Julie Hennessy

Clinical Professor of Marketing at Kellogg School of Management

Biography

Kellogg School of Management

Julie Hennessy is a Clinical Professor of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Professor Hennessy's MBA and Executive teaching focuses on the development of Marketing Strategies to enhance long-term competitive advantage and profitability. She works frequently with research and technology-driven firms that desire to become more customer-centric, in both new product/services and mature product/services categories.

At Kellogg, she teaches three courses:   Introduction to Marketing, Advanced Marketing Strategy, and the Marketing Consulting Course: Generating Profitable growth.  In addition to MBA courses, she teaches extensively at the Executive level. Recent Executive teaching assignments have included work with Facebook, Hyatt, SC Johnson, Abbvie, Novartis, Nestle, McDonalds, Microsoft, ABInBev, and Textron.

Professor Hennessy has been a regular recipient of teaching awards at the Kellogg School. In 2007, she received the Lawrence G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Kellogg's top award for teaching quality and impact, as voted by the Kellogg graduating class. She had been a finalist (top 5 faculty members) in consideration for the Lavengood Award in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Professor Hennessy has also been recognized by her academic department, winning the Marketing Department's Core Course Teaching award.  She has also received special student impact awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016.

Professor Hennessy's writing concentrates on cases for classroom use. Recent cases written include studies of Teach for India, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Hispanic Organ Transplant Program, Synthroid, TiVo, Apple iPod, Invisalign Orthodontics, and Biaxin and Zithromax in the antibiotics market.

Education

  • MM, 1982, Finance, Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
  • BS, Mathematics, Psychology, Indiana University

Academic Positions

  • Clinical Professor of Marketing Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2007-present
  • Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2004-2006
  • Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1997-2004

Professional Experience

  • President, Hennessy Associates, Inc., 1997-present
  • Category Manager, Kraft Foods, 1986-1997
  • Awards
  • LG Lavengood Teacher of the Year Award
  • Certificate of Impact Teaching Award
  • Certificate of Impact Teaching Award, Fall Quarter 2016
  • Finalist for L. G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award
  • Finalist for L. G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award
  • Finalist for L. G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award
  • Chairs, Kellogg School of Management, 2010-2011, 2006-2007, 2004-2005, 2001-2002, 1999-2000
  • L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2007

Teaching Interests

  • Marketing management, Marketing strategy, Branding

Videos

Courses Taught

Read about executive education

Cases

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Customer Lifetime Value. Case 7-312-500 (KEL695).

This technical note provides an update on the use of customer data in marketing organizations and discusses how calculations of customer acquisition costs are made. It introduces the concept of customer lifetime value and provides examples of how it is calculated and how it is used. If desired, this reading is good preparation for students completing the Kellogg exercise "Maru Batting Center: Customer Lifetime Value," Case #3-112-003.

Hennessy, Julie and Alice Tybout. 2004. TiVo. Case 5-104-024 (KEL132).

In 1999 TiVo was preparing to launch its digital video recorder (DVR) in the United States. The company’s goal was ambitious: it hoped to revolutionize how Americans watched television and to become a central player in the emerging interactive TV industry.

Although it had a technological advantage, TiVo faced one competitor (ReplayTV) and potential entrants such as Microsoft, so its success was far from guaranteed. Evidence suggested a bright future for the company, however; the concept had attracted $240 million in venture capital, and market research indicated a uniquely high level of consumer interest.

TiVo needed to capture the first-mover advantage and build its sales and brand as quickly as possible to support the company’s IPO, which was planned to take place within eighteen to twenty-four months. TiVo’s positioning at launch would play a key role in determining its success.

Hennessy, Julie. 2008. Zithromax Z-Pak and the “Biaxin BBQ” (A). Case 5-108-003(A) (KEL360).

The Biaxin case deals with competition in the mature market for antibiotics designed for use in the treatment of bacterial respiratory infections. The case tells the story of how Pfizer's Zithromax stole the share dominance of an established brand, Abbott's Biaxin. The case deals with the importance in pharma markets of consumer (patient) and channel (physician and insurance payer) insight as well as pharmacological efficacy data.

