Case Study Description of Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A)
In the spring of 2008, the marketing manager of Wheaties was getting ready for a meeting to discuss ideas about how to reinvigorate one of the most iconic and well-known cereal brands in America, which over the preceding few years had experienced a steady decline in market share. The only limitation the manager would impose was that any new product could not replace the original Wheaties. Otherwise, she was open to any opportunity to differentiate Wheaties from the orange box and yet fully embody the brand equity.
Swot Analysis of "Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A)" written by Marian Moore, Adam Weinberg includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wheaties Iconic facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing energy prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wheaties Iconic, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wheaties Iconic operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wheaties Iconic
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wheaties Iconic
Strengths Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wheaties Iconic in Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wheaties Iconic to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wheaties Iconic to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Wheaties Iconic is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wheaties Iconic has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Wheaties Iconic is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Wheaties Iconic in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Learning organization
- Wheaties Iconic is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Wheaties Iconic is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Wheaties Iconic in the sector have low bargaining power. Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Wheaties Iconic to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Wheaties Iconic in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wheaties Iconic has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wheaties Iconic has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wheaties Iconic digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wheaties Iconic has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Organizational Resilience of Wheaties Iconic
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wheaties Iconic does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Training and development
– Wheaties Iconic has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Weaknesses Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A), it seems that the employees of Wheaties Iconic don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wheaties Iconic has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wheaties Iconic has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) HBR case study mentions - Wheaties Iconic takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wheaties Iconic has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wheaties Iconic is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Wheaties Iconic needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wheaties Iconic to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Wheaties Iconic 's lucrative customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wheaties Iconic needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A), in the dynamic environment Wheaties Iconic has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wheaties Iconic has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Wheaties Iconic has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Wheaties Iconic is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Opportunities Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wheaties Iconic to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Wheaties Iconic has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Wheaties Iconic to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Wheaties Iconic can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Wheaties Iconic can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wheaties Iconic in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wheaties Iconic to increase its market reach. Wheaties Iconic will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wheaties Iconic to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Wheaties Iconic to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Loyalty marketing
– Wheaties Iconic has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wheaties Iconic has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wheaties Iconic to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) case study. Wheaties Iconic can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Wheaties Iconic in the consumer business. Now Wheaties Iconic can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Manufacturing automation
– Wheaties Iconic can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wheaties Iconic can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wheaties Iconic can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wheaties Iconic operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wheaties Iconic can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) are -
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Wheaties Iconic.
Increasing wage structure of Wheaties Iconic
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Wheaties Iconic.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Wheaties Iconic needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wheaties Iconic can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Wheaties Iconic will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wheaties Iconic can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) .
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Wheaties Iconic can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wheaties Iconic with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wheaties Iconic demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wheaties Iconic has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wheaties Iconic needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wheaties Iconic in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A), Wheaties Iconic may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Wheaties: Reinvigorating an Iconic Brand (A) is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Wheaties Iconic needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.