Publications

19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

Thanks (or no thanks) to social media, brand managers have lost the power to control the perception of their products through carefully orchestrated advertising campaigns. These days, consumers are in command. With an angry tweet, a happy... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

September–October 2024
Article

How AI Can Power Brand Management

By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek

Marketers have begun experimenting with AI to improve their brand-management efforts. But unlike other marketing tasks, brand management involves more than just repeatedly executing one specialized function. Long considered the exclusive domain of creative talent, it... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; AI and Machine Learning; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Customer Focus and Relationships

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Teaching Note

Brand Activism: Nike and Colin Kaepernick

By: Jill Avery and Koen Pauwels

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-046. Nike’s selection of politically polarizing Colin Kaepernick as the spokesperson for the thirtieth anniversary of its iconic “Just Do It” campaign catapulted the brand into the media spotlight and made it a political flashpoint... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Sports Industry; United States; North America

September 2015
Teaching Plan

Building Brand Infosys

By: Rohit Deshpandé

October 2001
Case

Healthcare Brands Corporation

By: David F. Hawkins

A U.K. and a U.S. firm are entering into a merger agreement. Management must decide whether the merged companies should be domiciled in the United Kingdom and account for the merger as a pooling of interests or the United States and account for the merger as a... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Contracts; Health Industry; United Kingdom; United States

01 Mar 2021
Blog Post

Building Sustainable Brands

Prior to attending HBS, Liz Thomas worked at Colgate-Palmolive, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Crossmark with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Since graduating from HBS in 2018, Liz joined General Mills in a management role. We... View Details

November 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

UnME Jeans: Branding in Web 2.0

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

This case introduces emerging Web 2.0 social media in virtual worlds, social networking sites, and video-sharing sites and encourages students to explore the opportunities and risks they present for brands. The case allows students to grapple with the strategic and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Risk and Uncertainty; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry

October 1995 (Revised January 1998)
Case

Heineken N.V.: Global Branding and Advertising

By: John A. Quelch

Heineken managers are evaluating the results of the research projects designed to identify the values of the Heineken brand and to translate these into effective advertising messages. View Details

Keywords: Value; Advertising Campaigns; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry

September 23, 2004
Article

Case Study: Global Brands

By: John A. Quelch

November 1999 (Revised April 2001)
Case

General Brands Corporation (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

Keywords: Consumer Products Industry

Find at Harvard

10 Sep 2012
News

HBS Cases: Branding Yoga

01 Apr 2008
News

The Brand Called Obama

23 Apr 2012
News

How to Brand a Next-Generation Product

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

attractive. Why? The reason might be an increasing willingness on the part of consumers to identify with the underdog. In today's economically difficult times, it appears, underdog brands are gaining psychological, and real, power in the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

04 May 2009
Research & Ideas

What’s Next for the Big Financial Brands

headquarters reminds us that a brand is a precious asset. The value of any brand asset depends upon whether it has delivered on its past promises and is believed likely to do so in the future. It takes years... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Banking; Financial Services

October 29, 2020
Article

How to Build a Digital Brand That Lasts

By: William Collis and David Collis

What makes a brand durable even as business models, technology and consumer behavior radically change? The key is that durable brands are adaptable brands—even legacy ones. To create durability, apply the MACE framework: 1) Mastery: Give your consumers... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Model; Adaptation; Framework

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

September 2022 (Revised January 2025)
Case

The Pokémon Company: Evolving into an Everlasting Brand

By: Tomomichi Amano and Masaki Nomura

Super Bowl 50, the fiftieth annual championship game of the American National Football League played in February 2016, featured 52 commercials, and brands spent more than six million dollars each for a 30-second commercial slot. Surprisingly, the commercial that... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Growth and Development Strategy; Video Game Industry; Japan

March–April 2020
Article

Pricing Policies that Protect your Brand

By: Ayelet Israeli and Eugene F. Zelek Jr.

When customers seek out online deals, it seems like a win for everybody: Brands, retailers, dealers, and distributors sell more goods, and buyers get a bargain. What's not to like? Here's the problem: Lured by rock-bottom online prices, customers often end up dealing... View Details

Keywords: Price; Policy; Brands and Branding; E-commerce