Case Teaching Package
A case teaching package is available for this case. It includes strategies for case presentation, key concepts, solutions to the assignment questions in the case, and suggestions for the most effective ways to work this case into your course.

Length
This case is 10 pages in length and its case teaching package is 4 pages.

Abstract

Brian Swette, Pepsi's Senior Vice President for Barnd Development, has a number of new products under development or in test markets. One of his newest products is his Smooth Moos Smoothies, a milk-based smoothie which comes in four flavors with Spot the cow as its advertising mascot. Milk is a commodity but Brian wants to change that by building a unique identity for Smooth Moos amongst its early-teen target market. Panel taste tests and focus group sessions have just been completed and it appears some adjustments may have to be made. Does he have enough information at this point? Should more tests be ordered or should he implement some of the suggestions made by the research team?

Linkages to Textbooks or Journal Articles/Fit Within a Course

This case can be used in graduate and undergraduate marketing management and market research courses. It can be used as an example of a new product that was conceptually correct but one that was flawed regarding its physical nature.

In examining this case, students should be asked to either create their own research designs for testing such a product, or to critique the design used in this case. An interesting class project would be to have students make their own bottled smoothies and have them taste-tested against the commercially available smoothies available on-site at McDonald's and Wendy's.

Study Questions

1. Given the historical beverage consumption trends in the United States, how successful do you believe a milk-based product such as Smooth Moos Smoothies will be?
2. Assess the product test design created and implemented by the research group on Smooth Moos Smoothies. If you were conducting this study would you make any changes? If you made those alterations do you think you would obtain significantly different results?
3. Based on the qualitative information presented in Table 3, what did the respondents think about Smooth Moos Smoothies as a product concept?
4. To what degree do you agree with the research group's conclusions and recommendations based on your analysis of the information it generated?
   Brian Swette is left with a number of both short-term and long-term decisions about Smooth Moos Smoothies. Would it be wise for him to conduct more research which would give him greater assurance about the target market's reaction to his products? Are there actions he could take based on the information he already possesses?

The downloadable file for this case is in Microsoft® Word 97 for Windows®.

If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can download the free Microsoft® Word Viewer 97 right here:   For Windows 3.x   For Windows 95

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