The learning objective of the case is to teach the importance of understanding consumer and channel needs, as well as technology, in product development and to facilitate discussion of corporate strengths and blind spots.

Hennessy, Julie. 2016. With a Little Help from "Nuestros Amigos": Hispanics and Kidney Transplants. Case 5-116-003 (KEL940).

Dr. Juan Caicedo was educated in general medicine and surgery at Universidad Nacional de Colombia and practiced transplant medicine in Bogota. He determined that he would need to go to the United States to advance his training, and ultimately was awarded a fellowship in transplant surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

During his three years as a fellow, Caicedo was struck by the number of Hispanic patients on the kidney transplant waiting list. Not only were Hispanics the highest growth group on the transplant waiting list, they also waited longer for transplants and died while waiting at higher rates than non-Hispanic whites or African-Americans. Caicedo also was alarmed by Hispanic patients' lower utilization of living donors for transplantation—they were underrepresented not only as live donor transplant patients, but also as donors.

As he neared the end of his fellowship in 2006, Caicedo wondered if the Hispanic population encountered unique barriers to transplantation and living donor usage, and began to think about creating a program to address these barriers.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Maru Batting Center: Customer Lifetime Value . Case 3-112-003 (KEL688).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Maru Keitou, a decorated former collegiate softball player with a PhD from Oxford University, ran Maru Batting Center in the Roppongi district of Tokyo’s Minato ward. She had a deep knowledge of the game and of her customers, but she lacked a marketing background. She had recently signed up for a hosted customer relationship management service that would allow her to track the cost of acquiring and serving each of her four main customer segments. Using this data, she could determine which segments to target in the upcoming year.

The exercise describes the use of calculations of customer acquisition cost, retention rates, and customer lifetime value in picking between market segments and various options for activities to acquire customers.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG: Break-Even Analysis. Case 3-112-001 (KEL682).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Helmut Schmidt, product manager for Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG, the world’s foremost manufacturer of harmonicas, accordions, melodicas, and ukuleles, was sitting at his desk reviewing his first assignment from the company’s senior executive team. Schmidt had been asked to calculate the break-even point for the company’s flagship product, the Marine Band harmonica, under a number of different scenarios.

Tybout, AliceJulie Hennessy, Natalie Fahey and Charlotte Snyder. 2013. The Case of Synthroid (A): Marketing a Drug Coming Off Patent. Case 5-312-506(A) (KEL728).

The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case introduces students to the pharmaceutical industry, its practices, and some of the complexities of pricing and drug choice, with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists, and patients all playing a role. It also provides a primer on hypothyroidism, its symptoms, and its treatment.

Because Synthroid was developed and introduced before FDA regulations and drug standards of identity were fully established, it was difficult for competitors to get their drugs certified as identical to Synthroid. Through a series of efforts with physicians, especially endocrinologists, Synthroid’s owners were able to maintain the perception for forty-six years that Synthroid was uniquely effective. In 2004, however, the FDA declared several competitive products to be bioequivalent to Synthroid, which posed a significant challenge to its owner, Abbott Laboratories. Students are challenged to consider options to maintain the drug’s unit volume, revenue, and/or profit in these difficult circumstances.

The case is written in two parts. The (A) case provides background on the history of the drug, the pharmaceutical industry and its marketing practices, and hypothyroidism and its treatment, and it concludes in 2004 as Abbott’s marketers face the impending challenge of defending the Synthroid business against generic competition. The (B) case describes what Abbott actually did to maintain its share in the United States and outlines its strategy in India, a market without patent protection for pharmaceuticals.

Spanish translation available.

Hennessy, Julie, Rebecca Frazzano and Evan Meagher. 2010. Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard’s Thai Whisky War of 2007. Case 5-210-251 (KEL502).

The case examines a competitive situation in the market for Scotch whisky in Thailand. Two multinationals fight for market share with a complex portfolio of products under the Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, and Ballantine brand names. Students must understand a broad array of branding, consumer behavior, pricing, and regulatory issues in order to arrive at recommendations for Chivas Regal to defend against recent gains of Johnnie Walker. The case can be taught with a focus on the Chivas Regal 12 Year product and recommendations for its growth, but also can be taught as a broader portfolio case, with students aligning a portfolio of Chivas and Ballantine products at different quality levels to maximize sales and profit.

