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Andy Khubani, the CEO of Idea Village, a company that markets to consumers via direct-response TV ads, must decide whether to launch a campaign touting a hair removal product for women. Explains the direct-response industry and contrasts its methodology with traditional consumer goods marketing.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. In many companies, there has been a marked drop in the influence, stature, and significance of the corporate marketing department. Today, marketing is often less of a corporate function and more a diaspora of skills and capabilities spread across the organization. Argues that by itself, the disintegration of the marketing center is not a cause for concern, but the decline of core marketing competence certainly is. Examines a series of in-depth interviews with leading marketing executives and CEOs to clarify the root causes of the decline. The research identifies eight distinct factors that contribute to marketing's waning influence--among them a worrying "short-termism," significant shifts in channel power, and marketing's inability to document its contribution to business results. The consequences are not immediate, but they are far-reaching: Absent a core of marketing competence, the corporate brand will suffer, product innovation will weaken, and prices will be less robust. However, the fact that marketing does continue to influence corporate strategy in some companies suggests there are opportunities and viable approaches for building marketing competence as a source of competitive advantage. Suggests four key issues facing marketing management, placing the focus not on restoration of the corporate marketing function but on the rebuilding of marketing competence across the organization.

This technical note defines, describes, and illustrates the most common metrics marketers used to monitor and manage customer relationships. Among the metrics covered are customer counts, recency, retention rates, customer profitability and customer lifetime value.

An abstract is not available for this product.

FirstCaribbean International Bank was the new banking entity created from the combination of the Caribbean operations of two foreign banks, Barclays Bank plc of the United Kingdom and headquarters in London, England and CIBC - formally the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - of Canada and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. A marketing team was formed with the specific responsibility of developing the marketing function and the brand strategy, as well as guiding the branding process of the new entity. The head of the marketing team has a number of concerns: Would geography, history and commercial practices support or mitigate against a single, centralized marketing strategy for the entire region, what should the new brand be and how should it be articulated, should the new brand reflect one or both of the heritage banks or should the new brand break with the past and reflect a totally new identity, and how quickly could the new brand be rolled out? This case may be taught on a stand alone basis or in combination with any of the five additional Cross-Enterprise cases that deal with various functional issues associated with the eventual merger: Human Resources - Harmonization of Compensation and Benefits for FirstCaribbean, product 9B04C053; Information Systems - Information Systems at FirstCaribbean: Choosing a Standard Operating Environment, product 9B04E032; General Management - CIBC-Barclays: Should Their Caribbean Operations Be Merged?, product 9B04M067; Accounting and Finance - CIBC-Barclays: Accounting For Their Merger, product 9B04B022; FirstCaribbean International Bank: The Marketing and Branding Challenges for a Start-up, product 9B05A012; and technical note - Note on Banking in the Caribbean, product 9B05M015.

Carmax is the largest multi-market used car dealer in the U.S., and has no format-to-format competitor in the $375 billion used car market. CarMax is trying to do what some analysts believed to be impossible: sell used cars profitably on a national scale, and at the same time revamp the tarnished image of the used car salesman.

Provides an overview of the Japanese apparel market, which was a 13.1 trillion yen industry in 2003, reflecting 5.5% year-over-year shrinkage since 1997, when retailers logged 17.5 trillion yen in sales. Compared to their global counterparts, Japanese apparel shoppers in the 12 to 35 age bracket are considered to be extremely fashion sensitive. Because these consumers commit a disproportionately large amount of their disposable income to fashion goods, the Japanese apparel market has been very attractive to global players such as Inditex, parent of Zara. Moreover, it is considered a promising market for small niche retailers and boutiques featuring up-and-coming designers, many of which are flourishing in areas of Tokyo such as the renowned Harajuku district. By the turn of the 21st century, Japan's chic apparel shoppers have enabled Tokyo to become a fashion center, influencing styles in other Asian countries such as China and Korea and drawing the attention of trend watchers and fashion journalists from around the world.

