Critical analysis of fundamental assumptions

1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.

2. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.

3. A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.

4. The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.

5. The disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.

6. The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.

7. A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.

8. A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.

philosophy. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved April 17, 2007,

Question Two

Using the data from the Poland Lipstick XL Spreadsheet you should be able to divine useful information on which to base a broad strategic direction for the major Polish brands of lipstick, using Ries and Trout’s Strategic Square as a framework.

– Show the Strategic Square, properly representing each lipstick brand in the square.

– Recommend a broad strategic marketing approach for each brand of lipstick. (Keep in mind that just because a particular competitor might be in a situation where they could adopt a strategy, doesn’t always mean that is what they should do.)

– Compose a list of general marketing actions/considerations for each of the broad strategic approaches which you suggest.

Note: You may want to consider grouping competitors as you see fit to aid your analysis, and the exposition of your recommendations. Feel free to manipulate the data in the Poland Lipstick Spreadsheet as needed.

Show, and make use of, the Strategic Square as outlined by Ries and Trout in their book Marketing Warfare, 20th Anniversary Ed., McGraw-Hill, 2006, and addressed in class. This must begin with an analysis of competitor positions within the square. Establish the overall strategy that you believe all of the various competitors might consider adopting. Explain your thought process and back it up with the facts.

Using both the Marketing Warfare framework and all that is relevant from your other readings this semester, propose a reasonably detailed tactical approach for accomplishing the suggested strategy for Revlon. (Leave Blue Ocean thinking out of your thoughts for now.) Please don’t give me broad, sweeping, generalizations. I want specifics. You should end up with a strategy that could be taken forward by Revlon.

Put simply:

1. Determine the strategy that you believe that each competitor should pursue in the Polish lipstick market, based on the strategic square.

2. Outline the tactics that you would recommend that Revlon apply to accomplish its particular strategy. Apply as much as possible from our readings this semester by suggesting the application of the principles you believe are relevant to the strategic situation. (Leave Blue Ocean thinking out of your thoughts for now.)

3. Be sure to address the resources that you think might be needed by Revlon, including the availability and sufficiency of resources. Limited resources may be key in your strategic choice.

4. Justify your decisions every step of the way. I want to know not just what you propose, but why.

Question Three

“At its core, all business is about making bets on human behavior. Which product is most likely to sell, what employee is most likely to succeed, what price is a customer willing to pay? Companies that excel at making these bets tend to thrive in the marketplace.”

In the early 2000s, Samsung’s TVs looked like every other TV on the shelf. Samsung’s executives, however, sensed that they were missing opportunities to stand out. However, they didn’t understand how to excite customers. They knew there was an opportunity… somewhere, they just didn’t know how to capitalize.

Samsung decided to explore the world of “Thick Data.” “Successful companies and executives work to understand the emotional, even visceral context in which people encounter their product or service, and they are able to adapt when the circumstances change. They are able to use what has come to be called Thick Data.”

Samsung executives hired ReD Associates to help clarify their situation in the TV market and to understand the problem they knew must exist. Red proposed a larger question about human behavior in a cultural context: “What does the TV mean in the modern household?” ReD then set about to gather the “Thick Data” needed to address that question.

“After collecting countless hours of video, thousands of photos and journal entries, and hundreds hours of in-depth interviews and meticulously coding everything, a pattern began to emerge…. One subject said that he hid the television in a corner because he didn’t like the way it looked; another said that he wanted his TV to communicate ‘timelessness,’ like his meticulously crafted living room chair. To most people, we discovered, TVs aren’t electronics. They are Furniture.”

Using this key insight, along with our readings from the semester, such as Marketing Myopia, along with other applicable readings, your job is to develop a well thought out case analysis of Samsung’s situation.

Deliverables

1. Clearly define the problem faced by Samsung

2. Develop At least Four (4) STAND ALONE alternative courses of Action to consider in addressing the problem.

3. Use appropriate tools and appropriate logic to analyze the alternatives. Convey the substance and logic of this analysis to the reader in a persuasive and understandable way.

4. Identify the course of action you would suggest that Samsung follow, and make and justify YOUR Recommendation.

5. Recap the situation for the reader in a brief Conclusion Section.

Question Four

Develop a detailed example to illustrate how what Dr. Cialdini calls a sleuth might use her/his knowledge of influence levers in a marketing situation. (Do not use any examples used by Dr. Cialdini.) Be sure to briefly describe each of the influence levers, develop your marketing situation and how a sleuth might proceed. Contrast the sleuth’s approach with the other two approaches mentioned by Dr. Cialdini. The reader should understand both the influence levers and the difference between a sleuth and other types of influence lever users.

Question Five

Use the data in the Drugstore Lipstick Strategy Canvas XL Spreadsheet.

As a result of your earlier development of a competitive strategy for Revlon Poland, you have now worked for Revlon Poland as their Polish (country, not nail) Brand Manager for three years, and have gained considerable insight and experience into the Red Ocean of the Polish lipstick industry. Revlon U.S.A. has recently contacted you about coming to work for them as Assistant V.P. of U.S. marketing. You would get your own office, an administrative assistant, and a salary in the $250,000 — $275,000 range. (You are now making $125,000 with Revlon Poland.) There are also other attractive perks that would come with the job.

Actually, Revlon U.S.A. became interested in you about three months ago after you made a presentation about Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) at the European Color Cosmetics Conference in Monaco. Your BOS presentation addressed the basic idea of what a Blue Ocean is, compared to a Red Ocean, and what benefits a Blue Ocean strategy might offer to a firm. You have been trying to interest Revlon Poland in looking at such a strategy for a couple of years with no luck. Revlon U.S.A. on the other hand, was immediately interested.

Revlon U.S.A. has asked you to put together a report to give to their Board of Directors. In discussions with their CEO, Jill Polka, along with your experience in the lipstick industry, you have been able to put together a tentative Strategic Canvas for the major competing brands in the Drugstore Lipstick marketspace. (See the Drugstore Lipstick Brands Strategy Canvas Excel Spreadsheet.)

Your report should address at least the following:

1. Why Blue Oceans may be so desirable.

2. How and why the Drugstore Lipstick Strategy Canvas (DLSC) was Developed.

3. Salient information that can be derived from the DLSC.

4. What might Revlon’s DLSC look like in order to create a BOS?

1. Show that Strategy Canvas, just don’t write about it.

2. Fully explain the process of developing such a Strategy Canvas.

3. Explain why this is a preliminary example, and that the actual Strategy Canvas will need to be developed.

4. Explain the process of developing the actual Canvas

5. Outline the “next steps” which would need to be considered in developing a BOS