Hennessy, JulieAlice Tybout and Jill Carter. 2004. Maybelline Inc.: About Face. Case 5-104-043 (KEL112).

Maybelline is the world’s leading mass cosmetic company, with tremendous success and commanding market share, particularly in the “eye make-up” category. But Maybelline also acknowledges a weakness in the strategic “face” segment, most notably in the profitable "foundations" product lines. This case approaches the challenge of successfully growing this important category through looking at every aspect a company would need to make this move, including: consumer marketing strategy; consumer behavior and purchasing patterns; demographic analysis; segmentation and targeting; product management; distribution channels; pricing; advertising; and understanding the competitive environment.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Pepita Disco PPM: Margins and Elasticity. Case 3-112-004 (KEL692).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Carolina Araujo had recently taken control of her family’s business, Pepita Disco PPM, Uruguay’s second-largest producer of beef-based dog food, treats, and toys. While she respected the company’s nearly eighty-year history, Carolina felt that Pepita Disco had grown complacent with its market share and was basically preserving the status quo. Her plan was to re-energize the employee base and grow Pepita Disco’s business faster than the overall market.

This exercise poses a fictional problem about a company's efforts to predict the impacts of price, product cost, and spending moves on profitability.

Hennessy, Julie and Andrei Najjar. 2004. Blockbuster Inc.: Casting a New Movie. Case 5-404-754 (KEL066).

This case looks at Blockbuster Video in 2003 as it faces challenges from Wal-Mart and the "movies for sale" channel, Netflix and the on-line service channel, and in the future, Video on Demand. Students have an opportunity to design and consider options for defense of Blockbuster's business. Students identify opportunities to provide value for consumers who will rent to sample and then buy a movie. A discussion of the Netflix model provides ideas for many "value adds" to the base Blockbuster system that can drive frequency among current members. Video on Demand, perhaps the largest long-term threat, facilitates a discussion of the barriers and enablers of new technology diffusion. The case also works beautifully as a discussion piece on complex pricing structures.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Kookaburra Cricket Bats: Dealing with Cannibalization. Case 3-112-002 (KEL684).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Kookaburra, a maker of cricket equipment popular in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and India, was considering two strategies for positioning a new cricket bat in India. Both strategies would cannibalize current sales, and Lulu Popplewell, category manager responsible for the Indian market, needed to calculate the financial impact of both to determine which one she would recommend.

This exercise poses a fictional problem about branding strategy on a new product, and asks students to consider the financial impact of different branding strategies and cannibalization rates.

Hennessy, JulieEric Leininger and Evan Meagher. 2012. Global Brand Management: Best Practices and Learnings from Efforts to Build the Business “Over There”. Case 7-411-750 (KEL696).

This technical note discusses learnings from organizations facing the challenges of managing brands across global geography. It talks about best practices for balancing the competing needs for local relevance and global consistency and scales.

Hennessy, Julie. 2008. Zithromax Z-Pak and the “Biaxin BBQ” (B). Case 5-108-003(B) (KEL361).

The Biaxin case deals with competition in the mature market for antibiotics designed for use in the treatment of bacterial respiratory infections. The case tells the story of how Pfizer's Zithromax stole the share dominance of an established brand, Abbott's Biaxin. The case deals with the importance in pharma markets of consumer (patient) and channel (physician and insurance payer) insight as well as pharmacological efficacy data.

The learning objective of the case is to teach the importance of understanding consumer and channel needs, as well as technology, in product development and to facilitate discussion of corporate strengths and blind spots.

Hennessy, JulieAlice Tybout, Natalie Fahey and Charlotte Snyder. 2013. The Case of Synthroid (B): Marketing a Drug Coming Off Patent. Case 5-312-506(A) (KEL729).

The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case introduces students to the pharmaceutical industry, its practices, and some of the complexities of pricing and drug choice, with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists, and patients all playing a role. It also provides a primer on hypothyroidism, its symptoms, and its treatment.

