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Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

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?

Authors :: Ramesh Kumar, Nalin Goel, Gireesh Geera

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Emerging markets, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

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 - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, technology disruption, increasing transportation and logistics costs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc



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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 -

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.

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.

Strong track record of project management

– Oreo Brands is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

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.

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.

Organizational Resilience of Oreo Brands

– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Oreo Brands does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.

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.

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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Oreo Brands has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Oreo Brands to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Oreo Brands to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

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.






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 -

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.

No frontier risks strategy

– After analyzing the HBR case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.

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.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Oreo Brands 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, in the dynamic environment Oreo Brands has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Oreo Brands has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

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.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Oreo Brands is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Oreo Brands needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Oreo Brands to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Need for greater diversity

– Oreo Brands 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.

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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Oreo Brands 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 - Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

Lack of clear differentiation of Oreo Brands products

– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Oreo Brands needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.




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 -

Developing new processes and practices

– Oreo Brands can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Oreo Brands can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Oreo Brands operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Oreo Brands can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, 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 Oreo Brands in the consumer business. Now Oreo Brands can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.




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 -

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Oreo Brands 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Oreo Brands 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 Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context .

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.

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.

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Oreo Brands business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, 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.

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.




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.



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