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This case is about how to build the "Georgia Brand" and how to position Georgian wines on the international market. The oldest wine remnants in the world, dating back to around 6000 BC, have been found in Georgia, which would allow us to assert that Georgia is ""the birthpace of wine."" In addition, the country has about 500 endemic grape varieties, and grape fermentation methods that enable the production of very special wines. All these elements should position Georgian wines as niche products and allow them to be sold at high prices. However, due to the historical and political conditions of the last 100 years, hardly anyone outside Georgia and the former USSR is aware of these facts, and Georgian wines are mostly exported to countries of the former Soviet republics. The case raises several decisions regarding Georgian wines. Should Georgia continue selling its wines in the mass market or focus on a "good value for money" strategy? Should it pursue a differentiation strategy, offering high-quality/high-priced wines? Regarding the product: should it stick to traditional winemaking methods or adapt to international market preferences? Finally, should it continue selling in its traditional markets, where Georgian wines are recognized and easy to sell, or diversify into non-traditional markets?

Hangzhou Kub Baby Products Co. Ltd. (Kub), an e-commerce company established in 2009, sold maternal and child products. After a decade of development, Kub had earned praise from customers for the high-value, high-quality, and cost-effective products it sold, but the company's own brand, KÜB, remained less well known. In July 2018, Kub launched a three-day brand marketing campaign, called "KÜB×Tmall Happy Day," which largely relied on new media. The event was successful with increased brand effectiveness; however, new media was increasingly fragmenting marketing and brand awareness. How could Kub maintain its brand success in that context?

In February 2020, Time Out's chief executive officer Julio Bruno is evaluating the strategic direction of the company. Over the span of five decades, Time Out - the global media and entertainment brand - had gone from a self-published counterculture publication in London to a leading authority on the arts and culture, food and drink, music, and nightlife scenes in hundreds of cities around the world. However, the rise of the internet meant fundamentally rethinking the type of content Time Out offered, and their historical reliance on media-generated revenue put them in a precarious position amidst an industry-wide "media apocalypse." To maintain relevance and diversify their revenue, the company launched Time Out Market, a collection of sleek food halls that housed between 14 and 32 restaurants and quite literally brought the Time Out Magazine to life. As a self-described "platform-agnostic" brand, the move marked Time Out's transition to "phyigital" (physical + digital) business, and promised the possibility of synergies between the Media and Market divisions. They initially opened Markets in six cities, with a long-term plan to expand much further. However, strategic questions loom. How should Time Out manage its global brand? How could they ensure that Media drove customers to the Markets, and vice versa? More existentially, what was the role of their legacy Media division going forward?

Bang Si-Hyuk ('Hitman Bang') is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a 'K-pop' band that has found unparalleled success around the globe-a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in Korean. It is March 1, 2020. With its latest album, the band has now scored its fourth chart-topping album in the U.S. in less than two years. The band's popularity has been extremely lucrative: by some estimates, the BTS ecosystem accounts for a staggering $4.9 billion of South Korea's GDP. While K-pop has been dominated by three large companies-SM, YG, and JYP-since the mid-1990s, BTS Bang arguably has created a K-pop phenomenon that is more global than any act the 'big three' have ever overseen. And whereas K-pop is traditionally associated with long-term, exclusive contracts between companies and their acts that pay the talent relatively modestly and give them little control, Bang seeks to foster a more balanced relationship with his superstar act. Is BTS well-positioned to sustain its success? Can Big Hit replicate that success with the select few other acts in its portfolio? And what does that say about the future of K-pop, and the manner in which music companies will manage the relationships with their talent?

Tea Connect, a chain of five tea cafés in India, had ended 2019 with sales revenues of ₹48.1 million. The co-founder of Tea Connect had the ambitious target of opening 20 cafés and achieving sales revenues of ₹200 million by 2020. The co-founder planned the renovation of the cafés to improve the speed of service, but he also wanted to launch Tea Connect–branded consumer packaged products. Three franchising offers for stores in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Mount Abu were also under consideration. He was wondering whether renovation would help to enhance the customer experience and whether this was the right time to launch consumer packaged goods. Also, was it the right time to explore the franchise route of expansion?

