On January 12, 2020, Michael McCain, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., posted four tweets on the company's social media platform, venting his anger at the US administration over a civilian airplane shot down in Iran. Specifically, he expressed his anger at the loss of life—including that of the wife and 11-year-old son of an employee of Maple Leaf Foods—which, according to McCain, stemmed from “a needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran. McCain cast blame on US president Donald Trump for escalating tensions with an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes. Should McCain, as CEO, have expressed his personal views on Maple Leaf Foods' Twitter feed? Would his tweets damage the company's brand and destroy shareholder value?
In June 2019, the chief executive officer of a Canadian menswear enterprise was examining his options mid-way through a five-year growth plan. The strategy involved a three-fold mandate: reinforce the company’s value proposition, rapidly scale up marketing, and transition to omnichannel retailing. What has worked well for the company and how does the strategy need to be refined so the company meets its goals?
In September 2015, the marketing manager of the Advanced Surgical Solutions Division at Medtronic plc (Medtronic), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), weighs his options as to how best to respond to yet another instance of “grey marketing,” that is, the unauthorized distribution of genuine branded products. The rampant parallel importation of one of Medtronics’ best-selling products—LigaSure Vessel Sealing instruments—has resulted in a much smaller-than-usual order from one of Medtronics’ most important customers, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center. Medtronics' marketing manager must find a way to respond appropriately to the customer without risking the ire of his sole authorized distributor in KSA.
Theranos Inc. (Theranos) was a medical diagnostics enterprise based in Palo Alto, California. Having developed an innovative blood-testing system for deployment in clinical trials by pharmaceutical companies, Theranos was keen on extending the use of its system to individual consumers in the United States and Mexico. In leveraging growth opportunities for its innovation in the burgeoning field of personalized medicine, the company’s chief executive officer faced two managerial dilemmas: How should Theranos navigate the chasm between early adopters (the pharmaceutical companies) and mainstream consumers? And how should Theranos navigate the cost-benefit trade-off, as perceived by individual consumers, in a bid to promote product adoption in the mainstream market?
The president of Vic Progressive Diamond Drilling, a Canadian enterprise based in Sussex, New Brunswick that provides products and services to mining companies, is reviewing the progress in the market launch of SkyTrack, a new product designed for use in difficult terrain exploration by large mining corporations. Feedback during field trials has been favourable; the innovation is, in fact, customer-led. There is also evidence that this multipurpose vehicle saves time and money in transporting mining equipment across rough terrain in remote areas. But the company has yet to make its first sale in two years because the user community is experiencing a difficult economic environment and is unwilling to make capital investments. How can product adoption be generated? What customer value proposition can be developed? Can SkyTrack be positioned as a means to improve cash flow for customers during difficult times, or should customers be primed to adopt it when the inevitable uptick in exploration occurs?
WestJet, Canada’s second largest national airline, is preparing to launch a social media initiative to coincide with the year-end holiday season. As the company’s executive vice-president (Sales, Marketing and Guest Experience) reviews the plan, he is seeking answers to three questions. Does the proposed initiative fit or mismatch with WestJet’s brand image? Will the initiative deepen or dilute the engagement the airline currently enjoys with its guests (as it calls its passengers) and WestJetters (as it calls its employees)? What specific outcomes can WestJet achieve through the initiative and how can those outcomes be improved? Also see supplement 9B14A027.
Dupont Canada manufactures and sells the raw materials that are used to produce brand name home renovation and home decorating products, including fabrics, carpets, countertops and paints. In order to develop relationships with consumers and acquire information on their purchasing needs and purchasing patterns, the company launched a Web site that offered decorating idea and product information through a Virtual Home. After 12 months, the company's project team must decide whether the project was a worthwhile investment and whether they should invest in the second phase. In making their decision, they need to identify the performance metrics to use in estimating the return on investments. They also need to determine whether to pursue revenue generation through the sale of advertising space or online sales through the Web site. Finally, the project team needs to assess whether their value chain partners would be willing to invest in the second phase of the project.
EuroGame is a multinational interactive games company. The company is considering making its products available through the newly developed interactive television market. A consultant to the company has been asked by the Internet Director to advise whether Eurogame should invest in this new market and if so, determine how the firm could leverage these capabilities and with whom it should partner with.
The founder and managing director of looks.com, a soon-to-be-launched Hong Kong based e-commerce site for brand name cosmetics, fragrances, skin care products and fashion aimed at Asian women, had to make a key strategic decision - should he engage in parallel importing? He considered this decision one that would likely have the largest impact on the success, or failure, of his dream. Parallel importing, also known as grey marketing, involves the legal, though disturbing practice (to many manufacturers and distributors) of sourcing products wholesale from unauthorized distributors. The case issue has universal appeal, given the ever-increasing prevalence of parallel importing throughout the world. Students are introduced to the Internet industry in Hong Kong, and are provided the background information for an in-depth analysis of the positives and negatives of engaging in parallel importing. A short supplement is available: Looks.com (B), 9B00A013.
A leading French cosmetics house has told the founder and managing director of looks.com that they wouldn't be able to sell products directly to looks.com due to the potential conflicts with existing retailers, but has suggested that they could buy the products on the parallel markets instead. Looks.com will have to weigh the benefits and risks of sourcing these products from an unauthorized distributor. This case is a supplement to the looks.com (A)-A Grey Issue case, 9B00A012.