The Nobel Prize

Mats  Urde; Stephen A. Greyser

Article | Journal of Product & Brand Management | 2015

The Nobel Prize: The Identity of a Corporate Heritage Brand

Abstract

Purpose—The purpose of this study is to understand the identity of the Nobel Prize as a corporate heritage brand and its management challenges.
Design/methodology/approach—An in-depth case study analysed within a heritage brand model and a corporate brand identity framework.
Findings—The Nobel Prize is a corporate heritage brand—one whose value proposition is based on heritage—in this case "achievements for the benefit of mankind" (derived directly from Alfred Nobel's will). It is also defined as a "networked brand," one where four independent collaborating organisations around the (Nobel) hub create and sustain the Nobel Prize's identity and reputation, acting as a "federated republic."
Research limitations/implications—The new and combined application of the Heritage Quotient framework and the Corporate Brand Identity Matrix in the Heritage Brand Identity Process (HBIP) offers a structured approach to integrate the identity of a corporate heritage brand. In a networked situation, understanding the role of stewardship in collaborating organisations is essential: The network entities maintain their own identities and goals, but share common values of the network hub.
Practical implications—The integrated frameworks (HBIP) provides a platform for managing a corporate heritage brand.
Originality/value—This is the first field-based study of the Nobel Prize from a strategic brand management perspective.

Keywords: Nobel Prize; brand stewardship; corporate brand identity; Corporate Heritage Brand; Heritage Brand Identity Process; networked brand; Organizations; Brands and Branding;

Format: Print

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Citation:

Urde, Mats, and Stephen A. Greyser. "The Nobel Prize: The Identity of a Corporate Heritage Brand." Journal of Product & Brand Management 24, no. 4 (2015): 318–332.

Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2020

Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?

Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet

Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own money and funds from friends and family members. Their initial product sells reasonably well, but not enough to remain profitable. When they introduce a reformulated product, Totaled, its social media presence explodes. Young consumers upload many videos to YouTube that record the impacts of consuming large quantities of Totaled that earn millions of views. Totaled becomes a star brand on social media and sales skyrocket. The company is inundated with distribution requests. The founders see success looming. As sales of Totaled and similar products increase, so do reports of binge drinking and its negative consequences. Emergency room doctors and public health officials express concern about the combination of high levels of alcohol and caffeine in these products. Rapidly expanding distribution of the beverage through convenience stores gives underage drinkers easier access to the beverage. All these factors attract national media coverage. The founders are unprepared to deal with the bad reputation their product is gaining and regulatory and public-relations crisis they face. As the case ends, they are deciding how to respond. "Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?" can be used with undergraduate and MBA courses in entrepreneurship, marketing, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, general management, and public health.

Keywords: alcoholic beverages; energy drinks; regulation; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Reputation; Communication Strategy; Decision Making;

Citation:

Greyser, Stephen A., and William Ellet. "Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?" Harvard Business School Brief Case 920-557, May 2020. View Details

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Teaching Note for HBS Brief Case No. 920-557. The case addresses analysis and decisions related to the entrepreneurial life of a distinctive energy beverage, including its niche market launch, early problems, reformulation, social media impact, market success, and public policy/ethics challenges—as well as the three co-founders' approaches to management and decision making. Ultimately, the partners must opt for "fight or flight." The extensive Teaching Note encompasses two alternative discussion plans, one focused on the ultimate decision (fight/flight/compromise), and the other following the case facts, analysis, and decisions over time. The elements of market entry, competition, product modifications, communications strategy, regulatory challenges, and management decision-making are all treated. Key topics and study questions assist instructors in course selection for the case and student assignments.

This chapter presents and interprets two field-based studies of sponsorship collaborations between major museums and significant financial institutions—a global multi-year partnership between the Guggenheim Foundation and UBS, and the pioneering regional integrated sponsorship program between the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Fleet Bank (subsequently part of Bank of America) for the “Monet in the 20th century” exhibition in 1998. The studies offer insights on the rationale (as well as non-objectives) and implementation of the sponsorships and explore critical elements of resource integration in terms of complementary resource mobilization and internal integration.

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The Nobel Prize: The Identity of a Corporate Heritage Brand

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