Publications

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July 2008 (Revised March 2010)
Case

McDonald's Plan to Win (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karla Ingrid Gravis and Annette Kristine Rodriguez

As of 2007, McDonald's had made significant progress on its “Plan to Win,” and the company was rewarded by reaching an all-time high share price. However, McDonald's competitors had expanded beyond the typical fast food giants, such as Wendy's and Burger King, as... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Complexity; Supply and Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2019
Case

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome

By: Ayelet Israeli and David Lane

DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals. After a first year of trial rollout in... View Details

16 Jul 2014
HBS Case

Marketing Obamacare

healthcare legislation in the US ensured that it would be complex and tough to sell to the public, Quelch says. But that was just the problem: Congress and the Obama Administration didn't sell it. "Fundamentally, it's a marketing... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

April 2002 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Pension Plan of Bethlehem Steel, 2001, The

By: Peter Tufano

Bethlehem Steel's 2001 bankruptcy filing inspires an employee's daughter to evaluate her father's pension plan, weeks after September 11's tragedies exacerbated a weakening U.S. economy and just months before her father planned to retire. Battered equity markets and... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Financial Instruments; Retirement; Steel Industry; United States

14 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing

Updated to clarify a failure rate figure included in an earlier version. When planning new products, companies often start by segmenting their markets and positioning their merchandise accordingly. This... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Service; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

October 2008
Class Lecture

Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals

By: Das Narayandas, David E. Bell, Anita Elberse, John T. Gourville, David B. Godes, John A. Quelch, Gail J. McGovern, Luc R. Wathieu and Marta Wosinska

Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals will help today's business executives and tomorrow's business leaders understand the key elements of a successful marketing strategy. The multimedia resource includes video lectures by Harvard Business School faculty,... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Framework; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Planning; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation

Editorial

Why CEOs Should Share Their Long-Term Plans with Investors

By: Christina Rehnberg, George Serafeim and Brian Tomlinson

Rather than requiring less short-term information, the key to combating short-termism is to encourage companies to share more information about their long-term plans. Analysis of companies that have done so suggests that long-term plans are not mere marketing... View Details

Keywords: CEO; Investor Relations; Disclosure; Long-term Growth; Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Strategy; Corporate Disclosure

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June 2016
Case

Aggressive Growth Plans For Zimmer Spine

By: Kevin Schulman and Miranda Shaw

Steve Healy, the President of Zimmer Spine, has to transform his organization into a market leader. Zimmer is a major medical device firm, but the Spine division has underperformed, and its core technology did not get the expanded FDA label that had been expected. The... View Details

Keywords: Medical Device; Organizational Innovation; Organizational Growth; Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2015
Other Teaching and Training Material

Competitive Strategies Marketing Reading

By: Jill Avery and Sunil Gupta

Core Curriculum Readings in Marketing cover the fundamental concepts, theories, and frameworks that business students must study.
This Reading illuminates the dynamics of companies in competition and offers a process for planning and executing marketing... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy

November 2020
Teaching Note

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-010. DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals.... View Details

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (F): Future Growth Plans

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case describes Keroche co-founder Tabitha Karanja’s 2012 decision to invest in additional production capacity. In November 2012, with a loan from Barclay’s bank, Keroche began constructing a new state-of-the-art beer brewery using German technology. The new plant,... View Details

October 2010
Article

Unleashing the Power of Marketing

By: Beth Comstock, Ranjay Gulati and Stephen A Liguori

The article examines marketing management at General Electric Co. (GE). The transformation of the company's marketing department into an integral part of product development, product management, and strategic planning after years of relative neglect is considered.... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Product Marketing; Strategic Planning; Human Resources; Marketing Strategy; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry

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2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Marketing Reading: Sales Force Design and Management

By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

This Core Curriculum Reading introduces students to (1) the importance of sales force design in implementing organizational strategy, and (2) the role of sales force management in linking structures and processes to behaviors. The material combines theoretical... View Details

Keywords: Sales Budget; Sales Compensation; Sales Cycle; Sales Force Management; Sales Forces; Sales Management; Sales Operations; Sales Organization; Sales Planning; Sales Strategy

October 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board: October 2012

By: Josh Lerner, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Nathaniel Burbank

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the largest and fastest-growing pools of investment capital in the world and follows an unusually active program of investment management. In October of 2012, Mark Wiseman was just 12 weeks into his role as... View Details

Keywords: Canada; CPPIB; Pensions; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; Canada

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Roush Performance: How to Design a Sales Force Compensation Plan

By: Doug J. Chung

Roush Performance manufactured and marketed factory-modified performance vehicles and high-end aftermarket automotive performance parts. Since its inception, Roush Performance had focused on building its engineering technology competency and diversifying its product... View Details

Keywords: Sales Force Management; Motivation; Compensation; Salary; Commissions; Bonuses; Quotas; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives

October 2004 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready to Market

By: Elie Ofek

Lilly and ICOS are preparing for the launch of a new drug, Cialis, to compete against Viagra. To position against the incumbent firm Pfizer, which developed and markets Viagra, and other newcomers into the erectile dysfunction market, they must determine how best to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2010 (Revised January 2017)
Background Note

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Customer Lifetime Value Analysis (2024)

By: Thomas Steenburgh and Jill Avery

Customers are increasingly being viewed as assets that bring value to the firm. Customer lifetime value is a metric that allows managers to understand the overall value of their customer base and relate it to three customer strategies firms employ: asset... View Details

Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Return On Investment; Customer Acquisition; Customer Retention; Customer Churn; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Value

June 1997 (Revised February 2000)
Case

Walker and Company: Profit Plan Decisions

By: Robert L. Simons and Ramsey Walker

Ramsey Walker, a second-year MBA student, must decide how to control a family business as an absentee owner. After providing background details on the publishing industry, the case requires the reader to: 1) make a product segmentation decision; 2) prepare a profit... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Family and Family Relationships; Market Design; Management Systems; Planning; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Segmentation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Return; Publishing Industry

September 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

G.I. JOE: Marketing an Icon

In the winter of 2003, Billy Lagor, the Hasbro toy company's brand manager for G.I. JOE, faced a set of decisions that would ultimately determine the 2004 marketing plan for the G.I. JOE brand. Under consideration were three different ways to market the military action... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; United States