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Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C)


The case series focuses on Melbourne Trains' viral advertising campaign to improve safe behaviors around trains among young people. This iconic, low budget campaign swept the Cannes Lions advertising awards in 2013 and became a social media sensation.

Authors :: John A. Quelch

Topics :: Sales & Marketing

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

Swot Analysis of "Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C)" written by John A. Quelch includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Trains Advertising facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Sales & Marketing.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) casestudy better are - – talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , there is increasing trade war between United States & China, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing energy prices, technology disruption, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is backlash against globalization, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C)


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Trains Advertising, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Trains Advertising 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Trains Advertising
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 Trains Advertising




Strengths Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Trains Advertising in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) Harvard Business Review case study are -

High brand equity

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

Diverse revenue streams

– Trains Advertising is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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

- Trains Advertising 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 Trains Advertising is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Trains Advertising 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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.

Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Trains Advertising digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Trains Advertising 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.

Successful track record of launching new products

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

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Trains Advertising 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.

Ability to lead change in Sales & Marketing field

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

Innovation driven organization

– Trains Advertising is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry

– Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Trains Advertising to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Trains Advertising to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Trains Advertising 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.






Weaknesses Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) are -

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Trains Advertising 's lucrative customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Trains Advertising 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.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Trains Advertising 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.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Trains Advertising 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.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Trains Advertising has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Trains Advertising 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.

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Trains Advertising is planning to shift buying processes online.

Slow decision making process

– As mentioned earlier in the report, Trains Advertising 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. Trains Advertising 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.

Lack of clear differentiation of Trains Advertising products

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

Increasing silos among functional specialists

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

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 Trains Advertising supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C), it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Trains Advertising vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.




Opportunities Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) | 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) are -

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Trains Advertising 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.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Trains Advertising 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.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Trains Advertising 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Trains Advertising to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Trains Advertising can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

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

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Trains Advertising has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Trains Advertising to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) case study. Trains Advertising can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Developing new processes and practices

– Trains Advertising 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.

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 Trains Advertising 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.

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. Trains Advertising 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. Trains Advertising 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.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Trains Advertising can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Trains Advertising is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Trains Advertising in the consumer business. Now Trains Advertising can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Buying journey improvements

– Trains Advertising can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) are -

Shortening product life cycle

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

Regulatory challenges

– Trains Advertising 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.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Trains Advertising 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) .

Environmental challenges

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

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.

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. Trains Advertising 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 Trains Advertising business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Trains Advertising with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Increasing wage structure of Trains Advertising

– 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 Trains Advertising.

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

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C), Trains Advertising 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 .

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Trains Advertising high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (C) 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 Trains Advertising needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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