Marketing / strategy case studies

1. Interesting Business Case Studies
Prepared by Prashant S Nair

2. Table of contents
Case studies
1. DuckDuckGo
2. Kalnirnay
3. Voltas

3. Inspiring story of a late mover in search engine industry dominated by Google, Bing &
Yahoo & how it carved out a niche for itself
 DuckDuckGo established in
2008; is a late entrant in
search engine market
 Despite initial hurdles, it has
been successful in emerging
as one of top 10 global
search engines
 Its search volume has surged
nearly 10 fold in last 3 yearsTop 3 players account for
~ 98% of search engine
market; 2% left for others
Their Story
DuckDuckGo Strategy
How to differentiate your offering & create a unique image
DuckDuckGo is thriving in the search engine market amidst formidable competitors by offering a niche
value to its target customers
 When DuckDuckGo was established people questioned owners sanity – how to compete with
mighty Google
 They did not simply mimic Google; but focused on creating a key differentiating feature that no
one offered – PRIVACY; unlike other search engines, they don’t track users
Now DuckDuckGo has become most preferred search engine for consumers concerned for
online privacy
► Source: Philip Kotler marketing management / secondary sources

4. How a publishing firm that started around 40 years ago from a small room transformed
into the world’s largest circulated publication?
Background
Understanding consumer NEED & THEN offer solution
Kalnirnay: An almanac that revolutionized the Indian calendar & successfully created a multi-billion
calendar industry attracting multiple brands emulating it
 Kalnirnay today sells > 18
million copies in ~ 9
languages
 Is extensively used by
leading Indian / Global
brands to advertise its
product offerings given its
immense household reach
 Created a multi-billion
calendar industry in India
Kalnirnay Story
 Started in 1973 by an astrologer
who understood the unmet need of
an average Indian consumer
 In India, people look at panchang
before starting something
auspicious
 Only pandits could read the sacred
texts & would charge a fee;
Kalnirnay converted panchang for
layman; integrated with calendar
 Challenge: retailer unwilling to
stock calendar considered as a gift
item; no loans were available
 Strategy: owners had conviction in
their business viability; sold door to
door, consumers loved the idea &
there was no looking back for them
Key Takeaways
 Understanding
what customers
needs & offering a
simple solution
 Targeting the
right audience -
lady of the house
in this case (also
offers recipes,
home remedies as
value add)
 Innovative tool
for marketing &
reaching out to
end consumers

5. Customer value driven marketing - is indispensable
Voltas: market share had significantly eroded when global giants ushered into India market post
economic liberalization; however its “Big Bang strategy” helped reinstate its foothold
Remarkable story of Voltas that once dominated AC market slipped into verge of
bankruptcy & how it resurrected ailing brand & regained its position
 Voltas ruled the Indian AC
market for ~4 decades
 Unorganized sector was
also thriving - duty evasion
/ huge price differential
 Global players started
invading post liberalization,
AC retailing gained traction
& Voltas started significantly
losing its market share
Voltas Story - brink of bankruptcy to marker leader
 Product strategy: technology improvement &
introduced multiple variants including affordable ones
for the “middle class”, also launched 0.6 ton AC
Background
 Pricing strategy: optimized SCM, moved away from
manufacturing to sourcing, right sized factories, better
sourcing & right pricing & passing benefit to customers
 Distribution strategy: revisited distribution, emphasis
on post-purchase service quality along with product;
pruned non-performing dealers; shelf space in multi-
brand retailing, dealer friendly policies & training,
customer touch points from 6000 to 13000 in 3 yrs
 Promotion strategy: focused on revamp of image,
engaging with new generation, invested in brand
building, innovative marketing campaigns for connect