Publications

November 2018 (Revised January 2022)
Case

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution

By: Michael W. Toffel, John Masko and Sarah Mehta

In late 2019, San Francisco-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) maker JUUL Labs (pronounced “jewel”) faced intense pressure. Sales of JUUL products exceeded $1 billion in 2018, dominating the e-cigarette category. While JUUL Labs’ stated goal was to help current... View Details

25 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Is Baseball Ready to Compete for the Next Generation of Fans?

New York Yankee slugger Aaron Judge, would surpass the $10.7 billion it reported in 2019—the last full season before pandemic interruptions. The league also signed new TV contracts with ESPN and TBS before this season, and next year will allow teams to display View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Media & Broadcasting; Sports

Web

Marketing Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

"Social Psychology of Organizations" at Harvard College. Sunil Gupta : Winner of the 2003 Best Paper Award from the Marketing Communications Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association for "Long Term Impact of Promotion and View Details

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: Cars on Time

market share in the 1920s. Ford, who believed that buying cars on credit was morally reprehensible, responded to GMAC with a surge in advertising and an unpopular program that encouraged customers to use their local Ford dealer as a... View Details

November 2022
Background Note

The Future of E-Commerce: Lessons from the Livestream Wars in China

By: Ayelet Israeli, Jeremy Yang and Billy Chan

This note explores the emerging multi-billion dollar commerce trend of livestream commerce. Livestream commerce is the sale of goods or services directly to consumers via live shows on digital platforms (such as social media or e-commerce platforms). It is a form of... View Details

July 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Athletic Brewing Company: Crafting the U.S. Non-Alcoholic Beer Category

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Athletic Brewing Company (“Athletic,” for short) was founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker in 2017. In creating Athletic, Shufelt and Walker opened the first U.S. brewery and taproom fully devoted to the production of non-alcoholic (NA) craft beer. By 2021, Athletic... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Product Design; Product; Competition; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2005 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Brighter Smiles for the Masses--Colgate vs. P&G

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis Yao and Filipa Azevedo Jorge

In 2000, Procter & Gamble Co. introduced Crest Whitestrips, a new, revolutionary product that allowed consumers to whiten their teeth at home. With Whitestrips, P&G created an entire new category in oral care, worth $460 million in 2002. Whitestrips sent P&G's main... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Advertising; Product Launch; Patents; Price; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry

22 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Side Effects: The Case of Propecia

You are the marketing director of Propecia, a new drug for hair restoration that's about to hit the market. But the drug can only be purchased via a physician's prescription. So do you advertise directly to balding men? Do you concentrate... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Pharmaceutical

April 2019 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Kraft Heinz: The $8 Billion Brand Write-Down

By: Jill Avery

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 taken a $15.4 billion asset write-down,... View Details

Richard S. Tedlow is the Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he is a specialist in the history of business.

Professor Tedlow received his B.A. from Yale in 1969 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from... View Details

Keywords: advertising; advertising; advertising; advertising; advertising; advertising

31 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

It’s Not All About Pay: College Grads Want Jobs That ‘Change the World’

potentially lowering wage inequality in the labor markets.” The findings come at a time that communities expect more from companies and HR departments wrestle with the vexing combination of economic concerns and labor shortages. While the authors don’t speculate on why... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

10 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

COVID-19 Lessons: Social Media Can Nudge More People to Get Vaccinated

Prevention—spent hundreds of millions of dollars on online advertising campaigns, aiming to encourage people to get vaccinated and to comply with other public health guidance. But was the public listening? More important, were people... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Health; Technology

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

Protect and Pivot Boris Groysberg, Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration. MARKETING Tip: Tailor your brand stories to the new reality. Which types of brand stories should companies tell? After KFC was chastised by the U.K. View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Mar 2021
News

My Favorite Case

lifelong lessons about personal priorities and career ambitions, humility, and confidence—and the incomparable kinship (and long memories) of sectionmates. “Suzuki Samurai” Suzuki and advertising agency executives are debating the product... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

September 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Pepsi-Lipton Brisk

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Alison Caverly

This case showcases key decisions in promoting the re-launch of Brisk, a ready-to-drink iced tea by Pepsi-Lipton. The decisions are: creative, media and metrics selection. It also deals with budget allocation to traditional (Super Bowl, television) and new (viral ads... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Advertising Campaigns; Decision Making; Media; Product Launch; Resource Allocation; Performance Effectiveness; Budgets and Budgeting; Food and Beverage Industry