Publications

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March 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Teaching Note

Camera IQ and the Metaverse: Building Augmented Reality Brand Experiences

By: Jill Avery

Camera IQ, a camera marketing software company that empowered brands to create and launch augmented reality experiences (AREs) across social platforms, had just raised an additional $5 million to fund further product development and expand its marketing and sales... View Details

January 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Adeo Health Science: Turning a Product into a Brand

By: Elizabeth A. Keenan and Jill Avery

For decades, American parents were warned to avoid introducing potential allergens to their babies prior to their first birthday. But two influential clinical studies caused the medical establishment to radically reverse its position. Parents were now warned that... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Health Care; Consumer; Consumer Products; Branding; Distribution; Retailing; Go To Market Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; United States; North America

October 1995 (Revised January 1998)
Case

Heineken N.V.: Global Branding and Advertising

By: John A. Quelch

Heineken managers are evaluating the results of the research projects designed to identify the values of the Heineken brand and to translate these into effective advertising messages. View Details

Keywords: Value; Advertising Campaigns; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry

30 Apr 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Brand Management

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered Does branding work for business-to-business marketing? Can individuals... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Sports; Publishing; Auto

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Peeling Back the Global Brand

Few would argue that detergent is about as dull a product as might exist. Yet the odyssey of laundry soap and dishwashing liquid in Europe, according to two presenters, shines a streak of sunlight on some of the messier issues of marketing, specifically the persistent... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products; Retail

November 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

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: Personal Care; Startup; Brand Equity; Brand Valuation; Brand Value; Brand Storytelling; Brand Management; Brands and Branding; Valuation; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Japan

May 2020
Teaching Note

Kraft Heinz: The $8 Billion Brand Write-Down

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-076. On Friday, February 22, 2019, following an unexpected and disappointing earnings report, The Kraft Heinz Company’s stock price fell 27%, wiping out $16 billion in market value. CEO Bernardo Hees had announced that the company had... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

the case of the Red Cross, the negative impact extended to other Red Cross organizations located in Europe that registered a decline in donations even though they had been in no way implicated. Q: You cite a study by Interbrand that found that Habitat for Humanity has... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

July 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Work is Good: Branding the Employ+Ability Mission

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Monica Higgins and Susan Saltrick

Employ+Ability, a small company employing developmentally disabled adults, finds itself competing with low-cost producers of its core products-therapeutic hot and cold packs. How might an innovative branding campaign, centered on the company's core value of "Work Is... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Values and Beliefs; Brands and Branding; Competition

Find at Harvard

09 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Starbucks’ Lessons for Premium Brands

"Stores no longer have the soul of the past and reflect a chain of stores vs. the warm feeling of a neighborhood store." Starbucks tried to add value through innovation, offering wi-fi service and creating and selling its own... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail

October 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

AI and Brand Management: Promises and Perils

By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek

As AI gains traction across industries, companies anticipate that AI will revolutionize both backend processes and customer-facing interactions—with brands eager to leverage AI for tailored marketing materials and automated consumer engagements. Yet, despite a dramatic... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Brands and Branding; Reputation; Technology Adoption; Competitive Advantage

2002
Working Paper

Brands Matter: An Empirical Investigation of Brand-Building Activities and the Creation of Shareholder Value

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07 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Can Brand Trump Win a Presidency?

lifestyle, these other products can add brand value and, being produced by others under license, they deliver some extra profit to the Trump organization. "In the world of representative democracy, you... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Advertising; Media & Broadcasting

23 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

How to Brand a Next-Generation Product

excitement among prospective consumers who value new bells and whistles over small improvements. On the other hand, customers may worry that new features pose the risk of new glitches and a steep learning curve. It's important for a firm... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

10 Sep 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Branding Yoga

offered up a religion's spiritual wealth at the altar of crass commercialism." The other side of the argument focuses on business rather than religion. "It's all about creating value for a large audience. By using marketing and... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

03 Nov 2014
Research & Ideas

Brand Lessons From the Nobel Prize

stand for, and what they are," Urde and Greyser say. "As one laureate said to us, 'This is the prize that was awarded to Albert Einstein.' Enough said." Core values: "The core values are in The Will," Greyser says. "The essence of the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Article

How Direct-to-Consumer Brands Can Continue to Grow

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Daniel Corsten, Matt Higgins and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands such as Allbirds, Casper, Peloton, and Warby Parker have creatively found a weakness in the marketing citadel of incumbent brands. By using data gleaned from daily interactions with customers, these brands have been able to adapt how... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Customer Journey; Business Model; Customer Relationship Management; Growth and Development Strategy