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Microsoft Office was facing an uphill task in engaging the undergraduate student community. Attracting this audience-the most tech-savvy generation ever-was critical to the future of the Microsoft Office franchise. Microsoft's past advertising efforts to reach this audience had proven lackluster, while its key competitors were gradually entrenching themselves among this demographic. Microsoft's challenge was to determine the best tactics that could successfully connect with this audience. The (A) case describes Microsoft's dilemma and briefly addresses what college students mostly care about: managing homework, creating great-looking schoolwork, preparing for the workplace, and collaborating with friends and classmates. It also provides competitive information, chiefly Google's increasing presence in universities and its focus on the higher education market and the growing influence of Facebook among students and its evolution into a productivity tool. The (B) case describes the qualitative research tools that Microsoft used to get a better understanding of college students: day diaries using Twitter, technology diaries using the Internet and smartphones, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with students. The case helps students understand the value of ethnographic and qualitative research techniques, draw inferences from the data, and subsequently make recommendations. It illustrates how ethnographic and observational studies enrich research by generating deeper consumer insight than traditional methods.

In April 2012, the director of marketing for Pepsi Beverages Canada assessed the launch plans for the year's version of what had traditionally been called the Pepsi Challenge. Now called the Pepsi Ultimate Taste Challenge, the goals of the campaign were very aggressive and, of course, a Coke versus Pepsi battle was always difficult. The novelty for summer 2012 was the emphasis on social media, and the interaction between social media and the Ultimate Taste Challenge. In addition, the marketing director was targeting the Millenials as a target market segment. These consumers were a notoriously difficult group to market to. The marketing director assessed the proposal he received and needed to make a decision as to whether to approve it, or whether changes were necessary to achieve his market share goals.

In April 2012, the director of marketing for Pepsi Beverages Canada assessed the launch plans for the year's version of what had traditionally been called the Pepsi Challenge. Now called the Pepsi Ultimate Taste Challenge, the goals of the campaign were very aggressive and, of course, a Coke versus Pepsi battle was always difficult. The novelty for summer 2012 was the emphasis on social media, and the interaction between social media and the Ultimate Taste Challenge. In addition, the marketing director was targeting the Millenials as a target market segment. These consumers were a notoriously difficult group to market to. The marketing director assessed the proposal he received and needed to make a decision as to whether to approve it, or whether changes were necessary to achieve his market share goals.

UrbanBaby is a newly developed smartphone application (app) that allows users to address the difficult task of finding activities, restaurants and other forms of entertainment for newborns to young teens. A number of issues must be addressed if it is going to be profitable. First, the app’s creators, Alex and Pavel, are unsure how to characterize the large potential target market, parents, or if there are other target markets that might be interested. This is critical, as the success of the app depends on the cultivation of a strong online community that will contribute content. Second, they have to find a reliable source of data to populate the app. Third, they must decide whether to focus on Apple's operating system, which is popular in North America, or put more of their energy into competing operating systems that are much more popular in the rest of the world. Finally, they have a number of strategic marketing choices to make and to prioritize, including whether to keep the UrbanBaby brand name and risk the ire of similarly named competitors, how to price the app, how to position and promote the app and how to time the rollout. How these initial choices will affect subsequent strategic and tactical decisions is also a matter of concern.

This is a supplement to Struggling to Make the Best Buy (A), product # 9B10A010.

Rick Anderson, senior director of NextEra's Green Marketing Group, is crafting a marketing strategy to move Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) on the voluntary market by demonstrating the added value of the company's EarthEra RECs. NextEra not only markets RECs, but also funds the construction of renewable energy projects. Anderson is seeking to expand the EarthEra program and brand. While there has been some good responses to EarthEra RECs, there have also been setbacks. Demand for RECs is decreasing. The end of federal incentives for renewable energy projects, the 2008 financial crisis, and a rejection of federal RPS legislation have depressed the market for voluntary RECs. Anderson's challenge is to find the right strategy to expand the EarthEra REC program in the midst of these difficultiesThis case was written by graduate students Jenna Agins, Rajat Bhatia, Andrea Cunningham, Natalie George, Daniel Gonzalez-Kreisberg, and Jonathan Mattson, under the supervision of Professor Andrew Hoffman.

