Case Analysis Guide Long Format Mgmt4650

GUIDELINES FOR LONG-FORM CASE ANALYSIS

MANAGEMENT 4650

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

DR. GARY L. WISHNIEWSKY

Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved

GETTING STARTED

READ THE CASE COMPLETELY. DO NOT MAKE NOTES. PUT THE CASE ASIDE. REFLECT ON THE CASE INFORMATION.

READ THE CASE AGAIN AFTER HALF A DAY OR SO. NOW MAKE NOTES. BEGIN WITH THE CASE SITUATION: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, HOW.

BEGIN TO SEARCH FOR THE KEY FACTORS IN THE CASE.

Copyright 2007. Wishniewsky

GUIDELINES FOR CASE ANALYSIS

CONDUCTING FACTOR ANALYSIS

IT IS DESIRABLE TO BEGIN BY IDENTIFYING THE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN THE CASE FIRST

CONDUCTING CASE ANALYSIS

IS LIKE BEING A DETECTIVE

ONCE THE FACTORS ARE

IDENTIFIED IT IS NECESSARY

TO ANALYZE THEM TO FIND

THEIR IMPORTANCE TO THE CASE



A GOOD WAY TO ISOLATE THE RELEVANCE OF EACH FACTOR IS TO CONSIDER THAT YOU HAVE ALL THE FACTORS INSIDE A GLASS CUBE

YOU SHAKE THE CUBE AND THE FACTORS INSIDE VIGOROUSLY. THEN YOU VIEW THE FACTORS, AND THE CASE, THROUGH ONE OF THE FACES



AFTER NOTING DOWN VARIOUS FACTORS, YOU REPEAT THE PROCESS AGAIN UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED YOU’VE IDENTIFIED ALL FACTORS AND THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE TO THE MAIN THEMES IN CASE

NOW YOU ARE READY TO ORGANIZE THE FACTORS ACCORDING TO THEIR ORDER OF IMPORTANCE AND THEN FORMULATE YOUR CENTRAL ISSUE AND RECOMMENDATION



SECTION ONE CENTRAL ISSUE

BRIEFLY STATE THE CENTRAL ISSUE IN THE CASE. CONDENSE THE ISSUE INTO 5 TO 7 SENTENCES. THIS MAY ALSO BE CONSIDERED THE "PROBLEM STATEMENT" OR THE "OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT" CONSIDER WHERE THE SITUATION IS NOW, HOW IT DEVELOPED, WHY, AND WHAT THE NEXT STEP(S) CAN BE.


WHEN APPLICABLE TO CASE FACTS, THE CENTRAL ISSUE SHOULD BE PROACTIVE AND LOOK TO THE FUTURE.

THE CENTRAL ISSUE SHOULD NOT BE A RESTATEMENT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE IN THE PAST.

ASSUME WE HAVE ALL READ THE CASE. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO RESTATE KEY FACTS. USE CONCEPTS INSTEAD.


GUIDELINES FOR CASE ANALYSIS SECTION TWO

RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION

WHAT ARE YOUR PROPOSED COURSES OF ACTION?

CONDENSE ANALYSIS INTO 6 TO 8 PARAGRAPHS.

WHAT SHOULD THE INDIVIDUAL, COMPANY, ORGANIZATION, GOVERNMENT, OR

SUBJECT OF THE CASE DO NOW?


THINK OF YOUR RECOMMENDATION AS “HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM,” OR “HOW TO SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY.”

YOUR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE CONSISTENT

WITH THE SITUATION AND THE FACTS PRESENTED IN THE CASE.

INTEGRATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF MANAGEMENT, AND YOUR OWN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE.



SECTION THREE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS

IDENTIFY THE KEY ISSUES IN THE CASE RELEVANT TO THE CENTRAL ISSUE AND TO YOUR RECOMMENDATION.

NUMBER THE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN ORDER

OF IMPORTANCE TO YOUR RECOMMENDATION.

YOU MAY BE BRIEF AND WRITE IN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FORMAT WITH BULLETS AND PHRASES.

USE STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS RATHER

THAN SPECIFIC FACTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.


GUIDELINES FOR CASE ANALYSIS SECTION FOUR JUSTIFICATION

THIS IS THE HEART OF THE CASE ANALYSIS. NOW JUSTIFY YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS. BRIEFLY DISCUSS THE CENTRAL ISSUE AND THE RECOMMENDED COURSES OF ACTION. RELATE THE RELEVANCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS TO THIS DISCUSSION.