Because Synthroid was developed and introduced before FDA regulations and drug standards of identity were fully established, it was difficult for competitors to get their drugs certified as identical to Synthroid. Through a series of efforts with physicians, especially endocrinologists, Synthroid’s owners were able to maintain the perception for forty-six years that Synthroid was uniquely effective. In 2004, however, the FDA declared several competitive products to be bioequivalent to Synthroid, which posed a significant challenge to its owner, Abbott Laboratories. Students are challenged to consider options to maintain the drug’s unit volume, revenue, and/or profit in these difficult circumstances.

The case is written in two parts. The (A) case provides background on the history of the drug, the pharmaceutical industry and its marketing practices, and hypothyroidism and its treatment, and it concludes in 2004 as Abbott’s marketers face the impending challenge of defending the Synthroid business against generic competition. The (B) case describes what Abbott actually did to maintain its share in the United States and outlines its strategy in India, a market without patent protection for pharmaceuticals.

Spanish translation available.

Hennessy, Julie and Charag Krishnan. 2014. Teach For India: Marketing an Idea. Case 5-413-752 (KEL813).

In 2008, Shaheen Mistri, founder of the nonprofit Teach For India (TFI), was grappling with applying and adapting the successful U.S.-based Teach For America and UK-based Teach First models to meet the challenges of the education sector in India. The case provides a review of the U.S.- and UK-based models as well as the factors that drove their growth in their respective markets. However, the adaptation of these models to create a business model and recruitment model that could succeed in the Indian context was not straightforward. The case describes a number of ways that the challenges in India differ from those of the United States and United Kingdom—namely, the size and magnitude of educational inequity, the motivations of undergraduate students as potential teacher-volunteers, the role that parents play in making career decisions for their children, and the attitudes of Indian school officials.

Students reading the case will discuss the roles of various constituencies involved in these models. After identifying how crucial constituencies are served by the U.S. and UK models, they will then brainstorm concrete ways that these models could be adjusted for India in order to successfully recruit Mistri's first cohort of TFI fellows.

Coughlan, AnneJulie Hennessy and Andrei Najjar. 2004. Invisalign: Orthodontics Unwired. Case 5-104-008 (KEL032).

Align Inc. is a start-up company with a revolutionary, patent-protected new technology for straightening teeth, called Invisalign. Invisalign is a set of invisible plastic aligners, made to each patient's specific needs, that substitutes for metal or ceramic braces in adults (it is not sold for children's orthodontic needs). The company has created tremendous consumer awareness and affect for its product, yet sales results are dismal. The case requires the reader to analyze why sales are so poor and what should be done to remedy the problem. While the case is oriented toward distribution channel issues, it can also be used to examine the marketing mix for a new product introduction situation as well.

Spanish translation available.

Hennessy, Julie and Andrei Najjar. 2004. Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music. Case 5-204-257 (KEL065).

This case focuses on Apple Computer’s launch of iTunes and iPod, in an effort to give Wintel-users a vehicle for having a relationship with Apple. The case deals with issues of brand equity, corporate and brand goal setting, target selection and matching product and service characteristics with goals and targets. It also provides a vehicle for a discussion of channel partners, their interests and their impact on the likely success/failure of a strategy.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Customer Lifetime Value. Case 7-312-500 (KEL695).

This technical note provides an update on the use of customer data in marketing organizations and discusses how calculations of customer acquisition costs are made. It introduces the concept of customer lifetime value and provides examples of how it is calculated and how it is used. If desired, this reading is good preparation for students completing the Kellogg exercise "Maru Batting Center: Customer Lifetime Value," Case #3-112-003.

Hennessy, Julie and Alice Tybout. 2004. TiVo. Case 5-104-024 (KEL132).

In 1999 TiVo was preparing to launch its digital video recorder (DVR) in the United States. The company’s goal was ambitious: it hoped to revolutionize how Americans watched television and to become a central player in the emerging interactive TV industry.

Although it had a technological advantage, TiVo faced one competitor (ReplayTV) and potential entrants such as Microsoft, so its success was far from guaranteed. Evidence suggested a bright future for the company, however; the concept had attracted $240 million in venture capital, and market research indicated a uniquely high level of consumer interest.