The vice-president of a resort hotel in San Felipe, Mexico must deal with low winter sales levels. Students will gain experience in assessing the current marketing strategy, analyzing the fit of a new opportunity, making pricing decisions, designing a promotional campaign and calculating market share; and receive practice in using breakeven analysis and in analyzing an opportunity from both a qualitative and quantitative standpoint.

The vice-president of a resort hotel in San Felipe, Mexico must deal with low winter sales levels. Students will gain experience in assessing the current marketing strategy, analyzing the fit of a new opportunity, making pricing decisions, designing a promotional campaign and calculating market share; and receive practice in using breakeven analysis and in analyzing an opportunity from both a qualitative and quantitative standpoint.

VaporLock was a proprietary coating sold by Heinrich Chemical as a vapor barrier over polyurethane insulation on oil/chemical storage tanks. A company engineer had developed a computer program to compute the energy savings and economics of tank insulation projects. The marketing director wondered how this computer program might be used to help sell VaporLock. This case is one in a series of four cases on value-based selling. The (B) case provides the value mapping and value proposition.

VaporLock was a proprietary coating sold by Heinrich Chemical as a vapor barrier over polyurethane insulation on oil/chemical storage tanks. A company engineer had developed a computer program to compute the energy savings and economics of tank insulation projects. The marketing director wondered how this computer program might be used to help sell VaporLock. This case is one in a series of four cases on value-based selling. The (B) case provides the value mapping and value proposition. The (A) case provides the background.

In addition to spas, theme parks, and palm beaches, health care tourism is emerging as a growing source of revenue in tourist destinations in Asia. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and India have identified health care tourism as one of the fastest growing segments in their respective tourist markets and are launching aggressive marketing plans for the next few years. The target markets are customers from developed countries, mostly from Europe, North America, and Japan, with over-crowded and expensive medical services at home. As part of the health care package, customers receive the bonus of vacationing and sightseeing in a foreign country and an exotic culture. Provides a survey of the development of health care tourism in select Asian countries. Emphasizes the marketing efforts employed by the various countries in positioning their services and developing this promising market segment. Compares and contrasts the respective roles of the public and private sectors and highlights issues and challenges for other countries in their destination marketing efforts.

Highlights how word-of-mouth is crucial in the acquisition of new customers. Specifically, it shows the existence of both internal (to the firm) and external markets for customer leads.

Supplements the (A) case.

Does the ad jingle have a future? HBR senior editor Leigh Buchanan points out the appeal of simplicity in a complicated age.

Most consumers don't care where, how, or by whom products are made, says David Vogel at Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Improved measurement methods show marketing is losing its magic, say consultants Kevin J. Clancy and Randy L. Stone.

CEO Peter Walsh faces a classic innovator's dilemma. His company, Crescordia, produces high-quality metal plates, pins, and screws that orthopedic surgeons use to repair broken bones. In fact, because of the company's long-standing commitment to quality, some orthopedic surgeons use nothing but Crescordia hardware. And now these customers have begun to clamor for the next-generation technology: resorbable hardware. Resorbables offer clear advantages over the traditional hardware. Like dissolving sutures, resorbable plates and screws are made of biodegradable polymers. They hold up long enough to support a healing bone, then gradually and harmlessly disintegrate in the patient's body. The new products, however, are not yet reliable; they fail about 8% of the time. That's why Crescordia has delayed launching a line using the new technology. But time is running out. A few competitors have begun to sell resorbables, despite their imperfections, and these companies are picking up market share. Should Crescordia join the fray and risk tarnishing its brand? Or should the company sit tight until it can offer a perfect product? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0506A and R0506Z are Robert A. Lutz, vice-chairman of product development at General Motors; Clayton M. Christensen, the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School; Jason Wittes, a senior equity analyst covering medical supplies and devices at Leerink Swann; and Nick Galakatos, a general partner of MPM Capital.