2.

Black & Decker

1. What is the cause of B&D’s 9% share vs. Makita’s 50%?

2. How does the buying behavior of the tradesman impact the situation?

3. What is Makita’s competitive strategy and what role does Milwaukee

(the #2 brand in the segment play)?

4. Which action alternative should B&D pursue?

3. P & G India

5. How is P&G managing its product portfolio?

6. What should P&G do to better manage its product portfolio?

7. How is it managing the challenge in distribution?

8. What is the role of detergents category in product portfolio of companies?

9. What is the role of Rinmatic/Surf Excelmatic?

10. What is the role of relaunching and upgrading in this industry?

11. Role of Tide Natural?

4. Volkswagen

1. Do you agree with VW’s corporate brand positioning?

2. Do you agree with VW’s positioning with respect to the other two brands in the VW group’s
portfolio in India – Volkswagen, Skoda, and Audi? How can VW avoid cannibalization?

3. Do you agree with VW’s segmentation strategy?

4. How would you rate VW’s message strategy?

5. Critically analyze the various campaigns.

6. How does VW Indian advertising compare with its global advertising?

7. How would you rate VW’s public relations (PR), dealer, and product portfolio strategy?

8. How would you rate VW’s performance? Can VW be among the top three brands by 2018?
 5. L’Oreal of Paris
Analysis should cover the following points:

1. Description of the strategy in the U.S.

2. The different competitive strategies of the major players with emphasis on L’Oréal
narrow positioning as a treatment moisturizer company.

3. Consumer perceptions as revealed in the market research.

4. Action steps for L’Oréal at this point.

6. Park Hotel

1. Can The Park Hotels once again change the way people live in hotels?

2. Can The Park Hotels evolve further in the product-service-experience chain?

3. Why is it more difficult to create an experience in comparison to a product or service?

4. What are the success factors for The Park Hotels?

5. Can The Park Hotels now design their customer experiences to make them more blissful,
scintillating and memorable?

6. What are the future challenges for The Park Hotels?

7. TBA

8. Tweeter etc.

1. How is Tweeter positioned in the market before and after their change in marketing strategy (APP
& EDFP)?

2. Describe customer behavior in the Boston area consumer electronics market before Tweeter’s
change in strategy? Do quality/service consumers behave differently than price-biter consumers?

3. Is Tweeter trying to change those behaviors with APP and EDFP? If so, how?

4. How is Tweeter trying to make money in the consumer electronics market? Circuit City?

5. Is APP an effective strategy for Tweeter? EDFP? Are there alternative strategies that will work
better to achieve Tweeter’s goals?

9.
 10. Virgin Mobile

A. Given Virgin Mobile’s target market (14 to 24-year-olds), how should it

structure its pricing?

B. The case lays out three pricing options. Which option would you choose
and why?

C. In designing your pricing plan, be as specific as possible with respect to the

various elements under considerations (e.g., contracts, the size of the subsidies,
hidden fees, average per-minute charges, etc.).

A. How confident are you that the plan you have designed will be profitable?

B. Provide evidence of the financial viability of your pricing strategy.

A. The cellular industry is notorious for high customer dissatisfaction. Despite the existence of
service contracts, the big carriers churn roughly 24% of their customers each year.

B. Clearly, there is very little loyalty in this market. What is the source of all of this
dissatisfaction?

C. How have the various pricing variables (contracts, pricing buckets, hidden fees, off-peak hours,
etc.) affected the consumer experience?

D. Why haven’t the big carriers responded more aggressively to customer dissatisfaction?

A. How do the major carriers make money in this industry?

B. Is there a financial logic underlying their pricing approach?

A. What do you think of Virgin Mobile’s value proposition (the VirginXtras, etc.)?

B. What do you think of its channel and merchandising strategy?

A. Do you agree with Virgin Mobile’s target market selection?

B. What are the risks associated with targeting this segment?

C. Why have the major carriers been slow to target this segment?
 11.

12. L’Oreal of Paris: Bringing “Class to Mass” with Plenitude

Analysis should cover the following points:

1. Description of the strategy in the U.S.

2. The different competitive strategies of the major players with

emphasis on L’Oréal narrow positioning as a treatment
moisturizer company.

3. Consumer perceptions as revealed in the market research.

4. Action steps for L’Oréal at this point.

7. Optical Distortions, Inc.

1. What characteristics of the ODI contact lens are likely to make it appealing or
unappealing to different types of farmers?

2. In what geographic areas and market segments should ODI focus its efforts?

3. What Pricing Policy should ODI adopt?

4. What level of marketing efforts should ODI be considering? In particular what

information, incentives, and technical assistance will be required to induce (a) trial;
(b) repurchase?

5. What’s a realistic goal for ODI by 1978?

8. Tweeter etc.

1. How is Tweeter positioned in the market before and after their change in marketing strategy (APP
& EDFP)?

2. Describe customer behavior in the Boston area consumer electronics market before Tweeter’s
change in strategy? Do
quality/service consumers behave differently than price-biter consumers?

