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BootsUnlimited.com (BU) is a website offering custom-made footwear. Customers can choose from a wide variety of styles and can also create new styles based on their exact specifications. The company instructs customers on how to provide 20 different foot and calf measurements, and from those measurements, the footwear is made in a Thai production facility. BU products cater to the custom boot market and to very different segments, and the brothers who co-own the family business have designed a Google AdWords campaign for their company to target each segment. Because they were starting with a limited budget, and because BU catered to such niche markets, the Rosens decided to start with very specific keywords that would require lower bids. They believed that starting this way would keep them from running out of money too soon.

Supplement to case UV7778 Robert Rosen and his brother, Ryan, took a look at the slow pace at which the budget for their family-owned company, BootsUnlimited.com (BU), was being spent. Many of the keywords they had chosen for their Google AdWords campaign in the hopes of boosting online sales at BU, were not being clicked on. What changes did they need to make?

Supplement to case UV7778 Ryan and Robert Rosen, brothers and co-owners of BootsUnlimited.com (BU) are approaching the end of their three-week experiment in testing keywords for their Google AdWords campaign, eliminating poor-performing keywords and occasionally adding new ones. Will their campaign be a success, or will they have to find some other way to market BU's boots?

Midtown Medical Centre, a family clinic operating two centres in the Indian state of Kerala, provided quality and convenient health care facilities to nearby communities. Founded in 2016 by six young entrepreneurs, the project had grown to two centres by the second year of operation, serving semi-urban and urban patients in the cities of Thrikkakkara and Aluva. In August 2018, the six entrepreneurs were considering expanding to a third centre, but they were unsure how to proceed. They were also unsure about the sustainability of the business model they had adopted for the clinic. They were aware of the importance of attracting new patients and having the appropriate space for the success of any health care clinic. Therefore, the six entrepreneurs were considering revisiting their marketing strategies to make them more effective.

Midtown Medical Centre, a family clinic operating two centres in the Indian state of Kerala, provided quality and convenient health care facilities to nearby communities. Founded in 2016 by six young entrepreneurs, the project had grown to two centres by the second year of operation, serving semi-urban and urban patients in the cities of Thrikkakkara and Aluva. In August 2018, the six entrepreneurs were considering expanding to a third centre, but they were unsure how to proceed. They were also unsure about the sustainability of the business model they had adopted for the clinic. They were aware of the importance of attracting new patients and having the appropriate space for the success of any health care clinic. Therefore, the six entrepreneurs were considering revisiting their marketing strategies to make them more effective.

By 2019, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were among the highest-growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products, or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable two-sided platforms that quickly reached millions of customers were Airbnb, Etsy, and Uber. They offered short-term property rentals, handcrafted goods, and car rides, respectively. As two-sided markets grew past the 1 million customer mark, challenges of typical large businesses appeared. Among the challenges facing Airbnb, Etsy, and Uber were maintaining the fast pace of customer acquisition, reducing customer retention problems, and avoiding regulatory issues. How did these platforms balance their fast growth and massive size with so little time to adapt to ever mounting challenges? How did they adapt and change their customer acquisition tactics to grow from 1 million to many millions of customers so quickly? This is the third and final instalment of the Airbnb, Etsy, Uber trilogy.

A group of Canadian parents wanted the Canadian government to create a redress system related to Canada's no-fly list, which affected some of their young children whenever they flew. The parents formed an advocacy group called the No Fly List Kids group in 2016, and the group undertook various campaigns-including innovative guerrilla marketing campaigns and uses of both digital and traditional marketing-to highlight the issue of Canadian children being identified as potential security risks before they boarded flights within Canada. Over a three-year period, the group worked to raise awareness of the issue and to pressure the Canadian government to create a redress system similar to that in the United States. Its efforts eventually resulted in the allocation in 2018 of CA$81.4 million dollars for a redress system. In November 2018, the group was scheduled to meet members of the Senate, and it had to decide what short-term and long-term activities to undertake to achieve its stated goal of having a functioning redress system that would help all those affected by the no-fly list-not only children of group members, but all people, young and old, from various backgrounds.

In March 2018, Snap Inc. (Snap), based in Venice, California, and commonly known as Snapchat for its application that allowed users to send photos that disappeared, was looking for ways to grow its user base in the competitive social media platform industry and to differentiate itself from the other major platforms. To do this, it was trying to position itself as a "camera" company and to become relevant to a larger target market: adults aged 25 and older, a demographic that seemed already well-served by current social media platform options.

