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Brand anthropomorphism has been found to enhance the ability of consumers to recognize the inherent value of brands. However, there is limited knowledge among practitioners on how to build a brand with humanlike characteristics. After a literature review of brand anthropomorphism in general and the theory of warmth and competence in particular, we present the Human Brand Model of how to build a brand that is perceived to be human. There are four steps in this process; the first three indicate the brand inputs and the last indicates the results of those inputs. This model guides brand managers on how to make their brand more human. The use of this model should result in the organization having an excellent brand reputation; stronger, more meaningful relationships with their customers; and improved brand loyalty.

This article discusses several practical solutions for dealing with online customer complaints. Online complaints are inevitable; how a firm responds can make the difference. There are techniques that managers can use not only to minimize the detrimental impact of online complaints, but also to produce beneficial outcomes. Herein, we introduce our 3T framework, designed to help managers and support teams respond to online complaints in a thoughtful and measured way. We build on word-of-mouth research and several theories from marketing, service marketing, journalism, and business ethics. With so many reviews posted online every second, firms must employ best practices grounded in empirical research and solid conceptualization to deal with this important component of online customer service.

Naming a product's scent is a key decision. The same scent can be interpreted differently when different names are assigned to it. Thus, choosing the right scent name can increase competitiveness by successfully appealing to desired consumer segments. We propose that such decisions should be data driven (i.e., on the basis of competitors' offerings and consumers' preferences) and provide guidelines on how to assign scent names to products in home care and personal care product categories, focusing on capturing market segments. Based on a large web-based dataset of scented products across multiple brands and categories, this article is the first to construct a typology of scent names empirically: unscented, concrete, abstract, and proprietary. After examining firms' assortments of scented products with different names across 12 categories and comparing them with consumers' preferences concerning such assortments, we identify major gaps. Overall, consumers demand far more unscented products and products with abstract names than currently offered; however, preferences for products with proprietary names are mostly aligned. Strategic recommendations center on naming scented products to better align supply and demand in the scented product market and capture new market opportunities.

Research and applied evidence suggest that online opinion leaders are important promoters of products and services. However, managers and firms need to choose which opinion leaders to work with and better understand how to collaborate with those leaders to promote different types of products and services. Online opinion leaders should be used to promote the experiential (hedonic) and functional (utilitarian) value of products and services over different online forums. In this article, we describe how online opinion leaders can serve appeal leadership functions, serve knowledge leadership functions, and take multiple roles (e.g., experts, celebrities, micro-celebrities, micro-influencers, early adopters, market mavens, enthusiasts). We then present a five-stage planning process designed to guide partnerships with online opinion leaders. Specific steps in the process include: planning (setting the objectives of the campaign and the role of online opinion leaders), recognition (identifying influential and relevant online opinion leaders), alignment (matching online opinion leaders and online forums with the products or services promoted), motivation (rewarding online opinion leaders in a way that aligns with their social role), and coordination (negotiating, monitoring, and supporting the influence of the online opinion leaders).

Private labels have become ever-more important and are slowly turning into brands of their own. Retailers increasingly offer three-level 'good, better, best' private-label programs that include economy, standard, and premium private-label tier goods. For each of these tiers, retailers must decide under what name to brand their private label. They can either assign their store banner name to a private-label tier or go for a unique brand name that is separate from the retailer banner. The purpose of this article is to outline the advantages and limitations of these two branding strategies: store-banner branding versus stand-alone branding. Herein, we also provide a series of recommendations regarding when to use each brand strategy, based on characteristics of the retailer and the environment in which it operates.

Over the next decade, as artificially intelligent assistants like Alexa and Siri become the main channel through which people get information, goods, and services, the way companies acquire, serve, and retain customers will radically change. Because the bots will have deep knowledge about individuals' habits and preferences, they'll be able to anticipate a consumer's needs even better than the consumer herself can. They'll ensure that routine purchases flow uninterrupted to homes and constantly scan and analyze complex offerings like insurance and data plans for the best deals. And the more AI assistants satisfy consumers, the more trust in them will replace trust in brands. Marketing will soon become a battle for AI assistants' attention, says Dawar. Brands will focus on influencing AI algorithms and will compete for placement on the assistants' platforms. In return, brands will be able to get data on consumers from the platforms. That's something companies will need in this new world, because AI assistants' never-ending reassessment of purchases will force them to keep producing new tailored offers and innovations to keep their customers on board.

