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3. What are the pros and cons of (a) a mulitproduct branding strategy and (b) a
multibranding strategy in the pet hospitality industry for companies such as
(a) Petco and (b) Marriott?
Answers:
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4. What stage of the product life cycle is the pet hospitality industry in? An offering
such as PetSmart’s PetsHotels? Explain and support your answers.
Answers:
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ICA 11-2: IN-CLASS ACTIVITY
Using Brainstorming and N/3 Techniques for Breathe Right® Nasal Strips1
Learning Objectives. To have students: (1) experience an actual brainstorming session
with a fun and rather outrageous product and (2) evaluate the emerging ideas using an N/3
(“N over 3”) rating process to assess some of the strengths and weaknesses of both techniques.
Nature of the Activity. To have students engage in brainstorming and N/3 activities
based on specific guidelines to generate advertising featuring the Breathe Right Nasal Strips.
Estimated Class Time and Teaching Suggestions. About 20 minutes, taught in
4-person teams.
Materials Needed.
• Breathe Right Nasal Strips.
a. Consider purchasing a package or packages of tan and/or clear adult (large or
small/medium) Breathe Right Nasal Strips for students and have them try them on
during this ICA. If it is a small class, consider purchasing enough strips for every
student in the class.
• Copies for each student, either in hard copy or electronically, of the:
a. “Brainstorming Ground Rules” handout.
b. “N/3 Ground Rules” handout.
Steps to Teach this ICA.
1. OPTIONAL: Bookmark the following websites on your classroom computer:
1 The authors wish to thank Kerry Sell, Associate Brand Manager of Breathe Right, who assisted in the development of this ICA.
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2. OPTIONAL: As students come into the classroom, offer them a Breathe Right Nasal
Strip but DO NOT allow them to put it on until told to do so and shown how.
3. Form students into 4-person teams.
4. Pass out copies of the Brainstorming Ground Rules and N/3 Ground Rules handouts
to each student.
5. Discuss:
a. Click on the “TV Ad” Internet icon to play a recent TV ad for the Breathe Right
6. Have a sample of (or all) students put on a Breathe Right Nasal Strip.
7. Give students the following mini-lecture on Breathe Right Nasal Strips:
“Nasal congestion can be caused by a cold, allergies to such things as dust, pollen or
pet dander, or as a response to irritants such as tobacco smoke. As a result, 20% of
the U.S. population suffers from chronic nighttime nasal congestion. Breathe Right
8. Introduce the purpose of this activity:
“Your goal is to generate ideas of characters or situations for use in advertisements
9. Brainstorming Ground Rules. Explain that brainstorming is used to come up with
new product ideas as well as advertising ideas.
11. Have the student teams generate 15 or 20 advertising ideas and have a student write
them on the board.
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11. N/3 Ground Rules. Explain that the N/3 technique is often used to evaluate new
product and advertising ideas. Use it to rank the student ideas.
13. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the “Brainstorming” technique:
• Advantages:
a. Helps focus a group of people on generating a list of alternative solutions to a
defined problem.
• Disadvantages:
a. Limits the list of candidate solutions to those given by a specific group of
people at one specific time.
14. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the “N/3” technique:
• Advantages:
a. Provides a ranking that uses judgments from a knowledgeable cross-section of
people.
• Disadvantages:
a. May be biased by an individual’s voting for his/her ideas submitted in the
brainstorming session.
Marketing Lesson. Marketers use brainstorming and N/3 techniques to develop and
evaluate new or refine existing products and services in terms of their features, as well as price,
promotion (advertising), and distribution strategies and tactics.
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BRAINSTORMING GROUND RULES
1. Strive for quantity of ideas, without special concern about
quality.
2. “Piggybacking” on another person’s ideas is OK, and is even
encouraged.
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N/3 GROUND RULES
1. Divide the total number of ideas generated (N) by 3 to get the “points” each
student can allocate.
