reports and online databases like Euromonitor International.

The case explores the metamorphosis of JK Masale from a small-scale family business in India to a regional player. Over a period of six decades, JK Masale (JKM) has emerged against the backdrop of a fiercely competitive spice industry. India, being a confluence of varied regional cultures, poses a diverse consumption pattern. It varies to a great extent with respect to the specific food habits prevalent in each climatic zone of the country. While the brand had successfully captured the Eastern Market and the western market of the country, Mr. Vikash Jain, Managing Director of JK Masale, contemplated to venture in Southern India and introduce new product categories. The case delves into one of the major challenges faced by JKM over the brand architecture and labelling across product categories. Thus, the case provides an excellent opportunity for budding managers to: analyse the company’s performance in the backdrop of a dynamic competitive environment; understand the nature of strategic decision-making and its appropriateness for a small family-owned business; evaluate a brand amongst brands on the architectural framework and select appropriate brand architecture for new products; and understand applicability and risks associated with growth strategies.

The case study can be positioned in both undergraduate and postgraduate level programs for courses on marketing strategy and brand management. Primarily, this case would be ideal to discuss brand relationship and brand architecture in the given context. Instructors have an option to cover concepts like market structure, company analysis, growth strategies and emergent and deliberate strategy through the case.

Chuck Smith, senior brand manager of A.1. Steak Sauce, learns that Lawry's will soon be launching a steak sauce product. He has to determine whether A.1. should defend its business and, if so, what A.1. should do. In formulating the recommendation, he has to consider competitive dynamics and work through the financial implications.

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.

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

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

MBA students Tim Joyce and Brandon Cornuke had what they believed was a great product concept: a body powder that could be delivered in an aerosol spray. Current market-leading powders such as Gold Bond and Johnson's Baby Powder involved messy application, as they were only available in “dump-on” form. Worse, because powders deposited on top of the skin didn't adhere to it, they tended not to last long. Joyce and Cornuke believed an aerosol powder spray would solve these problems. They called their product concept Dry Goods. However, taking Dry Goods from idea to reality presented some serious challenges. How would two students without access to a lab be able to research and develop a complex chemical/physical process like aerosol delivery, let alone manufacture it once they had a proven prototype? To address these problems, the two entrepreneurs sought out a contract manufacturing partner. After identifying a number of options, Joyce and Cornuke had to decide which partner offered them the best chances of success, given their goals and financial constraints.

Students will learn about the process of hiring a contract manufacturing partner to produce a new packaged good for a startup.

Faeyee Electronics was an electronics company that manufactured and sold smartphones including XS and XT types. The management of Faeyee wanted to pursue the maximum contribution margin as much as possible, especially since they were faced with limited resources. It was necessary to apply analytical tools and cost accounting concepts to study this case including cost-volume-profit analysis, learning curve analysis, regression analysis, definitions of competitive products, constrained non-linear optimization, and contribution margin.

The case uses business analytics tools and cost accounting concepts, including regression models and constrained optimization approaches, to study how to maximize business outcomes, such as contribution margin and profits when limited business resources are available. The company and individuals are disguised.

This case can be used in any junior-, senior-, masters- or MBA-level managerial accounting course. Students need to have at least one course of introduction to statistics or instructors review required statistics concepts or techniques before assigning this case. Students are exposed to the challenges of deriving learning curve models, using regression analysis to study collected data and allocating limited resources to maximize contribution margin.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a medium for in-class discussions on trade-offs in investments in different marketing activities.

This case used both secondary and primary sources. An examination of the marketing academic literature on corporate social responsibility and news articles were the main sources of secondary sources. An in-depth interview with Mike Maughan, initiator of the 5 For The Fight campaign and Qualtrics’ Head of Brand Growth and Global Insights provided additional information and support for the case. The interview offered strategic insights from the initiator of 5 For The Fight that were unavailable through secondary sources alone. The interview also detailed insights into the strategic thinking of Qualtrics CEO, Ryan Smith and Jazz President, Steve Starks.

This case examines Qualtrics, a company that took an unprecedented approach to social responsibility. Qualtrics paid millions of dollars and provided significant promotional and administrative support for cancer research without directly identifying itself as the sponsor on the Utah Jazz National Basketball Association jersey patch.

This case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in marketing, management and strategy. This case would also be of interest in a sports marketing course, as it includes an initiative by the National Basketball Association. Moreover, this case will be valuable for courses that include advanced discussions on corporate social responsibility. The case can also provide invaluable insights into innovative strategic planning for marketing and management practitioners. A portion of this case has been tested in a few undergraduate marketing courses.