In February 2024, Château des Charmes, a winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, was planning the introduction of a new product offering. Beautiful Brunch would be a breakfast-themed wine and food pairing that would be offered earlier in the day. Director of hospitality, Martin Lindqvist, was aiming to generate CA$45,000 in sales from Beautiful Brunch in its first three months and needed to create a comprehensive marketing plan, including decisions on price, promotion, target market, and tie-in product offerings.

In May 2024, Vernon Burke, owner and chief operating officer of Burke Family Farms, was deciding which of three options would be best for his cash crop operations when his existing combine harvester lease came to an end in two months. He could buy out his lease, buy a used combine, or outsource the work and pay another farmer to harvest his crops.

Jerry Pilon, owner and sole operator of S.K.I.L Dojo, was evaluating strategic options he believed would assist in growing his business in 2023. Pilon taught his students both Okinawan karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, with many students dedicating years to their craft. He wanted to increase student retention rates and increase profits, both of which had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although those effects were subsiding, the cost of living in Canada was now increasing. Pilon struggled to decide which strategy would best suit his business. He would need to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze his strategic choices and create a suitable implementation strategy for the choices he made.

In September 2015, Erika Cheung, a former employee at the private biotechnology company Theranos, must decide if she will blow the whistle on the company’s unethical practices, including inconsistent test results, data manipulation, and mishandling of patient blood samples. She must decide whether to contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an American federal health regulator, with this information. However, she could also face significant legal consequences due to the non-disclosure agreements she signed with Theranos. Personally, Cheung is wrestling with how to act in accordance with her commitment to improving the quality and affordability of health care and working in service of others.

Rillea Technologies (Rillea) was a software-as-a-service provider for the chemical safety and compliance industry whose main product was SDS RiskAssist, a software package for managing electronic versions of the safety data sheets required by companies and organizations whose employees need to handle potentially dangerous chemicals. In January 2022, Lisa and Rob Hallsworth, Rillea’s co-founders, set themselves the goal of maximizing their company’s revenue growth over the coming years. To accomplish this, they considered implementing a marketing plan consisting of promotional strategies such as purchasing advertising on Google Ads and/or LinkedIn and participating in trade shows. They also considered expanding their product mix to include a premium version of an existing product. Given Rillea’s limited human capital and the increasingly competitive market that was forming in the chemical safety and compliance industry, the co-founders knew they had to make a decision as quickly as possible.

In March 2024, Olivia Hicks, clinical manager of the cancer centre at Blackburn Regional Hospital (Blackburn), was working to resolve arising issues surrounding the amalgamation of Blackburn’s cancer centre with the Lakeview Hospital (Lakeview) cancer centre. Nursing staff members and patients were taking issue with numerous aspects of the merger and were voicing their displeasure. Hicks understood that in her new role she would need to be proactive in her management of the situation. The two cancer centres would be merged in six months, and Hicks needed a focused staff to ensure patient care was not sacrificed.

In December 2023, Ryan Mitchell, account manager at Prosperity Bank, was reviewing a request for an $80,000 long-term loan for the Château Lafayette (“The Laff”), the oldest tavern in Ottawa, Ontario. Jill Scott, president and CEO of The Laff, was seeking the funds to finance three investments that she believed would help the tavern increase its revenue from food sales during lunch hour: a kitchen update, a patio renovation, and point-of-sale (POS) software.<br><br>Mitchell knew The Laff had demonstrated strong financial performance and cash management historically, but she had reservations about this new strategic shift toward food sales and understood that the restaurant and bar industry was subject to significant risks.

Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS, must create a proposal to spend ALUS’ $100,000 marketing budget for their brand “New Acre Project”. The brand had experienced good growth in previous years, but sales had stagnated for the past two, creating concerns about the survival of New Acre Project. Gilvesy must invigorate growth and reach sales of $6 million by choosing a target market, whether he should offer carbon credits or not, and at what price. He also had to choose a promotional channel and the messaging New Acre Project would use going forward.

The accounts manager at the Commercial Bank of Canada, was reviewing a loan application from Pasquale’s Pizzeria, located in Sarnia, Ontario. The business owner was ready to expand his family’s business to London, Ontario, having requested a $300,000 long-term loan to finance the renovations and equipment to begin operations in London. They also requested a $20,000 line of credit to help fund the day-to-day operations of the business. The restaurant had never requested a loan of such magnitude, nor had the business undergone an expansion in its lifetime. With COVID-19 changing the food delivery landscape, the accounts manager was confident in his ability assess whether or not Pasquale’s was ready to take on this expansion plan.

In August 2022, two interns at Miravo Healthcare (Miravo) needed to present a comprehensive marketing plan for Miravo's over-the-counter (OTC) head lice treatment product, Resultz, to two vice-presidents of the company. Resultz had not been actively advertised in recent years, and the company identified an opportunity to capitalize on an increasing need for head lice products as a result of children returning to school after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2022, two interns at Miravo Healthcare (Miravo) needed to present a comprehensive marketing plan for Miravo’s over-the-counter (OTC) head lice treatment product, Resultz, to two vice-presidents of the company. Resultz had not been actively advertised in recent years, and the company identified an opportunity to capitalize on an increasing need for head lice products as a result of children returning to school after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owner and general manager of Hunter Steel, is struggling to decide what to do about Ontario’s labour shortage as a result of COVID-19. The steel company is categorized as Tier 2, and requires general labourers and saw mechanics within each warehouse in order to efficiently run operations. Currently, each of his 5 warehouses are short 2 general labourers. This is unsustainable and poses a threat to meeting demand, Hunter must decide a course of action. He can either invest into partial automation eliminating the need for as much labour to be employed, pursue a labour government assistance program, continue status quo and hope, or pursue a marketing campaign that markets to consumers and potential hires.

