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 - – geopolitical disruptions, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing energy prices, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, 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 -
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.
Innovation driven organization
– Oreo Brands is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Oreo Brands digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Oreo Brands 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, is just above the industry average. Oreo Brands needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
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.
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.
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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Oreo Brands 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 -
Loyalty marketing
– Oreo Brands 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Oreo Brands can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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.
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.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Oreo Brands to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
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.
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.
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 -
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 .
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 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. Oreo Brands needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
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. Oreo Brands 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sensory Branding: Oreo in the Indian Context, Oreo Brands 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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.