The Tuck Marketing

Interview and Case Book

2001-02

VISIT US
http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/clubs/marketing/

The Tuck School at Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH 03755
 Tuck Marketing Case Book 2000-01

Contents
Page

1. Introduction 3
2. Interview Questions 4
3. Things Firms Look For 6
4. Theory 7
 Marketing Strategy
 Implementation of Strategy
 Product Life Cycle
 Buyer Behavior
 Growth and Capability Framework
5. General Case Framework 15
6. Cases with Solutions 17
7. Additional Cases 28

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1. Introduction
This is the first time that the Tuck Marketing Club is publishing an Interview and Case Book. The
purpose of this Casebook is to help people interviewing with Marketing as well as Consulting
interviews and cases.

We recognize that the Consulting Club’s Casebook already has a lot of material on Business
Frameworks, hence we have not included these in this book.

At the outset, we would like to thank several individuals who contributed to this book, previous chairs
of the Marketing Club, Tuck Faculty and Clubs in other business schools from whom we received
help.

Contributing Editors:

 Lowey Sichol
 Izzy Younger
 Rich Peden

Acknowledgements:

 Tuck Marketing Faculty: we have incorporated portions of their notes in this book
 Previous Chair, Steve Shames T’01
 The Kellogg School Marketing Club (from whose Case Book we have used some cases)

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2. Interview Questions
Background
 Why do you want to work in brand management/marketing?
 Why consulting/banking before and marketing now?
 What interests you about packaged goods, retail, etc. (industry you're interviewing for)
 What other companies are you interviewing with? Why?
 Why do you want to work for this company?
 What did you like about your job(s)? What didn’t you like?
 What was your favorite class? Least favorite? Why?
 Describe your ideal internship. Your ideal job.

Team player, leader, creative, analytical

 Tell me about a time when you led a team. Participated in a team.

 Give me an example of when you demonstrated leadership.
 Tell me about a time when you had to work in a team and someone was very difficult to work
with, not cooperating. How did you handle the situation?
 Discuss an example of a situation when you had to persuade a person of a different view to
agree with you on an issue.
 Give me an example of a time you solved a complex problem.
 Describe a project that required you to be creative.
 Given what you’ve learned at Tuck, what would you change about your old company?
 Tell me about your ManEc/ManComm experience.

Personal characteristics, goal oriented, structured thought

 Why did you go to business school? Why Tuck? Has Tuck met your expectations?
 How would someone in your group/team describe you?
 What are your strengths?
 What sets you apart from other candidates I have interviewed today?
 In what kind of work environment do you do best?
 What is your greatest weakness, and how to you deal with it?
 Describe your biggest failure and what you did to address the situation.

Marketing frameworks and concepts

 Name a product that you think is well marketed? Why? If you were in charge of marketing
that product, what would you do next?
 Name a product that you think is poorly marketed? Why? What would you do differently?
 Tell me about an advertisement you liked/ disliked and why.

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 Which of our products do you think needs help and what would you do to fix it?
 Pretend I'm a venture capital person and I'm prepared to give you as much money as you need
to start a new business. What business would you start, and how would you convince me to
offer you the money you need?
 You are charged with marketing a candy bar in the U.S. that has been very successful in the
United Kingdom. What things should you consider in bringing the product to market in the
US?
 What if you had the opportunity to run the concession stands at the next Super Bowl. What
would you do (no limits) to maximize sales/profits?
 You are the new brand manager for Jello and you can only have 3 lines from the P&L. Which
lines do you want?

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3. Things Firms Look For

Think STARR:
 Situation - "Our brand was losing market share and a new competitor has just…"
 Tasks - "Our department had to do XYZ and my role was…"
 Analysis/ actions - "I completed the NPV and during the course of my analysis I found…"
 Recommendations - "Based on those findings, I made the following recommendation…"
 Results - "As a result, sales increased by…"

Be a good storyteller so the interviewer remembers you!

