Case Study 1: Deciding Whether to Go Global
When a national cataloger launched its high-end clothing catalog internationally, the real challenge, in some locations, was not how to market it, but how to find the right audience. Since the company had already established itself in Germany (it owned a warehouse and ran a successful operation there), an efficient next step in the expansion of its European operations was to move into Central Europe.

Solution
The company's global marketing strategy was assessed and initial research work was completed-this included a review of each nation's recent census results, as well as additional personal interviews on the phone with potential shoppers. In consideration of entry into Central European markets, the consultants also had carried out P&L and price structure analyses.

Results
The results of the personal interviews revealed that the shoppers of those new markets were not ready to accept catalog buying. Additionally, the P&L analysis showed that the catalog in those markets would not make a profit the first seven years of operation. The recommendation-not to enter the market at that time-was accepted by the company, averting significant, potential losses.

Case Study 2: Risk Assessment
A studio was planning to create and release an independent feature film. They needed financing, and they had been trying to attract potential investors. The studio heard of Mona Lisa Consulting's success using Neural Network software to accurately predict the box office results of studio-released, feature films. They asked Mona Lisa Consulting to repeat the Neural Network process, using the parameters for independent films. The objective was to see if there was any accurate way to predict box office results and the degree of risk for their planned film project.

Solution
Mona Lisa Consulting created a comprehensive database of independent films released over a period of several years. After organizing the parameters for each film, as well as their box office results, Mona Lisa Consulting successfully trained the software to recognize all relevant connections among the data-points. Once the training was completed, Mona Lisa Consulting was able to predict the box-office results for newly-released, independent films.
Results
Based on the results, Mona Lisa Consulting concluded that the Neural Network software could not find an adequate number of correlations among data-points to produce an accurate prediction of the box office results for independent films. Simply speaking, financing independent films remains a very risky investment, and this data gave the company a realistic assessment of the risk factors.

Case Study 3: Solving Promotional Bugs
A business-to-business Information Technology consulting firm offers a whole array of products and services including hardware, software, networking and Web design. Last year sales were down, despite all efforts to promote the business. The awareness and the attitude of the target market remained unchanged. The company owner contacted Mona Lisa Consulting for help and advice.

Solution
After examining the company's market environment, Mona Lisa Consulting determined how to best reposition the firm. It was recommended to reduce the number of services offered so the company can better focus on its core competences. Consequently, the geographic range of their target markets, and their various industry types were scaled back. Once the marketing plan was established, Mona Lisa Consulting developed a complementary communications plan. With little money for advertising, Mona Lisa Consulting recommended the company rely almost entirely on PR, publicity, and the Internet (e-mails, e-newsletters, etc.). Mona Lisa Consulting identified eight areas for the company on which to concentrate its promotional efforts. The repositioned company is now poised to execute the communications plan this year. The goal is to gain a significant market share as the trusted source for its B2B software solutions among business owners in Los Angeles County.

Results
The company had a significant revenue growth during the following year of operation.

Case Study 4: Strategies for a Competitive Market
A national food manufacturer created an innovative meat product. The originators wanted to have good marketing strategy. Their biggest problem was the lack of a sizable budget. They also worried about powerful competition from thelarge food manufacturers. These competitors, with sizeable promotion budgets, were ready to release a similar product.

Solution
The company needed a powerful start-up strategy. The product could not enter a price war with its competitors. A POP (place of purchase) observation was completed and POP interviews with grocery shoppers were conducted.

Results
Mona Lisa Consulting concluded that the best strategy for this product was to strengthen its brand visibility and its market position through a comprehensive, but fairly inexpensive communications plan. The plan was to build market interest and a positive BUZZ, which would allow the company to negotiate the best possible price during its certain acquisition by larger competitors.

Other successful projects:

Project 5.:
"Increase our product awareness online"

Our solution provided 360 degree tours of the product, side-by-side, with a standardized format. The result was a better product outreach and increased click-through rate.

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Project 6.:
"Take our client to a new level"

A new approach to customer engagement online from the driver's perspective resulted in one of the most engaging automotive interactive pieces to date.

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Project 7.:
"Help us find a new company image with a consistent cultural message"

Appropriate business strategies and human resource programs were implemented simultaneously with outstanding end results at every level of the company, which resulted in significant return on investment for all stakeholders.

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Project 8.:
"How can we keep the high level of quality while maintaining the company's aggressive growth?"

Operational inefficiencies were identified and eliminated, while the design work {the main revenue generator) became again the focal point of the business.

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