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Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a well-known Canadian retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. While it stocks a range of branded products in its stores, a key source of profits is its private-label line. The challenge MEC faces is how to continue to develop and launch innovative private-labeled products while recognizing that they may be direct competitors of MEC’s assortment of global brands. MEC needs to develop its line-up without being seen as infringing on intellectual property or being too much of a “follower.” In assessing how MEC can develop its line-up, students can review MEC’s philosophy as a co-operative (in which it positions itself as being different from corporations) and its design philosophy.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) is a well-known Canadian retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment. While it stocks a range of branded products in its stores, a key source of profits is its private label line of products, which spans the entire range of products offered at MEC. The challenge MEC faces is how to continue to develop and launch innovative private labeled products while recognizing that these private labeled products may be direct competitors of MEC's assortment of global brands. MEC needs to be able to develop its line-up without being seen as infringing on intellectual property or being too much of a "follower." In assessing how MEC can develop its line-up, students can review MEC's philosophy as a co-operative (in which it positions itself as being different from corporations) and its design philosophy.

Jaime has been looking for several weeks to buy his first car. After narrowing his choices down to two, he can’t decide which to purchase. Option A is to buy the Honda CRV, which meets many of Jaime’s functional criteria (e.g. all-wheel drive, large trunk space, plenty of seats). This Honda is quite appealing to Jaime because he could use the car for his work and road trips with his siblings, and could easily handle the Wyoming climate. Option B is to buy the Ford Mustang, a car that he has been in love with ever since he was a teenager. Even though the Mustang does not necessarily meet any of his functional criteria, Jaime loves the idea of driving his dream car. Given these two options, Jaime is struggling to make a decision. Should he go with the car that meets his functional needs or should he go with the car that meets his affective needs? That is, should he go with his mind or his heart? Jaime wants to buy his car tomorrow. Help him.

Jaime has been searching for several weeks to buy his first car. After narrowing his choices down to two, he couldn't decide which car to purchase. Option A is to buy the Honda CRV, which met many of Jaime's functional criteria (e.g., all-wheel drive, large trunk space, plenty of seats, etc.). Option A is quite appealing to Jaime because he could use the car for his work, go on road-trips with his siblings and weather the Wyoming climate. Option B is to buy the Ford Mustang, a car that he has been in love with ever since he was a teenager. Even though the Mustang did not necessarily meet any of his functional criteria, Jaime loved the idea of driving his dream car. Given these two options, Jaime is struggling to make a decision. Should he go with the car that meets his functional needs or should he go with the car that meets his affective needs? That is, should he go with his mind or his heart? Jaime wants to buy his car tomorrow. Help him.

The executive director of a daycare is trying to figure out how to address legal, financial, and safety issues stemming from an incident that occurred two months before, when a two-year-old boy broke his leg. Despite having no formal training in public relations or crisis management, the executive director felt she had handled the incident reasonably well: it seemed as though everything at the daycare had returned to normal. Still, the executive director couldn’t stop worrying that the daycare might experience further fallout from the incident.

The executive director of a daycare is trying to figure out how to address legal, financial and safety issues stemming from an incident - two months ago, a two-year old boy had broken his leg. Despite having no formal training in public relations or crisis management, the executive director felt she had handled the incident reasonably well: it seemed as though everything at the daycare had returned to normal. Still, the executive director couldn't stop worrying that the daycare might experience further fallout from the incident.

In 2010, an entrepreneur is trying to enter the fuel additives market in Canada by marketing a product called Force For Earth (FFE) Fuel and Engine Conditioner. FFE is made in the United States and the entrepreneur has the Canadian license for the product. Unlike the products of many competitors in North America, FFE has been proven to deliver the stated benefits, but the entrepreneur’s dilemma is that every other product in the market claims to offer “proven” results as well, even though most of these claims are unsubstantiated, false, or exaggerated. The entrepreneur’s challenge is to understand, from a marketing perspective, the key selling features of the FFE product that would resonate with his target groups.

The Tim Hortons Brier (Brier) is an annual men's national curling championship in Canada. In this case, students will assume the role of Peter Inch, Chair of the 2011 Brier Host Committee to create/finalize the promotional plan for the 2011 Brier, to be held in London, Ontario. Students' objectives are two-fold: i) drum up interest for the event and the sport of curling and ii) execute a safe, and profitable event.

Pepsi Canada has developed and launched the Refresh Project, a campaign to fund socially beneficial ideas developed by individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Each cycle — approximately two months in duration — will see interested parties submit ideas. Pepsi Canada relies on visitors to its website, www.refreshingeverything.ca, to vote on the best ideas. During every cycle, approximately $1 million is available for distribution. While Pepsi Canada’s management has been very supportive of the initial cycle, an analyst is wondering how this corporate social responsibility initiative will have an effect on the bottom line.

West Ham United are an English football team that competed to win the right to move their games to play in the stadium being constructed for the 2012 London Olympics. They secured financial support from the local government and the backing of the U.K. athletics. West Ham's rival bidder, Tottenham Hotspurs, presented a strong business case for the move and required no public support. West Ham despite this, won the right to move. The case focuses on ensuring fan acceptance of the move.

The Pop Shoppe was once a leading player in the Canadian soft drinks market, but changing market conditions and corporate mismanagement drove the company into bankruptcy in the early 1980s. In 2003, an entrepreneur purchased the rights to the brand, and was considering reintroducing it in the market. The entrepreneur suspected that many Canadians would be as fond of the Pop Shoppe as he was. However, he had little experience in the beverage industry and consumer habits had changed in the many years since the brand died. Looking at the market, the entrepreneur wondered if there was an attractive space for Pop Shoppe. His instincts told him that older consumers would embrace the reintroduction of the old brand, but it was difficult to know if they were a sustainable market segment. Would older consumers be able to turn their children onto the brand? With little experience and limited funds, he knew that if he proceeded with the idea, he could not afford to make many mistakes. If he chose to reintroduce the Pop Shoppe, he questioned how true he should stay to the original concept. Could a new Pop Shoppe compete in the current market? Despite the entrepreneur’s love for the old brand, he wondered how he could raise enough consumer and retailer interest to make the brand succeed.