Demonstrate the following characteristics

 Leadership
 Creativity
 Analytic Ability
 Initiative
 Teamwork
 Results oriented

General Interviewing Tips

 Know the Company
 Know the Job
 Know your Strengths
 Know your Weaknesses
 Be passionate

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4. THEORY - Marketing Strategy

Environment
 The consumer trend is…
 The company strengths are…
 The competitive threat is…
 The financial constraint is…
 The main marketing issue/ challenge/ opportunity is…
 I recommend…

Customer Needs
 Consumers buy the product because they need/ value…
 The most important attributes are…
 The substitutes are…
 Where/ how/ when do they buy the product?
 How do they use the product?

Segmenting
 The most relevant way to segment the market is…

Targeting
 The appeal of my product to each segment is…
 The intensity of the competitive battle for each segment is…
 The size of each segment is…
 The growth trend of each segment is…
 The profitability/life time value of the average customer in each segment is…
 If I target this segment, I believe I could reach my break-even of…
 Therefore, I select segment X as my target….

Positioning
 Niche: The best chocolate at a premium price (Godiva)
 Mass market: A tasty chocolate treat, at a reasonable cost (Hershey)
 Low cost: Good chocolate at the lowest price you can find (Private Label)
 Other: Best service, state-of-the-art innovative, most variety of flavors, most environmentally
safe, "Volvo is the safest most durable wagon in which your family can ride"…
 My positioning can be described as XX quality for YY price
 Are we differentiating ourselves on an attribute that these customers think is important?
 How easy is it for competitors to copy or differentiating factor?
 How much will customers pay vs. how much will it cost us to offer?

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Implementation of Strategy: 4Ps

Product
 Product design and features
 Quality, features, product design, brand name, packaging, size
 Services that go along with the product - warranty, 1-800 number, 24 hour service, free
delivery

Price
 Price should communicate the relative positioning in the competitive landscape (higher/lower
than competition)
 Price I charge is based on the variable cost and the economic value to the customer (EVC)
 Pricing strategy will reflect the positioning (skim vs. penetration). Could include phased
pricing approach (expensive at the beginning and cheap later…)
 Volume discounts to the large customers…

Promotion
 Options for promotions are: advertising, public relations, coupons, sweepstakes, direct mail,
free samples, etc.
 There are different promotional needs (awareness, trial, brand switching) during the different
phases of the product life cycle. The mix of promotions should change accordingly.
 Positioning will also drive promotional needs. For example, niche player will be more likely
to do direct mail than national TV advertising.
 Promotions can be used to accelerate the adoption of new technology by reducing the
consumer's perceived risk (AOL giving away free software)
 To be effective, advertising executions need clarity, consistency and branding
 Is it important to educate the consumers about product? If so, should have a direct sakes force
and message in advertising…
 Push vs. pull

Place (distribution)
 To make it convenient for my target market, I will distribute my product via…
 To support my positioning, I will serve Godiva chocolates in my beautiful showroom…
 I will have many locations because…
 I will have a showroom, but hold no inventory to minimize costs…
 I will transport the product to the customer via Fed Ex because my target customers value
speed …
 During the different phases of the product life cycle, I have different distribution needs. The
product will be distributed through specialty stores until it enters the growth phase, then the
distribution will be mass market through Walmart….

Marketing Goals

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 These tactics will lead to the breakeven market share of 3% or 12,000 units (see attached
spreadsheet).
 The goal of 6% share will be achieved because…this strategy leverages our company
strengths…this strategy is in line with our mission statement…
 It positions us for growth…star in the portfolio even though we absorb risk now…
 The marketing budget will be…. which is small given our cash flow…
 The competitor response is likely to be…when the competitor tries to defend her market share
with a price cut, I will respond with more advertising…

Feedback Loop
 To get feedback from the consumers I will do a test market before the full launch
 Market research will also be done, a concept test and conjoint analysis

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Product Life Cycle

Phase (sales) Introduction Growth Maturity Decline

Characteristics
Sales Low sales Rapidly rising Peak sales Declining sales
sales
Costs High cost per Average cost per Low cost per Low cost per
customer customer customer customer
Profits Negative Rising profits High profits Declining profits
Customers Innovative Early adopters Middle majority Laggards
Competitors Few Growing number Stable number Declining number
beginning to
decline

