Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Guillermo Armelini, Julian Villanueva. The Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix (referred as “Media Social” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Public relations, Sales, Social platforms.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix Case Study

Social media have rapidly gained share and attention among all kinds of consumers and companies, often at the expense of traditional media. Companies have started to redefine key aspects of their marketing mix. With advertising and online word of mouth competing for shrinking marketing budgets, many companies regard having an active presence in social media as a viable alternative to traditional advertising. Yet the authors believe this would be a mistake, because the two strategies are complementary rather than substitutive. A comparison of advertising and word of mouth shows that social media obey very different rules than does traditional advertising. Social media can start conversations or build brand recognition, but the results are much more difficult to predict or measure. With that in mind, the authors recommend how to define a social media plan, citing examples of companies that got it right - and offering cautionary tales of those that got it wrong.

Case Authors : Guillermo Armelini, Julian Villanueva

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Public relations, Sales, Social platforms

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10017258)	-10017258	-	-
Year 1	3464010	-6553248	3464010	0.9434	3267934
Year 2	3981479	-2571769	7445489	0.89	3543502
Year 3	3949295	1377526	11394784	0.8396	3315904
Year 4	3225705	4603231	14620489	0.7921	2555060
TOTAL			14620489		12682401

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2665143

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Profitability Index
2. Net Present Value
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Payback Period

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Media Social have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Media Social shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Media Social often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Media Social needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10017258)	-10017258	-	-
Year 1	3464010	-6553248	3464010	0.8696	3012183
Year 2	3981479	-2571769	7445489	0.7561	3010570
Year 3	3949295	1377526	11394784	0.6575	2596726
Year 4	3225705	4603231	14620489	0.5718	1844307
TOTAL					10463786

The Net NPV after 4 years is 446528

(10463786 - 10017258 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10017258)	-10017258	-	-
Year 1	3464010	-6553248	3464010	0.8333	2886675
Year 2	3981479	-2571769	7445489	0.6944	2764916
Year 3	3949295	1377526	11394784	0.5787	2285472
Year 4	3225705	4603231	14620489	0.4823	1555606
TOTAL					9492669

The Net NPV after 4 years is -524589

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9492669 - 10017258 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Media Social to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Media Social has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Media Social can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Media Social, then the stock price of the Media Social should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Media Social should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix

References & Further Readings

Guillermo Armelini, Julian Villanueva (2018), "Adding Social Media to the Marketing Mix Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.