This case won the Inclusive Business Models category at the EFMD Case Writing Competition 2014 and commended at the Emerald and SMU Case Competition 2013.
More details here.
This is a two-part case series. Case A begins in April 2010, where Sharat Verma, the brand manager for Gillette India, together with Harish Narayanan, the assistant brand manager in the Singapore regional business unit, influence an R&D effort to redesign the Gillette Mach3 razor for the Indian market. By focusing on frugal innovation, they succeed in removing non- essential features of the razor design in order to reduce costs, thereby aligning the value proposition and price-point to the target segment. In addition, they also help develop an unconventional marketing campaign, called the “Shave India Movement”, which catalyses the previously unresponsive yet more affluent urban market, and results in record breaking sales for the Mach3 razor in 2010. Verma and Narayanan are left to analyse the mechanics underlying the success of this campaign, and determine if the movement can be further expanded. They must also determine if lessons from the campaign can be applied elsewhere, and if so, how?
Case B begins in May 2010 with Sharat Verma wondering how he can extend the “Shave India Movement” from the urban elite down to consumers at the bottom of the affluence pyramid through a new product, the Gillette Guard — set to launch five months later in October. This new product is designed specifically for low-income consumers in India. With the price-point and distribution dilemma already solved vis-à-vis the successes of the Mach3 campaign discussed in Case A, he now needs to craft an activation strategy that will extend the Shave India Movement to all rungs of society.
This case series can be used to explain how students can apply consumer adoption frameworks to developing marketing strategies. Students can also learn to identify potential challenges and bottlenecks within the consumer adoption process relevant to the target segment. Through the case discussion, they will have an opportunity to understand the strategic importance of frugal innovation in terms of successful consumer adoption of technological innovations, and recognise the importance of frugal innovation in gaining market share in developing countries.
Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop [at] smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.
Download Information
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0017TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0017TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0017TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0017TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
(Please note you are purchasing the case only.)
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