Social media influencers have been at the peak of pop culture for the past few years, everyday people suddenly becoming celebrities and influencers for Millennials and Generation Z. Calling themselves creators, influencers now exist in every industry and have widespread, highly engaged followings; many companies are eager to work with them to build their brands. This text offers an overview of influencer marketing, focusing on collaboration between organizations and influencers. Brand managers, agency professionals, new influencers, and students will particularly benefit from this book, gaining practical advice and learning from examples in areas such as the Creator Economy, typology of influencers, and considerations for campaign design. A valuable introduction to the influencer marketing ecosystem and the influencer marketing relationships framework, Celebrity 2.0 shows how content marketing, native advertising, and influencer marketing can effectively come together. Chapter 6 focuses on some of the issues to consider when implementing influencer marketing campaigns. While it may be difficult, brands must let go a bit and give influencers some creative control, not too much but not too little. Legal considerations are described, such as contract clauses to protect the brand (for both the company and the influencer), compensation, and disclosures. Ethical considerations, like influencer fraud, are explored. Mistakes and unintended consequences are inevitable as influencer marketing is still relatively new; brand safety is crucial, and vetting influencers rigorously is vital to retaining brand safety. The chapter ends with a discussion on the future of influencer marketing, including topics such as evolving platforms, new and diverse influencers, multiple revenue streams, and potential research areas.
Recent years had witnessed the social phenomenon of the rise of Internet brands. Looking at Internet fitness unicorn brand Keep's brand commercialization process, Keep demonstrated the path of creation, product adjustment and upgrade, and brand extension logic of Internet app brands. Keep started as a single-tool app providing exercise content and data records, and gradually developed into a one-stop fitness and exercise platform by actively adjusting its brand goal, surpassing similar products to become the largest social platform for exercise in China. Keep then went through a bottleneck period where it had huge traffic but could not monetize it. Finally, Keep pursued commercialization, transforming into a comprehensive ecological fitness chain. Now, in April 2021, how would Keep respond to the competition and continue its strategic vision of providing a fitness ecosystem? Should its strategic focus continue to shift from online to offline? What should Keep's next steps be?
Malabar Gold & Diamonds (Malabar) was established in 1993 in Kerala, India. By 2019, the company was a leading retail chain in India's jewellery market and one of the top five jewellery businesses in the world, selling their products through 117 Indian outlets and 143 global outlets across nine countries. Most of Malabar's domestic revenue came from the southern region of India, and the company was looking to extend its footprint across the entire Indian market. However, the country's jewellery market was highly competitive, with a strong presence of regional players, and consumers in each Indian state had their own unique preference for jewellery design. Malabar needed to find a strategy to expand its presence into the country's uniquely different geographic areas.
Hisense Group Co. Ltd. (Hisense) was a leading manufacturing enterprise in the Chinese household appliance industry. In 2010, Hisense began to lay out its online channels. At that time, the same products had different prices in different channels, which caused fierce channel conflicts. To solve this problem, Hisense segmented online and off-line products and took a series of actions to help off-line channels improve efficiency and reduce prices. Therefore, Hisense successfully changed from having different prices for the same products to having different prices for different products. However, in early 2020 the new model was challenged again, and channel conflicts soon reappeared. How would Hisense break the recurring channel conflict this time?
Anthony Scaramucci, Managing Director of SkyBridge Capital, considered whether he should officially greenlight the launch of SkyBridge's own NFT platform - Flatter NFT. He had led the investment firm to push first into Bitcoin and then Ethereum to make SkyBridge a central node in the crypto industry. He further believed SkyBridge could differentiate itself from OpenSea and other platforms by tying non-fungible tokens with fungible experiences. The technology behind the platform was solidly proven. However, in his head he weighed the tradeoff between launching a full platform versus other ways of investing in the space. With a potential announcement of the platform pending for the September 2021 SALT NYC conference, Scaramucci believed now was the time to make a decision. The NFT space swelled in users and value by the day. Should SkyBridge jump in or move on to another venture?
Two audit and financial services firms, one of which your consulting firm has supported extensively, have merged to create one of the largest audit firms in the world. The audit firm's Executive Team has requested proposals aimed at re-evaluating their internal governance structure ahead of the CEO's retirement. As your team works to develop a proposal, your team wonders if a new governance structure is really what is needed given perceived shortfalls of the merger. With your presentation scheduled and fast approaching, how should you proceed?
