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Student Spreadsheet to accompany product W27305.

In October 2019, the regional chief data and analytics officer at Allianz AG, Belgium, attended a two-hour strategy meeting with the Allianz Benelux chief executive officer, who had expressed concerns about the company's digitalization strategy. A few days earlier, the marketing department had found that online sales channel results had fallen unexpectedly. The chief executive officer was worried that the company could lose market share if it did not react accordingly, which would damage the company's competitive position in the market. Therefore, the regional chief data and analytics officer was asked to gather a team to investigate why online sales were low and to design an effective customer acquisition strategy. In addition to his data office staff, the regional chief data and analytics officer asked for the business transformation unit to provide assistance. He had to consider how best to approach this challenging task.

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case W27305

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case W27305

Spreadsheet Supplement for Case W27305

Emami is facing the heat from activist-consumers as well as its competitors. Competitors have renamed their cosmetic products by dropping the controversial word 'fair.' This was in response to the Black Lives Movement that erupted in the United States in May 2020. However, the movement against fairness is somewhat muted in India and is mostly occurring amongst urban, highly educated, younger cohort who are unlikely to be the users of the product anyway. The significant consumer base yearns for fairness and is willing to spend money on products which help them achieve the same. In such a scenario, how should Emami respond to competitor actions and consumer-activist pressure? The case provides an opportunity to discuss the significance of the brand name, role of advertising and gender stereotypes.

Founded in 1950, King’s Hawaiian, a Los Angeles–based bakery, operated in the competitive bread industry with an expansive list of rolls and bread, as well as a selection of other baked goods, which varied by region. As the business grew over the years, it had added production facilities and increased marketing. For decades, King’s Hawaiian had focused on its core bread products, using occasion-based marketing to target consumers. However, in April 2021, with an ever-increasing market, the company had to decide whether to scale up into a mass-market company or continue to service a niche occasion-based segment by offering its unique sweet bread through in-store bakery and deli departments.

Founded in 2013 by sisters Shelby, Jackie, and Amy Zitelman, Philadelphia-based Soom Foods (Soom) aimed to educate US consumers on tahini and make the product a staple in US pantries. By 2021, the business had grown into a multimillion-dollar revenue company and had achieved national distribution through an omni-channel sales effort. However, Soom’s reliance on the single-source Ethiopian Humera sesame seed to prepare its high-quality tahini had begun to pose challenges. When Ethiopia’s inter-ethnic conflicts emerged in 2020, the Zitelman sisters foresaw possible disruptions and uncertainties in their business, especially when those challenges were combined with the supply-chain logistics issues that emerged as a result of the global pandemic in 2021. Soom was forced to reconsider its long-term business strategy: Given the threat of a potentially insufficient future sesame seed supply, should Soom use diversification in its supply chain? If so, how should diversification be applied across the supply chain while still maintaining a good return on investment? Furthermore, how could all of this be done before the next harvesting cycle?

Founded in 2013 by sisters Shelby, Jackie, and Amy Zitelman, Philadelphia-based Soom Foods (Soom) aimed to educate US consumers on tahini and make the product a staple in US pantries. By 2021, the business had grown into a multimillion-dollar revenue company and had achieved national distribution through an omni-channel sales effort. However, Soom's reliance on the single-source Ethiopian Humera sesame seed to prepare its high-quality tahini had begun to pose challenges. When Ethiopia's inter-ethnic conflicts emerged in 2020, the Zitelman sisters foresaw possible disruptions and uncertainties in their business, especially when those challenges were combined with the supply-chain logistics issues that emerged as a result of the global pandemic in 2021. Soom was forced to reconsider its long-term business strategy: Given the threat of a potentially insufficient future sesame seed supply, should Soom use diversification in its supply chain? If so, how should diversification be applied across the supply chain while still maintaining a good return on investment? Furthermore, how could all of this be done before the next harvesting cycle?

This descriptive case discusses an emerging global market trend and opportunity - the increasing use of beauty products by men, especially those in Asia. "No More Uncle" captures the emotional motivation behind unappealing and/or older-looking men to transform themselves. The case also looks at how the beauty industry may be just one example of a much broader trend and question that companies need to ask - should they adopt gender-neutral marketing when approaching their consumers? Ironically, Asian men were late to beauty care compared to those in Western societies, but they are making up for it by becoming much more aggressive in adopting their products and services. No country is a better example of this than South Korea, which has attained a "lead" market status such as in soap operas, popular music, women's beauty products and now even men's beauty care. The case introduces segments such as NOMU (No More Uncle), JUBAEK (Weekend Department Store Warriors), and YUMMY (Young Urban Males) as well as the ZOOM BOOMERS, a new segment that emerged because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The case describes an important retailing venue for beauty care - the updated barbershop, and wraps up with information about new dimensions on which men's beauty care can innovate and grow. Men's beauty care represents not only an economically viable industry that is growing almost in double digits but shows dynamic consumer behaviour - marketing should not stick to centuries-old assumptions of gender or else significant opportunities will be lost.