A young Canadian entrepreneur had established a digital medical tourism concierge service in Armenia--GetTreated CJSC--and in 2019 was evaluating the opportunities for the company's growth. While the company was experiencing steady growth, the founder felt that the growth rates were not reflective of the potential that was present in the market. Something had to be changed about how the company was acquiring its customers. The company's promotional strategy also needed work in the face of increasing competition locally and globally.

In 2019, the president of China's ride share company Didi Chuxing Technology Co. (Didi) faced various challenges associated with marketing and communications in a high-risk disruptive technology. As one of few female global corporate leaders, she was a role model for young women and promoted inclusion and diversity at Didi. However, the emergence of autonomous and connected vehicles in the industry forced her to make some strategic decisions. Several recent high-profile safety failures involving Didi and other industry giants had resulted in injury and death. The president needed to develop a communications and marketing plan for Didi's employee and consumer stakeholders. But how should she respond to the recent negative media reports? What promotion and communication strategies would enable the company to develop a level of trust and knowledge that would set it apart from its high-risk competitors? How could the president influence consumer perceptions of the industry's-and Didi's-legitimacy?

In the fall of 2019, Sprint's Chief Digital Officer Rob Roy reflected on the telecom's efforts to improve the effectiveness of its digital marketing campaigns. Digital media buying had long been handled by an outside agency, but in 2017, Sprint brought those functions in-house to enhance the company's ability to respond to the market in real-time. Early results suggested the plan was working, but Sprint continued to face fierce competition from its rivals. Sprint's subscriber losses mounted as it attempted to merge with T-Mobile. Could digital marketing stem the losses and win consumers' hearts?

IDL Innovation Hong Kong Co. Ltd. (IDL) was a well-known interior design company specializing in commercial retail centres. The design company's goal was to help its partners create more value by presenting effective interior design. However, with the rise of e-commerce, the financial performance of the conventional retail industry had dropped significantly. To help the industry regain customers, the design company developed a new business framework that combined online components with traditional consumer social spaces, based on the common interests, wants, and needs of consumers. In September 2018, the design company transformed a shopping centre in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, that had been losing sales for some time. The shopping mall soon saw a substantial and consistent increase in foot traffic, sales, and revenue. The project was a great success for both the mall and IDL, but could this concept be also effective when applied to other projects?

Café Meteor Bistro was a newly opened bistro-style restaurant in Haileybury, Ontario. The owners of a nearby lodging business for up to 60 guests had developed Café Meteor Bistro to serve the local market, tourists, and their guests. In January 2019, the owners were each working 80 hours per week, and although their first year of operation had seen sales grow, they were behind their projections and not yet breaking even. Understanding that the situation was not sustainable, they were considering options. Should they sell the restaurant or hire an operations manager? If they planned to sell, they needed to come up with a valuation.

After a tumultuous five months, Nestle India was exonerated in the Maggi crisis just in time for Diwali. Although the mood was one of vindication, the leadership team with Suresh Narayanan at the helm, knew they faced a major challenge to regain lost glory. Stock price had plummeted along with consumer confidence which went down from over 90 to less than 5 per cent. Part B traces the efforts of Nestle India to not only reinforce the message of product quality but also to engage consumer trust. Through changes in product strategy, organisational structure, and multi-pronged communication, Maggi was able to rekindle the emotional connect with the consumer and surge back. On 30 November 2019 despite loss of market share, consumer faith and trust in 2015, Nestlé India was trading at INR 14,453/55 (NSE/BSE;~US$225) per share after hitting a record low of INR 4981 (~US$76) on 29 February 2016. Part B of the case outlines the measures Nestle India took to bounce back and asks if Nestle India's reputation is out of the woods. Could the past come back to haunt Maggi or was the worst behind them?

