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India as an emerging market offers tremendous opportunities to marketers. The marketing scenario is an upbeat one both for mundane products as well as luxury offerings. Marketing art was an unexplored area. www.dhonuk.com was an entrepreneurial company that was making an attempt to market art. This case study is about the attempt by the company to study the behaviour of the consumers interested in art. The case study delves into the nuances of segmentation and psychographics with information on the involvement levels of consumers. The challenge for www.dhonuk.com was to use consumer insights to formulate marketing strategies that would enable the company to target various segments and decide how these segments could be differentiated. Some of the interesting questions that the case reflects are (1) Would capturing the perception of consumers about art forms work? (2) What about their level of involvement in art forms? (3) Were art forms something that consumers used to reflect their personality? (4) Were consumers associated with art different from other consumers in terms of their lifestyle? The case has a blend of several aspects of consumer behaviour that will be useful to formulate a strategy for this unusual category in the Indian marketing context. The case can be used to illustrate how the various aspects of consumer behaviour can contribute to marketing strategy of a firm, especially with regard to a category that has not diffused widely among the consumers. The case also illustrates how consumer behaviour concepts can be combined to obtain consumer insights in a given scenario. The outcome of the case is reflected in how marketing mix elements can be formulated using behavioural concepts. This angle is different from formulating marketing mix using competitive data without the information on behavioural dimensions.

Alegre, a leading hotel group in Central and South America, is suffering under the troubled economy, and its newest property, the flagship Palma Cay in Cozumel, is hurting most. Beatriz Soto, Palma Cay's manager, has a plan to boost bookings, but she doesn't have the money to carry it out. Should corporate headquarters grant her additional funds, despite the company's traditionally decentralized operations? Or should Alegre think about launching its very first portfolio-wide campaign? With commentary by Raul Gonzalez, the CEO of Barcelo Hotels & Resorts for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Kevin Lane Keller, the E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.

Alegre, a leading hotel group in Central and South America, is suffering under the troubled economy, and its newest property, the flagship Palma Cay in Cozumel, is hurting most. Beatriz Soto, Palma Cay's manager, has a plan to boost bookings, but she doesn't have the money to carry it out. Should corporate headquarters grant her additional funds, despite the company's traditionally decentralized operations? Or should Alegre think about launching its very first portfolio-wide campaign? With commentary by Raul Gonzalez, the CEO of Barcelo Hotels & Resorts for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Kevin Lane Keller, the E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.

Alegre, a leading hotel group in Central and South America, is suffering under the troubled economy, and its newest property, the flagship Palma Cay in Cozumel, is hurting most. Beatriz Soto, Palma Cay's manager, has a plan to boost bookings, but she doesn't have the money to carry it out. Should corporate headquarters grant her additional funds, despite the company's traditionally decentralized operations? Or should Alegre think about launching its very first portfolio-wide campaign? With commentary by Raul Gonzalez, the CEO of Barcelo Hotels & Resorts for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Kevin Lane Keller, the E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.

A study of 10,000 accounts in a large German bank showed that customers obtained through referrals are both more loyal and more valuable than other customers, making referral programs well worth the cost. The effect is strongest among young people.

Viral features embedded in your product can have an explosive effect on adoption. Automatic notifications, which are passive, get the most hits. But personalized features, such as user-to-user invitations, are three times as effective per message.

Can a company base a major proposal on its good reputation, history with the client, and a perspective that differs from the client's own? Emphasizing both its engineering capability and 80 years' experience, Parsons Brinckerhoff spends one year and $1 million preparing a proposal to build a $17 billion subway line. Competition from four equally qualified firms is stiff, but PB is sure its history and top-level MTA connections make it a shoe-in. Despite MTA's concerns about the finished line's functionality, PB believes the construction of the tunnel itself is the key to winning the bid. In the A case, the firm awaits the good news. The B and C cases reveal the results and the direction the company then chooses to take. (A teaching note is available to registered faculty members.)

Can a company base a major proposal on its good reputation, history with the client, and a perspective that differs from that client's own? Emphasizing both its engineering capability and 80 years' experience, Parsons Brinckerhoff spends one year and $1 million preparing a proposal to build a $17 billion subway line. Competition from four equally qualified firms is stiff, but PB is sure its history and top-level Metropolitan Transit Authority connections make it a shoe-in. Despite MTA's concerns about the finished line's functionality, PB believes the construction of the tunnel itself is the key to winning the bid. In the A case, the firm awaits the good news. The B and C cases reveal the result and the direction the company then chooses to take.

Can a company base a major proposal on its good reputation, history with the client, and a perspective that differs from that client's own? Emphasizing both its engineering capability and 80 years' experience, Parsons Brinckerhoff spends one year and $1 million preparing a proposal to build a $17 billion subway line. Competition from four equally qualified firms is stiff, but PB is sure its history and top-level Metropolitan Transit Authority connections make it a shoe-in. Despite MTA's concerns about the finished line's functionality, PB believes the construction of the tunnel itself is the key to winning the bid. In the A case, the firm awaits the good news. The B and C cases reveal the result and the direction the company then chooses to take.

Nike's Football division needs to devise a strategy to excel at the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa. Nike has gone from a niche player in the market for football apparel and footwear in 1994 to a formidable competitor to Adidas in 2008 (with revenues of over $1 billion for the sport). The case traces how Nike has gone about making this transformation and its activities at each of the World Cups since 1994. For the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, Nike has decided to change its target market focus and to use digital and social media platforms to connect more extensively with consumers. In addition, Nike plans to launch innovative new boots and engage in corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives. The company has to do so in light of competition from archrival Adidas and the pressure of succeeding on the biggest stage in football, with billions of people around the world watching. The case allows students to analyze how a company can best integrate several value propositions into a cohesive plan and how it can best communicate with its chosen target market. It also allows for a rich discussion of the brand image the company needs to portray to leverage success beyond the World Cup event.

