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In 1995, before people "googled" or "yelped," Angela Hicks (HBS, 2000) was establishing her Angie's List as a pioneer in the accumulation and dissemination of consumer rating information. Hicks focused on the home repair and maintenance market and, as she put it, "particularly on high cost of failure situations where good information on potential service providers is correspondingly of high value." Angie's List had a paid subscription model as it charged "members" for access to the information they collectively provided on service providers. More recently, companies such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google have started offering free access to their reviews while relying totally on site advertising and service provider fees for their revenues. In 2015, Angie's List collected close to $68 million in membership fees. In January 2016, with recent declines in the growth rate of member numbers, Angie's List has to decide if it was time to drop the "paid subscription for all" model and introduce a free version of its service to its product line.

This case examines the public controversy that erupted over the increasingly high price of EpiPens. Mylan Inc., (Mylan), a generic drug maker, bought the EpiPen product line from Merck in 2007. Since that time, the company both invested in marketing to raise awareness for the drug and dramatically increased the price, lifting it from $100 to $600 per two pack in the U.S. In 2016, simmering consumer anger about the high prices of pharmaceutical drugs finally reached a boiling point and a media firestorm ensued. The case challenges students to think about the role of fairness in pricing. How can Mylan justify the dramatic price increases? How can it justify the variation in prices across countries, as an EpiPen is priced at an equivalent of $85 in France? The case challenges students to think about how they would handle a public controversy. The EpiPen case is well suited for students in MBA, MBA for Executives, and executive education programs. For MBA students, it can be placed in first-year marketing, pricing, or marketing communications courses. For executives, it can serve as a vehicle to discuss both ethical issues of pricing and how to handle a public controversy.

Started in 2000, GiveIndia is a web-based donation platform headquartered in Mumbai, India. It uses online tools and social media to engage with donors and encourage donations to be made to various non-governmental organizations. GiveIndia’s chief executive officer wants to develop a strategic approach for social media communication, which is gaining greater acceptance in India. As part of its online initiatives, GiveIndia has been running a search engine marketing program with Google Grants. The chief executive officer wants to optimize the program by using the right metrics. He is also interested in applying the concept of customer lifetime value to manage the donations. GiveIndia is already present on popular social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but how can the company hone its strategic focus on each of these websites?

Powered by 27 million births a year and a growing middle to upper class, India's baby care e-tailing sector is expected to grow to US $500 million by 2017. FirstCry, established in December 2010 with seed capital of Rs. 25 million (about US $548,000), has gradually emerged as Asia's largest online shopping portal for products for children and expectant mothers with an inventory of more than 90,000 items from over 1,200 top international and Indian brands. Aiming to create a seamless experience focused on constant innovation, improvement, and added value, FirstCry faces challenges related to logistics, payment gateways, and intense competition to gain new customers in this lucrative market. In the tumultuous online baby care products market, which has seen several major businesses close their doors or be acquired by others, how will FirstCry maintain its lead and grow its business in the next few years?

In April 2016, the yoga guru who started Patanjali Ayurved Limited declared that his company’s revenue would exceed that of Colgate-Palmolive India by the end of the year and would overtake Hindustan Unilever in India in three years. Patanjali’s revenue grew 125–150 per cent from the previous year. The company aimed to continue growing at a rate of 100–125 per cent annually over the next three years, as a manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of products including flour, biscuits, noodles, spices, honey, and toothpaste. It also considered exploring international expansion to support its high growth targets. Could Patanjali aggressively expand into more categories while maintaining sustainable growth?

In April 2016, the yoga guru who started Patanjali Ayurved Limited declared that his company's revenue would exceed that of Colgate-Palmolive India by the end of the year and would overtake Hindustan Unilever in India in three years. Patanjali's revenue grew 125-150 per cent from the previous year. The company aimed to continue growing at a rate of 100-125 per cent annually over the next three years, as a manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of products including flour, biscuits, noodles, spices, honey, and toothpaste. It also considered exploring international expansion to support its high growth targets. Could Patanjali aggressively expand into more categories while maintaining sustainable growth?

It is 2014 and AnswerDash, a startup backed by venture capital, has not seen the widespread adoption of their online self-service customer support solution that they were expecting based on early success in helping clients save and generate substantial amounts of money. Dr. Jacob O. Wobbrock and Dr. Andrew J. Ko are revisiting their go to market strategy to determine how to build a viable business out of their groundbreaking technology. The case raises issues in entrepreneurship and B2B marketing such as analyzing economic value to the customer, designing optimal price metrics, aligning pricing with marketing strategy, customer life-time value, organizational selling, and influencing innovation adoption.