As consumer touchpoints increasingly migrate online, it is important to understand how human nature manifests itself in a digital environment. The authors-including the head of the University of Toronto's Behavioural Economics in Action research institute-describe five behavioural biases brought on by a digital environment and present their research findings on three characteristics of digital behaviour: the 'screen effect'; the choice-engine effect; and the connectivity effect. They make it clear that online decision making is not merely the digitization of decision making in a brick-and-mortar world: It is a playing field with completely different rules.

Tubular Labs cofounders Allison Stern and Rob Gabel had jumped into the video analytics space, taking on the challenge of figuring out what data could be tracked, what companies would need, and the best ways to market their consulting services. By 2018, Tubular's technology pulled data from billions of videos on dozens of platforms-including YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram-and captured information about creators, audiences, and viewer engagement. Clients could then organize those data and gather insights about their own content or the larger social video landscape. The market for social media analytics was projected to grow to $9.54 billion by 2022-presenting a huge opportunity for a company that could remain nimble, and figure out what companies and advertisers needed to take advantage of the fast-moving online video market. Tubular had more than 200 enterprise customers in 2018-but audience needs and data acquisition were moving as fast as the social video market itself.

In February 2018, Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) was tackling what seemed to be the most challenging problem in grocery retailing-how to efficiently and effectively deliver groceries to customers-known generally as the last-mile challenge. Seattle-based Amazon, which had 22 years of experience delivering goods such as books, apparel, and electronics sold on its website, had already proven that it could efficiently deliver general merchandise to customers. Yet, groceries presented a unique challenge because they were perishable and customers paid more attention to getting them in a timely fashion. After all, it was food that was being carried to the consumer's home. Amazon's efforts to solve the last mile challenge for grocery delivery had not thus far been successful. In November 2017, it shut down its AmazonFresh delivery service in five states but claimed this was unrelated to its purchase of Whole Foods Market Inc. Could Amazon successfully overcome the challenge of last-mile grocery delivery? If so, what were the implications for Amazon and other retailers?

In February 2018, Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) was tackling what seemed to be the most challenging problem in grocery retailing—how to efficiently and effectively deliver groceries to customers—known generally as the last-mile challenge. Seattle-based Amazon, which had 22 years of experience delivering goods such as books, apparel, and electronics sold on its website, had already proven that it could efficiently deliver general merchandise to customers. Yet, groceries presented a unique challenge because they were perishable and customers paid more attention to getting them in a timely fashion. After all, it was food that was being carried to the consumer’s home. Amazon’s efforts to solve the last mile challenge for grocery delivery had not thus far been successful. In November 2017, it shut down its AmazonFresh delivery service in five states but claimed this was unrelated to its purchase of Whole Foods Market Inc. Could Amazon successfully overcome the challenge of last-mile grocery delivery? If so, what were the implications for Amazon and other retailers?

In 2016, ALDI Stores (Aldi) in Australia posted its first downturn in annual growth since it opened in 2001. The German discount grocery store had been on a steady climb towards a top position among competitors such as Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty. Ltd., and Woolworths Limited. Amazon Inc. and Lidl Stiftung & co. KG, another German competitor, had begun to take steps towards entering the Australian market. What can Aldi do to ensure its continued success and retain its market share?

Well suited for MBA and undergraduate marketing programs, this case uses product positioning and placement during the early growth stages of a start-up's brand in the food industry to unfold circumstances that allow for an analysis of the firm's positioning and food marketing decisions. All products are plant-based foods distributed nationally in the United States. Seeking to target mainstream tastes and low price, tensions among the three pillars of the brand's marketing strategy, which are quality, accessibility, and sustainability, leave the case open to explore uncertainty, positioning, marketing mix, and consumer behavior. The A case opens with Josh Tetrick, Just's founder and CEO, facing an obstacle to the brand around accessibility. Target delisted all Just products in its stores after receiving an unverified, anonymous letter claiming that some of the products were unsafe and mislabeled. Although it only accounted for a small percentage of sales, losing Target affected Just's ability to meet its distribution goal to reach price-conscious consumers where they shopped and its greater goal to build a food system where everyone could eat well.

