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Reebok is facing a major competitive struggle in its advertising strategy. The traditional advertising campaigns in use have been steadily growing ineffective. Nike's strong marketing, brand, and channel presence continue to limit Reebok's ability to expand its market share and affects sales stability as well. Early 2004, Reebok's new Chief Marketing Officer planned on expanding the reach enjoyed by the Terry Tate: Office Linebacker video series which was launched during the Super Bowl. The series was a big success and spread like wildfire on the Internet. Reebok's mission is to capitalize on its effectiveness and establish a brand personality with Generation X. After three weeks of viral advertising, with no significant upward sales results, the issue of Internet advertising has come full circle and is now at center stage. Several senior executive see the lack of short-term sales increase as evidence of failure.

This case is about the evolution of a parent brand and its subsequent extensions into different product categories. Dettol, as a brand, had earned immense trust and loyalty from consumers. From the time it was introduced in India in the 1930s, Dettol occupied a distinct position in the mind of its consumers. To accelerate growth and leverage the strong brand equity of Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser India Limited (RBIL) rolled out a number of brand extensions. Some of these extensions, such as Dettol soap and Dettol liquid hand wash, became phenomenal successes, but most of the others failed to perform. The case deals with the question of why some extensions achieve great success while others fail miserably.

This note provides an overview of brand extension management. It discusses how brand extensions can be classified and outlines various managerial advantages and disadvantages of extending existing brands. It also describes how consumers evaluate brand extensions and what contributes to their success and failure.

On 31 January 2007, Dell Inc. announced the return of Michael Dell, its founder, to the position of CEO, replacing Kevin Rollins in providing day-to-day leadership to the troubled PC maker. The radical decision came after a turbulent year that saw a sharp decline in both market share and profitability, and which ended with Dell losing its leading position in the industry to Hewlett-Packard, from which it took in 2003. Once a high-flying success case with its revolutionary direct business-to-customer model, Dell was now facing an obvious challenge in turning itself around. This is a management strategy case concerned with the applicability of the direct business-to-customer model in global expansion, further complicated by changing industry dynamics. The application of the model is dependent on many factors that are outside the control of the company. The combined effect of these factors-such as physical infrastructure, telecommunications infrastructure, political climate, transportation networks, availability of suitable staff-determines the market readiness of the country concerned. Meanwhile, the changing market conditions, such as consumer purchasing patterns and market growth patterns, may also impair the effectiveness of the model. The test is whether Dell can successfully apply its direct model in other markets with different social and economic contexts, notably China. In addition, should Dell unswervingly adhere to the direct model in the face of shifting market conditions, globally and regionally? What are the strategies it should develop to conquer the world's second-largest PC market-China?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 508024.

In 2002, Professor Nicholas Negroponte, a successful venture capitalist, author, and co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, announced his intention to build a PC so cheap as to make it possible to provide Internet- and multimedia-capable machines to millions of children in developing countries. The concept--subsequently often referred to as the "$100 PC"--was launched at the Media Lab in 2003 before being spun into a separate nonprofit association, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), founded by Negroponte in January 2005. At the time skeptics, including technology industry leaders, argued that it simply could not be done. Through innovative design and technology, Negroponte and his team proved them wrong but struggled to sell the concept and the machines to the world's education ministries, who would be purchasing the laptops for their school age children. Furthermore, by 2007, many other low-cost PC options had emerged and OLPC had not started shipping yet, leading some observers to wonder if the non-profit should reconsider its strategy and options

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Fiyta had long been on of China's foremost watch brands. However, as China's economy began to improve and the livelihood of many Chinese rose with it, their tastes began to change. Exposed to more luxurious foreign brands, many Chinese strived to purchase a Swiss or Japanese watch. How could Fiyta build up its brand image to a more sophisticated Chinese consumer? What marketing activities should it undertake to reinvigorate its brand? Is it meeting the needs of all segments of Chinese consumers? Should it?

This note explores how advertising works from a consumer behavior perspective. Following an overview of some of the traditional hierarchical approaches to studying advertising and limitations associated with these models, the elaboration-likelihood model (ELM) is introduced as a means of addressing some of these deficiencies. The ELM is then examined within an advertising context. Subsequently, subliminal advertising is briefly considered. Lastly, issues related to measurement of advertising effectiveness are discussed.

In the past, most industrial firms focused on applying technology assets in their own products and services. Along with the trend towards open innovation, however, many firms have recently started to actively license out technology. These firms consider technology licensing a strategic activity, which may include all technology assets and which goes far beyond the marginal activity of commercializing residual technologies. The research collected for this article shows that the strategic drivers of technology licensing are often more important than generating licensing revenues. The strategic drivers strengthen the interdependencies between internally and externally commercializing technology. Product marketing and licensing are complements rather than substitutes in technology exploitation.