Datavast Inc., a product designer and manufacturer based in China, had just launched its new private cloud storage product, the Data Security Box. The general manager of Datavast was faced with the dilemma of who to sell this product to. He determined that segmenting by size was the most effective method, as customers in different industries and regions did not have very different needs or buying characteristics. However, SMEs (companies with 200-500 computers) and large companies (companies with 1,000+ computers) exhibited vastly different needs and purchasing behaviour. The general manager had limited resources, so he faced the decision of focusing on either SMEs or large companies. Although Datavast did not have any direct competitors at the time, its decision was complicated by the company's current state and capabilities, as well as the data storage industry in China. Also, the general manager was hoping to retire within five years and was unwilling to make additional capital investments in the company. Datavast was operating at a loss and his goal was to bring the company into profitability within the next year. A net loss also meant that the company could not afford to be burdened with large additional expenses. Lastly, private cloud storage was a new technology in China and the market needed to be familiarized with the concept.

Many companies are in competition with their customers to extract as much value as possible from every transaction. Pricing is their weapon of choice, and consumers fight back by rooting out and disseminating pricing policies that seem unfair. The problem is that companies generally think of value as a pie that is rightfully theirs. But value is not fixed, and it neither originates with nor belongs solely to the firm. Without a willing customer, there is no value. Instead of using pricing in a way that turns customers into adversaries, companies can use it to enlarge the pie. That means viewing customers as partners in value creation--a collaboration that increases customers' engagement and taps their insights about the value they seek and how firms could deliver it. The result can be new revenue, increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, positive word of mouth, and cost savings. The multiyear process to price the 8 million tickets to the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games suggests five principles for using pricing to create shared value: Focus on relationships, not on transactions, by using pricing to communicate that you value customers as people; set prices proactively to discourage detrimental behavior and to encourage behavior that is beneficial to both your firm and your customers; allow prices to change in response to shifting customer needs; promote transparency by providing the rationale for your pricing; and make sure that prices and the processes by which they are set meet consumers' expectations about what is fair.

From 2005-2006, Federated Department Stores converted some 15 regional department store chains into a single national brand, Macy’s, with 810 stores across the United States. In addition, the company repositioned the consolidated Macy’s in the overall retail landscape in an attempt to differentiate the new company from its competitors. These maneuvers were undertaken to counter decreasing sales and profits in the traditional department store industry. Some retail analysts suggested that the consolidation of Macy’s, while interesting, was destined to fail because the traditional department store was an obsolete entity; however, other analysts suggested that Macy’s strategy might hold the key to success in a declining industry. In 2008, the U.S. economy entered a recession, and by 2011 it remained far from booming. Did Macy’s need to change parts of its strategy to remain competitive? What would need to change?

Bundling products is a time-honored practice that marketers use to boost sales. But new research shows that it can backfire--that customers will actually pay more for less.

In 2008, the German coffee and consumer goods corporation Tchibo has launched Tchibo Ideas, an internet platform where customers can share their product/design ideas with the company. The tension in the case emerges from the uncertainty regarding Tchibo's intentions for Tchibo Ideas. While some people perceive this move as a genuine attempt by the company to establish closer interactions with customers, some people see it simply as a marketing gimmick. The case describes the challenges and potential benefits that Tchibo Ideas is encountering, to foster a discussion on the value of a co-creation strategy.

Since its inception in 1997, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had been trying to control drug prices through various supply-side initiatives, which had yielded limited success. This time around, NPPA had announced a new initiative, which was aimed at educating consumers about the inexpensive alternatives for medicines prescribed by doctors. By giving consumers information about various brands and their prices, NPPA hoped to offer customer self-selection of drugs through short message service (SMS, or “texting”). NPPA appeared to be operating on the premise that customer self-selection could result in self-regulation of consumption, thereby giving greater control of health care expenses to customers. Given the huge penetration of mobile phones in India and the gradual reduction of various mobile service charges, text-based service looked feasible. However, the proposed system had met with strong opposition from other stakeholders, such as doctors and chemists. Besides, the large-scale adoption of the proposed service was being questioned as the decision-making process for medicines was very complex.

