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In April 2018, Hunter Leigh, the recently appointed head of esports for the Golden State Warriors (GSW), was in charge of developing a marketing communications strategy for the first season of the Warriors Gaming Squad, the first NBA 2K esports team to be geo-located and directly affiliated with the championship-winning GSW National Basketball Association team. The season was kicking off within a few weeks, and Leigh knew that his players and brand needed to perform for fans, not only on the virtual court, but also in the digital and physical market. He needed to quickly make choices about objectives, audiences, messaging, and media in order to successfully develop a large, loyal fan base.

In April 2018, Hunter Leigh, the recently appointed head of esports for the Golden State Warriors (GSW), was in charge of developing a marketing communications strategy for the first season of the Warriors Gaming Squad, the first NBA 2K esports team to be geo-located and directly affiliated with the championship-winning GSW National Basketball Association team. The season was kicking off within a few weeks, and Leigh knew that his players and brand needed to perform for fans, not only on the virtual court, but also in the digital and physical market. He needed to quickly make choices about objectives, audiences, messaging, and media in order to successfully develop a large, loyal fan base.

In late January of 2020, Hratch Jabrayan of Homeland Foods contemplated international expansion into North America and increasing exports to Russia. Would potential customers appreciate and pay a premium for the high-quality, organically-produced dried fruits and nuts. Was the product line's brand name ("Vozni" was Armenian for "hedgehog") culturally transferrable? Was it financially feasible to bring the product to Canada and the United States? How would other elements of the marketing mix need to be adjusted for Homeland's entry into both the Canadian and American markets for dried fruit products?

In late January of 2020, Hratch Jabrayan of Homeland Foods contemplated international expansion into North America and increasing exports to Russia. Would potential customers appreciate and pay a premium for the high-quality, organically-produced dried fruits and nuts. Was the product line’s brand name (“Vozni” was Armenian for “hedgehog”) culturally transferrable? Was it financially feasible to bring the product to Canada and the United States? How would other elements of the marketing mix need to be adjusted for Homeland’s entry into both the Canadian and American markets for dried fruit products?

In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which innovation path to pursue in order to "future proof" the Hot Wheels franchise going forward. Hot Wheels was the number one selling toy in the world (by unit volume), however, play patterns among children were rapidly changing and children were moving on from physical toys to digital play at a younger and younger age. Hot Wheels needed to determine how to respond. One option considered was the development of a new "mixed-play" product that blended physical and digital play. While the mixed play idea was still at an early conceptual stage, it would likely involve embedding a chip into the Hot Wheels die-cast car, turning it into a "smart car" with its own unique identification. Users could play with the smart car in the physical world and on an app, thus offering an opportunity to also appeal to Hot Wheels consumers who were intrigued by digital play. Hot Wheels had made a number of forays into the digital space over the years, through licensing the brand to app and game developers and developing toys with some digital elements. The licensing strategy was low risk, low reward, and Mattel's own digital development had produced varied results, creating a culture hesitant to take big risks in the digital space. Down knew that a mixed play innovation would require a significant investment in time and resources. However, Hot Wheels parent company, Mattel Inc. had seen revenues and operating income drop for the past three years. It was unclear if Mattel's new CEO, Margo Georgiadis, would be supportive of the mixed play direction as the cornerstone of Hot Wheels' growth plan.

In July 2019, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of a one-year-old start-up in Los Angeles was reviewing the path forward with the company’s new technology platform. The product helped brand managers insert their brands virtually and in real time into television (TV) and movie scenes. With each placement customized to the individual habits and personal preferences of the viewer, virtual placement was a considerable improvement over physical placement of brands as permanent fixtures in TV plots and movie scenes. The technology represented a major disruption to the product placement industry. The company’s CEO needs to resolve three dilemmas to take Ryff forward. First, how should the company find its fit with large advertising agencies that operate in a traditional placement market? Second, how should the company convert traditional industry person-to-person interactions to interactions driven by software programs? Third, how should the company take its business global?

In July 2019, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of a one-year-old start-up in Los Angeles was reviewing the path forward with the company's new technology platform. The product helped brand managers insert their brands virtually and in real time into television (TV) and movie scenes. With each placement customized to the individual habits and personal preferences of the viewer, virtual placement was a considerable improvement over physical placement of brands as permanent fixtures in TV plots and movie scenes. The technology represented a major disruption to the product placement industry. The company's CEO needs to resolve three dilemmas to take Ryff forward. First, how should the company find its fit with large advertising agencies that operate in a traditional placement market? Second, how should the company convert traditional industry person-to-person interactions to interactions driven by software programs? Third, how should the company take its business global?

