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Marketing Strategy, 8th Edition by O. C. Ferrell, Michael Hartline, Bryan W. Hochstein All Cases
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Marketing Strategy, 8th Edition by O. C. Ferrell, Michael Hartline, Bryan W. Hochstein All Cases
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,All Cases ForMarketing Strategy, 8th Edition O. C. Ferrell (Author), Michael Hartline (Author), Bryan W.
Hochstein (Author)
Cases 1-21
Case 1 Tesla Races Ahead with Nontraditional Marketing Strategy*
Synopsis: Tesla, the leader in electric vehicles, has managed to become one of the most
valuable car makers in the United States without any traditional advertising and
an Internet-focused downstream distribution strategy. Tesla also leads with an
extensive corporate social responsibility strategy that includes focusing on the
safety of both employees and consumers, supporting a diverse work
environment, sourcing responsibly produced materials, and contributing to
education.
Themes: Ethics and social responsibility, sustainability, distribution strategy, promotion
strategy, product strategy, pricing strategy, competitive advantage
Case Summary
Tesla, an all-electric vehicle and energy generation products company, is widely admired for its
industry-altering innovation built around its core vision of moving the world toward sustainable
energy. Though Tesla got its start with electric vehicles (EVs) in 2003, the company has
branched out to create a variety of renewable energy technologies from solar roof tiles to clean
energy storage. Today, Tesla is the most valuable carmaker in the world. Remarkably, the
automaker reached this status with a $0 advertising budget.
This case explores Tesla’s marketing mix including its product strategy, pricing strategy,
distribution strategy, and promotion strategy. Tesla has a gift for attracting publicity due to its
promotion tactics, such as its launch events, and headline-worthy achievements. Despite the
company’s success, Tesla has attracted both skepticism and criticism from the public as well as
investors, largely due to CEO Elon Musk’s outspoken nature, which has damaged the company’s
reputation and stock price more than once. This case analyzes how Tesla established itself as a
leader in EVs.
Additionally, this case explores corporate social responsibility at Tesla. Tesla’s corporate social
responsibility (CSR) strategy addresses stakeholders’ interests by monitoring and reporting on
the company’s product and operational impact, emphasizing consumer safety and responsible
sourcing, and focusing on its employees and building a strong organizational culture.
*
Kelsey Reddick and Zachary Youngstrom prepared this case under the direction of O. C. Ferrell for classroom
discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of administrative, ethical, or legal decisions by
management, © 2022.
© 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
,Teaching Overview
This case thoroughly outlines Tesla’s marketing mix. Students should be encouraged to update
this information as needed and then conduct a comprehensive SWOT analysis for Tesla. The
case also gives students an excellent overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Tesla.
Students should have no trouble discussing these efforts and their implications for Tesla’s
marketing strategy. After this is completed, students could use this case to develop a marketing
strategy for maintaining the company’s position as a leader in EVs. Tesla has become profitable,
achieving record sales numbers, and has gained resources to propel its global expansion.
Major SWOT Themes
Innovation, competitive advantage, profitability, leadership, global business, corporate social
responsibility, product strategy, pricing strategy, premium pricing, promotion strategy, new
product introduction, advertising, publicity, distribution strategy, supply chain
Problem/Decision Statement
Despite the company’s success, Tesla has attracted both skepticism and criticism from the
public as well as investors. Not all of Tesla’s publicity has been positive. Tesla’s history of
leadership challenges has followed it in the media. Though many companies have benefited
from having a celebrity CEO, Tesla has had to reign in CEO Elon Musk, who has been both an
asset and a liability for the company. Additionally, Tesla now faces more competition than ever
as mainstream automakers invest heavily in EVs. Musk believes that Tesla’s competition is not
the small percentage of EVs being produced but rather the large number of gasoline-fueled
vehicles saturating the market.
Discussion Questions
1. In what ways does Tesla address the interests of its stakeholders through its corporate
social responsibility strategy?
Tesla’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy addresses stakeholders’ interests by
monitoring and reporting on the company’s product and operational impact, emphasizing
consumer safety and responsible sourcing, and focusing on its employees and building a
strong organizational culture.
Tesla believes that consumers should not have to compromise on price or performance
when it comes to choosing sustainable products. To address this consumer interest, Tesla
has introduced more affordable models of its environmentally friendly vehicles, which have
resulted in millions of metric tons of emissions savings. Tesla has also prioritized consumer
safety with advanced safety features and taking additional measures to give customers
peace of mind.
© 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
, Tesla has also prioritized employee safety with its multiday training program and on-the-job
training. Tesla’s goal is to have the safest car factory in the world. Tesla also fosters
employee advocates by offering perks such as its employee stock purchase program. Many
of its efforts simultaneously reduce carbon impact while providing valuable perks for
employees. Additionally, Tesla supports workplace diversity in its recruitment and retention
efforts with anti-discrimination and anti-sexual harassment training as well as unconscious
bias training.
To address the interests of shareholders, Tesla has taken measures to increase profitability,
even going as far as to implement layoffs in a move toward streamlining the company.
2. How would you describe Tesla’s marketing strategy?
Tesla’s marketing strategy is nontraditional. Tesla’s premium all-electric vehicles are its
bread and butter, and yet, Tesla made the move to open source its patents to make them
openly accessible. Though Tesla has now introduced more affordable models, relatively
speaking, overall Tesla has a premium pricing strategy. Tesla does not use traditional
advertising as part of its promotion strategy and has an Internet-focused downstream
distribution strategy.
3. How does Tesla’s distribution strategy differ from other automakers?
Tesla has invested many resources into its upstream supply chain by focusing on its in-
house battery cell production and vehicle production at its Gigafactories. This is one of
Tesla’s key competitive advantages. Downstream, Tesla has a unique retail distribution
compared to competitors. The company sells online with no agency dealerships. Customers
pick up their vehicles at a Tesla-owned regional distribution center. Interestingly, Tesla
showrooms are strictly used for promotion, not purchases.
Case 2 Businesses Sink or Swim in the Face of COVID-19 Crisis*
*
Kelsey Reddick, Callie Kyzar, and Caleb Yarbrough prepared this case under the direction of O. C. Ferrell for
classroom discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of administrative, ethical, or legal
decisions by management, © 2022.
© 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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