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FastLane Technologies was a young entrepreneurial software company that had developed a powerful language that could help organizations manage, administer and control large enterprise networks. In late 1996 they received an infusion of capital from Newbridge Networks and Celtic House, a venture capital firm. In May 1997, the new vice-president of marketing at FastLane must make his first presentation to the Board of Directors about his proposed marketing strategy for FastLane. The company faced a number of important issues, including whether to focus on the language or application tools based on the language and the most effective strategy for rapidly moving its products into a dominant position in its segment of the emerging market for Windows NT services. Developing effective channels to reach the large organizations that were its target customers was a particularly challenging issue. The case can be used in business-to-business marketing, marketing strategy, strategic market planning courses or in small business or entrepreneurship courses. (A 43-minute video can be purchased with this case, video 7A98A006.)

The rapidly changing environment of the pharmaceutical industry has lead to the acceleration of a rift between marketing and sales in a pharmaceutical firm, and to a stronger need to tightly integrate these two functions. The case is a vehicle to initiate discussion around potential structural, systems, and informal approaches to building bridges between marketing and sales.

A senior product manager at Abbott Laboratories Limited (Abbott) must develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to launch Abbott's ground-breaking drug, Norvir, into the Canadian market. Norvir has recently been launched in the U.S. and was used to treat patients with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). With fewer than six months before the scheduled Canadian launch date, he must make a number of decisions concerning product positioning, sales representation and promotion.

Executives at Pepsico are considering a possible redesign of the Pepsi carbonated beverage packages worldwide to give the brand a modern, up-to-date image and "ownership" of the color blue against Coca-Cola's "ownership" of the color red.

Dell started online commerce for its PCs in 1996, and by 1997 had achieved a sales rate of $3 million a day. The case describes the internal process that led to these dramatic results and poses the question of how the firm should leverage this activity to meet Michael Dell's goal of achieving 50% of the company's anticipated $20 billion in sales by the year 2000 via Internet channels.

Describes the marketing strategy of an entrepreneurial start-up engaged in electronic purchasing for large manufacturers. By creating an electronic bidding platform, the company has been able to cut down procurement costs by about 15%. The case question concerns how this company should now go to scale.

In April 1997, the president of Amway Japan (AJL, Tokyo, Japan), pondered how to reverse the first performance decline the company has experienced since entering the Japanese direct selling market in 1979. Established as the tenth overseas subsidiary of Amway Corp. of Ada, Michigan, AJL had grown to become the most successful company with 1996 sales of Y212 billion ($1.9 billion), accounting for 30% of Amway's worldwide sales. Having succeeded in doubling AJL's sales during the five years of his presidency, the AJL president now needed to develop a strategy not only for rebuilding growth in the second half of FY 1997 but also for achieving AJL's long-term goal of sales of Y300 billion by FY 2000. AJL faced the following issues in 1997: 1) fluctuating distributor motivation, 2) growing dissatisfaction with Amway products, 3) increasing difficulty in controlling the distributor network, and 4) a changing market environment. AJL could enhance its sales growth by boosting sponsoring, retention, and/or productivity of its distributor membership. Strategic options for AJL included: 1) penetration growth, 2) productivity growth, or 3) both. The AJL president needed to come up with a clear strategic design based on a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of each strategic choice.

Describes the series of events and processes that led to the formulation of a reinvention plan.

Records the analyses and actions taken by Merck Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition of Medco, a channel intermediary (called "pharmacy benefit manager"). While many of its competitors seem to be faring poorly, Merck seems to have managed the Medco integration superbly.

Attempts to leverage a brand's value by brand extensions run the risk of undermining the value of the brand. This article offers an approach to assessing a brand's leverage power before deciding to extend the brand. Evidence suggests managers need to assess both consumer familiarity with, and consumer regard for, the brand. Analysis indicates that brands balanced in terms of consumer familiarity and consumer regard have higher potential for leveraging than do brands high in one of those characteristics but low in the other. A fivefold typology of brands--Coveted Icons, Tarnished Treasures, Developers, Troopers, and Diamonds--is offered for describing the degree of brand balance.

