Abstract

GKVale, set up in 1910 in the Garden City of Bangalore, India, has come a long way from its modest beginnings. Scores of Bangaloreans have experienced GKVale’s unmatched quality and outstanding customer service for over 98 years. The case presents a brief outline of the growth of GKVale into a complete photography store. It then focuses on the current challenges faced by the company with the arrival of digital storage devices for photographs, the advent of the photosharing websites on the Internet, and the mushrooming of competitors. The case also highlights the differences in opinions between the current director of GKVale and his predecessor. It ends with a question on the future action plan of GKVale. The case will be useful in looking at the strategic responses of GKVale in the situation in which it found itself. This case can be discussed from multiple perspectives in an MBA class as part of their Marketing Communications/ Strategic Brand Management course.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand various issues and challenges in marketing communication.
• Understand the role of marketing communication in addressing issues related to change in consumer behavior.
• Understand the role of advertising in creating awareness among consumers.
• Explore the steps to be taken by the management of GKVale in overcoming the problems it faced.
• Practice their skills at developing a copy for ads to address the challenges faced by the company.

Keywords

Marketing communication, Brand management, Brand communications, Brand identity, Advertising, Promotional strategies, Consumer behavior, Market research, Evolutionary advantage, Photography retailing, family business