In 2017, the German grocery chain Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (Lidl) opened its first 20 U.S. stores in the southern states of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Key target segments of Lidl were budget-conscious customers, middle-class families with children, and elderly customers on a fixed income. Lidl offered lower prices than its competitors and quickly gained a strong advantage in the marketplace. Despite high early consumer demand, however, Lidl struggled to hit the correct target market for each of its different locations in terms of tastes and demographics. With plans for 100 U.S.-based locations by the summer of 2018, Lidl had set its sights high. What could Lidl do to meet its U.S. market goals and expand into the future?

MP Maintenance was a social enterprise composed of several micro-businesses (landscaping, window cleaning, pressure washing, graffiti removal, litter pick up, etc.) offering transitional employment to individuals previously living on the streets. Like many budding social enterprises, MP Maintenance needed to carefully balance the organization's social mission and the financial competitiveness of the services that it offered. In May 2016, Matt Smedley, executive director and chief executive officer, and David Greaves, general manager, sat together in the company board room awaiting the arrival of the four college students who had agreed to help them develop a marketing strategy. Their common goal was to enable the social enterprise to continue to deliver on its mission - supporting the employees of Mission Possible - while generating an unrestricted flow of revenue. After seven years spent establishing and growing the business, a fresh set of eyes was welcomed.

The case recaps the development of a contemporary online furniture brand in China, and the path of development to ride on the wave of digital retail. From an art store in Beijing's 798 Art District to becoming an online furniture brand on Tmall, Uvanart has positioned itself as an "affordable and artistic" furniture brand and built quite a following in the last few years. But China's home furniture market is fiercely competitive. Traditional custom-furniture brands Oppein (欧派家居), Soufeiya (索菲亚), and Homekoo (尚品宅配) have all gone public. Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent have teamed up with retail mall operators Easy Home (居然之家) and Red Star Macalline (红星美凯龙), to gain a foothold in the growing market. Online furniture design brands like Zaozuo (造作) and Ziin (吱音) have won the hearts of China's millennial consumers as well as venture capitalists seeking high growth investment opportunities. Growth and scale are critical to Uvanart in the coming years. Was the "affordable and artistic" brand strategy a sustainable differentiation?

The Indian digital payment market was estimated to grow to around USD 700 billion - USD 1 trillion by 2022. A number of players had entered the market to challenge Paytm which aimed to maintain its prominent position in the Indian mobile wallet space. To increase its user base and use-cases, Paytm introduced the Lucky Lifafa campaign to provide Indian users a novel way of sending money as a gift. The campaign bore similarities to the Red Envelope campaign used by WeChat to garner a wide user base in Chine. In spite of gift-giving being an integral part of Indian culture, the acceptance of Lucky Lifafa among Indian users was significantly different from that of the Red Envelope among Chinese users. The case describes the Lucky Lifafa campaign and the context in which it was executed, thus highlighting the differences in the way gifts are given in Chinese and Indian societies. Additionally, the case also provides details of existing and upcoming players in the mobile wallet market space in India.

In 2015, in Aalborg, Denmark, the two co-founders of Better World Fashion formed their company as a social enterprise, aiming to highlight all that was wrong with the fashion industry and offer a cleaner and more ethical solution. The business was designed to focus not only on profit but also on minimizing the environmental impact of the supply chain. The founders chose to specialize in garments made from re-purposed leather, as leather had a long lifespan, and could be reused repeatedly without its qualities diminishing. Leather was also the most resource-consuming garment material to produce, and therefore was both the most environmentally damaging material and the material that was most in need of recycling. The company’s business model aimed to gain a competitive advantage through its image as a sustainable brand and its premium-quality products, which incorporated an emotional connection through the use of unique serial numbers and storytelling. However, in 2018, the co-founders wondered whether the company should continue as it had been originally positioned or whether it should change its strategies for growth and competitive advantage in international marketing.