2. Have each student allocate her/his 11 points to the 30 items, with 3, 2, 1, or 0
3. Tally the amounts for each idea to see the leaders.
Chapter 11 – Managing Successful Products, Services, and Brands
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Connect Application Exercises
Application Exercise 1: Creating Customer Value and Competitive Advantage
Activity Summary: In this click and drag activity, students learn how firms create customer
value through packaging and labeling. The drop areas include the benefits of packaging
(communication, functional, perceptual) in addition to the challenges of packaging and labeling
(connecting with customers, environmental concerns, health and safety concerns, and cost
reduction). Students match the draggable items (nutritional information, “sell by” data, vertical
packaging, cold activated beer, aluminum can, tetra pack juice boxes, compressed insulation) to
the correct category.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Packaging
Learning Objective: LO 11-04 Describe the role of packaging, labeling, and warranties in the
marketing of a product.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors can bring in sample packages from consumer packaged goods
(such as chips, cereals, toothpaste, yogurt, etc.) for students to evaluate. Ask students to analyze
Application Exercise 2: Relating the Product Life Cycle to Marketing Mix Actions
Activity Summary: In this click and drag activity, students are introduced to the stages of the
product life cycle. The drop areas are the stages of the product life cycle (introduction, growth,
maturity, decline). The draggable items (Canon, Apple, Coke, Sony) provide students with a
description of a firm’s strategy and marketing tactics used for its product in a specific product
category.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Product Life Cycle
Learning Objective: LO 11-01 Explain the product life-cycle concept.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could build on the examples provided in this click and drag
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Application Exercise 3: Alternative Branding Strategies for Philip B
Activity Summary: Students learn about Philip B, the high-quality brand of hair and skin care
products in this case analysis. Philip B is considering allowing Target Stores to carry its ultra–
prestigious products, but it is not sure that Target and Philip B are a good match. After reviewing
the mini-case, students are asked five questions about Philip B’s hair care line and branding
strategies.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Branding Strategy
Learning Objective: LO 11-03 Recognize the importance of branding and alternative branding
strategies.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 1 Easy
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to identify other examples of firms who have
extended their product offerings by adding additional brands/lines. Many examples can be found
Application Exercise 4: P&G’s Secret Deodorant: Finding Inspiration in Perspiration
Activity Summary: In this 5-minute video, students learn about the history of Secret and the
importance of successful branding for a low-involvement product such as a deodorant. After
watching the video, students are asked five questions which covering Secret’s branding
strategies, product life cycle, brand equity, and brand personality.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Product Life Cycle, Branding Strategy, Brand Equity
Learning Objectives: LO 11-01 Explain the product life-cycle concept.
LO 11-02 Identify ways that marketing executives manage a product’s life
cycle.
LO 11-03 Recognize the importance of branding and alternative branding
strategies.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to identify additional low-involvement
products (paper towels, packaged cookies, toilet paper, milk, soda, etc.) with a unique brand
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Application Exercise 5: iSeeit! Video Case: Brand Equity
Activity Summary: In this straightforward whiteboard animation video, brand equity, brand
awareness, brand associations, and perceived value are discussed for the Coffee Collective. After
watching the 3-minute video, students are asked three follow-up questions related to brand equity
and branding strategy.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Brand Equity, Branding Strategy
Learning Objective: LO 11-03 Recognize the importance of branding and alternative branding
strategies.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to evaluate brand equity for a brand of their
choice (advise students to choose a national brand for this activity). To evaluate brand equity on
Analytics Exercise 6: Marketing Analytics: Uncovering Opportunities
Activity Summary: In this analytics exercise, students read a short case about RC Cola’s market
share and the overall cola market. Students then use category development index, brand
development index, target market statistics, and soda consumption levels to analyze RC Cola’s
current target market. Finally, students are asked to manipulate the interactive spreadsheet to
perform sensitivity analysis.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Marketing Analytics
Learning Objective: LO 11-02 Identify ways that marketing executives manage a product’s life
cycle.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to perform additional research on the cola
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