This case, a supplement to Pop Shoppe (A), deals with the entrepreneur’s decision point in 2010 on whether to enter the U.S. carbonated soft drinks market.

By 2010, the entrepreneur's revived Pop Shoppe brand was holding second place in the premium carbonated soft drink market. This level of market penetration was a bit unexpected, and the entrepreneur began contemplating his next move. The entrepreneur wanted to grow the brand larger, in hopes of selling out and moving on to other business ventures that had captured his interest. He had watched as other small drink brands had been bought up by larger firms, and thought that the Pop Shoppe should be attractive to another company looking to expand its portfolio. Concerned that he might have taken the brand as far as it could go in its home market, the entrepreneur considered other avenues for growth. With a solid footing in the Canadian market, he began to wonder if the Pop Shoppe could find a similar level of success in the United States. His drive to grow the brand in hopes of acquisition made the larger U.S. market seem like an appealing option, however, it had many potential risks as well. Although the Pop Shoppe had made successful re-entry into the Canadian market, the U.S. market was far more competitive. He wanted to grow the company large enough to attract a potential buyer and move on, but he did not want to jeopardize his Canadian success by investing too much into a U.S. gamble.

At one time, the Pop Shoppe was a leading player in the Canadian soda pop market, however, changing market conditions and corporate mismanagement drove the company into bankruptcy in the early 1980s. In 2003, an entrepreneur purchased the rights to the brand, and was considering reintroducing it into the market. The entrepreneur had a hunch that many Canadians would be as fond of the Pop Shoppe as he was, and excited to see it back on the market, however, he had little experience in the beverage industry and consumer habits had changed in the many years since the brand had died. Looking at the market, the entrepreneur wondered if there was an attractive space for Pop Shoppe. His gut instincts told him that older consumers would embrace the reintroduction of the old brand, but it was difficult to know if they were a sustainable market segment. Would older consumers be able to turn their children onto the brand? With little experience and limited funds, he knew that if he proceeded with the idea, he could not afford to make many mistakes. If he chose to reintroduce the Pop Shoppe, he questioned how true he should stay to the original concept. Could a new Pop Shoppe compete in the current market? Despite the entrepreneur's love for the old brand, he wondered how he could raise enough consumer and retailer interest to make the brand succeed.

The Tim Hortons Brier is the annual Canadian men’s national curling championship. In the case, students will assume the role of Peter Inch, chair of the 2011 Brier Host Committee, to create and finalize the promotional plan for the 2011 Brier, to be held in London, Ontario. Inch’s objectives are two-fold: i) create interest for the event and the sport of curling and ii) execute a safe and profitable event.

West Ham United was an English football (soccer) team that competed to win the right to move its games to the stadium being constructed for the 2012 London Olympics. It secured financial support from the local government and the backing of U.K. athletics. West Ham’s rival bidder, Tottenham Hotspurs, presented a strong business case for the move and required no public support. West Ham, despite this, won the right to move. The case focuses on ensuring acceptance of the move by fans who have an emotional attachment to the old stadium and are displeased that the new stadium’s athletic track adds distance between fans and the field.

The founder of organicKidz is trying to create a plan to grow her start-up manufacturing firm. Calgary-based organicKidz is a manufacturer of stainless steel baby bottles and is sold in more than five countries. The founder's challenge is how to convey the superior benefits of her product and manage her retail channels given her limited resources. The setting of the case is at the September 2009 juvenile products tradeshow in the United States where organicKidz has to make a few key decisions about product promotion. All the key buyers from the retail organizations the founder is targeting will be at the show. In particular, the buyer from Costco, a large warehouse club chain, is interested in carrying her bottles and the founder wonders how she should respond.

The new chief executive officer (CEO) of Canada Basketball (CB) is looking back on a very successful 2009 - all four of the country's national teams qualified for their respective World Championships. CB is starting to enjoy serious on-court success, but the CEO is concerned about the program's long-term financial sustainability; he is faced with major cuts to his government funding and is seriously concerned about obtaining private sector funds in a year when both the World Cup and Winter Olympics have already accounted for so many potential sponsor dollars. He is faced with using marketing to create new and reliable revenue streams for CB to help its on-court success.

The new chief executive officer (CEO) of Canada Basketball (CB) is looking back on a very successful 2009 - all four of the country's national teams qualified for their respective World Championships. CB is starting to enjoy serious on-court success, but the CEO is concerned about the program's long-term financial sustainability; he is faced with major cuts to his government funding and is seriously concerned about obtaining private sector funds in a year when both the World Cup and Winter Olympics have already accounted for so many potential sponsor dollars. He is faced with using marketing to create new and reliable revenue streams for CB to help its on-court success.

This case looks at the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and its parent company, Zuffa LLC (Zuffa), through the role of the recently hired chief marketing officer (CMO). As the CMO of the largest organization in the world's fastest growing sport, mixed martial arts, he faces many decisions about the future of the organization. The CMO must determine the best way to both manage the organization's ambitious international expansion initiatives and protect the UFC brand in new markets, while also preserving the experience for the league's core North American fan base. The CMO must evaluate the company's sponsorship relationships and develop a strategy to cope with increasing competition in both domestic and international markets.