Marketing Create product Maximize market Maximize profit Reduce

Objectives awareness and trial share while defending expenditure and
market share milk the brand

Strategies
Product Offer a basic Offer product Diversify brands Phase out weak
product extensions, and models items
service,
warranties;
improve quality
and features
Price Charge cost-plus Price to penetrate Price to match or Cut price
market best competitors
Distribution Build selective Build intensive Build more Go selective to
distribution distribution intensive phase out
distribution unprofitable
outlets
Advertising Build product Build awareness Stress brand Reduce to level
awareness among and interest in the differences and needed to retain
early adopters and mass market; build benefits hard core loyals
dealers preference
Sales Promotion Use heavy sales Reduce to take Increase to Reduce to minimal
promotion to advantage of encourage brand level
entice trial heavy consumer switching
demand

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Buyer Behavior
Low involvement: “variety seeking”
Examples: cookies, candy
Low involvement: “habitual”
Example: toilet paper
High involvement “complex info
needs”
Example: car, vacation
High involvement: “dissonance
reducing”
Example: carpet
Tuck Marketing Case Book 2000-01
 Low cost, frequently purchased product.
 Significant brand differences
 Brand switching occurs for the sake of variety rather than
dissatisfaction
 Market leader will try to encourage habitual buying by dominating
shelf space, avoiding out of stock conditions, and sponsoring frequent
reminder advertising.
 Challenger firms will encourage variety seeking by offering lower
prices, deals, coupons, free samples, and advertising that presents
reasons for trying something new.
 Low cost, frequently purchased product.
 No significant brand differences.
 Do not mistake habit for brand loyalty.
 Use television advertisement repetition to create brand familiarity.
Consumers select a brand because it is familiar, not because they have
a strong attitude about it.
 Customers are learning passively about the brand through advertising.
 Use visual imagery that is simple and can be easily remembered and
associated with the brand. Very few points in the advertising copy.
 Use price and sales promotions to stimulate product trial since buyers
are not highly committed to a brand.
 Expensive, infrequent, and risky and self expressive.
 Significant differences in the brands.
 Buyer has a lot to learn and will take a long time gathering information
and evaluating.
 Develop strategies that assist the buyer in learning about the product
attributes and their relative importance.
 Call attention to the high standing of the company’s brand on the most
important attributes.
 Use print media to describe the brand’s benefits
 Motivate the sales personnel to influence the buying decision.
 Encourage word of mouth
 Provide lots of information conveniently (web site)
 Expensive, infrequent, and risky and self expressive.
 No significant difference in the brands.
 Buyer will shop around to see what is available but will buy fairly
quickly responding to good price or purchase convenience.
 Marketing communications should supply beliefs and evaluations that
make the consumer feel good about the brand choice. Post-purchase.
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Growth and Capability Framework

Current Products
Current Market penetration – step #1
Customers  Increase usage frequency, i.e.
Cheerios is a snack too
 Increase usage per occasion, i.e.
rinse twice instead of once
 New and more varied uses, i.e.
recipes on packaged food
New Market development – step #2
Customers  Convince non-users to use it
(identify those that don’t have tape
players and target them)
 New user groups in the current
sales area (offices instead of
individual consumers)
 New distribution channels
 New geographies
New Products
Product development – step #3
 Line extension; same product with new
features (watch that glows)
 Offer a high quality and low quality
version of the same general product and
sell through different channels
 Research alternative technology to fill
the same customer needs
 Ex: open a hotel at Disney
Diversify – step #4
 New products that have a technological
or marketing synergy with existing lines
even though they may appeal to a
different group of customers
 New products that could appeal to the
same customers
 New businesses that have no relation to
current business

Simpler "fixes" to optimize the marketing mix and increase revenue:

 Price. Would a price cut attract new buyers?
 Distribution. Can the firm obtain more support from existing outlets?
 Advertising. Should the budget be increased?
 Sales promotion. Should the company set up sales promotion?
 Personal selling. Should the number of sales people be increased?
 Services. Can the company speed delivery?
Other options for growth:
 backward integration (acquire suppliers to gain control and increased profit),
 forward integration (acquire retailers),
 horizontal integration (merge with competitors).

