WorldCom: 'Generation D'

by Bill Fanning
30 Nov 2004

The Worldcom case study takes place in 2000-2001 when the company's 'Generation D' advertising campaign was launched. The primary emphasis in the early stages of the campaign was on the people of WorldCom. The executions (magazine and television) featured specific WorldCom employees from around the company and around the globe. The intent was to emphasize that they were young, hip, and comfortable with the latest in technology in general and network infrastructure in particular.The case study allows students to analyze a set of advertisements amidst economic change and to assess how effective such advertising was or was not in meeting the company's goals.

Learning Objectives

One possible flow for discussion would entail discussing the advertising first and on its own. Presumably there would be some positive feedback from students, as the commercials are well produced, have a contemporary look and feel (for 2001) and deliver a positive, albeit unfocused message of technology leadership. At that point, the context should be added in terms of the category situation at that time as well as the lack of connection between the brand and the target audience, as discussed below.

Details

Pub Date: Nov 30, 2004

Discipline: Marketing

Subjects: Marketing, Marketing strategy, Brand management

Product #: B5696-PDF-ENG

Industry: Advertising & public relations

Length: 4 page(s)

Berkeley Haas Case Series Follow The Berkeley Haas Case Series is a collection of business case studies written by faculty members at the Haas School of Business. Cases are conceived, developed, written, and published throughout the year, on subjects ranging from entrepreneurship and strategy to finance and marketing. Each case includes a teaching note for use in the classroom.

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