Lomography: Analog in a Digital World SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Lomography: Analog in a Digital World
In spite of the world's move to digital photography, in 2013 Lomography continues to design and offer analog (film) cameras to a loyal following of artistic photographers. Now it must decide whether to stick to its traditional offerings, expand into artistic lenses for both digital and analog cameras, and/or to expand into film and film developing. In the process, it has to decide what kind of company it wants to be.
Authors :: John T. Gourville, Karol Misztal, Emer Moloney
Swot Analysis of "Lomography: Analog in a Digital World" written by John T. Gourville, Karol Misztal, Emer Moloney includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Analog Lomography facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Lomography: Analog in a Digital World case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Change management, Innovation, Manufacturing, Technology and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Lomography: Analog in a Digital World casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, increasing commodity prices, wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization,
competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Lomography: Analog in a Digital World
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Lomography: Analog in a Digital World case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Analog Lomography, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Analog Lomography 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Lomography: Analog in a Digital World case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Analog Lomography
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 Analog Lomography
Strengths Lomography: Analog in a Digital World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Analog Lomography in Lomography: Analog in a Digital World Harvard Business Review case study are -
Highly skilled collaborators
– Analog Lomography 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Analog Lomography is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Analog Lomography is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Lomography: Analog in a Digital World are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Analog Lomography 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 Analog Lomography in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Diverse revenue streams
– Analog Lomography is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Lomography: Analog in a Digital World case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Learning organization
- Analog Lomography 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 Analog Lomography is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Lomography: Analog in a Digital World Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Lomography: Analog in a Digital World firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Analog Lomography to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Analog Lomography to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Analog Lomography 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.
High brand equity
– Analog Lomography has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Analog Lomography to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Analytics focus
– Analog Lomography 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 John T. Gourville, Karol Misztal, Emer Moloney 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Analog Lomography in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Weaknesses Lomography: Analog in a Digital World | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Analog Lomography supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Lomography: Analog in a Digital World, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Analog Lomography vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Analog Lomography 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.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Lomography: Analog in a Digital World, 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.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Lomography: Analog in a Digital World, it seems that the employees of Analog Lomography 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Analog Lomography has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Analog Lomography even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Analog Lomography is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Analog Lomography needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Analog Lomography to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Analog Lomography, firm in the HBR case study Lomography: Analog in a Digital World needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Analog Lomography 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 - Lomography: Analog in a Digital World should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Lomography: Analog in a Digital World HBR case study mentions - Analog Lomography 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Analog Lomography has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Analog Lomography is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World | 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Analog Lomography has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Analog Lomography to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Lomography: Analog in a Digital World case study. Analog Lomography can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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 Analog Lomography 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.
Buying journey improvements
– Analog Lomography can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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.
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 Analog Lomography in the consumer business. Now Analog Lomography can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
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. Analog Lomography 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. Analog Lomography 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.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Analog Lomography can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Analog Lomography operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Analog Lomography to increase its market reach. Analog Lomography 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.
Manufacturing automation
– Analog Lomography 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Analog Lomography 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Analog Lomography to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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. Analog Lomography 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 Analog Lomography 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Analog Lomography 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, Lomography: Analog in a Digital World, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Analog Lomography 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 Analog Lomography to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Lomography: Analog in a Digital World External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Lomography: Analog in a Digital World are -
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.
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.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Analog Lomography 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.
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 Analog Lomography.
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. Analog Lomography can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Analog Lomography 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 Analog Lomography is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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. Analog Lomography 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.
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 Analog Lomography business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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. Analog Lomography needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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 Analog Lomography 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 Analog Lomography 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
– Analog Lomography 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.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Lomography: Analog in a Digital World 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 Analog Lomography needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