Internal Company Capabilities

 Management expertise in the field: CEO with vision; lots of years of experience so we are far
along on the learning curve; develop lots of products in the past and have a good track record;
have other products that are similar; have strong relationships with our customers;
 Unique offering: Patent, licensing agreement, unique technology
 Some profit advantage over competitors; economies of scale, access to resources, low cost
because off shore production therefore we can charge a lower price.
 Our current position in the market; market share
 High awareness of our brand in the market; brand equity; brand image

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 Strong relationship with the suppliers; bargaining power

 Quality in product or service; quality sales force
 Information management: customer databases
 Value chain: all the steps in producing the product and bringing it to market are
integrated to make a project a success; Close interaction between marketing and
the manufacturing group so we are quick to market with new ideas

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5. General Case Framework

1) Always start with the consumer.
 Do consumers want and need this product?
 If consumers don’t want this product, then you do not want to pursue the opportunity.

2) Group consumers according to why they want the product (which is

called Segmenting the Market).
 Your objective is to figure out what market segment of consumers you can dominate.
 Determine what benefits the consumer is looking for in the new product (i.e. good taste,
inexpensive, makes you feel good, etc.) Consider both tangible and and psychographic
benefits. Prioritize these benefits.
 To uncover consumer benefits, you’ll most likely conduct market research (particularly
focus groups and/or one-on-one interviews).
 Based on the prioritization of the consumer benefits, segment the market. What
competitive products are already providing these benefits? Are these existing products
doing a good job at providing these benefits?
 Based on your segmentation, determine the strategic openings in the market that you can
seize. Are these strategic openings big enough to justify the investment required to
launch a new product?

3) Choose your TARGET for the new product.

 In your segment, what group of consumers in that segment do you want to serve?
 Identify what consumers would use the product in your segment?
 Determine who are the heavy users of the product? Generally, you want to launch a new
product aimed at the product’s heavy users to achieve more “bang for the buck”.
 Choose your target consumer group.

4) Determine your POSITIONING for the new product.

 Choose the one singular benefit that you intend to deliver to your target consumers.
Ensure that your company can deliver this benefit in the new product.
 Assess whether your company has the core competencies to deliver the consumer benefit
you’ve chosen in your positioning (i.e. can you make a product that delivers superior taste
to all others?) If not, can you partner with another company to achieve the positioning.
 Assess the financial merits of the new product? Does this new product generate a high
enough return to justify the expenditure?

5) Determine the 4Ps (Price, Product, Promotion and Placement) for the
new product.
 This is the heart of the marketing of the new product.
 Price: What price should you set for the product relative to competitors? Do you price at
a premium, parity or discount to your competition?
 Product: what product attributes will you offer (i.e. flavor, size, etc.)
 Most importantly, offer what the consumers want!

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 Promotion: How do you inform your target consumers about the new product? Consider
using television and print advertising, consumer promotions, sampling, etc.
 Placement: Where does the product need to be so consumers can get it? Consider
grocery stores, drug stores, mass channels (club & convenience stores), and Internet.

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Case 1
Pricing example:

I am launching a new product. What should my price be?

Part A
What is the lowest price I can charge? => the marginal cost

Part B
What is the highest price I can charge? => the perceived value (value price) from the customer's point
of view. Perceived value is also known as the Economic Value to the Customer (EVC). It is the
difference in cost between using my product and using the alternative.

Part C
Now that I have a range, what price should I select?
 What are the competitors charging and how do I want to be positioned relative to them?
 What is my strategy for entering the market? For a niche positioning a skim pricing strategy is
appropriate so go on the high end. For mass market and penetration pricing strategy is
appropriate so go on the low end.
 How price sensitive are my consumers?

Note: Complexity - for many value chains there are several layers and different "prices" to each
(wholesaler, retailer, consumer). Analysis should be based on consumer (end user).

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Case 2
Break-even example:

Part A
I want to manufacture and sell toy cars. Every time I make a car it costs me $10 (variable cost). I
think I can get consumers to pay me $15 (price) for each car. To maintain my factory/brand image I
will pay $1,000 in rent, $500 in utility bills and $500 in advertising (fixed costs). How many cars do I
have to sell to break-even?