After solidifying its brand as a national leader in the ready-made, ethnic wear market in India, Biba Apparels Pvt. Ltd. (Biba) was at a crossroads when it came to determining future growth strategies. By 2014, Biba had 150 exclusive brand outlets and 225 multi-brand outlets all over India as well as an online presence. Faced with fierce competition from trendy western retailers and local competitors creating chic Indo-Western fusion clothing, Biba recognized that its customers' preferences were changing. In order to retain its leadership status, Biba had to decide how to grow its brand. What was the best way to compete against western retailers attracting the country's teen and young women's market? What marketing strategies could Biba adopt? Was Biba doing enough to remain relevant in the fast-changing women's clothing market?

Although most people are consumers of social media, few understand how to leverage it to build a brand-whether it is their own brand or a firm's brand. Just as Wal-Mart customers are not experts at marketing the retailer, consumers of social media are not yet skilled at utilizing it from a business-building perspective. This note is designed to help you think about social media from a brand manager's perspective; specifically, you will: (1) learn how to begin building your own social and professional brand; (2) understand the critical link between insight, strategy, and implementation; and (3) gain an appreciation for the difficulty associated with consistently behaving in concert with your desired brand.

The case focuses on AccorHotels' ambitious digital transformation, aiming to put the customer back at the center of its strategy and operations. Responding to a powerful wave of digital disruptions in the hospitality ecosystem, from the emergence of review websites, online travel agents and active forums to the rise of new competitors such as Airbnb, the transformation entailed: (1) designing and implementing an innovative content marketing strategy (including online content creation or co-creation, curation and dissemination) (2) incorporating e-reputation as a core business objective, and (3) creating and/or adapting organizational structures - from management to operations - to support this new dynamic and maximize value creation. The case starts in Fall 2015, when Olivier Arnoux, SVP Customer Satisfaction at AccorHotels, and his team, are asked to devise an ambitious plan to address the new challenges facing major players in the hotel industry brought about by digital disruptions. It follows the decision-making process step by step, from (1) understanding the nature and impact of online content in the customer journey, to (2) building a strategic plan to integrate online insights into AccorHotels' core business objectives (in particular the importance of e-reputation), (3) redefining where and how value is created, and creating incentive structures aligned with the new objectives. Participants have multiple opportunities to put themselves in the shoes of the protagonists so as to understand the logic behind the decisions taken. What is novel is the systematic articulation of how digital and social media impact the customer journey, as well as the integration of online content into marketing strategy (i.e., content marketing) and organizational design (i.e., team structure, incentive system), underlining how embracing the digital revolution entails breaking traditional silos between functions such as marketing, strategy, finance and human resources.

After solidifying its brand as a national leader in the ready-made, ethnic wear market in India, Biba Apparels Pvt. Ltd. (Biba) was at a crossroads when it came to determining future growth strategies. By 2014, Biba had 150 exclusive brand outlets and 225 multi-brand outlets all over India as well as an online presence. Faced with fierce competition from trendy western retailers and local competitors creating chic Indo-Western fusion clothing, Biba recognized that its customers’ preferences were changing. In order to retain its leadership status, Biba had to decide how to grow its brand. What was the best way to compete against western retailers attracting the country’s teen and young women’s market? What marketing strategies could Biba adopt? Was Biba doing enough to remain relevant in the fast-changing women’s clothing market?

This case, "vineyard vines and The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants," introduces students to a unique partnership in the social media advertising world. Preppy clothing powerhouse vineyard vines had a history of interacting with its customers by featuring user-generated content in its catalogs and on its website and decided to continue this tradition on social media by partnering with a group of fans called The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants. This successful and authentic social media marketing campaign resulted in increased sales for vineyard vines and influencer status for the members of The Brotherhood. At the end of the campaign, the vineyard vines marketing team is left debating how to grow its social media presence through partnerships. The case has been used as part of a social media marketing course and would be effective in any undergraduate- or graduate-level marketing course.

In February 2013, the senior marketing manager of Aquasi India (Private) Limited (Aquasi) met with the company's chief executive officer to consider the challenges faced by Aquasi that had arisen due to globalization after March 1997. India's competitive environment had completely changed; new technology had swept into the country and workers did not possess the essential skill sets to use the new machinery. Given sharp declines in quality and production output, Aquasi's sales suffered significantly. The number of competitors increased and began to eat into the company's market share. In the midst of these problems, Aquasi planned to develop and grow a web-based portal to manage the business in hopes that it would enable the company to move forward and survive in the difficult times ahead. However, the question remained as to how to implement this new online strategy; Aquasi's marketing and information technology teams were novices with respect to digital media, and would face several challenges.

In February 2013, the senior marketing manager of Aquasi India (Private) Limited (Aquasi) met with the company’s chief executive officer to consider the challenges faced by Aquasi that had arisen due to globalization after March 1997. India’s competitive environment had completely changed; new technology had swept into the country and workers did not possess the essential skill sets to use the new machinery. Given sharp declines in quality and production output, Aquasi’s sales suffered significantly. The number of competitors increased and began to eat into the company’s market share. In the midst of these problems, Aquasi planned to develop and grow a web-based portal to manage the business in hopes that it would enable the company to move forward and survive in the difficult times ahead. However, the question remained as to how to implement this new online strategy; Aquasi’s marketing and information technology teams were novices with respect to digital media, and would face several challenges.