In 2015, in Aalborg, Denmark, the two co-founders of Better World Fashion formed their company as a social enterprise, aiming to highlight all that was wrong with the fashion industry and offer a cleaner and more ethical solution. The business was designed to focus not only on profit but also on minimizing the environmental impact of the supply chain. The founders chose to specialize in garments made from re-purposed leather, as leather had a long lifespan, and could be reused repeatedly without its qualities diminishing. Leather was also the most resource-consuming garment material to produce, and therefore was both the most environmentally damaging material and the material that was most in need of recycling. The company's business model aimed to gain a competitive advantage through its image as a sustainable brand and its premium-quality products, which incorporated an emotional connection through the use of unique serial numbers and storytelling. However, in 2018, the co-founders wondered whether the company should continue as it had been originally positioned or whether it should change its strategies for growth and competitive advantage in international marketing.

In late 2015, the government of Delhi, India, took a radical step to curb traffic congestion and pollution, by restricting the use of private automobile vehicles in Delhi's National Capital Region. Drivers of vehicles whose licence plate numbers ended in odd numbers would be able to drive only on odd-numbered days, and drivers of vehicles whose licence plate numbers ended in even numbers would be able to drive only on even-numbered days. All restrictions would be lifted on Sundays. The management of Indraprastha Gas Limited, Delhi's sole supplier of compressed natural gas, a safe, economical, and clean-burning fuel, needed to communicate the benefits of clean fuels, in an attempt to gain an exemption for vehicles using its compressed natural gas. The company also needed to address the concerns of both its internal stakeholders-shareholders and employees-and its external stakeholders-customers, suppliers, and policy-makers.

In late 2015, the government of Delhi, India, took a radical step to curb traffic congestion and pollution, by restricting the use of private automobile vehicles in Delhi’s National Capital Region. Drivers of vehicles whose licence plate numbers ended in odd numbers would be able to drive only on odd-numbered days, and drivers of vehicles whose licence plate numbers ended in even numbers would be able to drive only on even-numbered days. All restrictions would be lifted on Sundays. The management of Indraprastha Gas Limited, Delhi’s sole supplier of compressed natural gas, a safe, economical, and clean-burning fuel, needed to communicate the benefits of clean fuels, in an attempt to gain an exemption for vehicles using its compressed natural gas. The company also needed to address the concerns of both its internal stakeholders—shareholders and employees—and its external stakeholders—customers, suppliers, and policy-makers.

Using raw, uncut footage, this video case asks students to evaluate the effectiveness of the first contact that took place in November 2016 between representatives from two technology companies—iQmetrix and Straker Translations. The two firms are contemplating a business partnership in which Straker will provide iQmetrix with translation services. First contact calls generally precede every business partnership and are normally completed only after the respective business-development or sales representatives have prepared for the call by learning the basics about the other side’s organization—in particular, whether there is a good fit between what the buyer needs and what the supplier can provide in terms of quality, cost, and capabilities of service.

The Caesan Cheese Cooperative is considering introducing a new high-quality, high-margin artisan whiskey cheddar cheese. Deidra Kelly, vice president of marketing and product development at Caesan, must recommend to the Board of Directors whether to launch the product using Jameson® whiskey as a branded ingredient or using a generically branded whiskey. Use of the branded ingredient would involve a licensing agreement with a leading spirits and wine distributor, Pernod Ricard USA (PR-U). Evaluation of the options requires an assessment of the product-company fit, product-market fit, marketing program, licensing agreement, breakeven sales volume, and achievement of the targeted sales goal. The case focuses on evaluating new product opportunities, specifically regarding product-company fit and product-market fit. In addition, the case allows students to discuss the power of branding and entering strategic partnerships to drive revenue. Students must also use their quantitative skills, such as conducting breakeven analyses and understanding the impact of licensing costs on gross profit margins. The case can be used to discuss product strategy, positioning, branding, and partnerships. It is recommended for upper-level undergraduate students or MBA students in courses focused on marketing strategy, product development and management, or branding.

Student spreadsheet for case 919521.

In 2013, three friends from college came together to found Zenatix, an Indian energy data analytics company. Based on Internet-of-things technology, the team built WattMan, a hardware-based product that could monitor the usage and performance of electrical assets such as air conditioners and refrigerators. It saved energy costs by suggesting corrective action. Zenatix faced challenges in identifying the right target market for WattMan and matching the product features to its clients’ needs. By 2016, it had made two shifts in target markets and Zenatix had to convince investors of the potential of its latest target market, especially after adding a new control feature in WattMan III. With funds running low, this was a make-or-break situation for Zenatix.