Case Studies
By Raha Naddaf, Staff Writer
(note: all case studies are in PDF format)
Buy.com: Reaction to Results
By Stew Duncan, Thinkbig Media
Buy.com survived the dot com meltdown and has been slowly and consistently
growing its business. Although Buy.com is well known for their technology
products, they had very small market share in the entertainment
category, which includes books, games, videos and music. On June
18, 2002, Buy.com's largest competitor, Amazon.com, announced they
were lowering the threshold for free shipping, down from US$99 to
$49. Thinkbig Media, Buy.com's marketing agency, developed an integrated
marketing campaign fueled by an aggressive promotion targeting the
Amazon.com book buyer.
The team tracked the media coverage that Amazon.com was receiving
and seized a valuable opportunity: they launched a full-scale price
war, set the new standard for free shipping and leveraged the mass
media coverage of their largest competitor to catapult their client's
campaign into the national spotlight. As a result, Buy.com acquired
market share from the largest Internet retailer in the world and
increased overall revenue by 20 percent, site traffic by 50 percent,
and new customers by 300 percent during the campaign.
(full
case study here...)
Scott Panel & Hardware "Inspiration" Campaign
By Martyn Thompson, Stanford James Limited
Scott Panel & Hardware is the leading supplier of products and
services to the New Zealand furniture and joinery manufacturing
industries. The furniture and joinery supplier market was becoming
increasingly competitive and was tending to become price-driven,
rather than value-driven. Scott wanted to change this trend and
grow its business (and profitability) by becoming a marketer of
value-added products and services. Stanford James, Scott's marketing
communication agency, implemented an integrated marketing communication
campaign that would achieve this need and also build on Scott's
existing partnerships, vision and values. As a result of the campaign,
customers indicate a purchasing emphasis of 5 percentage points
away from "cost and price" to "products and services"
(where Scott is performing better), and Scott Panel & Hardware's
revenues in Jan.- Dec. 2000 increased by 9.8 percent on the previous
year. Scott Panel & Hardware also obtained media coverage with
magazines that featured case studies and profiles on the campaign.
In addition, a major publisher has implemented a series of profiles
on inspirational personalities associated with Scott.
(full
case study here...)
Dining at Harvard
By Crista Martin, Harvard University Dining Services
Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) serves more than 5 million
meals annually with a staff of approximately 600 people. HUDS needed
to figure out a way to better serve and represent the undergraduate
community in their residential dining meal program. They implemented
a marketing program to make explicit the basic components of the
meal plan, as well as all the special features that make a student's
required participation in it a great value for the dollar. Authenticity,
diversity and variety were paramount, but they also wanted the meal
plans to be viewed as a well-rounded, integrated program, thus demonstrating
the overall value for their dollar. Their slogan, "dedicated
to the liberal art of eating," posters and table tents, were
all created with the desire to have unity of messaging. HUDS was
able to successfully gain the attention of undergraduates, resulting
in increased attendance (2,600,932 meals in 2002). With the use
feedback cards and surveys, HUDS reconfigured their services to
feed the needs of their students' appetites.
(full
case study here...)
STP & Armor All Annual Marketing Communication Program
By Stanley Liu, Golin/Harris International, Inc., Taiwan Branch
STP & Armor All, the biggest car-care products supplier in the
United States, approached Golin/Harris (G/H) Taiwan to create a
marketing communication campaign for 2002 without advertising support.
G/H Taiwan designed an annual plan targeting industry and general
media, including a sales promotion, a "Classical Cars Championship,"
consumer behavior survey and panel discussion to announce the survey
results. As a result, the sales of STP & Armor All grew 30 percent
over 2001. STP & Armor All is now the most frequently covered
car care brand in the Taiwan media. STP & Armor All achieved
213 media placements in auto magazines (technical features), daily
newspapers (daily and seasonal car care tips), radio programs (car
care tips and consulting) and television programs (news and car
care demonstrations) with an equivalent advertising value of over
US$1.5 million.
(full
case study here...)
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