Innovation is critical for success in the healthcare industry. A key step to that success is the evaluation of new therapies. Managers need to understand the commercial potential of ideas and invest with this in mind. This case helps students understand the challenge of evaluating therapies and tools that can help. Two questions face Clemence Shiffrin, senior vice president for business development at Oakdale Pharmaceuticals, and her business development team in January 2020: First, how valuable is Palforzia, a new preventive drug from Aimmune Therapeutics? Second, what would be the financial value of a cure for peanut allergy? To answer these questions, students must consider market sizing, motivation of patients and physicians, and how to consider the value of preventive treatments and cures. The case is compelling to teach because peanut allergies are common and sometimes very serious; students are engaged from the start, as they understand the issue and quickly see the value in finding a treatment. The challenge is then determining the worth of that value.

Growth challenges in building a SAAS business using AI for Customer Experience analysis.

Agricola Himalaya was a family-owned Colombian company, the national leader in the tea industry, and the owner of the only tea plantation in the country, located in the middle of a mist forest. In Colombia, owing to the labour costs involved in tea production, importing tea was less expensive than producing it locally, but if Agricola Himalaya decided to import the tea, what would be the environmental and social impact of closing the plant and plantation? Agricola Himalaya attempted to resolve this dilemma by entering the specialty tea market, launching a new product that was sustainable and organic, with a range of innovative blends and a premium price. However, after eight years, its Bitaco specialty tea line had not reached break even, and in March 2021 the chief executive officer faced a new dilemma: whether or not to continue with the specialty tea initiative.

In August 2021, the founders of We are Marlow Corporation (Marlow) were considering the company’s future. Marlow was a direct-to-consumer (D2C), subscription-based business that sold lubricated tampon kits. The company was about to receive full approval from Health Canada to sell its products and the founders needed to shift their focus to a marketing strategy for their upcoming launch. They needed to decide on their target market and pricing scheme and how they would allocate their promotional budget to sell as many units as possible. The founders wanted a plan that would contribute to Marlow’s long-term sustainability and growth.

This case illustrates the founding philosophy and continuous improvement of Spark Education Limited ("Spark Education") and analyzes challenges in the online education industry. Since its inception, Spark Education has been committed to reshaping foundational learning and promoting education equality. Powered by technology and innovation, Spark Education delivered online small classes and AI courses. Based on the operating model of "courses + teaching + service," rounds of innovation and exploration have been conducted. After three years of development, Spark Education has grown into China's largest small-class online platform in mathematics thinking education. However, this young startup's pursuit for further excellence became a big question after the Chinese government introduced the "Double Reduction" policy in July 2021. Affected by this policy, many capital-fueled online and offline education companies, including Spark Education, have been hit hard. The "Double Reduction" policy wrecked Spark Education's IPO plans (the company had submitted its application in the US two months earlier) and imposed significant uncertainty on its future. These market players are in dire need of a way out of the crisis. Looking ahead, Spark Education needs to re-examine its business model and core strengths or build a second growth curve. In August 2021, Spark Education held an executive meeting on its transformation and future business direction. First, Spark Education has to review the value of its online education model, especially the small-class-based adaptive learning model. Second, can Spark Education follow Outschool's model of providing small online classes that were well-received in the US? And if so, what should Spark Education teach? The final question throws it back to the nature of education-What should Spark Education do to provide considerate education services and ensure students enjoy adaptive learning featuring technological innovation? How can children's

In February 2021, the Indian government announced new regulations to increase the accountability of social media companies for misusing their platforms in spreading fabricated news, misinformation, and obscene material. The new rules were not welcomed by some prominent social media companies, including Twitter. The giant microblogging network claimed that the new rules were designed to suppress freedom of speech among the citizens of India, one of the largest democracies of the world. However, Indian regulators argued that the new rules were required to prevent abuse on open social media networks. Twitter contended that it was self-regulated and argued that its users’ voices should not be regulated because it would clearly amount to suppression of the right to free expression. In a changing political and legal environment, how could Twitter meet increasing demands from regulators to moderate content, while remaining aligned with its mission, vision, and ethical standards? Were the self-regulatory mechanisms of social media companies adequately effective without interference from external forces?

In February 2016, the principal dealer of several European luxury automotive dealerships learned from Audi of America LLC (Audi) that he would have to relocate one of his dealerships to a new location. The relocation would be to a new market area and the dealer would most likely lose his current customer base. Instead, the dealer used the opportunity to create a new business model for auto retailing that could enable him to maintain his market share without having to comply with Audi’s relocation requirement. His new concept, named “Carcierge” and opened in 2016, was showing initial success, but the dealer wondered whether the boutique sales model he developed would be viable in the long run.

Thirty-five years after its founding, the Red Bull energy drinks business continued to show strong growth globally. Over the years, the company had expanded its product line with different variants, such as sugar-free and flavoured Editions. More recently, the company had launched a sub-branded The Organics by Red Bull range that sat outside the energy-drinks category, and the AlphaTauri functional-fashion brand. The company had renamed one of its two F1 teams Scuderia AlphaTauri to provide a unique promotional platform for the fledgling fashion brand; one that was overtly endorsed by Red Bull. The case provides a basis for discussing the (dis)synergies between Red Bull and these extensions from a brand, consumer, and marketing perspective. An extensive set of PowerPoint (PPT) teaching slides that include 7 different videos - a Red Bull brand purpose video, cartoon medley, Flugtag commercial, Soap Box Race commercial, Backyard Digger (BMX), former UK CMO interview, the AlphaTauri launch - are available to Educators by request.

Icario Health has built a market-leading AI engine to help health insurers drive better health behaviors for their members, enabling the insurers to improve their Medicare.