個案總覽

In February 2016, a young intern was waiting to speak with the founder and chief executive officer of Surbhi Gramodyog Vikas Sansthan (SGVS), a producer and supplier of hand-made herbal cosmetic products. The founder was speaking on the phone with a potential reseller and turning down a new order due to the company being at full capacity. It was the third such request that he had declined in the past week. The young intern was puzzled. SGVS was located in Kashipur, a small town in the state of Uttarakhand in India. With a minimal Internet presence and marketing efforts, it had gained loyal customers in India and across the world, from the United States to Australia. However, SGVS was not willing to increase production capacity and expand the business, thereby forgoing a potential increase in profits. Was the company’s reluctance to scale up the business sustainable over the long run?

"A Warby Parker of mattresses? Somebody is going to do it. Why not us?" This was the topic of a conversation begun in spring 2013 among Gabe Flateman, Philip Krim, Neil Parikh, and T. Luke Sherwin. The four met as members of a New York City venture accelerator program. All admired Warby Parker's success in delivering on the promise of "designer eyewear at revolutionary prices," via a direct-to-consumer sales model. "Big Mattress," their term for the current manufacturer / retailer system, featured not only high prices, but also, as they would describe to many in the days ahead, "one of the worst buying experiences in the world."

This case tells the story of InVenture, a data science company based in California, that has created a machine learning algorithm to identify the creditworthiness of those with no credit history by tracking their mobile data patterns. With this technology they define a credit score and can issue a loan almost instantly to the borrower via a mobile phone. The technology behind InVenture has been used to develop a smart phone app - Mkopo Rahisi - which enables loans to be approved quickly to small business owners in Kenya.

Supplement to case IN1281. This case tells the story of InVenture, a data science company based in California, that has created a machine learning algorithm to identify the creditworthiness of those with no credit history by tracking their mobile data patterns. With this technology they define a credit score and can issue a loan almost instantly to the borrower via a mobile phone. The technology behind InVenture has been used to develop a smart phone app - Mkopo Rahisi - which enables loans to be approved quickly to small business owners in Kenya.

The chief marketing manager of Crown Distilleries (Crown) in Raipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, faced cumbersome brand-building activities and maintenance of its brand equity. Competitors began taking market share from Crown's well-established brand. Crown added new brands to its portfolio in response to its competitors' activities. Would it be fruitful for the company to opt for an umbrella brand in a particular segment or continue to add new names to its product portfolio? How would the company develop an action plan to beat competitors, choose a brand name for its new product, and build strong brand equity?

The chief marketing manager of Crown Distilleries (Crown) in Raipur, the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, faced cumbersome brand-building activities and maintenance of its brand equity. Competitors began taking market share from Crown’s well-established brand. Crown added new brands to its portfolio in response to its competitors’ activities. Would it be fruitful for the company to opt for an umbrella brand in a particular segment or continue to add new names to its product portfolio? How would the company develop an action plan to beat competitors, choose a brand name for its new product, and build strong brand equity?

In January 2006, the general manager of sales at Castrol India Limited was concerned. Sales of Castrol motorcycle oil for four-stroke engines was far less than it should be, especially when considering the five million motorcycles being added to Indian roads each year. Most motorcycle oil changes took place in franchised workshops during the warranty period and in non-franchised workshops after the warranty period. The general manager wanted to increase the sales of Castrol oil in the spare parts shops and non-franchised workshops that serviced India's growing after-market. Castrol India's existing distributors were reluctant to sell to those segments, which they viewed as low-volume, high-cost, and risky distribution channels. The general manager needed a distribution strategy that would appeal to the existing distributors and boost Castrol Oil India's sales without increasing costs to the company.

In July 2015, the largest automobile company in India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), took the initiative to improve its market penetration in a particular category of the passenger car market-the premium segment. Although MSIL was the current market leader in India's entry-level car segment, the company had not been successful in establishing itself as a dominant player in the premium segment-a segment that had seen intense competition since 2008. By launching Nexa, a new nationwide premium dealership, through its existing dealer network, MSIL was attempting to create a differentiated car buying experience. MSIL planned for all-new premium models to be launched exclusively from Nexa outlets. Would the launch of Nexa help MSIL attain its desired objective of becoming a major player in India's premium car market?