TiVo needed to capture the first-mover advantage and build its sales and brand as quickly as possible to support the company’s IPO, which was planned to take place within eighteen to twenty-four months. TiVo’s positioning at launch would play a key role in determining its success.

Hennessy, Julie. 2008. Zithromax Z-Pak and the “Biaxin BBQ” (A). Case 5-108-003(A) (KEL360).

The Biaxin case deals with competition in the mature market for antibiotics designed for use in the treatment of bacterial respiratory infections. The case tells the story of how Pfizer's Zithromax stole the share dominance of an established brand, Abbott's Biaxin. The case deals with the importance in pharma markets of consumer (patient) and channel (physician and insurance payer) insight as well as pharmacological efficacy data.

The learning objective of the case is to teach the importance of understanding consumer and channel needs, as well as technology, in product development and to facilitate discussion of corporate strengths and blind spots.

Hennessy, Julie. 2016. With a Little Help from "Nuestros Amigos": Hispanics and Kidney Transplants. Case 5-116-003 (KEL940).

Dr. Juan Caicedo was educated in general medicine and surgery at Universidad Nacional de Colombia and practiced transplant medicine in Bogota. He determined that he would need to go to the United States to advance his training, and ultimately was awarded a fellowship in transplant surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

During his three years as a fellow, Caicedo was struck by the number of Hispanic patients on the kidney transplant waiting list. Not only were Hispanics the highest growth group on the transplant waiting list, they also waited longer for transplants and died while waiting at higher rates than non-Hispanic whites or African-Americans. Caicedo also was alarmed by Hispanic patients' lower utilization of living donors for transplantation—they were underrepresented not only as live donor transplant patients, but also as donors.

As he neared the end of his fellowship in 2006, Caicedo wondered if the Hispanic population encountered unique barriers to transplantation and living donor usage, and began to think about creating a program to address these barriers.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Maru Batting Center: Customer Lifetime Value . Case 3-112-003 (KEL688).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Maru Keitou, a decorated former collegiate softball player with a PhD from Oxford University, ran Maru Batting Center in the Roppongi district of Tokyo’s Minato ward. She had a deep knowledge of the game and of her customers, but she lacked a marketing background. She had recently signed up for a hosted customer relationship management service that would allow her to track the cost of acquiring and serving each of her four main customer segments. Using this data, she could determine which segments to target in the upcoming year.

The exercise describes the use of calculations of customer acquisition cost, retention rates, and customer lifetime value in picking between market segments and various options for activities to acquire customers.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG: Break-Even Analysis. Case 3-112-001 (KEL682).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Helmut Schmidt, product manager for Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG, the world’s foremost manufacturer of harmonicas, accordions, melodicas, and ukuleles, was sitting at his desk reviewing his first assignment from the company’s senior executive team. Schmidt had been asked to calculate the break-even point for the company’s flagship product, the Marine Band harmonica, under a number of different scenarios.

Tybout, Alice, Julie Hennessy, Natalie Fahey and Charlotte Snyder. 2013. The Case of Synthroid (A): Marketing a Drug Coming Off Patent. Case 5-312-506(A) (KEL728).

The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case introduces students to the pharmaceutical industry, its practices, and some of the complexities of pricing and drug choice, with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists, and patients all playing a role. It also provides a primer on hypothyroidism, its symptoms, and its treatment.

Because Synthroid was developed and introduced before FDA regulations and drug standards of identity were fully established, it was difficult for competitors to get their drugs certified as identical to Synthroid. Through a series of efforts with physicians, especially endocrinologists, Synthroid’s owners were able to maintain the perception for forty-six years that Synthroid was uniquely effective. In 2004, however, the FDA declared several competitive products to be bioequivalent to Synthroid, which posed a significant challenge to its owner, Abbott Laboratories. Students are challenged to consider options to maintain the drug’s unit volume, revenue, and/or profit in these difficult circumstances.

The case is written in two parts. The (A) case provides background on the history of the drug, the pharmaceutical industry and its marketing practices, and hypothyroidism and its treatment, and it concludes in 2004 as Abbott’s marketers face the impending challenge of defending the Synthroid business against generic competition. The (B) case describes what Abbott actually did to maintain its share in the United States and outlines its strategy in India, a market without patent protection for pharmaceuticals.

