Stick to the Core--Or Go for More? (Commentary for HBR Case Study)

George Caldwell, cofounder of Advaark, a cutting-edge ad agency, was listening hard to his biggest client, John McWilliams, CEO of GlobalBev. McWilliams ran a multibillion-dollar holding company for an assortment of food and beverage brands but was giving credit to Advaark for his latest product line. "We were completely blindsided by this whole 'energy drink' craze," McWilliams was saying, clearly delighted that Advaark had steered his company into the business. Then he enthused, "I'd love to get your thinking about our snack lines." "Oh, no," George thought. He hadn't realized that his partner, Ian Rafferty, had made this foray into strategic consulting. Traditionally, their agency focused only on the creative execution of ad campaigns. In fact, they'd disagreed before about whether it was wise to follow customers' needs into areas where they had no skills advantage. George thought Advaark should stick to its core competence. Ian saw a source of easy revenue and an enhanced offering to clients who, he claimed, wanted one-stop shopping. The potential was appealing, but for George, it hardly outweighed the downsides. They'd risk alienating the strategy companies that now referred clients to Advaark. They'd need to recruit or develop new kinds of talent and create a methodology and training. George was just deciding to nix the expansion when a chance meeting with a former client made him pause. She'd heard about GlobalBev's success and wanted the same kind of help. Eager to win back a lapsed account, George was tempted. Should Advaark meet more of its customers' needs by expanding its services or stay focused on what it does best? In R0202A and R0202Z, commentators Gordon McCallum, John O. Whitney, Roland T. Rust, and Chris Zook weigh in on this fictional case.

• Advertising
• Core competencies
• Strategy execution
• Business growth
• Marketing strategy
• Strategic planning