In July 2015, the largest automobile company in India, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), took the initiative to improve its market penetration in a particular category of the passenger car market—the premium segment. Although MSIL was the current market leader in India’s entry-level car segment, the company had not been successful in establishing itself as a dominant player in the premium segment—a segment that had seen intense competition since 2008. By launching Nexa, a new nationwide premium dealership, through its existing dealer network, MSIL was attempting to create a differentiated car buying experience. MSIL planned for all-new premium models to be launched exclusively from Nexa outlets. Would the launch of Nexa help MSIL attain its desired objective of becoming a major player in India’s premium car market?

Student spreadsheet for case W15391.

On November 1, 2015, the four founders of Kaps Foods India Private Limited (Kaps) invited external business consultants to a business strategy meeting. The ice cream industry was moving toward the premium segment of the market, and Kaps was eager to move out of its stagnant phase. However, two of the four founders were skeptical about the acceptance of the Kaps brand in the higher-end market. They believed that the market would always consider Kaps a local brand, which was not ideal for moving into the premium market. Also, taking on the bigger players at the higher end of the ice cream segment would be a daunting task for the company. The four partners had a number of issues and options to ponder and discuss with consultants. Becoming a pioneer in the ice cream industry in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh was a proud achievement for the team, but what new marketing considerations would be involved in entering the premium market?

With a rich history stretching back to the 19th century, Wang Laoji herbal tea was one of the most popular drinks in China. The tea was sold in a green-box version by Wang Laoji and a red-can version licensed to Jiaduobao Beverage Co. Ltd. (Jiaduobao Beverage), but in 2012 the right to use the Wang Laoji name was lost by Jiaduobao Beverage following a legal dispute. Jiaduobao Beverage had to quickly transfer brand associations from Wang Laoji to its own brand and retain consumer loyalty. But was it successful in doing so? Did Jiaduobao Beverage enhance its brand equity through transferring Wang Laoji's brand associations? What could Wang Laoji do to counter its loss of brand equity?

On November 1, 2015, the four founders of Kaps Foods India Private Limited (Kaps) invited external business consultants to a business strategy meeting. The ice cream industry was moving toward the premium segment of the market, and Kaps was eager to move out of its stagnant phase. However, two of the four founders were skeptical about the acceptance of the Kaps brand in the higher-end market. They believed that the market would always consider Kaps a local brand, which was not ideal for moving into the premium market. Also, taking on the bigger players at the higher end of the ice cream segment would be a daunting task for the company. The four partners had a number of issues and options to ponder and discuss with consultants. Becoming a pioneer in the ice cream industry in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh was a proud achievement for the team, but what new marketing considerations would be involved in entering the premium market?

With a rich history stretching back to the 19th century, Wang Laoji herbal tea was one of the most popular drinks in China. The tea was sold in a green-box version by Wang Laoji and a red-can version licensed to Jiaduobao Beverage Co. Ltd. (Jiaduobao Beverage), but in 2012 the right to use the Wang Laoji name was lost by Jiaduobao Beverage following a legal dispute. Jiaduobao Beverage had to quickly transfer brand associations from Wang Laoji to its own brand and retain consumer loyalty. But was it successful in doing so? Did Jiaduobao Beverage enhance its brand equity through transferring Wang Laoji’s brand associations? What could Wang Laoji do to counter its loss of brand equity?

After the successful release of the first Hunger Games film in 2012, the film's distributor, Lionsgate, was preparing to release the next movie in the series, Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Fan expectations had grown after the success of Hunger Games and Lionsgate faced the challenge of keeping moviegoers interested and engaged in another Hunger Games movie. In an era marked by the rising popularity of digital and social media, Lionsgate knew that attracting fans to a sequel meant pushing the boundaries of traditional marketing tactics. Digital brand storytelling is about using digital media in a holistic way to tell a brand story and build excitement for an audience. Brand storytelling seeks to make a connection with the audience by giving them an emotional experience that resonates with them. While Lionsgate was aware that traditional marketing would need to be blended with a digital campaign to bring in moviegoers, it also needed to strike a careful balance between the two and choose the appropriate platforms to tell a cohesive story. Should Lionsgate launch a brand storytelling campaign to appeal to fans? Lionsgate's comparatively small marketing team gathered to brainstorm about how to execute such a campaign and position the film for another big success.