While companies choose to brand their products and services in many different ways, there are some central tenets that help define an optimal brand portfolio and associated brand architecture. Brand portfolio strategy involves the design, deployment, and management of multiple brands as a coordinated portfolio of meaning-based assets that address the needs of diverse customers in a marketplace and maximize return while minimizing risk. It specifies the optimal portfolio of brands a company should maintain for comprehensive market coverage with minimal overlap, determines the role and scope of each brand in the portfolio, and designs a strategic, logical, and efficient brand architecture that knits the brands together into an interdependent system. Done well, it informs the allocation of investment across brands, identifies underperforming brands as candidates for pruning or revitalization, and pinpoints gaps in the portfolio that indicate growth opportunities for new brands.

AGL Energy, a long-time traditional energy supply company in Australia, was facing competition as alternative sources of energy, such as solar power and batteries, were taking root in both the marketplace and with energy-conscious homeowners. The trend of homeowners who opted to supply their own energy needs and go off the grid was described as a “death spiral” for utility companies. In response, AGL Energy appointed a new chief executive officer in 2015 to address concerns related to falling demand, customer retention, and unpredictable energy prices. With climate change issues pushing so-called green energy sources into the forefront, what were the strategic options that would ensure AGL Energy's continued presence as a leader in the energy industry?

In April 2016, the owner of Moonka Automobile, a two-wheeled vehicle dealership for Honda Motor Company Ltd., was facing some difficult decisions regarding recruitment for Moonka Automobile’s new branch in Jamshedpur, India. The owner wanted to improve the process for recruiting salespersons for this second branch. In addition to the constraints of a tight budget, limited managerial time and availability, and the need to complete the recruitment quickly, the owner’s challenges included (1) identifying the knowledge, skills, and attitude he needed to look for in potential salespersons; (2) encouraging the appropriate candidates to apply for the job opening; and (3) improving the process to be followed for recruitment. The owner certainly did not want to rush things and end up recruiting unsuitable employees, which could have disastrous consequences for the business. At the same time, he needed to get sales underway in the new branch. How could the owner balance his many responsibilities while finding the right salespersons for Moonka Automobile?

Café Coffee Day pioneered retail café culture in India with its entry into the market in 1996. After enjoying success for more than a decade, the brand felt the need to evolve in order to suit consumer preferences and better compete in the market space. The Café Coffee Day management team commissioned a brand image study to better understand consumer perceptions. The results showed that although Café Coffee Day's “regular guy/girl” brand archetype had evolved over time, there was a clear gap between the intended brand identity and the image that was projected. To make the brand relevant to Café Coffee Day’s core target group (i.e., young, urban Indian consumers), the company had to make sure that its positioning was relevant and clear, its brand identity was refreshed, and its café experience was well defined and differentiated. Café Coffee Day wanted to identify various positioning platforms through analysis of the company, its competition, and its customers, and then to evaluate these platforms to arrive at an appropriate positioning choice.

In April 2016, the owner of Moonka Automobile, a two-wheeled vehicle dealership for Honda Motor Company Ltd., was facing some difficult decisions regarding recruitment for Moonka Automobile's new branch in Jamshedpur, India. The owner wanted to improve the process for recruiting salespersons for this second branch. In addition to the constraints of a tight budget, limited managerial time and availability, and the need to complete the recruitment quickly, the owner's challenges included (1) identifying the knowledge, skills, and attitude he needed to look for in potential salespersons; (2) encouraging the appropriate candidates to apply for the job opening; and (3) improving the process to be followed for recruitment. The owner certainly did not want to rush things and end up recruiting unsuitable employees, which could have disastrous consequences for the business. At the same time, he needed to get sales underway in the new branch. How could the owner balance his many responsibilities while finding the right salespersons for Moonka Automobile?

Café Coffee Day pioneered retail café culture in India with its entry into the market in 1996. After enjoying success for more than a decade, the brand felt the need to evolve in order to suit consumer preferences and better compete in the market space. The Café Coffee Day management team commissioned a brand image study to better understand consumer perceptions. The results showed that although Café Coffee Day's "regular guy/girl" brand archetype had evolved over time, there was a clear gap between the intended brand identity and the image that was projected. To make the brand relevant to Café Coffee Day's core target group (i.e., young, urban Indian consumers), the company had to make sure that its positioning was relevant and clear, its brand identity was refreshed, and its café experience was well defined and differentiated. Café Coffee Day wanted to identify various positioning platforms through analysis of the company, its competition, and its customers, and then to evaluate these platforms to arrive at an appropriate positioning choice.