Publications

March 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Blogging at BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth marketing firm. The founder, Dave Balter, sees blogs as an important way to communicate BzzAgent's unique positioning: transparency. He sees the firm's blog--the BeeLog--as a way for the firm to participate in conversations with clients,... View Details

Keywords: Blogs; Marketing Communications; Social and Collaborative Networks; Advertising Industry

January 2008 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Microsoft adCenter

By: Peter Coles and Benjamin Edelman

Microsoft considers alternatives to expand its presence in online advertising, especially text-based pay-per-click advertising. Google dominates, and it is unclear how Microsoft can grow, despite considerable technical and financial resources. Microsoft considers a set... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Competition; Advertising Industry

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 25 Apr 2017
Webinars: Trending@HBS

A Recipe for Digital Disruption

In recent years, a new wave of digital disruption has been taking over the Internet. In this talk, Associate Professor Teixeira will show how a variety of firms, both incumbents and startups, are using digital technologies to break the bonds between activities that... View Details

Barbara G. Proctor

Proctor launched the first adverting agency owned and managed by an African-American woman in 1970. She gained a strong reputation for integrity by refusing to accept assignments for objectionable products and advertising that demeaned... View Details

Keywords: Services

29 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Hunting for a Hot Job in High Tech? Try 'Digitization Economist'

problems like advertising auctions and market design. The accelerating phenomenon has given rise to a new field within economics called the economics of digitization. Research from the field is quickly finding its way into practice,... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Technology; Education

November 2016
Case

But, It's For a Good Cause

By: Elizabeth Keenan and John Gourville

Companies have long tried to enhance consumers’ perceptions of their firms and the products they sell in a variety of ways. Such efforts include the development of a brand image that the public views favorably, as in the case of Apple. It extends to the development of... View Details

Keywords: Social Change; Marketing And Society; Social Marketing; Brands and Branding; Customers; Perception; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Partners and Partnerships; Trends; Environmental Sustainability

September 2015 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Managing Consumer Touchpoints at Nissan Japan

By: Thales Teixeira, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In 2015, Nissan was third place in the Japanese auto market, behind Toyota and Honda. The challenge of increasing market share was that 80% of car shoppers who were non-Nissan owners did not consider Nissan during their purchase process. This process involved three... View Details

Keywords: Nissan; Automobiles; Cars; Touch Points; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Advertising; Auto Industry; Japan

February 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

What's the Deal with LivingSocial?

By: Michael I. Norton, Luc Wathieu, Betsy Page Sigman and Marco Bertini

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"—in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Management; Web Services Industry

October 1982 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Johnson Wax: Enhance (A)

Johnson Wax has produced a new hair conditioner for problem hair. Before committing themselves to test market, they analyze the new product using a field based, pretest-market procedure called ASSESSOR. The testing reveals product positioning, advertising, and... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Analysis; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

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

14 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

How to Profit from Scarcity

Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.Marketers are trained to match supply to demand. Everything that consumers need should be... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising; Advertising

September 1989 (Revised January 1991)
Case

Massachusetts Lottery

By: John A. Quelch

Describes the role of state lotteries, lottery marketing, and the operation of the Massachusetts State Lottery, including reference to Massachusetts lottery advertising. Highlights the success of state lotteries while also noting growing criticism, particularly of... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Marketing; Advertising; Government and Politics; Public Administration Industry; Massachusetts