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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2011 version)

  The Cheezburger Network

  John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

  Cheezburger Network was a Web publisher of humorous, user-contributed content, using social media for dissemination, and selling advertising against the traffic of 1 billion page views per quarter. In January 2011, it raised $30 million in venture capital for the network of 50 websites that featured an entertaining array of user-generated content. Beginning with a site based on pictures of cats with whimsical captions, it had grown into a small but impressive digital empire, riding waves of viral content. CEO Ben Huh prided himself on his ability to go from idea to implementation in just a few days, but this just-in-time method made strategic planning difficult. Profitable from day one and with $5 million of revenue across 50 brand identities, Huh's challenge was to evaluate his growth to date, to look critically at the digital media landscape, and to figure out how to best to spend the $30 million.

  Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Online Advertising; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Sales; Online Technology; Web Sites; Publishing Industry; Web Services Industry;

  Citation:

  Deighton, John, and Leora Kornfeld. "The Cheezburger Network." Harvard Business School Case 511-091, May 2013. (Revised from original February 2011 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Innovation at the Boston Consulting Group

  Robert G. Eccles, Das Narayandas and Penelope Rossano

  This case is about how the Boston Consulting Group has approached innovation from its founding to the present day. It discusses the role of the firm's talent market and client market in developing these innovations.

  Keywords: innovation; strategy consulting; professional service firm; knowledge management; client management; product development; leadership; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Independent Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Value Creation; Consulting Industry;

  Citation:

  Eccles, Robert G., Das Narayandas, and Penelope Rossano. "Innovation at the Boston Consulting Group." Harvard Business School Case 313-137, May 2013.

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Ron Johnson: Retail at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney

  Das Narayandas, Kerry Herman and Lisa Mazzanti

  In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures from J.C. Penney's traditional retail approach, and enacted changes quickly and simultaneously, with little market testing. Over Johnson's final 12 months as CEO, J.C. Penney shares dropped more than 50%. The case describes the environments at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney during Johnson's tenure and how his experiences may have shaped the strategies that he implemented while CEO at J.C. Penney.

  Citation:

  Narayandas, Das, Kerry Herman, and Lisa Mazzanti. "Ron Johnson: Retail at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney." Harvard Business School Case 513-103, May 2013.

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