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Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2004 (Revised July 2006)

PROPECIA TM: Helping Make Hair Loss History

by Marta Wosinska and Youngme E. Moon

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Abstract

In late 1997, Tom Casola, brand manager for Propecia, debates the best approach to market this breakthrough one-a-day pill for hair loss. This launch would be atypical for a prescription drug because of the key position of the consumer. As a result, the team's experience of past launches has little bearing on how its two available instruments, physician detailing and direct-to-consumer advertising, might play out in this case. Three issues present themselves as new: the form of advertising, the consumer message, and the balance between consumer and physician marketing efforts. The ensuing discussion allows participants to explore the goals of and interdependence between various marketing instruments.

Keywords: Advertising; Communication Strategy; Customers; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product; Performance Effectiveness; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Pharmaceutical Industry;

Format: Print 19 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Wosinska, Marta, and Youngme E. Moon. "PROPECIA TM: Helping Make Hair Loss History." Harvard Business School Case 505-035, August 2004. (Revised July 2006.)

About the Author

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Youngme Moon
Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration
General Management

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More from the Author

  • Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2003 (Revised October 2018)

    Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service

    Youngme Moon and John Quelch

    Starbucks, the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, must respond to recent market research indicating that the company is not meeting customer expectations in terms of service. To increase customer satisfaction, the company is debating a plan that would increase the amount of labor in the stores and theoretically increase speed-of-service. However, the impact of the plan (which would cost $40 million annually) on the company's bottom line is unclear.

    Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Recruitment; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry;

    Citation:

    Moon, Youngme, and John Quelch. "Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service." Harvard Business School Case 504-016, July 2003. (Revised October 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
  • Supplement | HBS Case Collection | May 2017 (Revised October 2017)

    Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves (B)

    Youngme Moon

    This is a B case written as a follow-up to the original case, Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves (316-101). It describes a slew of controversial incidents besetting the company in early 2017.

    Keywords: Marketing; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Transportation; Problems and Challenges; United States;

    Citation:

    Moon, Youngme. "Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 317-125, May 2017. (Revised October 2017.)  View Details
    CiteView Details Related
  • Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2015 (Revised January 2017)

    Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves

    Youngme Moon

    In 2015, Uber is building what may be the largest point-to-point transportation network of its kind; it is literally changing the way the world moves. But unlike traditional transportation logistics companies like FedEx, Uber has an incredibly lightweight infrastructure: it owns no vehicles, employs no drivers, and pays no vehicle maintenance costs. Instead, its network relies on peer-to-peer coordination between drivers and passengers, enabled by sophisticated software and a clever reputation system. But despite its remarkable early success, Uber is an extremely polarizing company. Its business model is highly disruptive, and while disruptive innovation can be a good thing, it is also true that disruptive companies tend to break things. This is certainly true for Uber and is one of the key tensions in the case: Uber's innovative business model is outpacing many of the laws regulating its industry, and while it is going to take the regulatory system some time to catch up, Uber doesn't appear to be willing to wait.

    Keywords: marketing; operations; service; strategy; innovation; disruption; pricing; customer loyalty; customer satisfaction; Uber; taxi; transportation; sharing economy; on-demand economy; consumer behavior; Marketing; Operations; Strategy; Disruption; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation; Consumer Behavior;

    Citation:

    Moon, Youngme. "Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves." Harvard Business School Case 316-101, November 2015. (Revised January 2017.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
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