The executive director of Meals on Wheels London (MOWL) was struggling with a lack of volunteers to deliver meals to the not-for-profit organization's customers. MOWL provided nutritional support for adults with disabilities and older people who required short-term or long-term assistance. Several options were under consideration to mitigate the volunteer issue. These included using new, state-of-the-art computer software to allocate volunteers more efficiently; running a volunteer recruitment campaign; and hiring paid delivery drivers to supplement MOWL's volunteers. The executive director needed to make a quick decision to present at a fast-approaching board meeting where any necessary funding would need to be approved.

The executive director of Meals on Wheels London (MOWL) was struggling with a lack of volunteers to deliver meals to the not-for-profit organization’s customers. MOWL provided nutritional support for adults with disabilities and older people who required short-term or long-term assistance. Several options were under consideration to mitigate the volunteer issue. These included using new, state-of-the-art computer software to allocate volunteers more efficiently; running a volunteer recruitment campaign; and hiring paid delivery drivers to supplement MOWL’s volunteers. The executive director needed to make a quick decision to present at a fast-approaching board meeting where any necessary funding would need to be approved.

Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS, must create a proposal to spend ALUS' $100,000 marketing budget for their brand "New Acre Project". The brand had experienced good growth in previous years, but sales had stagnated for the past two, creating concerns about the survival of New Acre Project. Gilvesy must invigorate growth and reach sales of $6 million by choosing a target market, whether he should offer carbon credits or not, and at what price. He also had to choose a promotional channel and the messaging New Acre Project would use going forward.

The accounts manager at the Commercial Bank of Canada, was reviewing a loan application from Pasquale's Pizzeria, located in Sarnia, Ontario. The business owner was ready to expand his family's business to London, Ontario, having requested a $300,000 long-term loan to finance the renovations and equipment to begin operations in London. They also requested a $20,000 line of credit to help fund the day-to-day operations of the business. The restaurant had never requested a loan of such magnitude, nor had the business undergone an expansion in its lifetime. With COVID-19 changing the food delivery landscape, the accounts manager was confident in his ability assess whether or not Pasquale's was ready to take on this expansion plan.

Owner and general manager of Hunter Steel, is struggling to decide what to do about Ontario's labour shortage as a result of COVID-19. The steel company is categorized as Tier 2, and requires general labourers and saw mechanics within each warehouse in order to efficiently run operations. Currently, each of his 5 warehouses are short 2 general labourers. This is unsustainable and poses a threat to meeting demand, Hunter must decide a course of action. He can either invest into partial automation eliminating the need for as much labour to be employed, pursue a labour government assistance program, continue status quo and hope, or pursue a marketing campaign that markets to consumers and potential hires.

Tony Rao, co-founder and director of Thorne Valley Meats (Thorne Valley), must decide whether to continue working with the family-run butcher shop that has been producing his high-quality grass-fed beef jerky, or to move to a new, but untested, facility. The butcher shop has been working with Thorne Valley for years and has produced jerky that is satisfactory, but recently it has been struggling to manage its own growth, employee turnover, and pandemic restrictions. These outside forces are causing a sharp decline in the quality of Thorne Valley’s jerky. The butcher shop has asked Rao if he would be willing to purchase a new piece of equipment on its behalf to help resolve the quality issues. The new processing plant, meanwhile, is located in a long-standing butcher shop recently acquired by entrepreneur Julie Martin. While Martin is passionate and ambitious, it is unclear how successful the new venture will be. She has no entrepreneurial experience and is looking to make significant changes to her product offering.

Tony Rao, co-founder and director of Thorne Valley Meats (Thorne Valley), must decide whether to continue working with the family-run butcher shop that has been producing his high-quality grass-fed beef jerky, or to move to a new, but untested, facility. The butcher shop has been working with Thorne Valley for years and has produced jerky that is satisfactory, but recently it has been struggling to manage its own growth, employee turnover, and pandemic restrictions. These outside forces are causing a sharp decline in the quality of Thorne Valley's jerky. The butcher shop has asked Rao if he would be willing to purchase a new piece of equipment on its behalf to help resolve the quality issues. The new processing plant, meanwhile, is located in a long-standing butcher shop recently acquired by entrepreneur Julie Martin. While Martin is passionate and ambitious, it is unclear how successful the new venture will be. She has no entrepreneurial experience and is looking to make significant changes to her product offering.

In January 2023, Adam Pierce, co-owner and operations manager of Lambton Custom Flooring (LCF), eased back in his home-office chair in Sarnia, Ontario, after another day installing flooring. He looked at his calendar: In one week he would meet with his business partner, Marlin Jervis, to discuss the coming year’s strategic vision for LCF. Last year’s decreased profits concerned Pierce. He questioned whether a change was necessary to offset this trend, and, with the ever-present economic turmoil, he wondered if lower profits were here to stay. Pierce was uncertain if investing in advertisements would be enough, or if he should take more drastic measures, such as expanding the business’s installation services or even buying out his partner. Whatever his decision, Pierce would have to lay the groundwork for the following week’s meeting.