The vice president and managing director of Nokia India needed to decide whether to undertake an all-India launch of Nokia’s newest service offering for emerging markets, called Nokia Lifetools (NLT). The NLT pilot was very successful, with consumer adoption and retention rates over 70 per cent. However, offering services and applications that came directly loaded onto a handset was new for Nokia, put it in direct competition with service providers, and required the company to develop a very different distribution strategy. It could not avoid the important stakeholders in the telecommunication value chain as they were also crucial partners whose cooperation was key to Nokia’s success. Successfully launching NLT in India could shift the telecommunications industry globally. The decision facing the vice president was likely one of the most important business decisions he would ever make.

Founded in Trieste, Italy, Illy marketed a unique blend of coffee drinks in over 140 countries and in more than 50,000 of the world’s best restaurants and coffeehouses. The company wanted to expand the reach of its own franchised coffee bar, Espressamente, through international expansion. Potential markets included Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2012, the managing director of Espressamente knew that global expansion meant prioritizing markets, but where did the greatest potential lie? In addition to market selection, mode of entry was vital and included options such as exporting, franchising, and joint ventures. This case provides a practical example of the challenges faced in international business.

It supplements case KEL651,KEL652

A young business student at a university in Ontario must decide whether to launch her entrepreneurial venture — selling women’s foldable flats — and how, in the Toronto market. Damn Heels (A) highlights the research done by the entrepreneur leading up to this decision, including the marketing (product, price, promotion, and placement) decisions she faces, consideration of the competitive retail shoe industry, and some of the first steps for a new business evaluation — unit contribution and financial profitability projections.

Microsoft Office was facing an uphill task in engaging the undergraduate student community. Attracting this audience-the most tech-savvy generation ever-was critical to the future of the Microsoft Office franchise. Microsoft's past advertising efforts to reach this audience had proven lackluster, while its key competitors were gradually entrenching themselves among this demographic. Microsoft's challenge was to determine the best tactics that could successfully connect with this audience. The (A) case describes Microsoft's dilemma and briefly addresses what college students mostly care about: managing homework, creating great-looking schoolwork, preparing for the workplace, and collaborating with friends and classmates. It also provides competitive information, chiefly Google's increasing presence in universities and its focus on the higher education market and the growing influence of Facebook among students and its evolution into a productivity tool. The (B) case describes the qualitative research tools that Microsoft used to get a better understanding of college students: day diaries using Twitter, technology diaries using the Internet and smartphones, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with students. The case helps students understand the value of ethnographic and qualitative research techniques, draw inferences from the data, and subsequently make recommendations. It illustrates how ethnographic and observational studies enrich research by generating deeper consumer insight than traditional methods.

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.

In August 2011, the digital strategist at Online Advertisers, a small digital media company (web development, affiliate marketing, and social media management), was faced with finalizing a value proposition for a new social media marketing division, Online Advertisers Social. Online Advertisers was a creativity-driven company. Data and analytic capabilities were generally not the reason why clients worked with Online Advertisers. Online Advertisers attracted clients by being young, in touch with trends, energetic, and creative. However, clients (especially larger clients) wanted analytics — metrics that could be used to objectively quantify returns on social media investment. The digital strategist saw an opportunity to position Online Advertisers Social as a social media company that offered smaller businesses insights into their target markets that they would not otherwise have access to due to budget constraints. <br><br>The digital strategist needed to create a value proposition that balanced an analytics focus with Online Advertisers’ creative marketing and design. The company was too small to offer a large-scale competitive analytical package, and had relied too heavily on intuition in the past to create a competitive data-based social media package. The digital strategist went through the nuances of social media management, including campaign management and community management, and the issue of offering services related to the measurement of social media ROI in a rapidly growing and maturing industry.

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.