Absolut Vodka: The Spirit of a Brand

This case is used in Darden's core Marketing course and in the Pricing elective. It would work well in course modules covering the topics of branding or product line management. A teaching note is available for instructors. Soon after Pernod Ricard acquires Absolut vodka and other brands, the economic downturn results in changes in purchasing behavior away from premium to standard products. Brand managers consider whether to introduce a “basic” Absolut, promote a lower-priced alternative, or rebrand other vodkas under the Absolut brand to trade on its considerable brand equity.

Organizational Inertia and Excessive Product Proliferation

This study investigates the internal factors of excessive product proliferation. Since empirical literature on product over-proliferation focused on how to optimize existing product portfolio, the causes of excessive product proliferation have so far attracted little attention. This study employs a case study of Shiseido, a famous Japanese cosmetics company, with particular attention to product proliferation in the Shiseido chain store channel, because external factors are mostly absent from this case. My results indicate that intra- and inter-organizational inertia affects product line management. Due to Shiseido’s effort in the 1990s, the company could maintain the advantage it and its cosmetics store channel held with much the strategy as had been used until the mid-1970s. This strengthen intra-organizational inertia at Shiseido. Inter-organizational inertia with cosmetics stores makes Shiseido’s strategic change more difficult, which causes excess proliferation.

Price promotions and brand loyalty

Purpose – This article aims to estimate the relationship between brand loyalty and price promotions on the German yoghurt market. It considers consumer loyalty to various corporate brands and their respective sub-brands to analyze promotional strategies between and within certain corporate brands with a larger loyal consumer segment and a moderate strength of consumer loyalty are well suited for effective price promotions following the idea of loss leader by Lal and Matutes (1994). Design/methodology/approach – The paper’s approach follows Allender and Richards’ (2012) and extends to explicitly considering the product line management of every manufacturer in the market. In the first step, a random coefficient logit specification is estimated to compute measures of brand loyalty for each brand. In the second step, the relationship between brand loyalty measures and the frequency and depth of price promotions is analysed. Findings – The results suggest that weaker corporate brands are promoted more aggressively supporting the model hypotheses by Koças and Bohlmann (2008). Within the manufacturer’s product line, sub-brands with a larger loyal consumer segment and a moderate strength of consumer loyalty are more often used for effective price promotions which reflects the idea of loss leading first introduced by Lal and Matutes (1994). Research limitations/implications – The results are limited to a static relationship between brand loyalty and price promotions. Analyzing the dynamics of the relationship between brand loyalty and price promotions should prove fruitful in enhancing the understanding of retailer strategies and provides additional implications for managerial decisions in retailing. Practical implications – Managers need to be more aware of the linkages between product line management and promotional strategies. Changes in the product line management may require a redirection of the promotional measures and strategies. Social implications – Consumer behavior with respect to brand loyalty to some extent determines price promotional strategies of retailers. The promotional strategies provide opportunities to save expenditures, especially for non-loyal and low income households. Originality/value – Matching and analyzing two detailed (consumer, retail) scanner data sets to investigate the relationship between the measures of brand loyalty and the retailers’ price promotional strategies. Novel is the modeling of two different dimensions of brand loyalty (size and strength) and the consideration of sub-brands. The results clearly show that promotional strategies vary not only between corporate brands but also between sub-brands of the same corporate brand.

Absolut Vodka: The Spirit of a Brand

This case is used in Darden’s core Marketing course and in the Pricing elective. It would work well in course modules covering the topics of branding or product line management. A teaching note is available for instructors. Soon after Pernod Ricard acquires Absolut vodka and other brands, the economic downturn results in changes in purchasing behavior away from premium to standard products. Brand managers consider whether to introduce a “basic” Absolut, promote a lower-priced alternative, or rebrand other vodkas under the Absolut brand to trade on its considerable brand equity.

Strategies used in practice in emergency nursing: implications ethical and professional

ABSTRACTObjectives: to identify the strategies used by members of the nursing staff in the emergency room and analyze the ethical and professional implications of these strategies, as everyday practices that drive. Method: this is about an qualitative study, conducted in the emergency room of University Hospital Antonio Pedro, Universidade Federal Fluminense, approved by the Ethics Committee under n. 0155-07. It was used as a tool for data collection, participant observation, according to the precepts of Resolution 196/96. Results: the working process of the nursing staff of the Emergency Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro is strongly characterized by improvisation and fragmentation. Thus, the nursing intervention is subject to adjustments in the way of doing, here understood as strategies. The use of strategies in the action has ethical and professional implications involving the provision of safe handling and quality and application of scientifically proven techniques. Conclusion: the practice observed in the nurses' performance is still not systematic in experiments without evaluating the consequences, which are not even perceived as such by staff of the work, making them unaware of the ethical and professional. Descriptors: ethics, nursing; ethics, professional; emergency nursing; professional practice location; product line management; strategies.RESUMOObjetivos: identificar as estratégias utilizadas pelos membros da equipe de enfermagem na emergência hospitalar e analisar as implicações ético-profissionais dessas estratégias, enquanto práticas cotidianas nessa unidade. Método: estudo qualitativo, realizado no setor de emergência do Hospital Universitário Antonio Pedro da Universidade Federal Fluminense, aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética sob n. 0155-07. Utilizou-se como instrumento de coleta de dados a observação participante, segundo os preceitos da Resolução 196/96. Resultados: o processo de trabalho da equipe de enfermagem da Emergência do Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro é fortemente caracterizado por improviso e fragmentação. Desta forma, a intervenção de enfermagem está sujeita a adaptações no modo de fazer, aqui compreendidas como estratégias. A utilização de estratégias na atuação possui implicações ético-profissionais que envolvem a prestação de assistência segura e de qualidade e a aplicação de técnicas comprovadas cientificamente. Conclusão: a prática observada na atuação dos enfermeiros ainda se constitui em experiências não sistematizadas e sem avaliação das suas conseqüências, que sequer são percebidas como tal pelos agentes do trabalho, realizando-as sem consciência das implicações éticas e profissionais. Descritores: ética em enfermagem; ética profissional; enfermagem em emergência; área de atuação profissional; administração de linha de produção; estratégias.RESUMENObjetivos: identificar las estrategias utilizadas por los miembros del personal de enfermería en la sala de emergencias y analizar las implicaciones éticas y profesionales de estas estrategias, como las prácticas cotidianas de esa unidad. Método: estudio cualitativo, realizado en la sala de urgencias del Hospital Universitario Antonio Pedro, Universidade Federal Fluminense, aprobado por el Comité de Ética bajo el n. 0155-07. Fue utilizado como una herramienta para la recopilación de datos, la observación participante, de acuerdo a los preceptos de la Resolución 196/96. Resultados: el proceso de trabajo del personal de enfermería de la Emergencia del Hospital Universitario Antônio Pedro está fuertemente caracterizado por la improvisación y la fragmentación. Así pues, la intervención de enfermería está sujeta a ajustes en la forma de hacer, aquí entendida como las estrategias. Las implicaciones del uso de estrategias en la acción ética y profesional que implique la prestación de seguridad en la manipulación y la calidad y la aplicación de técnicas científicamente probadas. Conclusión: la práctica observada en el desempeño de la enfermería no está siendo sistemática en experimentos sin evaluar las consecuencias, que ni siquiera son percibidas como tales por el personal de la obra, haciendo que no tengan conciencia de lo ético y profesional. Descriptores: ética en enfermería; ética profesional; enfermería de urgencia; ubicación de la práctica profesional; administración de línea de producción; estrategias.