=Fixed Costs/(Price - Variable cost)

=(1000+500+500)/(15-10)
=2000/5
=400

I have to sell 400 cars to break-even.

Part B
Is 400 cars a lot or a little?

Well I know that the entire market for toy cars is 500 and it is mature (not growing). For me to sell
400 cars I would have to capture a lot of market share. How much?

=My break-even/total market size

=400/500
=80%

Part C
Can I capture 80% of this market?

- What is the competitive environment? Which companies have these sales now? How will they
react?
- How does my product compare to the competitor products? Do I have any change of getting the
consumers to switch?
- Can I reach these 400 consumers with any kind of efficiency? Are they scattered geographically?

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Case 3
You are the product manager for Schick Tracer Razor. Your main competitor, who has 10 times the
financial resources you have, is launching a new razor and supporting it heavily with advertising. This
new product is actually a line extension of an existing product and will enter the market with very
high brand awareness. The other competitor in the marketplace, Bic has recently launched a
nationwide coupon campaign. What should you do?

If they are having trouble, trigger them with these questions that they should be asking you
(Remind them of the 3C’s or 4 P’s structure):
 What offensive/defensive strategy will you explore to protect your market share?
 What are the consumer preferences? How does the new product compare to ours? How is it
positioned in the market relative to our product?
 Who are the competitors targeting? Who are we targeting? Can we target a smaller/larger
segment? Can we focus on certain geographical areas? Can we examine ethnic marketing? (niche vs.
global marketing strategies)
 Evaluate our 4Ps. Is our pricing strategy reasonable? Are we a low cost producer relative to the
competitors? Can we lower our price? Become more efficient? Increase volume to reach economies of
scale? Improve distribution? Expand our channels? (check all aspects of the value chain)

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Case 4
You are the BM and your new product (i.e. Nantucket Magic Berry Nectar) is ready to launch.
Everything is on stand-bye. All of a sudden you find out that the one main ingredient (i.e. magic
berry) that has made your product such a hit in consumer tests is no longer available due to civil war
on Magic Berry Island. What do you do?

If they are having trouble, trigger them with these questions that they should be asking you.
 Should we delay? Cancel? Launch with substitues?
 Was it the berry that made it so successful? Was it the taste? Color? Substance
 Can we find substitutes? Costs associated with substitutes? Impact on the bottom line?
 How will this effect our advertising, promotion, packaging, engineering? And the respective
costs associated with these changes?
 Will we need to do new research? How will this affect planning?

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Case 5
Example of Product Launch

The head of Kids Marketing at Nabisco stops by your office on Monday and says that his kids were
going crazy at a weekend picnic over beets. He wants to know if NABISCO should enter the beet
market? How would you approach answering this question?

Start with the consumer – do consumers want beet products? Based on the excitement generated at
the picnic about beets, it seems like consumers are interested in beets. But, you would need to
conduct a lot more research including focus groups and interviews to find out if consumers are truly
interested in beets.

Then, if you found that consumers liked beets, you’d want to know why they like beets. Your
objective is to determine what benefits consumers are looking for regarding beets. For example, do
they like the taste of beets, the texture of beets, or the healthy aspects of beets? Through your market
research as well as assessing what type of beet products are already in the marketplace, you can begin
to SEGMENT the market according to different benefits provided by beets. After analyzing current
beet products in the marketplace, you’d be able to determine if there was an unmet need for beets in
the marketplace (For this example, let’s assume that there was an unmet need for beet-flavored
products and since the company in this question is Nabisco, you have determined that there is a
pressing need for beet-flavored cookies).

Now, you need to figure out which group of consumers you are going to target with the beet-flavored
cookies. After conducting market research and doing competitive analysis of other beet products in
the marketplace, you’d be able to choose a target for the beet-flavored cookie. Let’s assume that the
target for the beet-flavored cookie is going to be kids.

