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Describes and examines from its inception Benetton's long-running and increasingly controversial image advertising campaign. Initiated in 1985, the highly visual campaign runs internationally primarily in print and on billboards. In its early years, it was widely praised as creative and socially aware. More recently, especially in the United States, many observers, including some Benetton customers and retailers, have been critical of the advertising; some criticisms point to the advertisements as "shocking." Details of the campaign are described, along with reactions to it from observers and retailers. In addition, the rationale of the program is articulated, as well as Benetton's philosophy behind the communications. In mid-1994, management is reviewing the campaign in the wake of particularly vocal criticism of the most recent ads. Teaching Purpose: Focuses on the pros and cons of the advertising strategy over time--particularly in terms of objectives with consumers, the trade, and other stakeholders. Among the major elements for analysis are customer and media responses, as well as the fit of the advertising in various cultures, markets, and customer segments. Includes color exhibits.

In June, 1994, the Senior Vice President of BayBank's Investment Management Group is preparing a strategic plan for her organization's line of mutual funds. Sixteen months earlier, BayBank, Massachusetts's leading retail bank, had entered the mutual fund business by successfully launching BayFunds, a family of proprietary mutual funds. Now management faces a new set of marketing challenges to develop the business further. How can the mix of funds offered be extended to meet changing market and economic conditions, and what combination of proprietary and third-party funds would be most effective in attracting and retaining customers? In addition, management must also find ways to integrate the mutual funds business further into BayBank's core operations and systems while coping with a complex and uncertain regulatory environment.

Describes the conditions leading to the acquisition of Cross and Trecker by Gidding & Lewis.

Beginning in 1992, "Beavis and Butt-head," an animated series on MTV about two uncivilized teenaged misfits, became both a runaway popular sensation and the symbol of a heated national debate about violent and inappropriate programming on television. Especially after the show was blamed for inspiring a five-year-old to set a fire that killed his younger sister, the controversy posed difficult decisions both for MTV's parent company, Viacom, and for advertisers, including some of America's biggest.

The Greenland case describes the experience of four young Norwegian men determined to set a world record for unsupported crossing of Greenland. The case describes the team, their preparations, and their experiences as they crossed in "good" weather that was often whiteout blizzard conditions with temperatures dropping as low as -78 degrees F. Throughout the case, one of the team members reflects on things he learned about himself, about the team, and about leadership from the experience (recorded in italics). The teaching note (available to registered faculty) is supplemented by a PowerPoint presentation that helps introduce the expedition to Greenland, other "risky recreation," and the concepts related to resonance or flow. A video supplement is also available. The case lends itself to a profound discussion of leadership on its own and leads in nicely to a discussion of world-class performance and the purpose of life, which both startles and pleasantly surprises most students and participants.

This case concerns the promotional activities of Nashua Photo, the nation's largest mail-order photofinishing firm. Discount-price mailers (inserted in local newspapers, for example) were used to generate new customers, but also allowed existing customers to pay a lower price. Students must evaluate not only the results of last quarter's 125 separate promotions in light of this "leakage," but also the appropriateness of discount-price mailers within Nashua's marketing mix.

Consumer Bank pondered the possibilities of launching a credit card in the Asia Pacific region. The bank's New York headquarters, and several of its country managers in the region, were not enthusiastic. But others were supportive because of the opportunity to expand the bank's customer base from the limited branch expansion allowed by local law. Students make a decision, and if a "go" decision is made, they work out a comprehensive launch plan.

Explores the life and concerns of Bob Fifer, HBS class of 1979 and CEO of Kaiser Associates. Explores the many influences on Bob's development and his subsequent career choices. It is written as a biography with extensive quotes from interviews with Bob. He describes the role of his upbringing and Jewish ethnicity in the formation of his early self-concept. Highlights the career-related choices he makes, including college at Harvard, attending business school, and entering consulting. After years of success and driven workaholic behavior, Bob experiences disillusionment and personal tragedy.

Time Life has historically been a continuity book publisher, selling 20-volume book series via direct mail. Now, however, music and video/TV divisions have been added, and the CEO is trying to craft a strategy that will align the divisions so they can produce multimedia products. There is also an immediate decision facing the CEO about the advertising for a new book and TV series, and questions for the division managers about how to shape and improve their businesses' creative processes.

