Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video
Presents an audiovisual account of the bake-off competition between Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne (BBDO) and a second advertising agency: Ames. The videotape is divided into two parts: 1) interviews with bake-off participants from Gillette and BBDO, and 2) reenactment of BBDO and Ames creative presentations, which show and explain the three bake-off commercials subjected to consumer testing in March/April 1984.
Swot Analysis of "Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video" written by Thomas V. Bonoma, Shirley M. Spence includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Bbdo Bake facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Product development and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video casestudy better are - – 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, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, increasing energy prices,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Bbdo Bake, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Bbdo Bake 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Bbdo Bake
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 Bbdo Bake
Strengths Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Bbdo Bake in Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video Harvard Business Review case study are -
Organizational Resilience of Bbdo Bake
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Bbdo Bake does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Bbdo Bake 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Learning organization
- Bbdo Bake 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 Bbdo Bake is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Bbdo Bake digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Bbdo Bake 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 Bbdo Bake 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.
Analytics focus
– Bbdo Bake 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 Thomas V. Bonoma, Shirley M. Spence 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.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Bbdo Bake to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Bbdo Bake to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Bbdo Bake is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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
– Bbdo Bake 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 Bbdo Bake in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Bbdo Bake has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Bbdo Bake 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Bbdo Bake in the sector have low bargaining power. Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Bbdo Bake to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Weaknesses Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video are -
Products dominated business model
– Even though Bbdo Bake 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 - Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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 Bbdo Bake 's lucrative customers.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Bbdo Bake is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Bbdo Bake needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Bbdo Bake to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Bbdo Bake 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.
Need for greater diversity
– Bbdo Bake 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 bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Thomas V. Bonoma, Shirley M. Spence suggests that, Bbdo Bake 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Bbdo Bake 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.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Bbdo Bake 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video, in the dynamic environment Bbdo Bake has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Bbdo Bake has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Bbdo Bake 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.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Bbdo Bake, firm in the HBR case study Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Opportunities Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video | 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Bbdo Bake can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Bbdo Bake operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Bbdo Bake 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Bbdo Bake has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Bbdo Bake to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video case study. Bbdo Bake 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 Bbdo Bake 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. Bbdo Bake 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. Bbdo Bake 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Bbdo Bake 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Bbdo Bake to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Bbdo Bake 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Bbdo Bake 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.
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. Bbdo Bake can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Developing new processes and practices
– Bbdo Bake 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Bbdo Bake is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Bbdo Bake 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 Bbdo Bake to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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. Bbdo Bake can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video are -
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 Bbdo Bake business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Bbdo Bake.
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.
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.
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 Bbdo Bake in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Bbdo Bake 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 wage structure of Bbdo Bake
– 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 Bbdo Bake.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Bbdo Bake 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 Bbdo Bake 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.
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. Bbdo Bake needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Sales & Marketing industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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. Bbdo Bake 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.
Environmental challenges
– Bbdo Bake 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. Bbdo Bake can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Bbdo Bake with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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 Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video 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 Bbdo Bake needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