Café Meteor Bistro was a newly opened bistro-style restaurant in Haileybury, Ontario. The owners of a nearby lodging business for up to 60 guests had developed Café Meteor Bistro to serve the local market, tourists, and their guests. In January 2019, the owners were each working 80 hours per week, and although their first year of operation had seen sales grow, they were behind their projections and not yet breaking even. Understanding that the situation was not sustainable, they were considering options. Should they sell the restaurant or hire an operations manager? If they planned to sell, they needed to come up with a valuation.

Wow! Momo Foods Private Limited (Wow! Momo), a quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain, was a Kolkata-based start-up that sold a variety of momos, a Tibetan food. The restaurant's specialty was a pan-fried variety of momos prepared to suit the Indian palate. In late 2018, the founders were reviewing the company's financials and considering how they could improve the company's growth. Their goal of becoming a widely recognized brand, both nationally and internationally, seemed elusive. How could Wow! Momo make momos a front-line fast food like pizza and burgers? Should they create a niche market, or should they seek to make Wow! Momo a mainstream fast food? And, ultimately, how could they first make Wow! Momo a national brand alongside other leading multinationals in India before expanding the business internationally?

Wow! Momo Foods Private Limited (Wow! Momo), a quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain, was a Kolkata-based start-up that sold a variety of momos, a Tibetan food. The restaurant’s specialty was a pan-fried variety of momos prepared to suit the Indian palate. In late 2018, the founders were reviewing the company’s financials and considering how they could improve the company’s growth. Their goal of becoming a widely recognized brand, both nationally and internationally, seemed elusive. How could Wow! Momo make momos a front-line fast food like pizza and burgers? Should they create a niche market, or should they seek to make Wow! Momo a mainstream fast food? And, ultimately, how could they first make Wow! Momo a national brand alongside other leading multinationals in India before expanding the business internationally?

HSBC (The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) Holdings plc was a member of various trade finance consortia that aimed to digitise the traditional paper-based trade finance process. It had successfully executed multiple trade finance pilots by using a blockchain-based platform, Contour (formerly known as Voltron), and is planning to launch the platform commercially. The trade finance market was estimated at USD 18 trillion annually, and HSBC had a share of 12% in trade finance transactions worldwide. This case revolves around the challenges faced by banks or consortia while porting the traditional trade finance process to a blockchain-based system. Key aspects to be considered are the ways in which banks form consortia, implement blockchain and facilitate trading globally, given that blockchain is a new technology and the porting process will necessitate bringing all of the stakeholders involved in the trade finance value chain onto the blockchain-based platform. It is in this context that HSBC confronts questions related to making various decisions. What type of governance structure would facilitate a quick roll-out of services that could be provided robustly and with integrity of process and intent? How should HSBC price its trade finance services?

Cesar and Marco Esposito and Francisco Caceres, co-founders of the 14-year-old Chilean-based nutritional supplement company All Nutrition/Nutraline, are seeking to deepen their understanding of customers' behavior and buying patterns. After preliminary discussions with the sales force and in-store interviews with customers, they determined that well designed focus groups targeting sports nutrition customers would be an important first step in helping them to be "more in touch" with customers. This case describes the design, implementation, and analysis of the information gathered from these groups-and asks students to determine what kind of quantitative research would further deepen their understanding of who their customers are, how to segment them, and how to work with each of the segments.

Spreadsheet supplement for case CU276.

UrbanClap is a marketplace for on-demand services available through a smartphone app. It was established in October 2014 to bring the unorganised sector workforce into the mainstream using the power of technology. Initially, UrbanClap-developed as a horizontal marketplace-faced intense competition from existing and new players operating in the hyperlocal service space. It competed in the on-demand service marketplace by categorising its services into a lead-generation business (connecting the customer with the service provider and charging a fee for matchmaking) and a fulfilment business (taking end-to-end responsibility for service delivery quality). After three and a half years of operations, UrbanClap's co-founders wondered whether they should close the lead-generation business and focus on the fulfilment business.

Case Supplement for Case A00308