Marketing Case Studies

Case Study of Avon: From Direct Selling to Direct Marketing

For years, Avon lady was a fixture in American  neighborhoods.  Selling door-to-door built Avon into the world’s largest manufacturer  of beauty products. Avon operates in 135 countries and besides  the cosmetics it also sells jewelry, home furnishings, and babycare  products. Avon pioneered the idea of hiring housewives for  direct selling cosmetics in the neighbourhood. But in 1980s, as  millions of women began to work outside the home, the cosmetics  maker’s pool of customers and sales representatives dwindled,  and its sales faltered. By 1985, its profits were half what they had  been in 1979.

Consumer research showed that many women thought Avon’s make-up was  “stodgy,” its gifts products overpriced, and its jewelry old-fashioned.… Read the rest

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Case Study of KFC: Establishment of a Successful Global Business Model

By mid 1950s, fast food franchising was still in its infancy when  Harland Sanders began his cross-country travels to market  “Colonel Sanders’ Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken.” He had  developed a secret chicken recipe with eleven herbs and spices.  By 1963, the number of KFC franchises had crossed 300. Colonel  Sanders, at 74 years of age was tired of running the daily operations  and sold the business in 1964 to two Louisville businessmen —  Jack Massey and John Young Brown, Jr. — for $2 million. Brown, who later became the governor of Kentucky, was named president,  and Massey was named chairman. Colonel Sanders stayed in a  public relations capacity.… Read the rest

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Case Study of Kellog’s: Marketing Strategy for Latin America

In 1980, Peter A, Horekens, marketing director for Kellog company, was faced with the problem of developing a market for ready-to-eat cereals in the Latin American region. Although Kellog had no competition in the ready-to-eat cereal market in this region, they also had no market. Latin Americans did not eat breakfast as the Americans did. The problem was especially prominent in Brazil. To create a market and increase sales in this region, Horekens had to create a nutritious breakfast habit.

Kellog Company, which headquartered in Battlecreek, Michigan, was founded in 1906 by W.K. Kellog. The company continued to operate successfully with sales in 1980 amounting to 2,150.9 million U.S.

… Read the rest
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Case Study: Dell’s Competitive Advantage

Dell Computer is a leader in the e-commerce computer hardware market. It is an established brand that leads personal computer manufacturers both in U.S. sales and overall online sales. Its trademark method of selling products to customers, corporate and individual consumers, originates from the Dell Direct model, a Web-enabled infrastructure that allows customers to customize their PCs and order other products they need or desire. This virtual integration structure eliminates the need to manufacture everything, and instead uses the power of the Internet to share and exchange information with suppliers and vendors to build a truly superior supply chain that keeps inventory turnover low and costs to a minimum.… Read the rest

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Case Study of Bajaj Auto: Establishment of New Brand Identity

The Bajaj Group is amongst the top 10 business houses in India. Its footprint stretches over a wide range of industries, spanning automobiles (two-wheelers and three-wheelers), home appliances, lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. The group flagship company, Bajaj Auto, is ranked as the world’s fourth largest two- and three wheeler manufacturer and the Bajaj brand is well-known in over a dozen countries in Europe, Latin America, the US and Asia.

Founded in 1926, at the height of India’s movement for independence from the British, the group has an illustrious history. The integrity, dedication, resourcefulness and determination to succeed which are characteristic of the group today, are often traced back to its birth during those days of relentless devotion to a common cause.… Read the rest

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Case Study of Godrej: Brand that Went for a Makeover to Succeed

In 2008, the Rs 9,000-crore Godrej Group did something it has never done before: changed its brand identity. Flanked by daughter and executive director and president, marketing, Tanya Dubash, chairman of the Godrej Group Adi B Godrej, unveiled the group’s colourful new logo before the media and said, “With our new initiatives, we are targeting a growth of 25-30% annually. The purpose of the whole exercise is to make the Godrej brand relevant and contemporary. Tanya is the chief architect of the project.”

Shedding its “frumpy old lady” image (chairman Adi Godrej admitted in a 2002 press meet that a Godrej as a brand has the image of “a frumpy old lady” and is looked upon as “an industrial brand”), the 111-year-old Godrej Group now sports a logo in bright colours-green, blue and ruby-a far cry from the staid look it has donned since the Group was founded at Lalbaug, central Mumbai, in 1897.… Read the rest

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