3. Is Tweeter trying to change those behaviors with APP and EDFP? If so, how?

4. How is Tweeter trying to make money in the consumer electronics market? Circuit City?
5. Is APP an effective strategy for Tweeter? EDFP? Are there alternative strategies that will work
better to achieve Tweeter’s goals?

9. Virgin Mobile

A. Given Virgin Mobile’s target market (14 to 24-year-olds), how should it

structure its pricing?

B. The case lays out three pricing options. Which option would you choose
and why?

C. In designing your pricing plan, be as specific as possible with respect to the

various elements under considerations (e.g., contracts, the size of the subsidies,
hidden fees, average per-minute charges, etc.).

A. How confident are you that the plan you have designed will be profitable?

B. Provide evidence of the financial viability of your pricing strategy.

A. The cellular industry is notorious for high customer dissatisfaction. Despite the existence of
service contracts, the big carriers churn roughly 24% of their customers each year.

B. Clearly, there is very little loyalty in this market. What is the source of all of this
dissatisfaction?

A. How have the various pricing variables (contracts, pricing buckets, hidden fees, off-peak
hours, etc.) affected the consumer experience?

B. Why haven’t the big carriers responded more aggressively to customer dissatisfaction?

A. How do the major carriers make money in this industry?

B. Is there a financial logic underlying their pricing approach?

A. What do you think of Virgin Mobile’s value proposition (the VirginXtras, etc.)?

B. What do you think of its channel and merchandising strategy?

A. Do you agree with Virgin Mobile’s target market selection?

B. What are the risks associated with targeting this segment?

C. Why have the major carriers been slow to target this segment?
 10. Atlantic Computers: A Bundle of Pricing Options

1. What price should Jowers charge DayTraderJournal.com for the Atlantic Bundle (i.e., Tronn
servers+PESA software tool)?

2. Think broadly about the top-line revenue implications from each of the four alternative pricing
strategies. Approximately how much money over the next three years will be “left on the table” if
the firm were to give away the software tool away for free (i.e., status quo pricing) versus utilizing
one of the other pricing approaches?

3. How is Matzer likely to react to your recommendation?

4. a) How is Cadena’s sales force likely to react to your recommendation?

b) What can Jowers recommend to get Cadena’s hardware-oriented sales force to understand and
sell the value of the PESA software effectively?

5. How are customers in your target market likely to react to your recommended pricing strategy?
What response can be provided to overcome any objections?

6. How is Ontario Zink’s senior management team likely to react to the Atlantic Bundle?

11. HUL Purit - TBA

12. The Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India: In Service of Sight

1. Dr. Venkataswamy has a vision to cure blindness in India. If the Aravind marketing “formula”
could be applied to all hospitals in India, could blindness be cured in a single decade?

2. What is the Aravind marketing “formula?” That is, what does Aravind do with respect to the 4Ps
and the 5Cs?

3. Has the formula been transferred successfully to Theni, Tirunelveli, and/or Coimbatore?

4. What actions would you recommend to Dr. Venkataswamy for the next five years?

13. Merck - Medco

1. What was the rationale for PBMs?

2. Does Medco fit with Merck’s strategy?

3. What does Medco bring to Merck? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

4. What does Medco get from the Merck acquisition?

5. Is health management the future?

 14. Yesmail dot com

1. What solution would you favor for the recruitment of new members? Should
Tolmie pick the “network solution,” or should he build a proprietary
membership list, or should he do both?

2. What does YM bring to its members? How would you maintain/enhance that value?

3. What does YM bring to its clients? What do you think of YM’s pricing policy?

4. What is the future of agents such as YM?

15. Saffola

1. Provide a detailed analysis of the Saffola brand using Kapferer’s brand identity prism.

2. Evaluate the three campaigns from the perspectives of segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

3. What was the role of the IMC in the ‘'Sehat Se Jeena Hai'’ and “Kal Se” campaigns?

4. Analyze each of the commercials from a semiotic perspective.

16. Bosch

3. Was Bosch justified in changing the name from MICO to Bosch?

4. Should Bosch have opted for dual branding – MICO Bosch?

5. Out of all the stakeholders, which one was the most important for communicating change in CI?
How did Bosch communicate with employees?

6. Critically analyze Bosch’s strategy for the corporate campaign (opinion leaders, OEMs, Media,
etc.).

7. How would you analyze the media strategy for the corporate campaign?

8. How would you evaluate the campaign for aftermarket?

9. Is Bosch confusing product advertising for corporate advertising?

10. Can product and corporate advertising be combined?

11. Critically evaluate Bosch’s public relations (PR) campaign?

12. Is there any interrelationship between ‘‘advertising’’ and ‘‘PR’’?

13. How will you evaluate effectiveness of a campaign?

14. Critically analyze the campaigns post-Project B3.

15. To what extent has brand migration campaign been successful? Should Bosch continue to use MICO’s name?

16. What should be the communication strategy for 2010?

17. Seibel

The assignment for class members is to read Part 1, pausing at each of the questions inserted in
the text to form an opinion, then reading on.

20. Nielsen MR for Pantene - TBA