Superstars and Underdogs: An Examination of the Long Tail Phenomenon in Video Sales

Anita  Elberse; Felix  Oberholzer-Gee

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Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2006

Superstars and Underdogs: An Examination of the Long Tail Phenomenon in Video Sales

by Anita Elberse and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Language: English

Format: Print

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Citation:

Elberse, Anita, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee. "Superstars and Underdogs: An Examination of the Long Tail Phenomenon in Video Sales." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 07-015, September 2006. (Featured in HBS Working Knowledge.)

About the Authors

Anita Elberse

Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration

Marketing

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Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration
Co-Unit Head, Strategy

Strategy

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Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised June 2019)

The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

Anita Elberse and Saskia Van Rheenen

Should the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament gamble most of its player budget on superstar player Rafael Nadal, even after the event’s previous two editions saw Nadal and Roger Federer pull out at the last moment due to injury, leaving the tournament without any top-five players? That is the question that Richard Krajicek, former Wimbledon champion and current tournament director, is debating with Jolanda Jansen, the director of the venue that hosts the event. It is June 2017, and earlier in the day, Nadal won the French Open (“Roland Garros”) for a record tenth time. Krajicek’s plan for the upcoming edition was to focus his recruiting efforts on five exciting, mostly younger, players, and assemble a group of top-20 players around them—but after Nadal’s record-breaking performance, Krajicek is now considering pursuing the Spanish superstar for the 2018 tournament after all. What is the best course of action?

Keywords: entertainment; superstar; Talent; general management; Marketing; Sports; Media; Entertainment; Talent and Talent Management; Negotiation; Strategy; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry;

Citation:
Elberse, Anita, and Saskia Van Rheenen. "The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament." Harvard Business School Case 518-041, September 2017. (Revised June 2019.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2019

Roger Federer's TEAM8: Launching the Laver Cup

Anita Elberse

Roger Federer, widely regarded as the best tennis player in the history of the sport, walked onto the court to thunderous applause during in the second edition of the Laver Cup in September 2018. Named after tennis legend Rod Laver, the Cup pitted many of the greatest players from Europe against those from the rest of the world. Federer was more than one of the Laver Cup’s main stars—he was an owner and co-creator. In fact, the idea for the event had originated in his boutique company TEAM8, which he co-founded in 2013 with his agent and business partner Tony Godsick. The Laver Cup’s success had not gone unnoticed in the world of tennis. With traditional tennis tournaments such as the Davis Cup attracting new investors and with governing bodies such as the Association of Tennis Professionals planning to relaunch their team event, the competition for top players and for desirable slots on an already very full tennis calendar was stronger than ever before. Was TEAM8’s Laver Cup well positioned for long-term success?

Keywords: superstars; tennis; tournaments; Entrepreneurship; Sports; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Sports Industry;

Citation:
Elberse, Anita. "Roger Federer's TEAM8: Launching the Laver Cup." Harvard Business School Case 519-093, June 2019. View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2016 (Revised June 2019)

Hamilton: An American Musical

Anita Elberse and Jennifer Schoppe

In July 2013, composer, writer, actor and rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Tommy Kail, and producer Jeffrey Seller met to discuss how to launch Hamilton, a new musical based on the life of the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. With a hip-hop score and an ethnically diverse cast that looked nothing like their historical counterparts, Hamilton was an unlikely candidate for success on Broadway. The trio needed to decide which of two popular routes was best to bring their new musical to Broadway: either take the production straight to Broadway in a 'cold open,' or strike an 'enhancement deal' with a non-profit theater so the musical could be tested before mounting a more expensive Broadway run. Could a hip-hop musical about a largely forgotten Founding Father be a Broadway blockbuster? And if so, what was the right next step in bringing Hamilton closer toward that goal?

Keywords: entertainment; Creative Industries; performing arts; (general) management; blockbusters; non-profit; Theater Entertainment; Strategy; Risk Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Arts; Creativity; Product Launch; Product Development; Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States;

Citation:
Elberse, Anita, and Jennifer Schoppe. "Hamilton: An American Musical." Harvard Business School Case 517-015, July 2016. (Revised June 2019.) View Details

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Superstars and Underdogs: An Examination of the Long Tail Phenomenon in Video Sales

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