Spanish translation available.

Hennessy, Julie, Rebecca Frazzano and Evan Meagher. 2010. Tartans in Thailand: Pernod Ricard’s Thai Whisky War of 2007. Case 5-210-251 (KEL502).

The case examines a competitive situation in the market for Scotch whisky in Thailand. Two multinationals fight for market share with a complex portfolio of products under the Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, and Ballantine brand names. Students must understand a broad array of branding, consumer behavior, pricing, and regulatory issues in order to arrive at recommendations for Chivas Regal to defend against recent gains of Johnnie Walker. The case can be taught with a focus on the Chivas Regal 12 Year product and recommendations for its growth, but also can be taught as a broader portfolio case, with students aligning a portfolio of Chivas and Ballantine products at different quality levels to maximize sales and profit.

Hennessy, Julie, Alice Tybout and Jill Carter. 2004. Maybelline Inc.: About Face. Case 5-104-043 (KEL112).

Maybelline is the world’s leading mass cosmetic company, with tremendous success and commanding market share, particularly in the “eye make-up” category. But Maybelline also acknowledges a weakness in the strategic “face” segment, most notably in the profitable "foundations" product lines. This case approaches the challenge of successfully growing this important category through looking at every aspect a company would need to make this move, including: consumer marketing strategy; consumer behavior and purchasing patterns; demographic analysis; segmentation and targeting; product management; distribution channels; pricing; advertising; and understanding the competitive environment.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Pepita Disco PPM: Margins and Elasticity. Case 3-112-004 (KEL692).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Carolina Araujo had recently taken control of her family’s business, Pepita Disco PPM, Uruguay’s second-largest producer of beef-based dog food, treats, and toys. While she respected the company’s nearly eighty-year history, Carolina felt that Pepita Disco had grown complacent with its market share and was basically preserving the status quo. Her plan was to re-energize the employee base and grow Pepita Disco’s business faster than the overall market.

This exercise poses a fictional problem about a company's efforts to predict the impacts of price, product cost, and spending moves on profitability.

Hennessy, Julie and Andrei Najjar. 2004. Blockbuster Inc.: Casting a New Movie. Case 5-404-754 (KEL066).

This case looks at Blockbuster Video in 2003 as it faces challenges from Wal-Mart and the "movies for sale" channel, Netflix and the on-line service channel, and in the future, Video on Demand. Students have an opportunity to design and consider options for defense of Blockbuster's business. Students identify opportunities to provide value for consumers who will rent to sample and then buy a movie. A discussion of the Netflix model provides ideas for many "value adds" to the base Blockbuster system that can drive frequency among current members. Video on Demand, perhaps the largest long-term threat, facilitates a discussion of the barriers and enablers of new technology diffusion. The case also works beautifully as a discussion piece on complex pricing structures.

Hennessy, Julie and Evan Meagher. 2012. Kookaburra Cricket Bats: Dealing with Cannibalization. Case 3-112-002 (KEL684).

This exercise is one in a series intended to help students learn how to perform financial calculations in marketing contexts.

Kookaburra, a maker of cricket equipment popular in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and India, was considering two strategies for positioning a new cricket bat in India. Both strategies would cannibalize current sales, and Lulu Popplewell, category manager responsible for the Indian market, needed to calculate the financial impact of both to determine which one she would recommend.

This exercise poses a fictional problem about branding strategy on a new product, and asks students to consider the financial impact of different branding strategies and cannibalization rates.

Hennessy, Julie, Eric Leininger and Evan Meagher. 2012. Global Brand Management: Best Practices and Learnings from Efforts to Build the Business “Over There”. Case 7-411-750 (KEL696).

This technical note discusses learnings from organizations facing the challenges of managing brands across global geography. It talks about best practices for balancing the competing needs for local relevance and global consistency and scales.

Hennessy, Julie. 2008. Zithromax Z-Pak and the “Biaxin BBQ” (B). Case 5-108-003(B) (KEL361).