THIS DISCUSSION MUST BE ANALYTICAL IN NATURE AND NOT REPEAT THE CASE FACTS.

CONVINCE THE READER THAT YOUR

RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE THE CASE SITUATION.

BE THOROUGH AND USE AS

MANY PAGES AS NEEDEDFOR YOUR JUSTIFICATION.

EACH RECOMMENDATIONMUST BE SUPPORTED.



SECTION FIVE FACTOR DISCUSSION

WRITE 2 TO 3 SHORT PARAGRAPHS FOR ALL OF THE FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN SECTION THREE. DISCUSS THEIR SIGNIFICANCE AND

RELEVANCE TO THE CENTRAL ISSUE AND TO YOUR RECOMMENDATION.


GUIDELINES FOR CASE ANALYSISNOTE:

THE LONG-FORM

CASE ANALYSIS

SHOULD BE

DOUBLE-SPACED

ON AS MANY

PAGES OF PAPER

AS NEEDED.


Mini-Case Analysis

Pepsi: Project Blue

Team One

Olga Bokhon Yuliana Filatova

Alexander Gushchin Marina Semenova

Margarita Sorokina

Central Issue Pepsi-branded beverages are losing their competitive edge; sales growth starts to slow down. Pepsi is in need of its brand identity revitalization and consistent communications to revamp PepsiCo's distribution system in order to achieve strategic brand consistency, strengthen its current No.2 position and keep growing sales, as well as to create sound basis for future share growth and potential attack on Coca-Cola.

Recommended Course of Action

Marketing 1. Develop comprehensive competitive and compelling brand identity, not just imagery 2. Create a unified solution suitable for and accepted by both the US and International divisions 3. Develop marketing / communications mix based on the new identity; create a “toolbox” instruments

for both mature and developing markets 4. Sustain direct advertising at minimum required level 5. Use extra funds for creative actions – explore creative PR strategies and online opportunities 6. Work closer with chains; develop central proposition + local initiatives for marketing support 7. Roll out the program first in lead markets, including US 8. Assess results after first and second quarter, introduce necessary corrections 9. Staged implementation in all other markets within a 1-year period Management 1. Win bottlers’ support by

showing uncompromising commitment to the new brand identity globally designing a clear financial and logistical scheme for each region in cooperation with local

operations seek more control over local bottlers organizations long term

2. Establish an international rollout team to

help implement the change in every market, ensure consistency in execution accumulate and share best practices from around the world

Significant Factors

1. Extremely competitive market environment with decades-long rivalry between Coke and Pepsi (Pepsi being No. 2) and increasing share pressure from lower priced private labels and local brands 2. Inconsistent presentation of Pepsi brand to consumers; Coca-Cola attempts to penetrate Pepsi’s core target audience - teens 3. Huge geographically distributed company (over 170 countries); local presence through bottlers 4. US organization involved in own redesign project, positioned independently 5. Insufficient concept testing done, not all marketing options explored 6. Pepsi-branded beverages share in total PepsiCo’s revenues is 17% worldwide (USD 5.18B) 7. Strong starting point: growing sales, strong history of innovations in products and packaging

Justification

To re-gain competitive edge Pepsi is in need of a complete brand revitalization. This should include not only new imagery design, but also verification and possibly update of the brand positioning and values. The decision should be based on a thorough research with representative sample from key markets. Such comprehensive approach will make the project more likely to succeed, as in this case the company will try to associate not a new color with its drink, but rather a new more appealing system of values with its brand, a system more accurately responding to the expectations of the brand target audience. An important step in this process would be to achieve a unified approach worldwide. Since Pepsi is a global brand, the name Pepsi should stand for a single set of values anywhere. Equally, it should be instantly recognizable in every part of the world. Therefore it is recommended to join the efforts of US and international teams and come up with a single global positioning and image of the brand to be used in all markets. The integration of the US market is of particular importance, since it is the brand home market accounting for 70% of its revenues and serving as an important reference market for the brand in many other countries. The new company marketing communications mix should reflect the new positioning and brand image, as well as be clearly targeted at Pepsi’s core audience – teens. It is advisable to develop a central toolbox that clearly conveys new identity, but is modular and flexible enough to allow for localized solutions depending on the particular market environment. The benefit of such a solution is consistency of implementation. Some possible instruments are discussed below:

