Publications

June 2016
Case

Publicis Groupe 2016: Maurice and the Millennials

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Having built Publicis Groupe through acquisitions maintained as separate brands, CEO Maurice Lévy wanted to transform the advertising and marketing firm to an integrated digital-ready enterprise to address industry changes. In early 2016, following a reorganization, he... View Details

30 Dec 2016
News

Walter E. Mattson, Former President of New York Times, Dies at 84

Keywords: newspapers; digital media; negotiation; manufacturing; leadership; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet)

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: John A. Deighton

I teach about the ecosystem of big data, the role of data in advertising and creative industries, and customer management and personal privacy in an era of individual addressability. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Database Marketing; Social Media; Data Analytics; Information; Advertising; Marketing; Media; Technology; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

May 2008
Supplement

Hasbro Games -- POX (A) and (B), Supporting Video

By: Elie Ofek

The video contains advertisements and media related clips regarding the launch of Hasbro's POX handheld game. View Details

Keywords: Media; Advertising; Product Launch; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2012
Working Paper

No News Is Good News: CSR Strategy and Newspaper Coverage of Negative Firm Events

By: Jiao Luo, Stephan Meier and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

One of the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, it has been argued, is that they build up a reservoir of public good will, shielding companies in times of trouble. In this paper, we test the view that CSR provides protection from public ire by... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Crisis Management; Media; Newspapers; Business and Community Relations; Corporate Strategy

Read Now

February 2025
Teaching Note

Influencer-Led Brand Building: Hairitage and the McKnights

By: William R. Kerr and James Palano

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 825-066. Mindy McKnight started in 2009 as an early influencer on social media whose videos of creative hairstyles for girls launched her family on an entrepreneurship journey. The McKnights transitioned from YouTube ad revenue to brand... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Social Media; Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Power and Influence; Expansion; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

17 Jun 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Comprehensive Effects of a Digital Paywall Sales Strategy

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Ho Kim, and Reo Song; Media & Broadcasting

2017
Government Testimony

Passenger Right to Record—Petition for Rulemaking

By: Benjamin Edelman and Mike Borsetti

We ask DOT to affirm that passengers have the right to record what they lawfully see and hear on and around aircraft. We explain why such recordings are in the public interest, and we present the troubling experiences of passengers who have tried to record but have... View Details

Keywords: Aviation; Consumer Protection; Recording; Video; Audio; Privacy; Social Media; Air Transportation; Rights; Contracts; Air Transportation Industry

Read Now

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details

November 2018
Case

The Bundesliga in the U.S.

By: Stephen A. Greyser, Sascha L. Schmidt and Florian Holzmayer

The Bundesliga, Germany’s premier football (soccer) league, is assessing its global broadcast and marketing strategy, with special focus on the very lucrative but highly competitive U.S. market. Its CEO Christian Seifert believed that a strong international position... View Details

Keywords: Media; Sports; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

2018 Boston: Harvard Business Review Press Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business By: Gupta, Sunil Abstract—Disruption and transformation get a lot of hype and for good reason.... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Dec 2020
News

New News

Edited by Julia Hanna Courtesy Michael Aft Courtesy Snigdha Sur Courtesy Michael Aft Courtesy Snigdha Sur Michael Aft (MBA 2019) and Snigdha Sur (MBA 2017) would be the first to acknowledge that launching a digital View Details

Keywords: entrepreneuship; digital media; startups; news; business models; young alumni; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services

July 2020
Case

Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

By: Steven Rogers, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alterrell Mills

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community... View Details

January 2014
Teaching Note

Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (A), (B) & (C)

By: John Quelch

Keywords: Advertising Media; Viral Advertising; Viral Marketing; Public Safety; Advertising; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Oceania; Europe

December 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Ebony Magazine

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Jackson

For nearly 75 years, the Johnson Publishing Company has been the most successful African American magazine publisher. Its flagship Ebony magazine was an iconic coffee table fixture for decades in black households of all classes, making founder John H. Johnson... View Details

2016
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Harvey Freishtat and Conversations about End-of-Life Care

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ai-Ling Jamila Malone and Oludamilola Aladesanmi

Former law firm chairman/CEO Harvey Freishtat was actively involved in the formation of The Conversation Project, a national public engagement campaign to promote earlier end-of-life care discussions among loved ones and then with providers to ensure that end-of-life... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Education; Health Care Reform; Health Care Policy; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Leadership; Health Industry

January 2007 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Clear Channel Communications, Inc.

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Carole Winkler

Discusses the rise of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (CC) as the most important radio broadcasting company in the United States. While CC can look back on a glorious past, it faces a multitude of business issues: radio listenership is in decline, media deregulation... View Details

Keywords: History; Media; Performance Effectiveness; Public Opinion; Business and Government Relations; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Saving Face by Making Meaning: The Negative Effects of Brand Communities' Self-serving Response to Brand Extensions

By: Jill Avery

An ethnographic study of a brand community following the launch of the Porsche Cayenne SUV finds that brand extensions can negatively affect the value of their parent brands. By studying the collective response to brand extensions of existing consumers and by... View Details

Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Brand Equity; Internet; Social Media; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Auto Industry

January 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Henry Luce and the American Century

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Logan Wilcox

Henry Luce, founder of the publishing company which produced Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, created the largest media company in the world by the mid-20th century. Luce's flagship magazine, Time, was able to gross over $20 million in sales during its... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Leadership Style; Emerging Markets; Publishing Industry; United States