A major, NYC-based, global investment bank is looking to rethink its Systems strategy amid a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Your firm has served the client across most of its major geographies on a range of substantial Systems and IT efforts, but is facing competition from two other leading firms who have also supported the client. As you work to develop a proposal, your firm must balance voices from a number of Senior Partners, each of whom has supported the client and has a unique perspective, incorporate the right specialists with technical expertise, and chart a way forward. How should your firm organize to win the work?
In late 2021, Darius Adamczyk, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell is considering the changes he has made to the company since he took over the top leadership position in 2017. The company he had inherited from his predecessor, David Cote, was seen by most as a high-performing, successful operation. Rather than rest on that success, however, Adamczyk had made a series of major moves-spinouts, exits, mergers, and reorganizations to refocus and reposition Honeywell. Against the backdrop of the breakup of GE, which many considered to be Honeywell's peer, Adamczyk wonders if he has done enough to prepare Honeywell to compete in the 21st century.
Gibson and Fender, two of the biggest success stories in the guitar industry, were founded in 1902 and 1946, respectively. After both companies introduced their version of the electric guitar, their stories became intertwined, and they began a race for innovation interspersed with periods of financial crisis, corporate takeovers, and poor strategic decisions. But, over time, they captured a 70% share of the market between them and became world-renowned, producing legendary guitars that changed the face of popular music, and thus of culture. In response to declining sales of electric guitars in the mid-2000s, the two companies adopted very different survival strategies. Gibson opted for diversification, purchasing companies that expanded its product line, while Fender chose to attract new audiences with high growth potential. Gibson's overly ambitious strategy led it to bankruptcy, allowing Fender to retain its leadership status. Parts A, B, and C of this case present the two companies' history, their innovations, their evolving product lines, and the consequences of their strategies.
Founded in 1892, Boston-based General Electric (GE) has had a history of transformation, having pursued an impressive share of acquisitions, divestitures, and organic growth. From bolt-on acquisitions to enhance its existing platforms to sweeping changes in internal capabilities, GE has at times been considered the world's best-managed firm and at others, a large conglomerate in need of repositioning, rife for shareholder activism. In recent years, GE has faced critical decision point, with a growing pension deficit while funds were used for acquisitions, and a simultaneous series of management changes and growing investor concern. Since 2018, management has proposed a separation of the company into three entities. In this case, students are asked to analyze the businesses of GE, consider the pros and cons of a split, and make recommendations for the best path forward.
A former investment banking professional had her eureka moment when she noticed instances of assaults on single women travelling alone in taxi cabs at odd times of the day. The prevalence of these instances led her to begin a safe cab service run by women for women-Taxshe Services Pvt. Ltd. (Taxshe), located in Bengaluru, India. In March 2020, the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began in India, and a lockdown was announced as a preventive measure. Taxshe, whose customers mainly comprised working women and school-going children, faced a significant challenge, as the sudden changes and stringent restrictions brought on by the lockdown precipitated a substantial drop in the need for cab services. Taxshe's founder contemplated the company's dilemma and consulted people from across her wide network of personal and professional acquaintances. How could she keep Taxshe up and running in spite of the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic? What value-added specialty services could Taxshe offer as a cab service during the pandemic that would benefit society at large?
In early June 2021, an independent investigation team released its report into the way Japan-based Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba) had conducted its 2020 annual shareholder meeting, finding that the company had mishandled the annual general meeting with respect to shareholder rights. As a result, Toshiba had to deal with the immediate problem of putting up a new slate of nominee board directors to be put to a vote at the next annual shareholder meeting to be held on June 25, 2021. Toshiba also had to deal with the long-term problem of improving the company's corporate governance and re-establish trust in the way the company was run. The board had one week in which to prepare a plan to present at the annual general meeting that would restore trust in the company.
Paytm was India's first digital wallet service provider. It revolutionized the country's digital payments landscape, but it was slow to adopt Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The entry of WhatsApp into the digital payments industry on November 6, 2020 intensified the competition in the UPI segment of the market that Google Pay and PhonePe already dominated by focusing on person-to-person (P2P) transactions. With a strong 400-million user base, WhatsApp threatened to be a formidable competitor in the P2P segment. Paytm was in third position in the UPI-based payments market, but maintained a firm hold on the person-to merchant (P2M) segment. Should Paytm continue to focus on that segment or should it expand to P2P, which was a larger market with big competitors?