Gauri Nanda, the inventor of Clocky, the alarm clock that rolls off the bed stand and forces its owner to find it, has to make critical decisions regarding the future of her nascent company. As sales of Clocky show signs of declining, she must decide whether to continue her focus on the alarm clock category or to branch out into new categories. If the former, the question is which segments to pursue and what features to develop, and, if the latter, the question is whether the concept of "humanizing technology" is something consumers would value in other domains. In addition, Nanda must decide how to continue marketing Clocky and its successors, given the potential for cannibalization. Clocky's success was largely attributable to the media's intense interest and coverage, and it is not clear such attention would carry over to other new product endeavors. Students are presented with a number of new product concepts and the findings from both qualitative and quantitative market research. This allows for a rich discussion of how managers can think creatively about consumer experiences to inform their innovation strategies.

In the follow-up to the A case of the same name, this case reveals post-launch results for Tata's $2,500 car. Students learn about Tata's promotion, price, place, segment, targeting, and positioning for marketing "the world's cheapest car." This case series is effective for MBA, undergraduate, and executive learners studying market segmentation, pricing, cannibalization risk, pricing, and break-even sales in the face of different price and cost scenarios. Did Tata choose the right marketing strategy? Did the Nano represent an evolution or a revolution in automobile marketing?

The Penfolds case is designed to help students think through brand positioning and brand portfolio questions. Penfolds, one of the world's best known brands of wine, is performing poorly and a new management team needs to quickly reverse the business trends. To do so, the new management team needs to answer key questions, such as: What is Penfolds' positioning? Has the brand extended too far? Can Penfolds successfully play in all price segments of the wine industry? What is the best way to grow the brand going forward?

The case describes a five-year effort (2006-2011) of distribution rationalization and consolidation at Ford. The financial crisis in the second-half of 2008 forced GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Having completed the distribution overhaul work by 2011, its senior managers wondered how the transformed distribution channel would meet the needs of its new product strategy developed in response to the financial crisis.

After working together on a university business plan, two entrepreneurs worked for three years to develop their venture: Shutout Solutions Inc. Their start-up venture was established in response to an issue familiar to most hockey players: notoriously smelly equipment. While their familiarity with hockey equipment helped them identify a specific problem, subsequent research revealed a much broader issue: the need to clean products made of micro-fibre. Utilizing a technology that addressed the micro-fibre odour issue, they believed they had a five-year opportunity window to develop and profit from the business before it was imitated or superseded. As they considered their options, they realized that they might have to choose to focus their resources on a single product line rather than continue to develop their current portfolio of a detergent, body wash, and spray. They also questioned whether they were using the right channel - gyms and sporting goods stores - to reach customers. The opportunity to pursue bulk institutional sales was also intriguing, though it would require a different sales, pricing, and distribution strategy. Also, they considered how they might respond to an offer to sell the company in its current form.

This case is an addendum that updates HBS Case No. 502-025, "The Future of Hybrid Electric Cars." It covers the 10 years, 2001 to 2011.

Although there's ample research to guide marketers in naming new products, little of it has addressed follow-on offerings, even though these make up the bulk of new products in many industries. Companies have two basic strategies to choose from. They can stick with a name, often adding a sequential indicator (PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3), or they can come up with an entirely new name (Nintendo's Wii). Three questions managers should consider when deciding whether brand-name continuation or brand-name change is the best way to go for their next-generation product.

As we continue to redefine capitalism, let's not discount the role of aspiration and the desire for luxuries in fueling productivity.

After three years of rapid growth in a relatively young industry, the affiliate and payment-processing company RevenueWire.com found itself operating in a very different environment. Sales growth in the company’s affiliate network service had leveled off, and orders for Q1 2010 looked just like those for Q1 2009. New competitors, low entry barriers, and a plateau in the affiliate market meant few opportunities for growth across the industry. Despite these conditions, the company’s owners had set aggressive revenue targets for 2010 to 2012. The general manager needed to evaluate options for growth, including new markets and new products, to determine how to meet her targets. Because RevenueWire.com’s competitors were privately held, there was little public data on the state of their finances or the size of various markets. The general manager had learned how to use surrogate data to gauge the market and make strategic decisions, and the students must do the same to develop an effective three-year plan that will hit or exceed the owners’ expectations.<br><br>The case exposes students to decision making in a global industry dominated by privately held companies. It also exposes students to the affiliate marketing industry from the viewpoint of an entrepreneurial company that serves as an intermediary between merchants and affiliates. It describes many of the challenges facing an intermediary in an industry that includes not only legitimate merchants but a vast array of scam artists and phony products.

Bakari Burns, CEO of the Health Care Center for the Homeless (HCCH) in Orlando, Florida, was faced with the daunting task of rebranding the organization. He knew that the organization experienced difficulty with recognition and marketplace distinction, primarily due to the public’s misconceptions about the relationship between HCCH and the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. An external consulting team offered several recommendations for change, including an amended name and redesigning all marketing materials. This advice and changes in the external environment made it an excellent time to reposition and refocus the organization. Recognizing the need for a new strategy and implementing that strategy were not the same; Burns was not sure how to lead the organization through the change process.