Evidence on the Value of Strategic Planning in Marketing: How Much Planning Should a Marketing Planner Plan?

What evidence exists on the value of formal planning for strategic decision-making in marketing? This paper reviews the evidence. This includes two tests of face validity. First, we use the market test: Are formal procedures used for marketing planning? Next, we examine expert prescriptions: What do they say is the best way to plan? More important than face validity, however, are tests of construct or predictive validity: What empirical evidence exists on the relative value of formal and informal approaches to marketing planning? The paper concludes with suggestions on the types of research that would be most useful for measuring the value of formal marketing planning. Before reviewing the evidence, we present a framework for the formal planning process.strategic planning, marketing

Summary: Economic Return of Nation Brands

It is generally considered good business practice for a company to invest in its brand. A positive brand image typically results in a more loyal customer base and an overall increase in profit. Likewise, nations have brands, and the reputation of a country has an economic impact on its gross domestic product (GDP).https://repository.upenn.edu/pennwhartonppi_bschool/1011/thumbnail.jp

Closing the Gap between Marketing and Finance: The Link to Driving Wise Marketing Investment

The true value of marketing investments /// What do companies with products as diverse as Apple, Red Bull, McDonald\u27s or Ikea have in common? They have good products, right. But another even more important characteristic is their excellent marketing. For most companies, it is not the tangibles that make up their overall market value but the intangible assets, such as the brand, loyal customers or a strong network of distributors. If the market value of a company exceeds its book value, the difference arises from the value of the intangible assets. Global top-performing companies have significantly higher market-to-book ratios than less successful companies, and their value stems from a strong brand, better customer management, and/or superior distribution

Measuring Trademark Dilution by Tarnishment

The law of trademark tarnishment—a type of trademark dilution—is in disarray. The basic definition is deceptively simple. Trademark tarnishment occurs when a junior mark harms the reputation of a substantially similar existing senior trademark by associating itself with something perverse or deviant. However, it turns out that Congress and the courts disagree over the prima facie evidence necessary to prove its existence. The problem is that federal law and related legal principles are simply ill-equipped to adequately analyze this unique market-driven doctrine. To make matters worse, legal scholars cannot even agree on whether trademark tarnishment can empirically exist in the marketplace. Part of the issue is that there has never been any real attempt to define the phrase “harm to reputation” in the trademark context. Drawing on marketing scholarship and social science methods, this Article provides the first workable framework that courts can use to hear and accurately analyze these cases. It relies on experimental survey methodology to empirically show that tarnishment can exist under certain conditions; the key is increasing the number of exposures to the harmful mark. The Article also introduces extant branding theory as a way to define harm to reputation in the marketplace. This interdisciplinary approach ultimately gives courts a mechanism by which to measure harm to reputation and the tangible impact of tarnishment. In the process, this theory provides litigants with an empirical-based strategy to prove their dilution claims and contributes to the doctrinal justification for trademark dilution laws

Evidence on the value of strategic planning in marketing: how much planning should a marketing planner plan?

What evidence exists on the value of formal planning for strategic decision-making in marketing? This paper reviews the evidence. This includes two tests of face validity. First, we use the market test: Are formal procedures used for marketing planning? Next, we examine expert prescriptions: What do they say is the best way to plan? More important than face validity, however, are tests of construct or predictive validity: What empirical evidence exists on the relative value of formal and informal approaches to marketing planning? The paper concludes with suggestions on the types of research that would be most useful for measuring the value of formal marketing planning. Before reviewing the evidence, we present a framework for the formal planning process

Market Share and Distribution: A Generalization, a Speculation, and Some Implications

