Publications

01 Dec 2016
News

Vive la Madeleine!

he made in the food industry were equally discouraging. “They told me I was crazy, that Jeannette was dead, that near the end they had been producing the worst madeleines in France. To restart production and... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; illustrations by Natalya Balnova

01 Sep 2010
News

Start-Ups Make Their Pitch

industry to the production of mechanical (“dumb”) and electronic (“smart”) beds. Eventually, he expects to develop an entire suite of compact hospital room furnishings. The Alumni New Venture Contest was created with two goals in mind: to... View Details

Keywords: awards; Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing; Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing

May 2000
Case

J & B

Michael Stoner finds himself called upon to reposition a once venerable and highly profitable brand of Scotch whisky. He must find a cultural trend. View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Product Positioning; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

15 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

arrangements from the perspective of the "elephants"? A: Most successful large companies excel at business planning, allocation of capital, and execution. Many are also good at product innovation in the small, continuous... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Pivots and Incentives at LevelUp

By: Benjamin Edelman and Karen Webster

LevelUp's mobile payments service lets users scan a smartphone barcode rather than swipe a credit card. Will consumers embrace the service? Will merchants? LevelUp considers adjustments to make the service attractive to both consumers and merchants, while trying to... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Payments; Smartphone; Credit Cards; Interchange Fee; Mobile Marketing; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Mobile Technology; Technology Networks; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

01 Mar 2006
News

The Little Ice-Cream Company That Could

his position. He threatened to print on the side panel of every container of Dreyer’s ice cream the following message: “Kraft, manufacturer of such quality products as Velveeta, Cheez Whiz, and the like, has come to us after we’ve used... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing

25 Apr 2016
News

Trail Blazer

Photography by Alexander Rubin Chuck McMinn (MBA 1978) has worked at enough in startups to know that the only guarantee in technology is that today’s hot product will eventually be replaced by more innovative technology. That’s why... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

December 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Teaching Note

Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Lauren G. Pickle and Greg Saldutte

In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business which included several leading consumer brands such as Vegemite, the iconic Australian... View Details

December 2013 (Revised October 2014)
Case

The Munich Oktoberfest: From Local Tradition to Global Capitalism

By: Juan Alcacer, Christian Bettinger and Andreas Philippi

Oktoberfest, an annual festival held in Munich (Germany) for more than 200 years, has grown in recent decades into a hugely popular event that attracts 7 million visitors annually, a large proportion of which are foreign. In fact, Oktoberfest's global appeal is so... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Product Positioning; Marketing Channels; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; Munich; Brazil; Bangalore; Beijing

November 1983 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Edward J. Hoff

On January 2, 1983 Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom had to develop a plan to defend its successful Diet Pepsi brand against the about to be introduced diet Coke. Contains useful material on competitive behavior and on U.S. versus U.K. consumer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Planning; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom; United States

November 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Russian Standard

By: Rohit Deshpande and Seth Schulman

In September 2006, Russian billionaire Roustam Tariko, founder and owner of Russian Standard, needed to develop a strategy for introducing Russia's most popular brand of premium vodka (RSO) to American consumers. In the past year, he had introduced Imperia, the firm's... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia; United States

March 1996 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Dewar's (B): Preliminary Results of the Repositioning Campaign

By: Alvin J. Silk and Lisa Klein Pearo

Reports the strategic choices made by Dewar's and briefly describes the implementation of the campaign from its launch in September 1993 through September 1995. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Food and Beverage Industry