Now, you have to choose a positioning for the beet-flavored cookie. Since you have discovered that
there is an unmet need for a great-tasting beet-flavored cookie, you are going to develop a positioning
around “the only cookie to deliver 100% beet taste in every bite.” In order to pursue this positioning,
you need to make sure that Nabisco can actually produce a cookie that can deliver a strong, natural
beet flavor. At the same time, you would want to test this positioning with consumers to make sure
that they respond positively to it. Lastly, you would want to make sure that Nabisco can make money
developing this product given the investment required to develop it and product it.

Now that you have your positioning, you want to examine the 4Ps, which represent the 4 primary
areas of marketing for this new product.
Price: You need to determine what price Nabisco should charge for the product. If there are
other products like it in the marketplace, you might want to price the new product at a discount to
encourage consumers to try the product. You need to make sure that at whatever price you set,
consumers will be willing to buy the product, and that there is enough profit margin built into the
price for both Nabisco and its distribution partners to share.

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Placement: You need to determine where the product should be sold. This will be based on
your research to understand where consumers would be likely to buy the product. You should get a
lot of input from your sales force as well as potential retailers who might sell the product. For the
beet-flavored cookie, You would most likely want to sell it in food, drug and mass channels, but not
over the internet.
Product: You want to ensure that the final product is exactly what consumers want. This
would include all aspects of the product, including its texture, size, shape, etc. You would also want
to ensure that the packaging for the product was appropriate and helped communicate the product’s
benefits.
Promotion: You need to figure out how to inform consumers about the launch of this new
product and encourage them to try the product. Since your marketing objectives for the new product
are generating awareness and trial among consumers, you are probably most interested in using print
and television advertisements (which are strong awareness-raising mechanisms) as well as FSIs
(newspaper coupons) which help encourage trial. Since it is a new product, other promotional
opportunities you should consider include sampling the product so consumers have a chance to taste it
for free.

After doing all of this work, you launch the product and then let out a huge sigh of RELIEF as you
hopefully watch sales increase!

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Case 6
You are the brand manager on a product whose sales have been flat for the last five years. However,
the brand's market share has been growing by 5% per year. What is going on with the brand and what
would you do about it?

If sales are flat but market share is growing, then it probably means that the product's category is
shrinking. First, as brand manager, you would want to find out why the category is shrinking in size.
Then, you need to determine if this is a business that your company should stay involved with for the
long-term.

To figure out ways to make this business viable for the long-term, consider the following:
1. Are there any new ways to use the product? [Example: Using A&H Baking Soda in the
refrigerator as a freshening agent].
2. Offer new products in other categories that leverage the equity of your brand (Example:
Again, introducing Arm & Hammer toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc)
3. Can you alter the product in some way to better meet the changing needs of your consumers?
[Ex.: Moving from frozen orange juice into ready-to-drink refrigerated juice)
4. Can you encourage your existing consumers to use more of your product (Example: Offering
recipes to consumers through cookbooks or on packages).

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Case 7
You are the brand manager on KC Barbecue sauce and A COMPETITIVE BRAND recently added a
taste superiority claim on their label. What do you do in response?

You should assess the risk facing the brand. Ask yourself the following questions:
 Who is the competitor? How big are they relative to you? How much do you compete with
each other (for consumers, channels, regionality, pricing, positioning, etc)? Overall, how
big a threat does this brand/company represent to you?
 What is the claim specifically? Is it taste out of the bottle, on cooked food, etc? How
important is this specific taste benefit to BBQ sauce consumers in general, and specifically
to YOUR loyal users? Is the superiority claim true among either, or both of those groups?
How likely would your consumers be to try and switch to this competitive brand based on
this claim? It is possible that the taste of your competitor (such as hot and spicy) is not the
taste that your consumers prefer which your product offers them (such as mild).
 How loudly are they making the claim (prominence on label, in advertising/promotion,
etc)?
 Based on how big a risk you think it is, decide whether or not you need to respond, how
aggressively and how quickly.