In this paper we review evidence of a generalized convex cross-sectional relationship between retail distribution and unit market share, i.e., large-share brands have more share points per percentage of distribution than small-share brands. The dynamics and structure of distribution and share can help explain many phenomena in marketing, including this convex shape: (1) market share is both a cause and an effect of distribution, and (2) in the typical convenience goods distribution system there are a few large outlets that stock many brands and numerous smaller outlets that stock the leading brands only. Generally, the observed cross-sectional “curve” relating distribution and share will reflect the retailers\u27 stocking decisions, not the incremental effect of distribution on share. However, a logically consistent model of share based on (1) and (2), when combined with the assumption of low search loyalty, results in customers being willing to switch from preferred to available brands. A further consequence is that the marginal effect of weighted distribution on share is likely to be increasing, i.e., result in convex curves relating distribution and share for a given brand. In some cases, and for some measures of distribution, these convex curves have been observed in time-series data for brands that failed and lost distribution over a relatively short period of time. The implication is that marketers should monitor distribution carefully, as it is the result of combined effects of brand preference, loyalty, and “push” programs. With a better understanding of the market share/distribution relationship, managers should be in a better position to forecast marketplace results for a given level of distribution

Use of Consultants by U.S. Foundations: Results of a Foundation Center Survey

This article presents the results of a survey launched in January 2014 by Foundation Center, in collaboration with the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, examining use of consultants by community, corporate, and independent foundations whose annual giving totals at least $100,000. The survey asked funders to report whether they used consultants in the past two years and, if so, how frequently and for what purposes; they were also asked to report their level of satisfaction with consultants’ work. Funders that did not engage consultants in the last two years were asked why not. The survey also sought open-ended responses about working with consultants. The survey found widespread use of consultants among foundations. While the results of this study tend to emphasize the benefits – taking advantage of external expertise, allowing staff to stay focused on what they do best, bringing fresh or neutral perspectives to the work – respondents were also clear that working with consultants has its challenges

Precocious Metamorphosis in the Juvenile Hormone–Deficient Mutant of the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

Insect molting and metamorphosis are intricately governed by two hormones, ecdysteroids and juvenile hormones (JHs). JHs prevent precocious metamorphosis and allow the larva to undergo multiple rounds of molting until it attains the proper size for metamorphosis. In the silkworm, Bombyx mori, several “moltinism” mutations have been identified that exhibit variations in the number of larval molts; however, none of them have been characterized molecularly. Here we report the identification and characterization of the gene responsible for the dimolting (mod) mutant that undergoes precocious metamorphosis with fewer larval–larval molts. We show that the mod mutation results in complete loss of JHs in the larval hemolymph and that the mutant phenotype can be rescued by topical application of a JH analog. We performed positional cloning of mod and found a null mutation in the cytochrome P450 gene CYP15C1 in the mod allele. We also demonstrated that CYP15C1 is specifically expressed in the corpus allatum, an endocrine organ that synthesizes and secretes JHs. Furthermore, a biochemical experiment showed that CYP15C1 epoxidizes farnesoic acid to JH acid in a highly stereospecific manner. Precocious metamorphosis of mod larvae was rescued when the wild-type allele of CYP15C1 was expressed in transgenic mod larvae using the GAL4/UAS system. Our data therefore reveal that CYP15C1 is the gene responsible for the mod mutation and is essential for JH biosynthesis. Remarkably, precocious larval–pupal transition in mod larvae does not occur in the first or second instar, suggesting that authentic epoxidized JHs are not essential in very young larvae of B. mori. Our identification of a JH–deficient mutant in this model insect will lead to a greater understanding of the molecular basis of the hormonal control of development and metamorphosis

Evidence on the value of strategic planning in marketing: how much planning should a marketing planner plan?

What evidence exists on the value of formal planning for strategic decision-making in marketing? This paper reviews the evidence. This includes two tests of face validity. First, we use the market test: Are formal procedures used for marketing planning? Next, we examine expert prescriptions: What do they say is the best way to plan? More important than face validity, however, are tests of construct or predictive validity: What empirical evidence exists on the relative value of formal and informal approaches to marketing planning? The paper concludes with suggestions on the types of research that would be most useful for measuring the value of formal marketing planning. Before reviewing the evidence, we present a framework for the formal planning process