Hamilton
CASE # 1 – HAMILTON POWER TOOLS CORPORATION (abbreviated)
(read this brief case and attempt all questions at end – original thinking backed by logical and creative use of marketing and business related concepts learnt in classrooms and drawn from real world success/failure situations is expected)
On July 13th , 1978, Mr Campagna, the marketing manager for Hamilton Tools, was anxiously awaiting his meeting with the marketing research firm. He felt the findings from the marketing research would change Hamilton Tools from a sales oriented company to a firm that would adopt the consumer oriented philosophy of the marketing concept.
For more than 30 years, Hamilton Power Tools had been marketing industrial products by catering to the construction and industrial tool markets. Their construction product lines included tools such as power trowels, concrete vibrators, generators, and power driven tools. Their industrial lines were primarily pneumatic tools: drills, screw drivers etc. One of their products, the gasoline powered chain saw, was somewhat different from the traditional construction and industrial tools. The Chain Saw line had been added in 1949, when John Hamilton Sr., had the opportunity to acquire a small chain- saw manufacturer. Mr Hamilton Sr believed that construction workers would have the need for gasoline powered chain-saws. He had acquired the business in order to diversify the company into other markets. An egotistical successful entrepreneur he relied on his own hunches and believed he knew his markets.
During the 1970s, the chain-saw market was changing rapidly, and Hamilton Tools executives began to realise that they needed some expert advice. Mr Campagna was excited because the company had previously been engaged solely in industrial marketing activities. He felt a major change in Hamilton Tools’ corporate dimensions was on horizon.
Mr Campagna had been in the chain-saw business for 15 years. Reports from trade publications, statistics from
(read this brief case and attempt all questions at end – original thinking backed by logical and creative use of marketing and business related concepts learnt in classrooms and drawn from real world success/failure situations is expected)
On July 13th , 1978, Mr Campagna, the marketing manager for Hamilton Tools, was anxiously awaiting his meeting with the marketing research firm. He felt the findings from the marketing research would change Hamilton Tools from a sales oriented company to a firm that would adopt the consumer oriented philosophy of the marketing concept.
For more than 30 years, Hamilton Power Tools had been marketing industrial products by catering to the construction and industrial tool markets. Their construction product lines included tools such as power trowels, concrete vibrators, generators, and power driven tools. Their industrial lines were primarily pneumatic tools: drills, screw drivers etc. One of their products, the gasoline powered chain saw, was somewhat different from the traditional construction and industrial tools. The Chain Saw line had been added in 1949, when John Hamilton Sr., had the opportunity to acquire a small chain- saw manufacturer. Mr Hamilton Sr believed that construction workers would have the need for gasoline powered chain-saws. He had acquired the business in order to diversify the company into other markets. An egotistical successful entrepreneur he relied on his own hunches and believed he knew his markets.
During the 1970s, the chain-saw market was changing rapidly, and Hamilton Tools executives began to realise that they needed some expert advice. Mr Campagna was excited because the company had previously been engaged solely in industrial marketing activities. He felt a major change in Hamilton Tools’ corporate dimensions was on horizon.
Mr Campagna had been in the chain-saw business for 15 years. Reports from trade publications, statistics from