Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals

Das  Narayandas; David E. Bell; Anita  Elberse; John T. Gourville; David B. Godes; John A. Quelch; Gail J. McGovern; Luc R. Wathieu; Marta  Wosinska

Class Lecture | October 2008

Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals

by Das Narayandas, David E. Bell, Anita Elberse, John T. Gourville, David B. Godes, John A. Quelch, Gail J. McGovern, Luc R. Wathieu and Marta Wosinska

Abstract

Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals will help today's business executives and tomorrow's business leaders understand the key elements of a successful marketing strategy. The multimedia resource includes video lectures by Harvard Business School faculty, who teach core principles of marketing, as well as animated frameworks, articles, and notes. Instructional workbook exercises will help you evaluate your own marketing efforts and create a marketing plan for your organization.

Keywords: Customers; Framework; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Planning; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation;

Format: Multimedia

1 pages

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Citation:

Narayandas, Das, David E. Bell, Anita Elberse, John T. Gourville, David B. Godes, John A. Quelch, Gail J. McGovern, Luc R. Wathieu, and Marta Wosinska. "Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals." Harvard Business School Class Lecture 509-719, October 2008.

This brief case describes the rise of so-called digital natives (also called born-in-digital) in the 2000s and 2010s that successfully grew without a sales force. The case highlights the emergence of business-to-business Internet and cloud-based companies and their decisions regarding sales strategy based on different customer bases. The case discusses the firms Atlassian, Basecamp, and Slack.

Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2020

Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands

Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In March 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (‘PSG’) sees his team clinch a spot among the last eight clubs to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Established in 1970 and initially a club with only moderate success, PSG’s fortunes changed when Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) acquired the club in 2011. QSI overhauled the roster of players—by, among other measures, buying Kylian Mbappé and, in a record €222-million transfer that shook the soccer world, Neymar—and professionalized the club’s management, renovated the stadium, developed a new training ground, redefined the PSG brand, and pursued a series of high-profile collaborations. The investment seems to have paid off, on and off the field: since the acquisition, PSG has amassed six French league titles and has risen to fifth place in the ranking of Europe’s highest-grossing soccer clubs. But the biggest prize the club’s owners are eyeing, the Champions League, has so far eluded PSG. Does the club have the right strategy to break the hegemony of Europe’s long-standing soccer powerhouses? And are Al-Khelaifi and his team of executives on the right path toward their goal of establishing PSG as one of the world’s top three sports brands?

Keywords: Sports; soccer; football; entertainment; media; superstars; Talent; talent development; globalization; marketing; strategy; general management;

Citation:

Elberse, Anita, and David Moreno Vicente. "Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands." Harvard Business School Case 521-006, July 2020. View Details

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“We’re in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let’s do this. If you think you can pull it off, I’m behind you.” Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment company, expresses his support to Pharrell Williams, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, and his long-time manager Ron Laffitte. It is December 2018, and Williams just pitched Rapino an idea for a music festival in Virginia Beach, Something In The Water. Williams is engaged in many endeavors – he is not only a chart-topping musician, but also a fashion designer, film and television producer, brand builder, and business consultant – that are brought together in his company, I Am Other, which is in a joint venture with Live Nation. Although Live Nation generally does not shy away from making big bets on its artists, Williams’ festival idea is risky and has an unusually aggressive time table. Is Rapino right to lend his support to Williams’ proposed festival? Are partnerships like the one it had formed with Williams’ company I Am Other the way forward for Live Nation? And how can the company that dominates the live music space best continue to create value for artists and their managers?

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Marketing as Competitive Advantage: Fundamentals

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