After the 2008-09 financial crisis, the Chinese shipping industry grew markedly and took on a more dominant role in global shipping. As a result, it was felt by some that China's state-driven economic model had possibly created an unequal playing field. Under the political agenda of the Belt and Road Initiative, specifically the Maritime Silk Road, Chinese state-owned enterprises acquired strategic infrastructure assets, establishing a global network of shipping infrastructure through investments in strategically important ports and terminals. The growth of China's shipping industry raised several concerns in Europe and for AP Moller-Maersk, the largest container shipping conglomerate in the market. By late 2020, some European governments were becoming more cautious; the European Union had increased restrictions on investments by Chinese companies, and European governments had become increasingly outspoken about China's geopolitical ambitions. How could AP Moller-Maersk use non-market strategies to better position itself relative to increasing competition from China?
On the morning of October 9, 2021, almost all newspapers in India carried the news of the re-privatization of Air India. They celebrated the move by the Government of India to hand back the airline to its original owner, the Tata group. Tata Airlines was founded in 1932 as India’s first airline. The Government of India nationalized the airline in 1953. In October 2021, nearly seven decades after its nationalization, Tata Sons and the Tata group, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited, acquired Air India again, bringing a halt to the years of effort by the government to re-privatize the national carrier. The re-privatization gave the Tata group full control of Air India and its low-cost airline, Air India Express, and a 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd (AISATS), the airport and cargo-handling service company. <br><br>However, the restoration of Air India as a renowned, profit-making airline was an uphill battle accompanied by myriad challenges. The Tata group ran two airlines in India: Tata SIA Airlines Limited (operating as Vistara), in which it held a 51 per cent stake; and Capital A Berhad (operating as AirAsia) with an 80 per cent stake. In financial year 2020–21, both airlines incurred significant losses. The responsibility of rebuilding Air India at such a precarious juncture could have become yet another adaunting task for the Tata group. Did the Tata group make the right move by acquiring Air India? What should the Tata group do to make Air India regain its lost glory, and how should it prioritize what needed to be addressed to achieve this? How could Air India overcome the industry- and company-level challenges it faced?
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) had been working on a new brand campaign to attract visitors to Singapore. However, instead of highlighting the country's attractions and listing the reasons why it would be a good destination, they wanted to roll out a different kind of campaign that would resonate with consumers. Working with the Economic Development Board (EDB), STB developed a country brand to deliver a more compelling message to tourists and investors alike. Drawing on Singapore's early history, STB focused on telling stories that showed how Singaporeans overcame adversity on their road to success. STB worked with many people and organisations before launching the campaign about people following their passions. After the launch of the 'Passion Made Possible' campaign, STB hoped for widespread adoption of the country brand and a useable framework for future campaigns.
In 2018-19, Jet Airways stood nearly grounded. An airline that, just 5 years ago, had spread its wings across the world witnessed a stunning turnaround in its fate. The company appeared to face a perfect storm, with competition from low-cost carriers and increasing fuel prices. To excel and be a market leader, Jet Airways made big-ticket acquisitions and floated multiple low-cost offerings. However, none of these efforts seemed to have paid off as the company faced complete suspension of its operations. The case examines possible causes for the decline in the company's fortunes.
Three college friends-Rijin John, Vivek George and Arun Ghosh-came together to realise their decade-old dream of starting an enterprise. They launched Santa Express, an on-demand delivery service, for the pickup and delivery of handy and nonperishable goods in Kochi. Their idea of Santa serving customers was based partly on market research and intuition. However, lately, things have been difficult for Santa Express because of scaling issues, lack of an able/reliable workforce, funding, lack of long-term planning, co-founder's shifting commitments and pricing. The time had come for the co-founders to decide whether to continue the venture or shut it down. The case poses a real-life situation for students considering or planning to establish new ventures. They will have to struggle with many of the questions facing Santa Express. Some students may be naturally inclined to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Others may allow all the uncertainties and associated risks-real and imagined-to give them an excuse to take the safe road. This case allows the students to experience both the appealing facets and bothersome ambiguities of a start-up.