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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2020

  Hot Wheels: Launching The Mixed Play Experience

  Elie Ofek, Nicole Tempest Keller and Andres Terech

  Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., had developed an entirely new “mixed play” product experience that blended familiar Hot Wheels play in the physical world with breakthrough play in the digital world. The technology underlying the product was an NFC chip embedded in the physical Hot Wheels die-cast car that could be scanned to add a digital version of the car into a virtual domain, where users could see their stats and play video games with the car. The goal for the new mixed play experience was to extend the age of the Hot Wheels customer, as children were observed to be moving on from physical toys to digital play at a younger and younger age. The mixed play concept had received unprecedented investment and support, since it represented a whole new approach to play that could set the stage for the future of Hot Wheels and other Mattel brands. In early 2019, the product development phase was nearly complete and plans were being set for the launch. Key decisions needed to be made around positioning, naming, pricing, channel, promotion, and launch timing. Given the high expectations for the innovative mixed play platform, it was critical to get these go-to-market decisions right.

  Keywords: toys; Go-to-market strategy; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Decision Making; Marketing; Strategy; Los Angeles;

  Citation:

  Ofek, Elie, Nicole Tempest Keller, and Andres Terech. "Hot Wheels: Launching The Mixed Play Experience." Harvard Business School Case 521-017, September 2020.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2020 (Revised September 2020)

  Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel

  Elie Ofek, Andres Terech and Nicole Tempest Keller

  In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which innovation path to pursue in order to "future proof" the Hot Wheels franchise going forward. Hot Wheels was the number one selling toy in the world (by unit volume), however, play patterns among children were rapidly changing and children were moving on from physical toys to digital play at a younger and younger age. Hot Wheels needed to determine how to respond. One option considered was the development of a new “mixed-play” product that blended physical and digital play. While the mixed play idea was still at an early conceptual stage, it would likely involve embedding a chip into the Hot Wheels die-cast car, turning it into a “smart car” with its own unique identification. Users could play with the smart car in the physical world and on an app, thus offering an opportunity to also appeal to Hot Wheels consumers who were intrigued by digital play. Hot Wheels had made a number of forays into the digital space over the years, through licensing the brand to app and game developers and developing toys with some digital elements. The licensing strategy was low risk, low reward, and Mattel’s own digital development had produced varied results, creating a culture hesitant to take big risks in the digital space. Down knew that a mixed play innovation would require a significant investment in time and resources. However, Hot Wheels parent company, Mattel Inc. had seen revenues and operating income drop for the past three years. It was unclear if Mattel’s new CEO, Margo Georgiadis, would be supportive of the mixed play direction as the cornerstone of Hot Wheels’ growth plan. With Hot Wheels’ 50th anniversary coming up in 2018, Down had to decide whether his team should push for an out-of-the-norm investment in this new mixed play idea or should Hot Wheels focus its time and resources on physical toys, developing a special collection of die-cast cars for the 50th anniversary? Alternatively, should Hot Wheels meet the age compression challenge head on by considerably expanding its pure digital initiatives?

  Citation:

  Ofek, Elie, Andres Terech, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel." Harvard Business School Case 521-015, September 2020. (Revised September 2020.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2020 (Revised August 2020)

  Pricing at Netflix

  Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and Amy Klopfenstein

  Since its launch in 1998 as “the Amazon.com of DVDs,” Netflix had evolved from a DVD rental company to a video streaming platform and producer of original films and television shows. As the company matured, it regularly increased prices and adjusted its product offerings while continuing to add new subscribers. However, between late 2019 and mid-2020, competition within the streaming industry intensified with the launch of new entrants such as Disney+, Apple TV+, and HBO Max, jeopardizing Netflix’s position as the industry leader. In spite of the heightened competition in the streaming industry, some analysts and customer willingness-to-pay surveys suggested that Netflix had the opportunity to implement another rate hike in the near future. By May 2020, Netflix must decide whether to increase prices again, or whether it should consider a different pricing model altogether.

  Keywords: pricing; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Finance; Price; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Adaptation; Technology; Internet; Online Technology; Technology Platform; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America; United States;

  Citation:

  Ofek, Elie, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg, and Amy Klopfenstein. "Pricing at Netflix." Harvard Business School Case 521-004, July 2020. (Revised August 2020.)  View Details

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