Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy

Ad Council wished to run an educational campaign aimed at preventing the spread of AIDS. They were challenged to find acceptable ways to address this very sensitive subject matter--ways that the media and the public would approve. One of the big challenges was to make the word "condom" acceptable to the TV networks as condom use can prevent the spread of the HIV virus. The case gives a brief explanation of the disease and the reasons why Ad Council felt this campaign was necessary. Also outlines the target groups selected and basic strategy. The primary question is "How will this campaign get media approval?"

Authors :: V. Kasturi Rangan, Janet Montgomery

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

Tags :: Health, Marketing, Public relations, Social enterprise, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy" written by V. Kasturi Rangan, Janet Montgomery includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Campaign Condom facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Health, Marketing, Public relations, Social enterprise and Sales & Marketing.

Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy casestudy better are - – technology disruption, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing transportation and logistics costs, geopolitical disruptions, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Campaign Condom, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Campaign Condom 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.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Campaign Condom
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 Campaign Condom

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Strengths Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Campaign Condom in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy Harvard Business Review case study are -

Diverse revenue streams

– Campaign Condom is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Campaign Condom has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Organizational Resilience of Campaign Condom

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

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Campaign Condom 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Campaign Condom has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Campaign Condom 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.

High switching costs

– The high switching costs that Campaign Condom 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.

Learning organization

- Campaign Condom 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 Campaign Condom is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field

– Campaign Condom 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 Campaign Condom in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Innovation driven organization

– Campaign Condom is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

High brand equity

– Campaign Condom has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Campaign Condom to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Campaign Condom in the sector have low bargaining power. Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Campaign Condom to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

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Weaknesses Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy are -

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy, is just above the industry average. Campaign Condom 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Campaign Condom products

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

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Campaign Condom 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.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Campaign Condom 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 - Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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 Campaign Condom has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

High bargaining power of channel partners

– Because of the regulatory requirements, V. Kasturi Rangan, Janet Montgomery suggests that, Campaign Condom 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.

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 Campaign Condom supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Campaign Condom vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Campaign Condom 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.

Need for greater diversity

– Campaign Condom 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.

Ability to respond to the competition

– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy, in the dynamic environment Campaign Condom has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Campaign Condom has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Campaign Condom is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

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Opportunities Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy | 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Campaign Condom 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, Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy, 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 Campaign Condom has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Campaign Condom to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy case study. Campaign Condom 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, Campaign Condom can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Campaign Condom operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Campaign Condom 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 Campaign Condom to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

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 Campaign Condom 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.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Campaign Condom to increase its market reach. Campaign Condom 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Campaign Condom 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Campaign Condom to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Building a culture of innovation

– managers at Campaign Condom can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.

Developing new processes and practices

– Campaign Condom 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.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Campaign Condom 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Campaign Condom 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.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Campaign Condom 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.

Buying journey improvements

– Campaign Condom can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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.

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Threats Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy are -

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. Campaign Condom 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.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Campaign Condom 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. Campaign Condom needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Environmental challenges

– Campaign Condom 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. Campaign Condom can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Campaign Condom is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Campaign Condom 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.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Campaign Condom 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.

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. Campaign Condom can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

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 Campaign Condom in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Campaign Condom 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

– Campaign Condom has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Campaign Condom 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.

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 Campaign Condom.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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 Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (A): Advertising Strategy 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 Campaign Condom needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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