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Supplements the (A) case.

Align Inc. is a start-up company with a revolutionary, patent-protected new technology for straightening teeth called Invisalign. Invisalign is a set of invisible plastic aligners made to each patient's specific needs that substitute for metal or ceramic braces in adults (it is not sold for children's orthodontic needs). The company has created tremendous consumer awareness and affect for its product, yet sales results are dismal. Requires the reader to analyze the reasons for such poor sales and what to do to remedy the problem.

Focuses on Apple Computer's launch of iTunes and iPod as a way to give Wintel users a relationship with Apple. Deals with issues of brand equity, corporate and brand goal setting, target selection, and matching product and service characteristics with goals and targets. Also allows for a discussion of channel partners, their interests, and their impact on the likely success or failure of a strategy.

Steve Meyer, the chief marketing officer at Trilogy, was evaluating the best way to move forward with an innovative, customer value-based pricing approach for its enterprise software solutions. Trilogy had radically transformed its business from a product-centric organization to a customer-centric one, and value-based pricing was a pillar of this transformation. Meyer had to evaluate three pricing approaches: traditional license based, subscription based, and gain sharing. He had to assess which pricing approach Trilogy and Trilogy's clients would prefer and the conditions under which gain-sharing pricing would work. Meyer also had to address several adoption barriers that prevented customers from embracing the gain-sharing pricing approach.

Maybelline is the world's leading mass cosmetic company. It enjoys tremendous success and a commanding market share, particularly in the eye makeup category. But Maybelline also acknowledges a weakness in the strategic face segment, most notably in the profitable foundations product lines. Approaches the challenge of successfully growing this important category by looking at every aspect necessary to make this move, including: consumer marketing strategy, consumer behavior and purchasing patterns, demographic analysis, segmentation and targeting, product management, distribution channels, pricing, advertising, and understanding the competitive environment.

ThoughtWorks, a medium-size IT systems integrator, was growing quickly but identified "lack of clear positioning around which to build a brand" as the biggest impediment to continued growth. The company had identified features that it believed differentiated it from its competitors and was considering alternative segments to target. Asks readers to choose a target and develop a positioning statement for that target as well as identify the assumptions underlying the recommended positioning strategy and suggest how market research could help establish the validity of those assumptions.

Supplements the (A) case.

Addresses a new product launch into the emerging interactive television industry and the role of market research in shaping the strategic marketing plan. Illustrates the challenges of measuring and understanding probable consumer response and adoption behaviors given a technically innovative product offering. The competitive environment is dynamic, with competitors also poised to launch. But this company hopes to retain its first-mover advantage, which also gives it the burden of educating the right consumers quickly and driving rapid adoption.

Renzo Rosso, the president and founder of Diesel SpA, the innovative Italian casual wear company famous for its controversial 'For Successful Living' advertising campaign, is pondering how to brand its new upscale line of clothing: StyleLab. The objectives set for StyleLab are: (1) to enter the new and attractive high casual wear market; (2) to create an aura of prestige for the core D-Diesel line; and (3) to provide Diesel's designers with the opportunity to experiment with new cuts and fabrics, which may eventually trickle down to the main D-Diesel brand. Please visit the http://cases.insead.edu/diesel/ (copy and paste the url into a browser) to access Diesel's television commercials and PowerPoint presentations of all case exhibits and print advertising campaigns.

The Pizza Public Co. Ltd. (PPCL) is a division of the Minor Group of Companies that focuses on the management and operation of food service outlets. Takes place between November 1999 and February 2000 and covers the negotiation process between PPLC and Tricon Restaurants USA regarding the renewal of the company's franchise agreement for Pizza Hut in Thailand. After 20 years of managing the brand, an agreement cannot be reached and PPLC must plan for the development of a new pizza brand.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case.

This note provides a brief overview of some important perspectives on how advertising messages "work" to persuade consumers. The note reviews the traditional hierarchy of effects, cognitive dissonance, lower involvement, and elaboration by aspects models of consumer behavior.

Can 7-Eleven United States replicate the successful experience of 7-Eleven Japan in selling fresh foods through convenience stores? Describes the Japanese system and shows the steps the company is taking to try to achieve the same success in the United States.

Companies spend lots of time and money on complex tools to assess customer satisfaction. But they're measuring the wrong thing. The best predictor of top-line growth can usually be captured in a single survey question: Would you recommend this company to a friend? This finding is based on two years of research in which a variety of survey questions were tested by linking the responses with actual customer behavior--purchasing patterns and referrals--and ultimately with company growth. Surprisingly, the most effective question wasn't about customer satisfaction or even loyalty per se. In most of the industries studied, the percentage of customers enthusiastic enough about a company to refer it to a friend or colleague directly correlated with growth rates among competitors. Willingness to talk up a company or product to friends, family, and colleagues is one of the best indicators of loyalty because of the customer's sacrifice in making the recommendation. When customers act as references, they do more than indicate they've received good economic value from a company; they put their own reputations on the line. The findings point to a new, simpler approach to customer research, one directly linked to a company's results.

Most brands don't make much money. Year after year, businesses generate 80% to 90% of their profits from less than 20% of their brands. Yet most companies tend to ignore loss-making brands, unaware of the hidden costs they incur. That's because executives believe it's easy to erase a brand; they have only to stop investing in it, they assume, and it will die a natural death. But they're wrong. When companies drop brands clumsily, they antagonize loyal customers: Research shows that seven times out of eight, when firms merge two brands, the market share of the new brand never reaches the combined share of the two original ones. It doesn't have to be that way. Smart companies use a four-step process to kill brands methodically. First, CEOs make the case for rationalization by getting groups of senior executives to conduct joint audits of the brand portfolio. Next, executives need to decide how many brands will be retained, which they do either by setting broad parameters that all brands must meet or by identifying the brands they need to cater to all the customer segments in their markets. Third, executives must dispose of the brands they've decided to drop, deciding in each case whether it is appropriate to merge, sell, milk, or just eliminate the brand outright. Finally, it's critical that executives invest the resources they've freed to grow the brands they've retained.

The Pizza Public Company Limited is a division of the Minor Group of Companies and focuses on the management and operation of food-service outlets. This case series takes place between November 1999 and February 2000 and covers the negotiation process between Pizza Public Company Limited and Tricon Restaurants USA regarding the renewal of the company's franchise agreement for Pizza Hut in Thailand. After 20 years of managing the brand, an agreement cannot be reached and Pizza Public Company Limited must plan for the development of a new pizza brand. In the (A) case, the chief operating officer of Pizza Public Company recognizes that the negotiations are breaking down and faces the challenge of how to engage the team and develop a contingency plan should the company lose the Pizza Hut brand. Supplement cases (B) through (E), products 9B03A025, 9B03A026, 9B03A027 and 9B03A028, follow the negotiation process.

An historic hotel faces the twin challenges of seasonal demand and a decline in its most important market. The hotel's general manager is considering several expansion/renovation proposals to address these problems, each of which implies a different strategic focus. The decision is complicated by the fact that the hotel is located in world-renowned Banff National Park, an environmentally sensitive area administered by the Canadian government. Growing public concern over development in national parks implies that an overly ambitious expansion plan is likely to be rejected, yet this may be the hotel's last chance to add significant capacity for the long-term. The case demonstrates the role of social and political forces in business decisions, while underscoring the interdependency of target market, positioning and marketing mix decisions.