If the risk is significant, then assess your alternatives (think about the issue and all 4 P’s):
Can you challenge the claim’s validity or legality?
 Product – assess your options keeping your loyal consumers in mind. If your competitor
delivers superiority on a meaningful benefit to your consumers, consider the cost/benefit
of product options to thwart their claim such as line extension, reformulation, etc.
 Promotion – can you reinforce loyalty (and keep consumers from switching) via
promotion (loading via bonus pack or multiple purchase incentive, other value-added
promotion, etc) or focusing advertising on a different, more important benefit that you
own? Can you drown out their message in the marketplace?
 Place – are there any channel opportunities to defeat this competitor?
 Price – has this claim damaged your price/value equation among your consumers relative
to this competitor? If so, are you taking any other actions to offset it’s impact (product,
promotion, place), or should you consider a price adjustment to re-balance price/value?

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Case 8
If you were the brand manager on PING-PONG balls and the U.S. government suddenly banned the
game of PING-PONG, what five alternative uses for PING-PONG balls could you come up with?

You should brainstorm ideas that are plausible, which might include earrings, light shades, line
markers for swimming pools, stuffing for packages, etc.

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Case 9
Tell me about a brand that you think is an example of good marketing (or, give me an example of
good marketing)

First, what is your favorite brand’s positioning and target. In other words, who are they trying to
reach and what are they trying to tell them. Ideally, a brand’s positioning should be clear and single-
minded so that it is easily fits a “position” in consumers’ minds. (For example, Chips Ahoy! is the
brand of chocolate chip cookies that has the most chocolate chip flavor because it has 1,000 chips in
each bag!) For a brand to be well-marketed, it must deliver this positioning consistently across all
aspects of the marketing mix. (For example, we’ll use Chips Ahoy! to show how it is a well-
marketed brand across all 4 Ps – note this is done in summary fashion so as to not bore you!)

Then, discuss how the brand uses the marketing variables to support its positioning. Again, try to
think through the “4 P’s” (remember, great marketing is more than great advertising!) and give
examples about how your brand delivers against each. Here are a few questions to stimulate your
thinking:

Product: Is the product suitable for its target? Does it fulfill an existing need in a unique way?
Does it address a need that has been ignored by other products? Does it offer a
benefit that is meaningful to its target?
(Using Chips Ahoy! as an example, you could say that Chips Ahoy! is the perfect
product for its consumers because they are kids under 12 who love chocolate chip
cookies with lots of chocolate chip taste. The product’s benefit/positioning is exactly
what its target consumers want.)

Promotion: Is the positioning communicated in a way that reaches the target and gives them a
memorable way to think about the brand, keeping it top-of-mind? The message can
be communicated through things like advertising, consumer promotions (such as
sampling techniques, consumer giveaways, contests), public relations, and web sites.
How does the brand’s choice of the promotional vehicles themselves help support its
positioning?
(Again, using Chips Ahoy! as an example, the brand does a great job communicating
its positioning, beginning with its packaging which contains the label “1,000
chocolate chips in every bag”. Also, the brand’s advertising supports this positioning
because it is filled with images and pictures of chocolate chips. The advertising
resonates with its target because it communicates this positioning in a fun way
through the use of animation and it is usually shown on kids tv on Saturday mornings
as well as on Nickelodeon Network. Furthermore, the brand’s promotions reinforce
the positioning by holding consumer sweepstakes to find the “Chipless Chips Ahoy!
package, or contests to count the number of chips in a jar. Both promotions include
lots of cool gifts and money that any kid would want to win.)

Place: Is it distributed in the right place to find its target? Are they doing anything unique to
get it in front of their consumers, outside of the usual channels?

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(Again, using Chips Ahoy! as an example, the product is sold where the gatekeeper
would likely buy it such as in grocery stores, club stores, etc. The brand also woos its
consumers directly through the sale of single-serve packages in convenience stores.)

Price: If this is a “prestige” product, does the pricing reflect it? Is it using price as a
competitive advantage?
(Using Chips Ahoy! as an example, the brand is positioned as a premium brand to
private label cookies because of its superior chocolate chip taste and thus can charge a
higher price than its competitors.)

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Case 10
"I'm sure you've done your homework on our company and are familiar with all
of our products. Tell me about one of our products that isn't being marketed
well/to its fullest potential, why you believe so, and what you would do
about it."

