Publications

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November 2013
Case

Groupon for Local Businesses

By: Thales Teixeira and Leora Kornfeld

Local businesses' experiences with using Groupon to promote themselves ran the gamut of roaring success to absolute failure. Why is there such a large range in outcomes for firms that used daily deal sites such as Groupon? This case examines the effectiveness of online... View Details

Keywords: Online Business; Online Marketing; Digital Marketing; Marketing; Advertising Industry; North and Central America

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

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

winter 2001
Article

Interpreting Consumer Perceptions of Advertising: An Application of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique

By: Robin A. Coulter, Gerald Zaltman and Keith S. Coulter

Keywords: Customers; Perception; Advertising

Find at Harvard

Video

Dr. Laura Catena

Dr. Laura Catena, Managing Director of Bodega Catena Zapata, explains the importance of reputation in the wine industry and outlines marketing strategies that have helped her winery surpass the competition. View Details

18 Nov 2019
Video

Adi Godrej

Adi Godrej, Chair of the India-based consumer products Godrej Group, describes the difficulties... View Details

Profile

Rachel Honeth

television station in South Bend, Indiana. But while pursuing her undergraduate degree at Northwestern, she discovered that, "I was interested in the marketing and advertising aspect of sports rather than television." After... View Details

07 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Can Brand Trump Win a Presidency?

In the marketplace, Brand Trump is authentic. It stands for aspiration and success, but more the ostentatious and flashy success that appeals to the newly wealthy, the entrepreneur, the outsider. For these consumers, brand Trump clearly delivers; Trump hotels, and... View Details

Keywords: by John A. 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

01 Oct 1998
News

Short Takes

recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, HBS assistant professor Charles King III investigates whether, indeed, cigarette companies advertise to magazine readers between the ages of 12 and 17. As King and... View Details

Keywords: Eileen K. McCluskey

Mary W. Lawrence

Lawrence built one of the fastest growing advertising agencies in the 20th century, earning billings of over $100 million in less than five years. She broke the conventional mold of television advertising by... View Details

Keywords: Services

02 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Why People Don’t Vote--and How a Good Ground Game Helps

Democracy has a dirty little secret. Despite the fever pitch over presidential primaries this year, the truth is there are few people actually voting. Before the most recent round of voting, only some 11 percent of eligible Democrats voted in the primaries, and the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Communications; Public Relations

10 Nov 2008
Research Event

Social Media Leads the Future of Technology

Internet-connected televisions, social media, and the power of simplicity were all cited as launch pads for future innovation in technology, according to a panel of experts that convened at Harvard Business School as part of the HBS Centennial Business Summit in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Profile

Linda Leung

Physics Laboratories’ research into potential flights to Mars, reflect one of Linda’s lifelong ambitions: “To work on things no has worked on before.” From plasma physics to online advertising Although Linda retains a fascination with... View Details

19 Sep 2016
News

A Streamlined Time Inc.

only do we create this amazing, premium content, and we also produce at scale, but at the same time, we’re actually taking that content and layering on top of it technology and data insights and targeting opportunities that are creating a whole slew of new... View Details

November 1991 (Revised October 1993)
Supplement

British Airways: ""Go for It, America!"" Promotion (B)

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Provides details on the results of the campaign for British Airways (BA) in terms of expenditure by BA, press coverage, effect on bookings, and effect on overall market share. View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Cost Management; Information Publishing; Marketing Strategy; Market Participation; Aerospace Industry