Well suited for MBA and undergraduate marketing programs, this case uses product positioning and placement during the early growth stages of a start-up's brand in the food industry to unfold circumstances that allow for an analysis of the firm's positioning and food marketing decisions. All products are plant-based foods distributed nationally in the United States. Seeking to target mainstream tastes and low price, tensions among the three pillars of the brand's marketing strategy, which are quality, accessibility, and sustainability, leave the case open to explore uncertainty, positioning, marketing mix, and consumer behavior. The B case brings in another twist as Just announces plans to publicly launch a meatless product line.

Intuit, was the market leader in tax-filing software. Its software program, TurboTax, assisted 29 million users versus just seven million each for the tax software programs of rival firms H&R Block and TaxAct. But Intuit's total revenues had fallen in 2015, and in order to help the tech company boost its 2016 sales, it would need to decide on an effective advertising-testing technique. Should it look the relatively new phenomenon of applying neuroscience to marketing research-neuromarketing?

In the fall of 2017, Ajanta Packaging (Ajanta) was among the fastest growing glass bottle-packaging companies in India. Although the company had a large buyer base of 1,700 customers, it still earned around 50 per cent of its business from 10 key accounts, including its biggest buyer, S.F. Foods (SF), which accounted for 15 per cent of Ajanta's revenue. The position of privilege enjoyed by SF became a cause of concern for a director at Ajanta because of the client's unrealistic demands. After a $25 million order from SF with a profit margin of less than 7 per cent, a payment period of 60 days, and a very short turnaround time, the director was forced to review his relationship with his company's biggest client, and to decide whether to accept the order on SF's terms, or renegotiate the price, payment terms, and delivery schedule to benefit Ajanta.

In the fall of 2017, Ajanta Packaging (Ajanta) was among the fastest growing glass bottle-packaging companies in India. Although the company had a large buyer base of 1,700 customers, it still earned around 50 per cent of its business from 10 key accounts, including its biggest buyer, S.F. Foods (SF), which accounted for 15 per cent of Ajanta’s revenue. The position of privilege enjoyed by SF became a cause of concern for a director at Ajanta because of the client’s unrealistic demands. After a $25 million order from SF with a profit margin of less than 7 per cent, a payment period of 60 days, and a very short turnaround time, the director was forced to review his relationship with his company’s biggest client, and to decide whether to accept the order on SF’s terms, or renegotiate the price, payment terms, and delivery schedule to benefit Ajanta.

In 2017, both Flipkart and Amazon claimed leadership position in India's recently concluded key annual festive season sale, but it was too early to declare victory. Amazon continues to invest heavily in India. Competition from newer players is increasing. Media reports hint that Reliance Industries, a large Indian conglomerate, is planning to extend its e-commerce offering beyond fashion to electronics, mobile phones and even groceries. As the battle for India's lucrative e-commerce market gains pace, experts wonder--who will win? Is India a winner-takes-all market or is there space for more than one player?

Bakeys Cutlery was launched in India in 2010, after the founder had spent years researching how edible cutlery could counteract the damaging effects of plastics on our health and the environment. In 2017, the challenges the founder faced in the domestic market included the high prices of the cutlery, compared with plastic cutlery, and low environmental awareness. Response to the company was positive in international markets, but how could the founder become successful in his home country?

Bakeys Cutlery was launched in India in 2010, after the founder had spent years researching how edible cutlery could counteract the damaging effects of plastics on our health and the environment. In 2017, the challenges the founder faced in the domestic market included the high prices of the cutlery, compared with plastic cutlery, and low environmental awareness. Response to the company was positive in international markets, but how could the founder become successful in his home country?

Since its founding in 2011, Art With Impact (AWI) had one precise goal-to enable young people in Canada and the United States to talk about mental health issues through art and media. The foundation enjoyed great success. However, like many other charities and non-profit organizations, AWI was struggling with the challenge of raising adequate funding. In 2017, AWI was looking ahead and wanted to design a sophisticated social media to attract numerous smaller donors. Was there an ideal strategy to achieve high levels of funding and high numbers of donors? Or would it be best to focus solely on raising the number of donors to build a database, collect data, and refine a strategy to collect more funding from AWI's donors in the future?