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  • All HBS Web  (59)
    • News  (10)
    • Research  (33)
    • Multimedia  (2)
  • Faculty Publications  (32)

Show Results For

  • All HBS Web  (59)
    • News  (10)
    • Research  (33)
    • Multimedia  (2)
  • Faculty Publications  (32)
Page 1 of 59 Results →
  • March 2015 (Revised December 2016)
  • Case

American Well: The DTC Decision

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred
In late 2013, telehealth company American Well, which developed a digital platform that allowed patients to conduct online medical consultations with physicians, is considering pursuing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy. Founded in 2006, American Well had, to date,... View Details
Keywords: Health Care; Telehealth; Telemedicine; American Well; Schoenberg; Boston; Israel; Technology; Online Care; Direct-to-consumer; DTC; Health Insurance; Affordable Care Act; Health Care Reform; Accountable Care Organizations; Technology Change; Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Digital Marketing; Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Marketing; Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; Entrepreneurship; Marketing Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Boston; Massachusetts; United States; Israel
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Ofek, Elie, and Natalie Kindred. "American Well: The DTC Decision." Harvard Business School Case 515-032, March 2015. (Revised December 2016.)
  • November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
  • Case

Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand

By: Jill Avery and Joseph B. Fuller
Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth trajectories to maximize its potential? Three... View Details
Keywords: Brand Management; DTC; Brand Extension; Lifestyle Brand; Customer Segmentation; Retailing; Scaling And Growth; Startup; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Consumer Behavior; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry; Travel Industry; United States; North America
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Avery, Jill, and Joseph B. Fuller. "Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand." Harvard Business School Case 520-051, November 2019. (Revised April 2020.)
  • January 2016
  • Teaching Note

American Well: The DTC Decision

By: Elie Ofek
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Ofek, Elie. "American Well: The DTC Decision." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 516-025, January 2016.
  • 31 Jul 2020
  • Blog Post

Building a DTC Brand Through COVID

Retail & Luxury Goods Club, Entrepreneurship Club, and the iLab’s Venture Incubation Program. Farah attended HBS for their entrepreneurship programs at the Rock Center and at the Innovation Lab where she hopes to launch her apparel brand, IXORA Apparel. Building a... View Details
  • 19 Feb 2020
  • News

Casper and DTC Brands, Plus California’s New Freelancer Law

  • May 2023
  • Teaching Note

Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Jill Avery
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 520-051. Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth... View Details
Keywords: Distribution; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Segmentation; Venture Capital; Consumer Products Industry
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Fuller, Joseph B., and Jill Avery. "Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 523-109, May 2023.
  • November 2022
  • Case

The Battle Among Channels for Marketing Pharmaceuticals: UpScript, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and Direct-to-Consumer Sales

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Tiffany Farrell
Can an online, direct-to-consumer pharmacy both improve the quality and speed of care for patients who need branded drugs and stabilize profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers? UpScript, after years spent achieving legal and regulatory compliance and simultaneous... View Details
Keywords: DTC; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Customer Value and Value Chain; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Strategy; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Retail Industry
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Herzlinger, Regina E., and Tiffany Farrell. "The Battle Among Channels for Marketing Pharmaceuticals: UpScript, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and Direct-to-Consumer Sales." Harvard Business School Case 323-031, November 2022.
  • August 2022
  • Exercise

Joy4Home Brands: Pricing Matters

By: Elie Ofek, Oded Koenigsberg and Marco Bertini
Joy4Home Brands, the maker of novel houseware items, was gearing up for its launch. The company would be introducing two lines: kitchenware products and storage containers. The initial go-to-market plan called for a direct to consumer (DTC) channel strategy. While... View Details
Keywords: DTC; Pricing Decisions; B2B; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Marketing Strategy; Business Model; Opportunities; Consumer Products Industry
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Ofek, Elie, Oded Koenigsberg, and Marco Bertini. "Joy4Home Brands: Pricing Matters." Harvard Business School Exercise 523-709, August 2022.
  • April 2020
  • Teaching Note

Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

By: Jill Avery
Teaching Note for HBS No. 519-022. Flush with cash from its Series C fundraise, cult beauty brand Glossier considers its next phase of growth, facing critical decisions on how to allocate its capital to support various marketing communications and distribution... View Details
Keywords: Digital Marketing; Crowdsourcing; CRM; Startup; Direct-to-consumer; DTC; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States
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Avery, Jill. "Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-099, April 2020.
  • May 2022
  • Case

Byte

By: Boris Groysberg, Katherine Connolly Baden and Julia Kelley
In January 2021, Byte co-founders Scott Cohen and Blake Johnson reflected on how far their Los Angeles-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) orthodontics company had come since launching its clear aligners just a little over two years earlier. Cohen and Johnson were both... View Details
Keywords: Growth; Customer Experience; Customer Focused Organization; Innovation; DTC; Growth Management; Expansion; Entrepreneurship; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States
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Groysberg, Boris, Katherine Connolly Baden, and Julia Kelley. "Byte." Harvard Business School Case 422-075, May 2022.
  • August 2018 (Revised February 2023)
  • Case

Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

By: Jill Avery and Ayelet Israeli
As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a valuation of $200 million and debating... View Details
Keywords: DTC; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Health Care; Mobile; Attribution; Experimentation; Experiments; Churn/retention; Customer Lifetime Value; Internet Marketing; Big Data; Analytics; A/B Testing; CRM; Advertising; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Media; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Digital Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Social Media; E-commerce; Analytics and Data Science; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; North America; Europe
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Avery, Jill, and Ayelet Israeli. "Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing." Harvard Business School Case 519-011, August 2018. (Revised February 2023.)
  • January 2019 (Revised February 2024)
  • Teaching Note

Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

By: Ayelet Israeli
Teaching Note for HBS No. 519-011. As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a... View Details
Keywords: DTC; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Health Care; Mobile; Attribution; Experimentation; Experiments; Churn/retention; Customer Lifetime Value; Internet Marketing; Big Data; Analytics; A/B Testing; CRM; Advertising; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Media; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Digital Marketing; Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Social Media; E-commerce
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Israeli, Ayelet. "Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 519-056, January 2019. (Revised February 2024.)
  • September 2023
  • Case

The Meteoric Rise of Skims

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jill Avery and Leonard A. Schlesinger
Since its founding in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and Jens Grede, Skims, a solutions-oriented brand creating the next generation of underwear, loungewear, and shapewear with an eye toward body-type and skin-tone inclusivity, has experienced a meteoric rise. Kardashian, who... View Details
Keywords: Brand; Branding; Direct-to-consumer; DTC; Influencers; Influencer Marketing; Fashion; Growth; Direct Marketing; Influence; Reputation; Social Inference; Consumer Goods; Consumer Products; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Brand & Product Management; Competitive Advantage; Online Followers; Retail; Retail Formats; Retailing; Online Retail; Celebrities; Celebrity; Celebrity Endorsement; Go To Market Strategy; Apparel; Startup Marketing; Startups; Social Influencers; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Distribution Channels; Digital Marketing; Advertising; Power and Influence; Social Media; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States
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Israeli, Ayelet, Jill Avery, and Leonard A. Schlesinger. "The Meteoric Rise of Skims." Harvard Business School Case 524-023, September 2023.
  • January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
  • Case

Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

By: Jill Avery
Glossier’s proclaimed strategy was “born from content; fueled by community.” The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand had experienced rapid growth, with sales up 600% in 2017 and a customer portfolio that grew by threefold. But, its founder, Emily Weiss, was... View Details
Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; Brand Communication; Retailing; DTC; Influencer; Startup; Internet Marketing; Big Data; Crowdsourcing; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Media; E-commerce; Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; United States; North America
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Avery, Jill. "Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community." Harvard Business School Case 519-022, January 2019. (Revised October 2019.)
  • January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
  • Teaching Note

Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods

By: Jill Avery
Brandless, an online direct-to-consumer seller of upscale private-label consumer packaged goods (CPG), offered consumers a limited assortment of values-conscious products delivered directly to their homes with the simplicity of one fixed $3.00 price point that promised... View Details
Keywords: Brand; Brand Management; DTC; Private Label; Groceries; Packaged Food; Personal Care; Startups; Retailing; Amazon; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Business Startups; Disruption; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; United States
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Avery, Jill. "Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-058, January 2020. (Revised April 2020.)
  • May–June 2024
  • Article

What Makes a Successful Celebrity Brand?

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jill Avery, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins
Celebrities have shifted from endorsing established brands to being influencers for established brands to drawing on their influence to create brands themselves. The authors examine what it takes to make celebrity brands work. View Details
Keywords: Celebrities; Celebrity Endorsement; Celebrity Management; Celebrity; Direct To Consumer Marketing; DTC; Influencer Marketing; Influencers; Influencer Advertising; Influencer; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Power and Influence; Advertising; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; United States
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Israeli, Ayelet, Jill Avery, Leonard A. Schlesinger, and Matt Higgins. "What Makes a Successful Celebrity Brand?" Harvard Business Review 102, no. 3 (May–June 2024): 50–55.
  • June 2020
  • Teaching Note

Shiseido Acquires Drunk Elephant

By: Jill Avery
On October 7, 2019, the Shiseido Group announced that it would acquire clean skincare brand Drunk Elephant for $845 million, a valuation of 8.5 times sales. Did Shiseido pay too much or too little for this brand asset? How much was the Drunk Elephant brand worth and... View Details
Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Valuation; Brand Equity; Brand Value; Mergers & Acquisitions; Startup; DTC; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Japan; Asia; North America
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Avery, Jill. "Shiseido Acquires Drunk Elephant." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-121, June 2020.
  • January 2020 (Revised May 2020)
  • Case

Direct to Consumer Brands

By: Sunil Gupta
Recent years have seen the dramatic rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands by several startups. Many of these brands, such as Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s, Glossier, and Allbirds, entered mature markets dominated by established companies, and yet they grew rapidly to... View Details
Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Digital Marketing; Industry Evolution; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Change
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Gupta, Sunil. "Direct to Consumer Brands." Harvard Business School Case 520-060, January 2020. (Revised May 2020.)
  • 09 Feb 2023
  • Blog Post

The Sixth Year of Short Intensive Programs (SIPs) at HBS

three programs: Accelerating Climate Solutions; Africa Rising: Understanding Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Complexities of a Continent; and Moving Beyond DTC (Direct to Consumer). In Accelerating Climate Solutions, Professor Eleanor... View Details
  • May 2020 (Revised August 2022)
  • Teaching Note

Direct to Consumer Brands

By: Sunil Gupta
In recent years, we have seen a dramatic rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Many of these brands, such as Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s, Glossier, and Allbirds, entered mature markets dominated by established companies, and yet they grew rapidly to attain valuations... View Details
Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Digital Marketing; Industry Evolution; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Change; Consumer Behavior
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Gupta, Sunil. "Direct to Consumer Brands." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 520-118, May 2020. (Revised August 2022.)
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