BMK710 – Senca College Brand Strategy I and BMK711 – Brand Metrics I

THE
MANDATE

This
case takes place in 2010 and your analysis, alternatives &
recommendations must reflect the situation at that point in time.
You
are Isabel Eckstein, Brand Manager – Cucina Fresca,
and your business decision deck must be written from that
perspective. As
Isabel Eckstein, you are preparing a deck that will be presented and
discussed with the company’s CEO, CFO and Chief Marketing Officer.

You are required to identify
and clearly state “the” problem. Once that is done, your
task is to provide
a recommendation on what TruEarth should or should not do. This
recommendation must be built on a through analysis and assessment of
the situation and consumer research that leads you to the
identification of appropriate and relevant insights which then can be
used to determine the actual problem, generate potential solutions
and provide your recommendation. In fact, it is impossible to
develop a recommendation without transforming the information that
you have been provided into meaningful insights.

You will also need to decide
the relevant close-ended
criteria you will
use to assess the alternatives you have identified. Clearly,
however, you will need to consider both qualitative and quantitative
criteria.

One of the criteria definitely
will be a forecast of demand for the new product. Using the model in
Exhibit 5 and the data in Table B, Exhibit 5 and 7, and the
information in the case on retailer gross margins, you
will need to develop a forecast of the demand for the new pizza
product. This is
also your opportunity to learn about Nielsen BASES –
https://www.greenbook.org/company/BASES.

Changes
To & Clarifications of Case Assumptions to Forecast Demand

For
this specific case analysis, the following changes are to be made to
the assumptions contained in the case:

• 
  When projecting demand, a
  good marketer will want to consider the sensitivity of their key
  assumptions and the impact on their model. In this case, you
  should analyze different penetration rates (4%, 8%, 11% and 15%) in
  combination with Product Quality & Re-purchasers % (21%, 37% and
  49%).
• For
  the purpose of your pizza demand projections, when the case refers
  to penetration rates, what it means is the % of Tru-Earth pizza
  customers that also
  purchase
  Tru-Earth pasta.
  • So,
    if you are told that there is a 11% penetration rate, what it means
    is that 11% of Tru-Earth pizza customers ARE Tru-Earth pasta
    customers, and that 89% of Tru-Earth pizza customers do not buy our
    pasta.

• You are not required to, nor
  can you, build a full financial model to forecast the operating and
  net cash flow from the proposed new product launch.
• There is an error
  in some of the material that is provided by Harvard. Some of the
  values provided in the case document in Exhibit 6 are different than
  those given in the student spreadsheet.
  • You are to use the values in
    Exhibit 6 on page 10 of the case document.
  • Specifically, the ratings
    for quality attributes for takeout pizza are as follows:
    • Is made from high-quality
      ingredients 8.4
    • Is made from healthy
      ingredients 7.1

Here are some hints to assist
you with developing your problem statement, creating alternatives and
providing a recommendation:

• Was the pasta launch
  successful? If so, why?
  • How does the pizza
    opportunity compare to the pasta opportunity?
  • What are the “jobs to be
    done” for pasta as compared to the “jobs to be done” for
    pizza?
  • How would you compare the
    product development process for each?
  • What can you learn from
    Exhibits 6, 9 and 10?
  • What can you learns from
    comparing Exhibits 7 & 8 to Exhibits 3 & 4.
  • Writing a positioning
    statement for pizza and comparing it to one for pasta may help.
  • Some of you may wish to
    use the phrase “first mover advantage”. Please read “The
    Half-Truth of First-Mover Advantage” by Suarez and Lanzolla (HBR,
    April 2005) before you do so to ensure that you fully understand
    the concept before you use it in the case.

GRADE ALLOCATION –
BMK710 Brand Strategy I

This
assignment represents 20.0% of your final grade in BMK710 – Brand
Strategy I.
Your assignment will be graded out of 65 marks as follows:

• Situation
  Analysis 2.5
  marks
  • Factual
    information provided in the situation analysis must be relevant to
    the identification of the problem and the business decision that
    needs to be made.

• Insights
  7.5
  marks
  • Factual
    information from the case must be used to develop relevant and
    meaningful insights which add to the reader’s understanding of
    the problem, the potential solutions and your recommendation.
  • There
    are multiple insights that should and can be derived from the case
    facts
  • Tru-Earth’s
    competitive advantages and the firm’s business objectives should
    be included as part of the situation analysis

• Problem
  Identification and Statement 5.0
  marks
  • This
    includes your analysis & justification for the problem you’ve
    identified, identifying the correct problem at the right level as
    well as the construction of the actual problem statement.
  • While
    the problem initially may seem obvious (Do we launch the Cucina
    Fresca pizza?), you should stretch your thinking to see if that is
    actually the real problem.
  • If
    you identify a different problem, launching the Cucina Fresca pizza
    must be one of your alternatives and you must still provide a
    demand forecast for the product.
  • Note
    that I should not find the words “Problem Statement” anywhere
    in your deck. It should be absolutely obvious to the reader what
    the problem is and, if it isn’t, it indicates an issue with the
    flow of your deck, the problem you’ve identified and/or your
    actual problem statement.

• Analysis
  of the Cucina Fresca Pasta Launch 10.0
  marks
  • Was
    the pasta launch successful; why or why not?
  • How
    does the pizza opportunity compare to the pasta opportunity?
  • What
    insights lead you to that conclusion?
  • What
    other insights can you identify to inform your final
    recommendation?

