The world of computing is a highly-technical business, with constant innovation a hallmark of the industry. These innovations benefit business as the world becomes more inter-connected; communication channels are opened up, and markets become more globalized. However, forums for globalized communication facilitate a worldwide consumer base with a right to reply that did not exist for previous generations. Complaints are no longer private affairs, as the customer has the ability to take their grievance to the court of public opinion, and the company is forced into defending their position under increasingly tighter scrutiny. This case will examine the dilemma a company can face when their own users turn against them.

For global businesses, the Chinese market is tempting due to the sheer size of the population. According to World Bank data (2018), China has a population of 1.4 billion citizens. However, the Chinese market is notoriously difficult to crack (Stalk & Michael, 2011; Stevenson, 2017; Yongfu, 2014). According to Horowitz (2018), “doing business in China comes with a long list of demands”. Alphabet, the parent group of Google, was listed as having the third largest market value in the world (Statista, 2018), but it has still had its share of ups and downs in the Chinese marketplace. China’s harsh line on censorship has made it impossible for a company whose main raison d’etre is the availability of information on the internet. Having withdrawn from the market in 2010 due to China’s political overreach, what message is Google sending to the world by re-engaging with the nation? Is the quest for global dominance - and the accompanying advertising dollars - enough for Google to capitulate to China and grant them their censorious wishes?

This study investigates the crisis management strategy of Samsung during the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco in 2016. The company recalled the product globally less than a month after launching because there were reports about the product overheating and even exploding. As one of the biggest electronic companies in the world, Samsung did their best to avert the crisis and worked on how to gain the trust from the customers while investigating the cause of the product’s defects. The company conducted a series of strategies to manage the crisis that happened globally.

This study investigates trends of advertising in Indonesia's digital publishers. There has been a marked shift in advertising forms which has changed the business of digital publishers in the country. Digital publishers in Indonesia started about 18 years ago, when Detik.com first went online. To support the publishing, they needed advertisers. They had been using what we now call ