Week 12: Case Study & Discussion
Learning objectives
- Apply a repeatable case analysis framework.
- Connect earlier concepts (STP, environment, mix) to case evidence.
- Practice discussion etiquette: claim, evidence, implication.
Week 12 is dedicated to case study and discussion. Cases train judgment under incomplete information — the normal state of managerial work.
Recommended case framework
- Context — Who is the decision maker? What industry and constraints?
- Problem statement — One sentence; separate symptoms from root problem.
- Analysis — Customers, company, competitors, collaborators, context (5Cs) or SWOT; pull in STP and environment tools as needed.
- Options — At least two realistic alternatives (including do nothing when relevant).
- Decision criteria — e.g., customer value impact, cost, speed, risk, brand fit, ethics.
- Recommendation — Choose and justify; outline implementation (marketing mix changes) and metrics.
- Risks & mitigations — What could go wrong?
Discussion norms
Disagree with ideas, not people. Quote case facts before opinions. Time-box rabbit holes. End with so what for the decision maker?
Bring notes from Weeks 1–11. Strong case talk sounds like: The segment we chose in Week 4 conflicts with the channel design in Week 11 because…
Key terms
- Problem statement
- Concise articulation of the core decision or issue, not a list of symptoms.
- Decision criteria
- Standards used to compare options.
- Implementation sketch
- High-level plan of marketing-mix and organizational steps after a recommendation.
Self-check
- Write a one-sentence problem statement for a brand losing young customers.
- Why separate options from criteria in case work?
- Which metric would show that a repositioning case recommendation worked in 6 months?