1) Know the company's products

2) Know the background of the person interviewing you. Be careful of choosing something that they
have worked on in the past. It might be their strategy you're about to trash.
3) Think about the situation from the consumer's perspective: what differentiated value does this
product provide? Does it have a differentiating proposition?
4) Brainstorm ways for the product to set itself apart from the competition while maintaining
relevance to the consumer.
5) Think of implementation issues, such as channel acceptability, advertising, sales, R&D.

For Colgate, I chose Speed Stick. I did not believe that Speed Stick has a discernable brand identity
on a crowded shelf. Making the assumption that consumers are not switchers, they will pick a brand,
either through price, FSI-trial, advertising, and then stick with it for a while. You need to a) find a
"hook" with the consumer b) give them a way to try (sampling) c) provide a better product (vs.
competition). Strong brands are critically important to a company like Colgate. Find one that is weak,
and run with it.

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Case 11
Your client which is a medium sized non durable consumer goods manufacturer and marketer
has seen its profitability relative to its major competitor go down in the last two quarters.
They are worried and want you to suggest how you can fix the problem.

Additional data to be offered only when asked for

 Where: India
 What product: Vanilla shampoo – a commodity
 Competition: Client and the competitor are the two major companies, 44% market share each.
Others don’t count.
 Distribution: Both competitor and client have a similar nationwide distribution system
 Price, promotion, distribution, product: No changes in either by competitor or clients in the
last year.
 Size of packages: Competitor has introduced a variation – the same product in a small sachet
packet.
 Revenue: Client’s revenue has increased 12% each quarter, client’s has been stagnant
 Cost: As a % of revenue is same for both client and competitor
 Price: Same for all
 Volume: Increased 12% each quarter for competitor, client’s has been stagnant
 Average Purchase Volume: Same for client, has decreased for competitor
 Sales analysis based on geography shows that competitor is selling far more in some areas.
Analyses of these areas indicate that the common feature are that tehse are generally
poor/rural areas.

Actual Scenario

The company is located in a developing country. There is a whole segment of population who can not
afford shampoo. The competitor has just introduced small packets of shampoo (Sachets) of 10 ml
volume. Many are able to buy these small sachets as it is cheap though they shy away to buy a whole
bottle which is relatively much more expensive.

Fix is simple – do as the competitor have done. Heavily promote. Distribute mainly in poorer/rural
areas.

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7. Additional Cases
Case
You are the group director for Post cereal at Kraft General Foods. Recently you introduced a new
cereal into the marketplace - Oreo's. This product is a joint venture between Kraft and Nabisco and
enjoyed enormous success immediately upon introduction! Now, six months after the product launch
you are analyzing market share data and are disappointed to see that market share started off very high
but has been decreasing steadily over the past three months. What should you do?

Case
You are the new Category Manager for Betty Crocker Cake Mixes and have started a comprehensive
analysis of market shares for your different products. During the course of your analysis you discover
that the market share for Chocolate Devil's Food Dessert Mix, your leading brand, has been
decreasing steadily for the past three months. How will you decide what to do?

Case
You have just been promoted to be the new BM for Jello. Jello has been around for ages and is a very
successful brand. You manage the traditional Jello box as well as the new single-serve ready-to-eat
Jello Puddings. You are charged with increasing sales by 20%. How will you do it?

Case
As the Brand Manager for Lifesavers Lollipops you will be introducing a new product for the
Holloween buying season - a 16oz bag of assorted flavored lollipops. Each bag has about 50 pops in
it and 16oz is the standard size in the industry. How will you determine what price to charge for this
bag?

Case
I am a prospective MBA student and I am considering coming to Tuck. How would you market Tuck
to me? I am a company considering recruiting at Tuck, how would you convince me to do it? I am an
alum considering making a donation to Tuck, how would you convince me to do it?

Case
Traditionally Dell competes for the computer market with faster delivery. Delivery times are central
to Dell's product positioning and the prominent message in Dell's advertising. After making some
large investments in their supply chain operations, competitors like IBM and Compaq are now able to
match Dell's turnaround times. How can Dell protect their market share position when the products,
prices and delivery times of all three competitors are virtually identical?

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