BuzzFeed — The Promise of Native Advertising

Felix  Oberholzer-Gee

Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2014 (Revised August 2014)

BuzzFeed — The Promise of Native Advertising

by Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Language: English

Format: Print

24 pages

Educators Purchase

Citation:

Oberholzer-Gee, Felix. "BuzzFeed — The Promise of Native Advertising." Harvard Business School Case 714-512, June 2014. (Revised August 2014.)

Zhejiang Geely Holding Company's acquisition of Volvo cars was widely viewed with skepticism because of the poor track record of cross-border auto industry acquisitions. This case looks at the acquisition and post-acquisition integration from the point of view of Chinese managers at Geely. A companion case, HBS No. 613-042, “Volvo Cars: Acquisition by Geely” looks at the acquisition from the point of view of Swedish managers at Volvo.

In 2000, Procter & Gamble Co. introduced Crest Whitestrips, a new, revolutionary product that allowed consumers to whiten their teeth at home. With Whitestrips, P&G created an entire new category in oral care, worth $460 million in 2002. Whitestrips sent P&G's main competitor in oral care, Colgate Palmolive Co., scrambling because several patents protected the strips, making it difficult for Colgate to copy the invention. But in September 2002, the tables turned. Colgate introduced Simply White, a favorably priced whitening product that consumers could simply paint on their teeth. One month after its introduction, Simply White had captured one half of the market, and Crest Whitestrips lost more than 50% of its share. However, P&G's tests of Simply White indicated that Colgate's new product was largely ineffective. Had Colgate just committed a major strategic blunder by introducing a product that did not work? And, if so, how could P&G best take advantage of the situation?

Zheijiang Geely Holding Company's acquisition of Volvo Cars was widely viewed with skepticism because of the poor track record of cross-border auto industry acquisitions. This case looks at the acquisition and post-acquisition integration from the point of view of Swedish managers at Volvo. A companion case, HBS No. 613-041, “Zheijiang Geely Holding Group: Acquisition of Volvo Cars” looks at the acquisition from the point of view of Chinese managers at Geely.

Faculty & Research

BuzzFeed — The Promise of Native Advertising

Citation:

About the Author

More from the Author

Faculty & Research

BuzzFeed — The Promise of Native Advertising

Citation:

Related Work

About the Author

More from the Author