Prashant Parameswaran was confounded by the behavior of consumers. On the one hand, there was a growing awareness on health foods and on the other hand, the diffusion of healthy snacks was not as fast as the indulgent snacks. The consumer mindscape, with respect to healthy snacking was cluttered with healthy cookies, bars, fruit juices, low-diet offerings, baked savories, milk additives and yoghurts (to name a few categories). Parameswaran had also found, that several of the healthy snacks had a sizable percentage of sugar and saturated fat that may make the claims on health benefits questionable. In addition to the claimed health benefits, there was glitz and glamor associated with the ads of most of these brands that featured attractive ultra-thin models, celebrities, and models. Such models used by the brand, portrayed unattainable fitness and looks that were stunningly aspirational in nature. Were consumers really interested in healthy snacking or was it just a passing fad? How were these offerings associated with healthy snacking judged by consumers? Do glamorous ads change the focus of the consumers, who may otherwise be inclined to prefer health to indulgence, when it comes to snacking? Were consumers aware of the labeling used by brands? Were there differences between consumer segments that were deeply interested, in healthy snacking and other segments that were interested in health but were unable to change their behavior? How do consumers consider different unrelated offerings that promise health? How should a new offering be launched? The case is about the usage of attitudinal aspects to understand the attitude of consumers towards the snacking domain and their impact on branding in the Indian context.

The increased visibility of gender issues in society has inspired a trend among marketing companies: female empowerment. Marketers are working with clients and developing advertising that advocates equality for female consumers. Yet, despite this trend for femvertising, little progress has been made toward gender equality for the women working inside the creative advertising industry. This article looks at the inequality problem and considers whether it stems from women's thwarted attempts to establish a leadership identity within the strongly-gendered cultures in which they are subject to established practices. We interviewed 30 female creatives from the U.S., U.K., and mainland Europe, and, based on our findings, we present three overarching themes: vision, voice, and visibility. Together, they represent the challenges women experience in developing a leadership identity but also inspire opportunities for agencies to increase the influence of female creatives. If the advertising industry's claims to represent society are to be taken seriously, it must move beyond empowering female consumers to also empowering its female creatives.

Published in 26 languages across 68 countries, Forbes is one of the most-read business periodicals globally, and in 2019, its annual Top 50 World's Most Influential CMOs list highlighted 31 female CMOs and 19 male CMOs who demonstrate industry-shaping leadership. In this article, we analyze the language used to describe the male and female CMOs on the list to determine whether certain words are commonly seen as gendered characteristics, as leadership traits, or as compliments. Using this data, we find that Forbes presents female CMOs in a gendered way and argue for the importance of strategically choosing leadership words for female marketing leaders.

Networking is imperative for career success in business, particularly in industries like sales and marketing. Success in the sales industry is directly tied to networking and building relationships. In this article, we shed light on the relationship between women, business, and golf as a potential networking tool. Many believe golf is the pièce de résistance of business networking, yet there is no research to support this assumption. To boot, women report golf as one of the primary informal networks they feel excluded from, which creates a disadvantage for women working in sales in marketing. We conducted a content analysis of over 500 pages of articles about women and golf from which three primary categories emerged: the benefits of golf for women in business, the effects of not golfing, and the reasons why women don't golf. We include recommendations for managers who may want to encourage their teams to get in the game.

Feminism's reemergence in the mainstream has forced businesses and media organizations to be aware of and even to promote gender issues relevant to the marketing of their products, services, and brands, especially those that target young female consumers. Business scholarship has offered marketing guidelines for gendered representations, but most studies have occurred in adult consumption spheres, with less attention paid to feminist messaging in youth media. Through a thematic analysis of 17 Disney and Pixar animated films produced between 1989 and 2018 and featuring a female lead or colead, this study offers a blueprint that could help businesses develop feminist messaging in marketing communications and media directed at young female consumers. While businesses might understand that promoting positive gendered messages is necessary in the current era of heightened feminist awareness, few firms actually do it. And for the companies that do it, integrating feminist messages in a way that does not alienate mainstream consumers might prove challenging. This study's framework, which emerges from an empirical study of Disney and Pixar media, helps reduce some of these creative barriers.

Gender stereotypes, which are particularly harmful to women, have historically been prevalent in advertising, prompting some governments and brands to regulate conventional gender portrayals. This study examines current gender portrayals in television advertising in the Middle East, and specifically in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), because of the increasing importance accorded to women's empowerment in some of these countries. Building on similar studies elsewhere, we analyze the content of 111 distinct television advertisements aired over a week by a major TV channel in the region. Our analysis reveals that while depictions of certain aspects, such as role (familial/nonfamilial) and location (home/occupational setting), gently nudged traditional stereotypes by portraying women in nonfamilial roles and in occupational settings, depictions of background (female/male/children) and product type further reinforced traditional stereotypes. Based on these findings, we offer specific recommendations to marketers and advertisers in the region.