• Identification
  of alternatives 5
  marks
  • A
    minimum of 4 quality alternatives are required (i.e. will they
    solve the problem)
  • A
    short description of each alternative should be provided so that
    the reader is absolutely clear on what it is

• Assessment
  of alternatives
  10 marks
  • A
    thorough selection of appropriate close-ended criteria must be
    used.
  • Each
    close-ended criteria must be assessed for each alternative.
  • A
    summary assessment must be provided for each alternative.

• Final
  recommendation & summary rationale 10
  marks
  • This
    assesses the quality of your recommended solution and your
    rationale for selecting that alternative.

• Defining
  the market (what business is TruEarth in?) 5
  marks
  • This
    is not specifically required to solve this case but if you want to
    include it as part of your main business decision deck, you are
    free to do so, otherwise, you can provide this as an appendix.
  • Provide
    a minimum of 4 ways to define the market that Tru-Earth
    participates in with a rationale on why Tru-Earth could (and
    perhaps should) define their business that way.

• Competitive
  Advantage Analysis 5
  marks
  • Identify
    Tru-Earth’s core competencies and through a VRIO analysis
    determine which ones are competitive advantages, if any..
  • This
    should be included as an appendix in your business decision deck
    submission.

• 6
  Forces Analysis 5
  marks
  • Analyze
    the market that the proposed Tru-Earth pizza will participate in
    using the 6 Forces framework.
  • A
    conclusion on the overall attractiveness of the market is required.
  • This
    should be included as an appendix in your business decision deck
    submission.

GRADE ALLOCATION –
BMK711 Brand Metrics I

This
assignment represents 10.0% of your final grade in BMK711 – Brand
Metrics. The assignment will be graded out of 50 marks as follows:

• Demand
  Projection 20.0
  marks
  • Your
    detailed demand projection must be presented in your appendices
    with a summarized
    version
    included in your deck.
    • Do
      not make the mistake of putting the exact same financial model in
      the body of your deck that is in your appendix.
  • You
    are to present the detailed demand projection for the option with a
    11% penetration rate and a 37% product quality and repurchasers %.
  • All
    projections must be professionally formatted and presented.
  • For
    the benefit of the reader, any assumptions or non-intuitive
    calculations must be explained so that the reader can follow your
    logic when reading the business decision deck.
  • Remember
    that you are not going to be there to explain how a specific number
    was determined so this needs to be covered properly in your
    business decision deck so that the reader of the deck can quickly
    and easily understand what you are presenting and how it was
    derived.

• Demand
  Projection – Sensitivity Analysis 15.0
  marks
  • In this case, you should
    analyze different penetration rates (4%, 8%, 11% and 15%) in
    combination with Product Quality & Re-purchasers % (21%, 37%
    and 49%).
  • 
    You do not need to and
    should not provide the detailed model for each of the 12 scenarios
    in your deck.
  • A summary table of the
    sensitivity analysis should be included in your deck as part of
    your story and you should show the scenario with a 8% penetration
    rate and a 21% product quality & re-purchaser % as one of your
    appendices.

• Effective
  Use of Metrics In The Deck 10.0
  marks
  • The first aspect of this
    deliverable is how you used the demand forecasts from the 12
    different scenarios. How did you interpret these forecasts? How
    did you use the forecasts in your decision making and
    recommendation?
  • The second aspect of this
    deliverable is an evaluation of your interpretation and application
    of the market research material that has been provided to you in
    the case exhibits and how you have integrated that it into your
    deck, your analysis and your recommendations.

• Presentation
  of Your Financial Models in the Deck & in the Appendices

5.0
marks

• Is your material presented
  professionally?
• Is it properly formatted?
• Are input variables
  highlighted in yellow?
• Is it readable?
• Are there column headers?
• Is the information in the
  deck a summary of the detailed model in the appendices?

All
the necessary
information for the reader to evaluate your recommendation must
be included in your business decision deck and its appendices:

• Any excerpts from your
  spreadsheet included in your presentation must be formatted properly
  and presented so that it looks like it is an integrated part of your
  presentation.
• The financial information
  presented in your actual deck (versus what is in the appendices)
  must be a summarized version of the detailed financial models that
  are contained in your appendices. Do not waste the reader’s time
  by putting the exact same information in two places in your deck.
• Your spreadsheet must be
  submitted to the professor at the same time as you submit your
  powerpoint file. You must also upload a pdf of your business
  decision deck to SafeAssign by the designated time.

As
with all cases in this course, all the information required to solve
the case is in the case unless otherwise stated in the specific case
instruction document. Searching for information and answers on the
internet is not required, nor is it permitted unless specifically
required in the case instructions.

You
are free to flow the content in your deck in whatever way best
communicates the “story” you want to tell. The allocation of
space for each of the required areas is up to you as long as the
assignment requirements are appropriately covered. Your
deck is to be no more than 8 pages long, excluding the cover page and
no more than 3 pages of appendices; decks
longer than this will not be read and will receive a 0 grade. Your
soft copy and hard copy submissions must be absolutely identical; if
that is not the case, a grade of “0” will be given for the
assignment.

Detailed
submission instructions and requirements, and submission deadlines
are outlined in the “Case Assignments – Overview and
Instructions” document that has already been posted on blackboard.

As
a reminder, your overall grade on the case can be adjusted +/- 10% of
the total marks available for the case by the professor to reflect
the quality and quantity of your participation in our class
discussions.

The
overall quality, flow, consistency & professionalism of your
submission must meet an appropriate standard for a business deck in
the “real world”. Marks, up to 25% of the total grade for this
assignment can be deducted if the following expectations are not met
or if too much irrelevant content is included.