The director of marketing of a recently acquired trust company is faced with preparing a marketing plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Historically, the trust company has not had a marketing or sales function. The director faces some major challenges: establishing marketing's role in the trust company; helping the trust company be more accepted by the bank that acquired the company; helping the trust company move from its unprofitable start-up mode to a profitable operation. She wondered how to begin.

Deryck Maughan, a vice chairman and co-head of investment banking at Salomon Brothers, learns that his superiors have been less than candid about their knowledge of bidding improprieties by the firm's government trading desk. He must decide what, if anything, he should do.

In this fictional case study, Caroline Portal knows that La Shampoo is in trouble. Introduced in 1975 and targeted at women between the ages of 15 and 30, La Shampoo has a stylish image that had immediately become popular. Its slogan, "La Shampoo: For the Look and Feel of France," had remained the same since day one. In 1989, however, the line had begun a slow descent, but the company hadn't really addressed the problem until two years ago, when it named Caroline brand manager. At first, Caroline requested a new packaging design. The ad agency backed her up and called for a modest "new look" campaign. But the repackaging caused tension in the office and had no positive effect on sales: the numbers continued their slow decline. Caroline calls a meeting to examine proposals submitted by product sales manager Eric Woolf and a representative of the ad agency that held the La Shampoo account, Beth Hanson. Eric recommends a price cut, while Beth wants a relaunch. The tension grows in the meeting as Caroline weighs the options. A decision has to be made soon in order to save the brand. Which marketing plan should Caroline choose? Five experts examine the challenges of rebuilding a brand.

Explores Olympus Optical's strategic response to major losses in its camera business. Key to Olympus's recovery were its extensive product planning process, a quality improvement program, and an aggressive cost-reduction program. In particular, the case details Olympus's target costing system, which enabled the firm to design high-quality products at low cost.

The merger of two computer software firms with very rapidly growing non-overlapping products makes great strategic sense, but presents difficult valuation and accounting problems. How can a firm pay $225 million to acquire another firm with negligible current earnings, and which promises to produce an immediate $150 MM one-time charge to earnings which will be followed over a five-year period by $65 million of amortization of intangible assets?

Illustrates how Japanese firms use profit pressures to increase efficiency. In particular, explores how pseudo profit centers create pressure on workers to increase revenues and reduce costs, and the use of semiautonomous teams in a traditional Japanese workforce.

Crutchfield, a large U.S. mail-order firm specializing in consumer electronics and personal computers, must evaluate the results of a recent "prospecting" mailing to a rented list of names. A determination of the mailing requires the calculation of the lifetime value of the new customers acquired. Case data on repurchase probabilities (broken out by recency and frequency) support such a calculation. The case can also be used to introduce the RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value) framework for valuing customers.

Describes Kyocera's unusual approach to profit centers. The firm's basic units of operation are profit centers called "amoebas," which are sales or manufacturing units with full responsibility for their planning, decision making, and administration. Amoebas are expected to find ways to improve production and lower costs, reflecting the belief of Kyocera's founder that profits are generated during the manufacturing process.

Explores how Sony manages its Walkman line in both the domestic (Japanese) and Western markets. Describes a simple target costing system, a simple Japanese cost accounting system, and the management of product proliferation.

Harvard University decides upon the asset allocation for its endowment, and the mode in which it should be managed.

The purpose of this case is to allow students to confront the issues related to starting a new service business, such as evaluation of the business concept, identification of different customer segments, and assessment of the comprehensive service package necessary for long-term success in a competitive service industry. Students are also asked to record projected transactions, prepare projected financial statements, and perform a break-even analysis. It is intended for use early in a course on financial accounting and reporting. A companion case, "Classic Tours, Inc.: Strategic and Financial Issues in Starting a Business," (UVA-C-2141), was subsequently written for use in such courses as Starting New Ventures or Entrepreneurship, where greater emphasis would be placed on the strategic considerations and somewhat less emphasis would be placed on the financial details.