Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context
Indian marketing scenario (an emerging economy) has been experiencing a new wave of consumer behavior after liberalization of markets. FMCG and durable brands in several categories have made an impact on the lifestyle and mindset of consumers. It is interesting to note that in a market that has diverse culture across its geographical spread, several multinational brands have made substantial headway in domains that are strongly associated with the traditional culture. Snacking is a habit among Indians that covers several kinds of cultural snacks. Kurkure, a brand sold by a multinational was successful with its marketing mix that included an offering that tasted and looked similar to a traditional cultural snack. Chocolates and biscuits, categories that are strongly entrenched in the Indian context (though they have their origin in western countries) competed with traditional snacks in an environment that had proliferated western lifestyles. It is in this context Oreo brand, the well-known biscuit brand in the US market was launched in India by Cadbury. The brand competed with well-known Indian brands of cream biscuits and was positioned to attract children teenagers and young adults. In a category that lacked loyalty and was prone to brand switching (variety of offerings in the market makes the consumer switch brands as the purchasing is done with a low involvement mindset by most consumers) Oreo that had achieved considerable degree of success faced the challenge of sustaining its success. The survey results reflect the need for a deeper analysis beyond a generic brand positioning strategy. An analysis of consumer perception, sensory branding aspects, and careful consideration of a variety of needs of consumers that shape consumer perception of brands in the category seem to be the direction Oreo needs to pursue. How should Oreo use perceptual principles to reposition itself to sustain itself to sustain its success?
Swot Analysis of "Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context" written by Ramesh Kumar, Nalin Goel, Gireesh Geera includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Oreo Brands facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context casestudy better are - – banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, geopolitical disruptions, increasing transportation and logistics costs, wage bills are increasing,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Oreo Brands, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Oreo Brands 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Oreo Brands
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 Oreo Brands
Strengths Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Oreo Brands in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context Harvard Business Review case study are -
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Oreo Brands 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
– Oreo Brands has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Oreo Brands 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.
Learning organization
- Oreo Brands 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 Oreo Brands is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Oreo Brands in the sector have low bargaining power. Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Oreo Brands to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Training and development
– Oreo Brands has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Oreo Brands are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Oreo Brands is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Oreo Brands has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Oreo Brands 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 Oreo Brands in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Oreo Brands is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Ramesh Kumar, Nalin Goel, Gireesh Geera can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
High brand equity
– Oreo Brands has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Oreo Brands to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Weaknesses Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context are -
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Oreo Brands, firm in the HBR case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Oreo Brands 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.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ramesh Kumar, Nalin Goel, Gireesh Geera suggests that, Oreo Brands is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Oreo Brands is planning to shift buying processes online.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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 Oreo Brands 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context HBR case study mentions - Oreo Brands 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Oreo Brands has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Oreo Brands is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Oreo Brands supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Oreo Brands vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, it seems that the employees of Oreo Brands 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Oreo Brands has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Opportunities Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context | 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context are -
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. Oreo Brands 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. Oreo Brands 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 Oreo Brands 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.
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. Oreo Brands can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Oreo Brands has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Oreo Brands to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context case study. Oreo Brands can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Oreo Brands to increase its market reach. Oreo Brands 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Oreo Brands is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Oreo Brands can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Oreo Brands can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Oreo Brands 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 Oreo Brands to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Buying journey improvements
– Oreo Brands can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Oreo Brands can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Oreo Brands can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Oreo Brands 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.
Threats Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context are -
Environmental challenges
– Oreo Brands needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Oreo Brands can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Oreo Brands has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Oreo Brands 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.
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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Oreo Brands is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Oreo Brands in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Oreo Brands needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
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 Oreo Brands.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Oreo Brands 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.
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. Oreo Brands can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of Oreo Brands
– 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 Oreo Brands.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Oreo Brands 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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Oreo Brands high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context 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 Oreo Brands needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