As companies develop more and better ways to understand and respond to their customers' needs, relationship marketing has become the talk of the marketing community. Executives, academics, and consultants alike have the same goal in mind--creating meaningful relationships with consumers that will yield both the cost-saving benefits of customer retention economics and the revenue-generating rewards of customer loyalty. Unfortunately, a close look at consumers suggests that these relationships are troubled ones at best. The things that marketers are doing to build relationships with customers, are, in fact, subverting them. Relationship marketing--what is supposed to be the acme of customer orientation--is falling far short of its mark. Susan Fournier, assistant professor at the Harvard Business School, Susan Dobscha of Bentley College in Waltham, MA, and David Glen Mick, a professor at the University of Wisconsin offer a way to get this concept back on track.

Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications products and systems company, is embarking on a first-ever global advertising campaign for its brand of mobile phones. The idea for consumer brand building, new to an otherwise technology-oriented, industrial company, has come about as a result of developments in the worldwide market for cellular phones: fast growth, entry of new consumer segments, declining product differentiation, and the growing pressure on prices and margins. The expensive campaign, aiming to cement a relationship with consumers, is notable for a total absence of product-related communication. Under the slogan "Make yourself heard," the ads feature a gallery of faces and a range of situations demonstrating the spirit of communication between people around the world. Some of the issues the case raises are: How do you build a strong brand for a product that is increasingly difficult to differentiate? Can pure brand values stand on their own merits without any references to products? What criteria should you use to evaluate advertising execution? A 2001 ECCH award winner.

A new product combining windsurfing and skiing runs into trouble during its first year of worldwide sales. A group of MBA students studies the problem and collects market data. The product's inventor is left with the task of taking action to save the invention from imminent disaster. What should he do?

Describes the selling activities of a sales engineer with respect to a key account. The loss of the order for a CT scanner provides the background for analyzing the dynamics of the buying situation and the salesman's handling of it. The issues raised are: Who are the cast of characters influencing the buying decision? What seems to motivate them? What sales strategy would be appropriate? This is a revised version of an earlier case.

Advocates of the World Wide Web claim it is a great leveler and that participants have a more equal voice. This flatness of the Web creates a major challenge for many businesses: How do you attract visitors and prospective customers to the firm's Web site? The Web site that can attract more visitors, all other things being equal, is more likely to communicate its message to a wider audience or sell its product to more people. Organizations want to build mountains--or "attractors"--in the otherwise flat landscape of Web-based marketing and advertising. This article classifies existing approaches to creating attractors, identifies four basic types of attractors, and predicts that there will be a move toward creating highly interactive attractors as a device for mass customization. The article also addresses the notion of sustainable attractiveness and presents recommendations for designing an attractor.

Supplements the (B) case.

Describes Seven-Eleven Japan's logistics and information systems and how they support its retail strategy. Seven-Eleven Japan tracks hourly sales trends for individual items and replenishes and changes its assortment of products throughout the day to match its offering with customer demands.

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program that WESCO has developed to serve its major industrial customers in response to recent changes that they made to their business processes. However, as of June 1997, the NA program has not delivered the expected results. WESCO now needs to isolate the root cause of the NA program shortfall and implement changes that will put this program back on track. It needs to decide whether to continue to be proactive in initiating, building, and maintaining national accounts, or to be passive and offer the NA program only after customers have shown a legitimate interest.

The president of a Jordanian pharmaceutical company is contemplating how to further penetrate the U.S. market, either through its own manufacturing and sales efforts, or as a supplier to a third party

After early sales gains with a five-minute oil change offering, Delta Oils witnesses a slump in business. The owner decides to research the oil change consumer. The case introduces students to the design of a consumer study; specifically, the design, sequencing, formulation, administration and interpretation of a survey on consumer behaviours surrounding oil changes in passenger vehicles. A follow-up case Delta Oil Outlets (B) is available.