Brand Management Challenge
Launch of a consumer brand

In this simulation, teams try to build and sustain sales and profitability for a high-value consumer brand, such as a premium coffee in a market with many potential consumers, who buy through retail stores. Success depends on:

  • developing consumer interest by advertising, while not spending more than necessary to reach target consumers,
  • growing distribution of the product through retail stores by deciding on the size of sales force – making sure not to employ more effort and cost than is worthwhile,
  • setting a wholesale price that gives a good margin, whilst resulting in a retail price through stores that ensures consumers buy the product and still give stores a good profit.

Your team has been asked to market a premium brand and sell it through thousands of retail stores to capture demand from millions of potential consumers. Advertising spend wins consumer interest, but they will only buy the brand if it is in the stores, which needs a sales force. The brand must be profitable for those stores and for you, so pricing is a critical decision to determine profit margin and average consumer demand.

The brand competes in a broad market, rather than taking on specific competitors. Players can focus on marketing and sales issues, since production and distribution activities and costs are fixed.

In addition to launching a completely new brand with a limited budget, players can take over a business that has been spending on sales and advertising with little success, another that has grown quickly, or another that must be rescued from declining sales and profits.

Play Video
Video: Introduction to the game, with audio (8.5 mins)

Brand Management Challenge + 'Screenshot'

Can you build and sustain a successful consumer brand and make it profitable before the launch budget runs out? How much profit can you make without destroying the very things that made it succeed in the first place?

Build a new brand or take on a business that a previous team has been managing…

Play a demo

Play demo Create a game as a guest and see the reports etc that are available. Access is limited and games run for a few periods only.

Next steps

Pricing Pricing
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Request Evaluation Evaluation access
Teachers can request access to full game and inspection documentation for evaluation

More resources

How it works - the process of evaluating and setting up an event, illustrative teaching schedules and suggestions for assessing student performance.