The popular "bottom of the pyramid" (BOP) proposition argues that large companies can make a fortune by selling to poor people and simultaneously help eradicate poverty. While a few market opportunities do exist, the market at the BOP is generally too small monetarily to be very profitable for most multinationals. At the same time, the private sector can play a key role in poverty alleviation by viewing the poor as producers, and emphasize buying from them, rather than selling to them.

The president and founder of the non-profit organization, Let's Talk Science, needs to ensure that the marketing plan provided by her staff for a new training package would meet the sales goal of 100 units each year. The package, called "Science with Impact" is intended to train scientists and engineers on educational techniques to use for delivering effective and age-appropriate presentations to children and the non-scientific community. This marketing case focuses on the development of a pricing and promotion strategy for a product in a non-profit environment.

CavinKare Private Limited has emerged as an important player in the Indian fast moving consumer goods market. It has not only survived cut-throat competition from formidable multinational companies, but also has recorded sustained high growth over the years. Its business model has included converting important consumer insights into superior products, innovation and experimentation, value pricing, and extending distribution access. The case discusses the challenge before the top management to put in place a strategy to translate the vision of making CavinKare a billion-dollar entity (Rs 52,000 million) by 2012 into reality.

CavinKare was planning to introduce soaps and detergents product in the market. Owing to the ongoing price war in the detergent segment between Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and P&G, the company's managing director and chief executive officer were weighing the risks and benefits of entering the soaps and detergents market. They had to decide whether to enter the market or delay the entry. Another option was to abandon the entry plan altogether. The case discusses the dilemma faced by the company on market entry due to the changed market conditions.

The managing director and director of overseas marketing of Midea Group, China's largest air conditioner manufacturer, had concerns about the company's domestic and global competitive position. They felt the company needed to develop a strategy to defend its home market in the wake of more liberalized imports, and simultaneously, develop the resources and skills required to play in a global market where its cost advantages had been nullified because international players were also exporting from China. To do so, they needed to review the company's current international strategy and examine both branding and private label options.

Ever find yourself looking for the perfect case for an exam or mid-term? They can be quite rare. "Green Ox" was written specifically for a mid-term exam in an MBA Marketing Management class. Rather than focus on one particular concept or issue (e.g., segmentation, product line depth), the case challenges students to develop a marketing strategy for a food and beverage manufacturer's new line of sports beverages that contain beneficial antioxidants. Focal decisions include choosing a segmentation scheme(s), choosing a specific target segment(s), and articulating a positioning statement(s) for the new product - in light of market trends, customer information, and competitor positions. Students must also make recommendations regarding the product name, number of products in the line, and the price (including a break-even analysis). Distribution and promotion issues are downplayed, yet there is sufficient information to determine whether students' recommendations on the larger issues account for the necessary integration of the 4Ps.

Gino SA was a major European-based manufacturer of burner units that are sold in China through exclusive contracts with three distributors. As a result, the three Chinese distributors have significant bargaining power with Gino. A leading boiler manufacturer, who is currently purchasing through a distributor, has approached Gino to receive OEM treatment (a further discount by purchasing the burners direct from the manufacturer, in return for a commitment to purchase a percentage of their burners from Gino). In deciding whether or not to pursue the company's first direct OEM relationship, the marketing manager must consider the impact of his decision on the distributors, the competition and the company's corporate management.

The Wahaha Hangzhou Group Co. Ltd. is one of China's largest soft-drink producers. One of the company's products, Future Cola, was launched a few years ago to compete with Coca Cola and PepsiCo and has made significant progress in the soft-drink markets that were developed by these cola giants. The issue now is to maintain the momentum of growth in the face of major competition from the giant multinationals, and to achieve its goal of dominant market share.

Shanghai COS Software Ltd. designs and develops smart card operating systems. The company's marketing manager must decide the best basis for segmenting the burgeoning market for smart cards for wireless devices in China. She has excellent data on this duopoly market, the segments and their buying criteria. In fact, she already has received significant orders for low-end cards from each of the two large customers. However, she and the senior management team must decide on a market positioning for this young high-tech start up. She must select one of the two major customers whose size, structure and procedures are quite different. She must also decide whether the company should market low margin/high volume or high margin/low volume products. Both products seem to have a very short life expectancy in the face of rapidly changing customer expectations. The investors in the company want it to achieve profitability fairly quickly and still adopt sustainable positioning in the marketplace.