M336
Jennifer Aaker, David Hoyt, Sara Leslie, David Rogier
2010
JetBlue created its first Twitter account in May 2007 (twitter.com/JetBlue). The company’s goal was to target its frequent flyers, the loyal TrueBlue users. Realizing the power of Twitter, JetBlue created a cross-departmental working group from marketing…
M334
Jennifer Aaker, Ravdeep Chawla, Sara Leslie
2010
Dell began using Twitter in 2007 to clear excess inventory. This case describes the reach and impact that the company had from utilizing this social media channel.
M328B
Jennifer Aaker, Sara Leslie
2010
Community service had a long history of success at NIKE. Often, employees did not even see their work as “volunteering”—they felt like they were doing what they loved and making a difference to the people around them. Despite this enthusiasm, corporate…
M331
Jennifer Aaker, Heidy Kwan, Sara Leslie
2010
In many ways, Alex Scott was a regular kid. Her favorite food was French fries; her favorite color, blue. She hoped to be a fashion designer one day. But in other ways—perhaps most ways—Alex was different. In 1997, just before her first birthday, Alex was…
M333
Jennifer Aaker, Sara Leslie
2010
Tony Hsieh, originally an investor and advisor to the online footwear company, Zappos, joined the company in 2000, serving as the co-CEO. His partner, Nick Swinmurn, was intent on building the next internet retailing powerhouse and satisfying customers’…
M325
Jennifer Aaker, Victoria Chang
2010
In 2005, Jessica Jackley and cofounder Matt Flannery had started San Francisco-based Kiva because during a three-month work assignment in East Africa, Jackley had met Ugandan entrepreneurs and wanted to share their inspirational stories with friends and…
M328
Jennifer Aaker, Ravdeep Chawla, Sara Leslie
2010
Community service had a long history of success at NIKE. Often, employees did not even see their work as “volunteering”—they felt like they were doing what they loved and making a difference to the people around them. Despite this enthusiasm, corporate…
E381A
William Barnett, Sara Leslie
2010
Paul Coletta, a senior customer experience manager, and Floyd Morgan, a principal software engineer, had worked on the TurboTax tax preparation product at Intuit for several years. They had always gravitated toward the new product mindset and with Web 2…
E381B
William Barnett, Sara Leslie
2010
Paul Coletta, a senior customer experience manager, and Floyd Morgan, a principal software engineer, had worked on the TurboTax tax preparation product at Intuit for several years. They had always gravitated toward the new product mindset and with Web 2…
IB88
William Barnett, Mi Feng, Xiaoqu Luo
2010
By 2008, Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba.com Inc., was in a position to consider how to fortify Taobao’s dominant position in China’s online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) market. Ma and his company had come a long way since May 2003, when they first launched the…
E386
H. Grousbeck, Aimee LaFont Leifer, Tjarko Leifer, Lisa Sweeney
2010
This is an updated version of the Search Fund Study that is done every approximately every two years. The study briefly explains the concept of a Search Fund and surveys all known Search Funds to determine demographics, financial results, and other…
M321CV
Jennifer Aaker, Victoria Chang
2009
In early 2007, Barack Obama was a little-known senator running for president against Democratic nominee and household name, Hilary Clinton. But on November 4, 2008, Obama made history as the first African American to win the election against Republican…
SI114
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Victoria Chang
2009
Tom Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems, created the Siebel Foundation in 1996. In 2005, Siebel came to learn about the prevalence and devastating economic and human costs of methamphetamine (“meth”) abuse across the country, particularly in Montana. Meth…
M323B
Jennifer Aaker, Victoria Chang
2009
Case study B for How to Tell a Story contains various storytelling exercises.
Also see M323A: How To Tell A Story (A).
M321
Jennifer Aaker, Victoria Chang
2009
In early 2007, Barack Obama was a little-known senator running for president against Democratic nominee and household name, Hilary Clinton. But on November 4, 2008, Obama made history as the first African American to win the election against Republican…
M323A
Jennifer Aaker, Victoria Chang
2009
Stories are all around us. Stories move us, make us feel alive, inspire us to be more than we would be otherwise. Our appetite for stories is a reflection of the basic human need to understand patterns of life — not merely as an intellectual exercise…
M319
Jennifer Aaker, Victoria Chang, Robert Chatwani
2009
Sameer Bhatia was a 31-year-old South Asian American Silicon Valley entrepreneur who had started a company called MonkeyBin in 2000, the first online community and consumer marketplace for barter or trade, and then a mobile gaming company, Octane…
IB89
William Barnett, Sara Leslie
2009
By 2009, NetApp, a fast growing innovator in the storage and data management market, had become successful both in the U.S. and around the world, with revenue of over $3.5 billion. Company management and industry analysts attributed this success to a…
E353
Victoria Chang, Riad Dimechkie, Jessica Jackley, Garth Saloner, Carla Sayegh
2009
This case study captures the rich history of Silkor, a Lebanese laser medical center started by brother and sister team, Oscar and Lara Tarakjian. The case study tells the story of the founding of Silkor, and focuses on the expansion issues the company…
E355
Victoria Chang, Jessica Jackley, Garth Saloner
2009
This case study tells the story of Shona McDonald, founder and managing director of South African company, Shonaquip. The company designed, manufactured, and supplied mobility equipment, as well as augmentative and alternative communication devices for…
IB98
William Barnett, Sara Gaviser Leslie
2009
Nanosolar was founded in 2002 in San Jose, California. Nanosolar’s innovative approach to photovoltaic solar power made it one of the most visible clean technology start-ups, and had attracted high-profile venture capital. The firm had made progress in…
E372
Annie Adams, Lyn Denend, Sarah Garrett, Whit Keuer, Garth Saloner
2009
Dr. Kalpana Sankar, CEO of Hand in Hand, was exhausted after an all-day meeting of the organization’s executive team at its headquarters in Kanchipuram, India. As she prepared for a drive to Chennai, she dreaded the traffic she would face. However, the…
E290
Sean Harrington, Garth Saloner
2008
It was December 2007 and Patrick Awuah, founder and president of Ashesi University, began updating his school’s business plan. He looked back on the university’s short history with pride—in only 10 years Awuah and his team had turned a lofty vision into…
E291
Sean Harrington, Garth Saloner
2008
By 2008, Databank had built a reputation as one of Ghana’s premiere companies, earning the #1 ranking in Ghana’s Most Respected Company and CEO annual awards. Founded in 1990 by Ken Ofori-Atta, Keli Gadzekpo, and James Akpo, Databank had grown from a…
