Case Study Description of Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies
The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Indian animation studio, Tulsi Studios Ltd., is considering approaching either Pixar or DreamWorks Animation to partner on future animation projects. The case provides a perspective on the film industry to indicate how the industry is rapidly changing and expanding globally and outlines the history and past successes of the studios. The CEO must decide which potential partner to approach.
Authors :: Neil Bendle, Justin Goldberg, Krystyn Coombs
Swot Analysis of "Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies" written by Neil Bendle, Justin Goldberg, Krystyn Coombs includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Animation Dreamworks facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Risk management and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, there is backlash against globalization, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Animation Dreamworks, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Animation Dreamworks 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Animation Dreamworks
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 Animation Dreamworks
Strengths Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Animation Dreamworks in Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies Harvard Business Review case study are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Animation Dreamworks in the sector have low bargaining power. Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Animation Dreamworks to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Analytics focus
– Animation Dreamworks 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 Neil Bendle, Justin Goldberg, Krystyn Coombs 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Animation Dreamworks 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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
– Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Animation Dreamworks to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Animation Dreamworks to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Organizational Resilience of Animation Dreamworks
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Animation Dreamworks does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Animation Dreamworks digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Animation Dreamworks 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.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Animation Dreamworks 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Animation Dreamworks in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Animation Dreamworks is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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.
Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field
– Animation Dreamworks 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 Animation Dreamworks in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Animation Dreamworks is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Animation Dreamworks has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Animation Dreamworks 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.
Weaknesses Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Animation Dreamworks has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Animation Dreamworks 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. Animation Dreamworks 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Animation Dreamworks, firm in the HBR case study Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Neil Bendle, Justin Goldberg, Krystyn Coombs suggests that, Animation Dreamworks 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies, in the dynamic environment Animation Dreamworks has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Animation Dreamworks has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Animation Dreamworks 's lucrative customers.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Animation Dreamworks is planning to shift buying processes online.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Animation Dreamworks is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Need for greater diversity
– Animation Dreamworks 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies, it seems that the employees of Animation Dreamworks 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Animation Dreamworks products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Animation Dreamworks needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies | 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies are -
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Animation Dreamworks to increase its market reach. Animation Dreamworks 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Animation Dreamworks 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Animation Dreamworks 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Animation Dreamworks to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Buying journey improvements
– Animation Dreamworks can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Animation Dreamworks 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Animation Dreamworks is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Animation Dreamworks has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Animation Dreamworks to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies case study. Animation Dreamworks can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Animation Dreamworks 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.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Animation Dreamworks can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Developing new processes and practices
– Animation Dreamworks 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.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Animation Dreamworks 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, Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
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. Animation Dreamworks 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. Animation Dreamworks 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Animation Dreamworks 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 Animation Dreamworks to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Threats Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies are -
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Animation Dreamworks 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.
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. Animation Dreamworks needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Animation Dreamworks 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 Animation Dreamworks.
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.
Increasing wage structure of Animation Dreamworks
– 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 Animation Dreamworks.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Animation Dreamworks 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.
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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Animation Dreamworks 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Animation Dreamworks has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Animation Dreamworks needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Animation Dreamworks 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.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Animation Dreamworks with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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 Animation Dreamworks in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Pixar Versus DreamWorks: Animating Creative Strategies 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 Animation Dreamworks needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.