Episódios

  • Mattel’s Barbie Playbook: Replicating Success Across the Company’s Portfolio

    Mattel’s Barbie Playbook: Replicating Success Across the Company’s Portfolio
    May 13 2025
    The 2023 movie Barbie and its accompanying marketing blitz reinstated a celebrated icon at the forefront of cultural conversation. This sudden goodwill stood in contrast to decades of criticism of the Barbie brand. Although proponents had celebrated Barbie for her promise to “inspire the limitless potential in every girl,” detractors felt that the doll promoted a narrow beauty standard and perpetuated gender stereotypes. In this episode of Cold Call, HBS Professor Elie Ofek and coauthor Ryann Noe join host Brian Kenny to discuss the case “Barbie: Reviving a Cultural Icon at Mattel.” They explore how Mattel planned to sustain the Barbie brand’s positive momentum and replicate its success across other toy brands.
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    31 minutos
  • How Duolingo Aims to Diversify Beyond Language Learning

    How Duolingo Aims to Diversify Beyond Language Learning
    Apr 29 2025
    Launched in 2011, Duolingo grew into the most downloaded education app in the world. Its gamified approach to language learning and use of adaptive AI technology helped it reach 100 million monthly active users and a market capitalization approaching $15 billion by late 2024. The company also saw the potential of Gen AI to power innovative products beyond languages. CTO Severin Hacker envisioned a future in which AI would transform the app into an educational ecosystem, tapping into the $56 billion edtech market. HBS Senior Lecturer Jeffrey Rayport and coauthor Nicole Keller join host Brian Kenny to discuss the case “Duolingo: On a Streak” and the long-term benefits and risks of this diversification strategy.
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    35 minutos
  • The Nuqul Group Works to Preserve Its Founder’s Legacy

    The Nuqul Group Works to Preserve Its Founder’s Legacy
    Apr 15 2025
    In 1952, Palenstinian refugee Elia Nuqul started a trading business in Jordan. Nuqul Group subsequently grew into one of the country’s largest family businesses. Its flagship company, Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH), was a leader in hygienic paper products across the Middle East and North Africa. After Nuqul’s death in 2022, his son Ghassan and three siblings decided to split the Group’s assets so that each branch of the family could forge its own path. They were in discussions to finalize the details of the agreement. In this episode, FHH chairman Ghassan Nuqul and HBS Senior Lecturer Christina Wing join host Brian Kenny to discuss enduring family businesses, a founder’s legacy, and how business decisions affect family ties in the case “Ghassan Nuqul and the Nuqul Group: Preserving a Father's Legacy.”
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    30 minutos
  • Calyx Global: Improving the Quality of Carbon Credits

    Calyx Global: Improving the Quality of Carbon Credits
    Apr 1 2025
    In 2021, Donna Lee and Duncan van Bergen founded Calyx Global to improve the quality of carbon credits sold in the voluntary carbon market. Organizations buy those credits for their decarbonization efforts to meet net-zero commitments. The startup had carefully avoided perceptions of conflicts of interest. But it was a challenging time for the industry. Lee and van Bergen had to decide whether tapping new revenue streams would jeopardize their trustworthy reputation. In this episode, HBS Professor Mike Toffel and Duncan van Bergen discuss the company’s business model, its approach to ratings, and the emerging competitive landscape in the case, “Calyx Global: Rating Carbon Credits.”
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    39 minutos
  • How Lanco Medical Group Fosters Workforce Happiness to Motivate Employees and Grow Fast

    How Lanco Medical Group Fosters Workforce Happiness to Motivate Employees and Grow Fast
    Mar 18 2025
    How important is it to maintain a happy workforce? With this question in mind, Lanco Medical Group, a small but fast-growing pharmaceutical distributor serving Latin America, designed their employee benefits and incentives program. But there were gaps between what leadership believed motivated employees and what employees truly valued. So, the organization collected data about those drivers. Priorities varied by age group, organizational role, and geographic locations. In this episode, HBS Professor Susanna Gallani discusses the case “Lanco Medical Group: Fostering Happiness for Growth” and the tensions between accommodating employees' preferences, maintaining fairness, and operating a manageable incentive program amid aggressive international growth targets.
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    27 minutos
  • The Evolution of Luxury Brand Porsche

    The Evolution of Luxury Brand Porsche
    Mar 4 2025
    Porsche has reigned as a leading sports and luxury car company for nearly 80 years. Central to the German automaker’s growth strategy is creating great products, such as the legendary 911 Carrera sports car. But the automotive industry is facing disruption and new competition. Company leadership is adapting Porsche’s product portfolio, recently adding the electric model Taycan. They’re also innovating new customer experiences like the “Track Your Dream” program. In this episode, Harvard Business School Professor Stefan Thomke explores the company’s bid to stay relevant and true to its legacy in the case “Porsche.”
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    28 minutos
  • Should Google Stay in the Cloud Gaming Business?

    Should Google Stay in the Cloud Gaming Business?
    Feb 18 2025
    Google formally announced the innovative video game service Stadia at the 2019 Game Developer Conference. The company invested substantial resources to support the demanding requirements of cloud gaming. But the early uptake by premium video gamers was disappointing. The leadership team faced a decision. Should they double down by refocusing Stadia on the casual gamer segment? Or should they pull the plug? In this episode, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever and coauthor Akshat Agrawal explore Google’s strategic choice in the case “Google Stadia: Game On or Game Over?”
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    35 minutos
  • Celebrating 10 Years of Cold Call

    Celebrating 10 Years of Cold Call
    Feb 4 2025
    Cold Call is celebrating its tenth year of distilling Harvard Business School case studies. To kick off the 2025 anniversary, the podcast’s production team has curated three favorite episodes from 2024. Host Brian Kenny recommends one on leadership with HBS Senior Lecturer Tony Mayo. Show producer Robin Passias selects an innovation episode with HBS Professor Frances Frei and entrepreneur Paul English. And audio engineer Craig McDonald highlights one on business model generation with HBS faculty member Jeffrey Rayport and football club cofounder Kara Nortman.
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    13 minutos