Benecol Spread, a cholesterol-lowering margarine, was a product with unusual media-planning challenges. With a narrow target group and unproven market potential, Johnson & Johnson needed to get the most "bang for the buck" from its Benecol advertising. Would a media-planning model (optimizer) requiring executives to quantify their judgment on several key inputs be helpful in this process? A spreadsheet accompanying the case allows students to weight the target groups and to choose among different advertising vehicles to form the best possible media plan.
This case (an abridged version of UVA-M-0663) describes the history of the Red Bull brand and how the company stimulated and harnessed word-of-mouth to build a new product category (functional energy drinks) and brand franchise. The case concludes by asking the reader to consider where Red Bull will take its brand, product line, and marketing next, in light of many competitive challenges in the United States. The case was written to foster discussion of nontraditional brand-building strategies and the growing globalization of brands and products targeted toward younger consumers.
The Silk Soymilk brand evolves from a single homemade product to a regional then national brand, facing challenges such as investment influx, acquisition, and competition from new entrants into the market it created. Silk's marketing angles at various growth stages are discussed, and students consider whether the company should expand its presence or develop new categories and how its efforts could best realize growth targets. Which option carries the biggest risks, and which would best enhance its position as a market leader?
In early 2002, Levi Strauss was considering rekindling its Wal-Mart relationship with a new value brand. How should the brand be developed to preserve sales with existing customers in other channels? Was it possible to leverage the iconic Levi's name while remaining competitive and not affecting consumers' propensity to purchase other Levi's product lines at higher price points?
This note provides a resource to aid in understanding brand equity: its creation, maintenance, measurement, and value. Suitable for use in introductory courses in marketing at the undergraduate and MBA levels, this note presents an overview of brand perspectives including those of Millward Brown, Young & Rubicam, David Aaker, and Bill Moran, and Interbrand.