Spectio Tech, founded in 2005, developed and implemented intelligent LED lighting solutions for the industrial market. Sensors and wireless connectivity embedded in its LED fixtures not only significantly reduced lighting-related energy use-by up to 90% in some cases-but also served as a tool for the Internet of Things (IoT) to expose powerful insights about facility use. Yet in 2016, few of Spectio's customers were fully embracing the system as an IoT product. Both LED lighting and IoT were rapidly evolving markets, and Spectio had to decide if it should focus on driving down lighting hardware costs to expand its total addressable market or on improving the software controls to enhance the system's IoT functionality.

In May 2015 Paulo Campos, Co-Founder and CEO of Zalora Philippines, found himself at a crucial turning point in his young company's development. In just three years, Zalora had come from entering the Philippine fashion retail industry as an unknown quantity to becoming a household name across the Southeast Asian archipelago. Campos and his team had achieved much in this time: launching one of the first online retailers in the country, building a logistics network from scratch, acquiring customers at an astonishing pace, and signing up major brands to offer on Zalora.com.ph. But now his investors were ready for him to shift gears and focus on turning a profit within the next two years. Zalora Philippines was part of Zalora Group, a Singapore-headquartered online fashion retailer that operated across Southeast Asia. Zalora Group, in turn, was part of a global entity called Global Fashion Group (GFG), which owned online fashion retailers and brands in emerging markets across the world. In addition to Zalora in Southeast Asia, GFG owned Dafiti in South America, Namshi in the Middle East, Jabong in South Asia, Lamoda in Eastern Europe, and The Iconic in Australia. GFG's principal investors were Kinnevik, a Swedish investment company, and Rocket Internet.

In 2016, the founder and sole owner of Mobiado, a Canadian line of luxury mobile phones, was evaluating his company’s marketing strategy. Proud of what he had achieved and passionate about his role as designer of one of the most unique and distinctive product lines in the category, he reflected on how he might need to adjust his company’s strategies to fit current trends and to remain competitive. Could the Mobiado product line continue to succeed by offering exclusive precision-engineered mobile instruments without the latest smartphone features? Would the new breed of luxury consumers continue to value form over function?

<p>The Nestle Maggi Case Study explores what happened on June 2015, when the Indian food regulatory body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, declared Nestlé’s brand of noodles, Maggi, unsafe for human consumption. Tested samples showed excess levels of lead and added monosodium glutamate. To retain the trust of consumers, Nestlé recalled Maggi from all store shelves in the country. Management was then grappling with an improved re-positioning strategy to help Nestlé retain its considerable market share in India. The other issue that Nestlé needed to resolve was what role pricing would play in influencing consumer purchase decisions during the proposed product relaunch.</p>

<p>On August 3, 2015, Fitbit, Inc.’s (Fitbit) stock price hit an all-time high of $50.99. A few months earlier, when Fitbit went public on June 18, it had opened on its first day of trading at a price of $30.40 — 52% higher than its initial public offering price. As what appeared to be the most successful initial public offering of the year, Fitbit attracted significant attention and inevitably drew controversy as well. Some investors saw great potential and a promising future for Fitbit. Others were less positive, calling it a fad without any real opportunity for future development. In the face of growing competition from rivals with more extensive consumer bases, Fitbit wanted to ensure that it achieved sustainable growth. What was Fitbit, and what could it become? The question concerned not only potential investors but also the chief executive officer of the high-tech company. This <a href=” https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/category/collection/marketing/0ZG5c000000k9bW?c__results_layout_state=%7B%7D”>marketing</a> case study will examine Fitbit’s business strategy, product offerings, and future opportunities.</p>