GrocerMax, an online grocery retailer based in Gurugram, India, had grown steadily since its inception in 2015, managing to gain a foothold in the highly competitive online grocery market. GrocerMax had also succeeded in achieving higher average order values than many of its rivals. However, in mid-2016, the company faced a number of challenges. As a new entrant, its familiarity and brand awareness among consumers was likely much lower than that of the established competition. How could GrocerMax increase its reach? What promotional activities and marketing strategies could GrocerMax's management team adopt to drive more traffic to GrocerMax's website and increase sales while keeping costs under control?

In the summer of 2018, Drinkworks CEO Nathaniel Davis needed to make a number of go-to-market decisions ahead of his company's upcoming product launch. Formed through a joint venture between Keurig Dr. Pepper and Anheuser-Busch InBev, Drinkworks had developed an innovative home bar system that let consumers make single-serving cocktails or beer with the push of a button. Keurig and AB InBev provided valuable technological, supply chain, and regulatory expertise, but since the Drinkworks Home Bar was a novel product, there were no established market benchmarks for the Drinkworks team to follow as they prepared for the Home Bar's upcoming market launch. After conducting several market research experiments, they needed to interpret the results and make several decisions around customer segmentation, value proposition, product assortment, pricing, and distribution channels. Could Drinkworks be the next billion-dollar opportunity for Keurig and AB InBev?

The Bridgestone case takes place in an increasingly tough landscape for the passenger car tire industry in Europe. Competitive pressure keeps increasing from Asian importers, the Retail channel is shrinking, end-consumers understand neither the product nor the development and technology behind it - they don't understand differences between brands and products and are not permeable to traditional marketing tools. Furthermore, the car market is aging and decreasing year after year. Bridgestone group is the world-leading tire manufacturer. In this thrilling and changing reality, several strategic decisions have to be made by the Bridgestone group in Spain in terms of where to invest (channel, product, brand, research, logistics etc.) and how to invest (price, advertising, consumer promotion, trade marketing). This case demonstrates the need to invest with an omnichannel mindset.

The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the direct-to-consumer deodorant startup Native Deodorant (Native) had grown the brand to one million active users in about two years. The company was founded in 2015 in San Francisco and had disrupted the deodorant industry by offering all-natural deodorants direct to consumers through its website. By cutting off retailers from the value chain, the CEO had created a feedback loop that helped him have an agile and iterative approach to his business. In 2017, he received an offer from the Procter and Gamble Company to buy his one-and-a-half-year-old startup for US$100 million. He faced a tough predicament: he could continue to leverage the business model of Native and grow to the next million customers, or he could sell to P&G for a nine-figure payday. What should he do?

<p style="color: white; background-color: rgb(3, 70, 56); font-size: 16px; display: inline-block; border: 0px solid rgb(197, 183, 131); padding: 4px 4px;"><a href="https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/native-deodorants-sell-or-swell-digital-learning-experience/01tOF000001qb3mYAA" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;"> AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE </a></p><br><br>The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the direct-to-consumer deodorant startup Native Deodorant (Native) had grown the brand to one million active users in about two years. The company was founded in 2015 in San Francisco and had disrupted the deodorant industry by offering all-natural deodorants direct to consumers through its website. By cutting off retailers from the value chain, the CEO had created a feedback loop that helped him have an agile and iterative approach to his business. In 2017, he received an offer from the Procter and Gamble Company to buy his one-and-a-half-year-old startup for US$100 million. He faced a tough predicament: he could continue to leverage the business model of Native and grow to the next million customers, or he could sell to P&G for a nine-figure payday. What should he do?

The owner and founder of The Talking Hands, a socially responsible restaurant, in Nagpur, India, had launched his company to create job opportunities for persons with disabilities. He wanted to find a balance between customer experience and customer service, but he also wanted to open two new outlets in his city and seriously consider his friend’s proposal of opening franchisee outlets of The Talking Hands in two Indian cites—Mumbai and Pune. He wanted to consolidate and expand his business without denting the restaurant’s brand identity. Also, as demand for the restaurant grew, the increasing delays in order taking and delivery needed to be managed. Could he hire some non-disabled staff members to manage rush orders and deliveries and still keep operating expenses under control? Should he go through with his expansion plans with the franchise model at this time? He needed to make a decision while renovations to his restaurant were underway.

This case uses Supreme, a skater-clothing brand from New York City, and a framework for understanding the concept of "coolness" (see ""A General Theory of Coolness,"" UV7307), which is the cornerstone of the firm's success, to set the stage for analyzing consumer behavior. Written using public sources, the case discusses the firm's overall strategy, including limited supply, unique shopping drops for newly released items, and a fan-like customer base. It introduces "coolness" as a marketing term to be explored with the Supreme brand. The case opens with an MBA's first assignment with her new company, in a business strategy role, to learn about the retail fashion business, understand the customer experience, and make recommendations to reengage Supreme as "cool." While conducting due diligence, the protagonist walks readers through the Supreme shopping experience, introduces what she sees as crucial to "coolness," and mulls over challenges the brand faces around how to sustain the customer experience through growth efforts.