Principles of Marketing

How to Prepare for Case Analysis? – A General Guideline
Step 1. Read first section and last page of case, and answer following questions:
1. Is there a decision maker I need to identify with? Who is this person (name, position,
responsibilities)?
2. What decision do I have to make and is it significant to the company?
3. Why did the problem arise and why am I involved?
4. When do I have to make the decision – is it urgent?
Step 2. Go to the end of case and take a quick look at the exhibits.
• What types of information are available in these exhibits?
Step 3. Read the case very carefully, while keep in mind the following questions.
1) What is the company and what product or service do they sell?
2) How would you describe the value that they create for their customers?
3) Who are they competing with? (Think about direct as well as indirect competitors)
4) How can the market be segmented? What is the most appropriate target segment for this
product / service?
5) Write out a positioning statement.
6) How do consumers make decisions in this product category? Which aspect of consumer
behavior do you think the company needs to change?
7) In a sentence or two, describe this company’s….
Product strategy
Promotion (communication) strategy
Distribution strategy
Pricing strategy
Note:
• Keep notes of your answers for above questions;
• Try making use of all the facts available in the case, including exhibits.
Step 4. Summary analysis
8) What is the key decision that needs to be made in this case analysis? What are the alternatives?
What criteria will you use to make the decision?
9) What are the implications of your analysis in (1) ~ (7) to above decision? Present your analysis
and implications in a summary table, and make a recommendation.
RSM250 Principles of Marketing Prof. Ryan Webb
Guidelines for Group Case Reports (Canada Goose)
Format: Case report should be double-spaced, with margins  1 inch, font size 12 pts. Reports should be
no more than 15 pages long, including all figures and tables.
Report Structure: your report should consist of following 4 parts, % indicates weights in grading.
1. Problem definition: (10%) In this part, you may describe the situation facing the company, the
company’s goals and challenges, and identify the main decision(s) the company needs to make. In case
the company faces several problems, you may focus on the most important one(s), and the one(s) that
the case provide sufficient information for your analysis.
2. Alternatives: (15%) In this part, you present a list of best alternative, NOT all alternatives.
• The alternatives are competing approaches that are significantly different from each other.
• The alternatives should be as fully specified in order to be adequately evaluated. This requires
you to think through all aspects of each alternative.
• No more than 4 alternatives for meaningful discussions.
• Avoid (a) “wait for more research” type of alternative, and (b) alternatives that have little
information in the case (you then need to rely on wild guesses).
3. Critical Analysis: (40%) This part evaluates the causal factors affecting alternative success.
• What criteria will you use to compare the alternatives?
• Go back to questions (1) ~ (7) in “how to prepare for case analysis?” What are the implications
of your answers to the evaluation of alternatives?
• Organize “critical analysis” into a small number of subsections.
4. Conclusion: (25%) This part integrates your critical analysis, building on each to show how one
alternative is better than another (or all others).
• This part is related to your answer to question (9) in “how to prepare for case analysis?”
Notes:
• Remaining 10% for writing clarity and cohesiveness.
• No need to include a reference section for materials you cited from the case.
• Numerical analysis that can support your arguments can be valuable. For example, when financial
data are available, you may create pro-forma profit and loss statements for each alternative. In
general, a good conclusion reviews each of the alternatives presented, weighs each against the
others, and identifies the key reasons for choice.
• Make an easy-to-read project. It is hard to follow when poorly formatted or too long. This problem
is easily fixed by improving the flow of your project and following the page limit. Proofread.
• Do not simply merge sections written by different members of a group. Make sure that the project
does not reflect misunderstandings and disagreements among group members. It is fine to “divide
labor” to some extent, but it works only when your group members share an overall marketing
direction, detailed marketing actions, and the central elements of the logical argument. Otherwise,
the project will not form a coherent logic or concerted plan of action.
RSM250 Principles of Marketing Prof. Ryan Webb
Guidelines for Group Case Presentation
• Your presentation may cover all four parts: problem definition, alternatives, critical analysis, and
conclusions.
• Each group member must participate in the presentation.
• Use powerpoint or any other commonly used presentation media, e.g., Prezi
Time limit: 15 minutes + 3 minutes
Grading: Your presentation will be graded in following EIGHT areas, each area has the same weight:
• Completeness (cover all four parts)
• Quality of slides (layout, graphics, etc.)
• Professional manner
• Group participation and chemistry
• Energy/enthusiasm/fun
• Answering questions
• Time management
• Flow (transition from one topic to another)

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