Advertising. Given the present level of advertising is extremely high and creates a noise effect, as well as the fact that Coca-Cola’s advertising budgets are 3 times higher than projected Pepsi budgets, it is recommended to keep advertising to a necessary minimum. The company cannot fully stop ATL activity, as it will have a negative impact on sales. However costly direct advertising should only be employed to sustain visibility at a customer expected level. Creative PR strategies. It is recommended to invest in projects that not only promote the brand name via direct advertising, but also build the right associations for it and convey the brand values via linking events and consumer cultural interactions to brand essence. In addition to successfully building the brand, such activities are often less expensive and yield better coverage and stronger loyalty to the brand (potentially higher return on investment) than direct advertising. Potential themes could include sports, leadership in teens culture, empowerment of teens – to be refined after market research. Online opportunities. Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a place to spend time. This is especially true for teenagers, Pepsi’s target audience. Therefore it is recommended to seize the unique opportunity and establish Internet as a “Pepsi zone”. All kinds of Internet games and chats as well as promotions and advertising should be reviewed for the purpose. This is also a unique way of building a Pepsi community thus strengthening consumers’ loyalty. Key Accounts and BTL promotions. Particular attention should be paid to the work with key accounts, such as store- and restaurant-chains. While they may not dominate the company’s sales, they definitely serve as important reference sites both for the trade and for end-users. Pepsi should definitely take advantage of the PepsiCo owned restaurants, but also strive to achieve listings at other important KAs around the world. The company should do so not only through attractive contract terms, but also via a variety of BTL promotions offered.

Once the program is finalized, we recommend to first roll out in lead markets. We believe that time-to-market is of critical importance under the current circumstances, therefore we consciously skip the extensive testing phase relying on the thorough research and focus group testing done during the development phase. Launching in lead markets will give an opportunity to live-test the concept. It will also limit the scope of implementation thus reducing the pressure on the company’s logistical system during the early launch phase.

FACTOR DISCUSSION

1. The most significant factor in the case and the primary reason for undertaking such a complex and expensive project is extremely high competition in the beverages market. Pepsi is engaged in the decades-long competition with Coca-Cola and is forever pressed to assure its strong No.2 position and try to outplay Coca-Cola. On the other hand, in each local market Pepsi is faced with rapidly developing private labels and local brands which in most cases are lower-priced and gaining share. This calls for constantly being alert, regularly introducing innovations and keeping the competitive edge.

2. One reason we believe Pepsi is losing its competitive edge is inconsistent presentation of the

brand at points of sale, a washed out image revealed by the results of a survey. The shelf impact any consumer product has both influences sales volume directly and serves as a way of advertising. A weak point of sale presentation can prove fatal for a company operating in a market where purchases are impulse-driven. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a strong and consistent brand image, which includes colors owned, packaging design, POS materials motive. To aggravate the situation, Coca-Cola is attempting to penetrate the traditional Pepsi market – teens, thus destroying Pepsi’s foothold. This requires more efforts on Pepsi side to win back and secure teens as a Pepsi generation.

3. In the particular project implementation it is important to take into account the fact that Pepsi is a

huge geographically distributed company serving more than 170 countries and territories worldwide. This is the reason why the company needs not only a perfect marketing solution, but also a thoroughly defined implementation plan. Particularly financial and logistical schemes should be spelled out, as well as managerial support clearly communicated. The fact that local presence is in many cases through independent bottlers requires extensive work with local organizations to win their support.

4. Pepsi US organization currently being involved in its own redesign project and positioned

independently has a negative effect on the project. Being the brand home market responsible for over 70% of Pepsi revenues and 82% of operating profits, the US is an important reference market looked up to by many local organizations. Therefore before implementing any of the re-launches either in the US or in the rest of the world it is very important to join efforts and come up with a unified solution suitable for and accepted by both divisions – PCNA and PCI.


THE LONG-FORM CASE ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT

IS A GROUP PROJECT. ALL TEAM MEMBERS

WILL RECEIVE THE SAME

GRADE FOR THE CASE.



QUESTIONS


Case Analysis Guide Long Format Mgmt4650

Business

Transcript of Case Analysis Guide Long Format Mgmt4650