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This case describes the strategy adopted by Cisco India to develop the Advanced Services Router 901 ('ASR 901'). It is part of a larger strategy by Cisco headquarters to understand what could be built in the developing markets for the developing markets, as opposed to products conceived with only developed markets as the focus. Within a time frame of a few months, a team forms to develop the ASR 901 completely from scratch - from conception to launch - in Bangalore, India. It then goes on to win several awards, and interestingly, orders begin streaming in from not just the developing economies, as had been expected, but also from top tier customers in the developed markets. ASR 901 is undoubtedly a milestone in Cisco India's indigenous innovation initiatives. Can the lessons learnt while progressing through the several stages of product development be applied to similar new initiatives?

This is a two-part case series. Case A begins in April 2010, where Sharat Verma, the brand manager for Gillette India, together with Harish Narayanan, the assistant brand manager in the Singapore regional business unit, influence an R&D effort to redesign the Gillette Mach3 razor for the Indian market. By focusing on frugal innovation, they succeed in removing non- essential features of the razor design in order to reduce costs, thereby aligning the value proposition and price-point to the target segment. In addition, they also help develop an unconventional marketing campaign, called the "Shave India Movement", which catalyses the previously unresponsive yet more affluent urban market, and results in record breaking sales for the Mach3 razor in 2010. Verma and Narayanan are left to analyse the mechanics underlying the success of this campaign, and determine if the movement can be further expanded. They must also determine if lessons from the campaign can be applied elsewhere, and if so, how? Case B begins in May 2010 with Sharat Verma wondering how he can extend the "Shave India Movement" from the urban elite down to consumers at the bottom of the affluence pyramid through a new product, the Gillette Guard - set to launch five months later in October. This new product is designed specifically for low-income consumers in India. With the price-point and distribution dilemma already solved vis-à-vis the successes of the Mach3 campaign discussed in Case A, he now needs to craft an activation strategy that will extend the Shave India Movement to all rungs of society.

In late 2005 As Shawn Warren the head of biscuits at Kraft for Asia Pacific, surveys the China market for Oreos he knew he had to make changes, and fast. The company's flagship brand was falling far short of expectations in the world's most populous country. This meant that the turnaround had to be quick to avoid the complete disaster of pulling the product from the shelves altogether. Oreos were first launched in China in 1996, yet sales had been flat since then while the rest of China had been setting record growth in the biscuit industry. The Oreo case illustrates the dilemma faced by a successful multinational brand when entering an emerging market, namely China. It covers the complexity of dealing not only with differing consumer tastes, but also the challenges of local competition and distribution systems. The case provides a rich historical account of Oreo's entry into China and the problems facing Kraft and its management as it strives to reach its full potential in a large and fast-growing emerging market.

Navigauge, a start-up company that specialises in radio market research, has developed a tool that provides high quality, accurate and location-based radio market research. This pioneering technology in radio market research is captured in a positive, albeit reserved, article in the New York Times in September 2004. The use of this tool is in stark contrast to the industry standard in the US radio research market, where a panel of listeners kept diaries on which radio programmes they listened to each month. Navigauge has successfully completed a test of its new technology in 500 cars in test market and is now looking to expand. The case starts as the founders prepare to present their new business to secure a third round of badly needed venture funding. While the new technology is revolutionary, they have yet to sign up any customers. Readers are challenged to take this small business and turn it into a success across the US, and disrupt the car radio market research industry.