Publications

June 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Sephora Direct: Investing in Social Media, Video, and Mobile

By: Elie Ofek and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Julie Bornstein, senior vice president of Sephora Direct, is seeking to double her budget for social media and other digital marketing initiatives for 2011. A number of digital efforts implemented in the past two years seem to be bearing fruit and there is a desire to... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Emerging Markets; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Budgets and Budgeting

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Marketing Capabilities

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

P&G had become known and recognized as a marketing machine. It was the largest advertiser in the world, with 2010 spending of $8.68 billion. From the company's early exploitation of broadcast media (radio and television) for its soap products to more recent experiments... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Reckitt Benckiser: Fast and Focused Innovation

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

Since its 1999 merger Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a global consumer goods company, led by its CEO Bart Becht, RB developed a reputation for rapid product innovation and industry leading profit margins. RB's stated strategy was to focus on its Powerbrands and high growth... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Commercialization; Consumer Products Industry

May 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Nike Football: World Cup 2010 South Africa

By: Elie Ofek and Ryan Johnson

Nike's Football division needs to devise a strategy to excel at the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa. Nike has gone from a niche player in the market for football apparel and footwear in 1994 to a formidable competitor to Adidas in 2008 (with revenues of over $1... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Business Divisions; Communication; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Planning; Competition; Apparel and Accessories Industry; South Africa

May–June 2011
Article

The Uninvited Brand

By: Susan Fournier and Jill Avery

Brands rushed into social media, viewing social networks, video sharing, online communities, and microblogging sites as the panacea to diminishing returns for traditional brand building routes. But, as more branding activity moves to the web, marketers are confronted... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands; Brand Building; Brand Management; Digital Marketing; Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Social Media; Advertising Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2011
Case

Samsung and Google TV

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Prithvi Raj and Crystal Jean Marrie

This case describes Samsung's decision on how to pursue the growing market opportunity for internet-connected televisions, which enable consumers to access a range of web-based content including basic information (e.g. stock quotes, weather, news headlines, RSS feeds,... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Electronics Industry

April 2011 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), confronted in 2003 with an urgent need to change how it operated externally, adopted a highly innovative approach to communicating internally. This case, set in 2010, presents an overview of the new, more interactive model of employee... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; India

April 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Case

EMC2: Delivering Customer Centricity

By: Thomas Steenburgh and Jill Avery

This case introduces the concept of customer centricity and traces its development at EMC, the world's leading data storage hardware and information management software company. EMC's customers had historically relied on EMC salespeople to guide them through the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Interpersonal Communication; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Acquisition; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Salesforce Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet; Information Technology Industry

March 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Demand Media

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Google search had helped Demand Media grow to be a $1.9 billion online publisher. Then, social media and smartphone apps began to change the way people navigated the Internet. How should Demand Media respond? The business ran on a radically new model in which a stable... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Information Publishing; Consumer Behavior; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry

March 2011
Case

MorphoSys AG: The Evolution of a Biotechnology Business Model

By: Gary P. Pisano, Ryan Johnson and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the biotech world, the 18-year-old Munich-based company MorphoSys was a rarity: it was profitable. The company achieved this profitability not by developing and selling its own drugs, but by licensing access to its proprietary library of human antibodies. Recently,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Profit; Intellectual Property; Rights; Risk Management; Digital Platforms; Product Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Vertical Integration; Biotechnology Industry; Munich

March 2011
Module Note

Strategic Marketing in Creative Industries: The Promise of Digital Technology

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Technology

March 3, 2011
Article

Can We Finally Eradicate Bad Products?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Keywords: Technology; Digital Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Marketing

Register to Read

March 1, 2011
Article

Technology Will Make Collaboration Your Next Competitive Advantage

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Keywords: Technology; Digital Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Marketing

Read Now

February 2011 (Revised November 2013)
Case

The Cheezburger Network

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Cheezburger Network was a Web publisher of humorous, user-contributed content, using social media for dissemination, and selling advertising against the traffic of 1 billion page views per quarter. In January 2011, it raised $30 million in venture capital for the... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Digital Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Sales; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry; Web Services Industry

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

PatientsLikeMe: An Online Community of Patients

By: Sunil Gupta and Jason Riis

PatientsLikeMe (PLM) is an online community where patients share their personal experiences with a disease, find other patients like them, and learn from each other. The company was founded by Jamie and Ben Heywood when their 29-year-old brother was diagnosed with ALS... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Health Disorders; Knowledge Sharing; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Health Industry

February 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

The Ford Fiesta

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Executives at Ford wondered if social media could be the marketing solution for the launch of the youth-oriented 2010 Fiesta. But with social media came a ceding of control. Some at the company believed that if Ford was going to move beyond its conservative brand image... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Digital Marketing; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Standards; Auto Industry

February 13, 2011
Article

Google's Search Gold Mine Could Tap Out

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Marketing

Read Now

February 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Online Marketing at Big Skinny

By: Benjamin Edelman and Scott Duke Kominers

Describes a wallet maker's application of seven Internet marketing technologies: display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, social media, interactive content, online distributors, and A/B testing. Provides concise introductions to the key features of each... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Digital Marketing; Resource Allocation; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry

February 2011
Case

oDesk: Changing How the World Works

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Jennifer M. Tydlaska

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace which matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consulting Industry