Detroit, Michigan, aka "The Motor City," is most known as the birthplace of most of the American classic automotive brands. It is a city filled with the rich history of the industrial age, the pride of American manufacturing, and of the soulful sounds of Motown music. It is also a place that more recently has become synonymous worldwide with rustbelt urban decay, characterized by abandoned factories, commercial buildings, and homes, soaring unemployment and homelessness, and a sense of despair since the city's declaration of bankruptcy in 2013, which led to its other nickname, "America's Warzone". It was a surprising place to find the headquarters of a new luxury brand. Shinola, a luxury watchmaker and purveyor of stylized, retro-chic, and hipster-cool products, had aggressive goals to grow to 75-100 stores and consumers and store employees, many of whom had never been to Detroit, would need to become familiar with the Shinola brand narrative. Recent expansions of the brand into lower price point timepieces and the hospitality sector would have to be monitored, and future brand extensions and brand partnership opportunities evaluated to support an evolving new luxury lifestyle brand positioning. As they continued to expand the Shinola brand into international markets, the brand's story, rooted in Detroit's imagery, history, and lore, might have to be reconsidered to appeal to non-American audiences. Finally, the company found itself the subject of legal and cultural critique. A "RETHINK SHINOLA" artist movement was questioning its commitment to Detroit. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had recently fined Shinola for unfairly claiming that its products were "made in Detroit," putting its brand storytelling under the microscope.
Following its re-emergence from bankruptcy protection in 2014, the marketing team at Kodak has been charged with tripling brand value with consumers, with little marketing budget. The case focuses on the strategies used by senior Kodak marketers Steven Overman and Dany Atkins to leverage the brand's heritage for innovation and creativity with existing and new audiences. With few resources other than heritage, Overman and Atkins have focused on making Kodak 'cool' through partnerships with a range of brands targeting younger users while also reinforcing the brand's historic links with the motion picture industry and benefitting from the so-called 'analog revival'. The case explores issues of cultural branding, focusing on how relevance can be built through connections to crowd cultures, communities and other brands to build a platform for growth and revitalization.
An established rental car company acquires a car-sharing start-up and must decide whether to fully integrate it, to leave it as an independent unit, or to take a course somewhere in the middle. This fictional case study is written by Susan Fournier, Giana M. Eckhardt, and Fleura Bardhi, featuring expert commentary by Marc McCabe and Andre Haddad.
An established rental car company acquires a car-sharing start-up and must decide whether to fully integrate it, to leave it as an independent unit, or to take a course somewhere in the middle. This fictional case study is written by Susan Fournier, Giana M. Eckhardt, and Fleura Bardhi, featuring expert commentary by Marc McCabe and Andre Haddad.
An established rental car company acquires a car-sharing start-up and must decide whether to fully integrate it, to leave it as an independent unit, or to take a course somewhere in the middle. This fictional case study is written by Susan Fournier, Giana M. Eckhardt, and Fleura Bardhi, featuring expert commentary by Marc McCabe and Andre Haddad.