The Biaxin case deals with competition in the mature market for antibiotics designed for use in the treatment of bacterial respiratory infections. The case tells the story of how Pfizer's Zithromax stole the share dominance of an established brand, Abbott's Biaxin. The case deals with the importance in pharma markets of consumer (patient) and channel (physician and insurance payer) insight as well as pharmacological efficacy data.

The learning objective of the case is to teach the importance of understanding consumer and channel needs, as well as technology, in product development and to facilitate discussion of corporate strengths and blind spots.

Hennessy, Julie, Alice Tybout, Natalie Fahey and Charlotte Snyder. 2013. The Case of Synthroid (B): Marketing a Drug Coming Off Patent. Case 5-312-506(A) (KEL729).

The case tells the story of Synthroid from its development in 1958 as the first synthetic thyroxine molecule to its competition against generic equivalents in 2004. The case introduces students to the pharmaceutical industry, its practices, and some of the complexities of pricing and drug choice, with drug manufacturers, insurance companies, physicians, pharmacists, and patients all playing a role. It also provides a primer on hypothyroidism, its symptoms, and its treatment.

Because Synthroid was developed and introduced before FDA regulations and drug standards of identity were fully established, it was difficult for competitors to get their drugs certified as identical to Synthroid. Through a series of efforts with physicians, especially endocrinologists, Synthroid’s owners were able to maintain the perception for forty-six years that Synthroid was uniquely effective. In 2004, however, the FDA declared several competitive products to be bioequivalent to Synthroid, which posed a significant challenge to its owner, Abbott Laboratories. Students are challenged to consider options to maintain the drug’s unit volume, revenue, and/or profit in these difficult circumstances.

The case is written in two parts. The (A) case provides background on the history of the drug, the pharmaceutical industry and its marketing practices, and hypothyroidism and its treatment, and it concludes in 2004 as Abbott’s marketers face the impending challenge of defending the Synthroid business against generic competition. The (B) case describes what Abbott actually did to maintain its share in the United States and outlines its strategy in India, a market without patent protection for pharmaceuticals.

Spanish translation available.

Hennessy, Julie and Charag Krishnan. 2014. Teach For India: Marketing an Idea. Case 5-413-752 (KEL813).

In 2008, Shaheen Mistri, founder of the nonprofit Teach For India (TFI), was grappling with applying and adapting the successful U.S.-based Teach For America and UK-based Teach First models to meet the challenges of the education sector in India. The case provides a review of the U.S.- and UK-based models as well as the factors that drove their growth in their respective markets. However, the adaptation of these models to create a business model and recruitment model that could succeed in the Indian context was not straightforward. The case describes a number of ways that the challenges in India differ from those of the United States and United Kingdom—namely, the size and magnitude of educational inequity, the motivations of undergraduate students as potential teacher-volunteers, the role that parents play in making career decisions for their children, and the attitudes of Indian school officials.

Students reading the case will discuss the roles of various constituencies involved in these models. After identifying how crucial constituencies are served by the U.S. and UK models, they will then brainstorm concrete ways that these models could be adjusted for India in order to successfully recruit Mistri's first cohort of TFI fellows.

Coughlan, Anne, Julie Hennessy and Andrei Najjar. 2004. Invisalign: Orthodontics Unwired. Case 5-104-008 (KEL032).

Align Inc. is a start-up company with a revolutionary, patent-protected new technology for straightening teeth, called Invisalign. Invisalign is a set of invisible plastic aligners, made to each patient's specific needs, that substitutes for metal or ceramic braces in adults (it is not sold for children's orthodontic needs). The company has created tremendous consumer awareness and affect for its product, yet sales results are dismal. The case requires the reader to analyze why sales are so poor and what should be done to remedy the problem. While the case is oriented toward distribution channel issues, it can also be used to examine the marketing mix for a new product introduction situation as well.

Spanish translation available.

Hennessy, Julie and Andrei Najjar. 2004. Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music. Case 5-204-257 (KEL065).

This case focuses on Apple Computer’s launch of iTunes and iPod, in an effort to give Wintel-users a vehicle for having a relationship with Apple. The case deals with issues of brand equity, corporate and brand goal setting, target selection and matching product and service characteristics with goals and targets. It also provides a vehicle for a discussion of channel partners, their interests and their impact on the likely success/failure of a strategy.

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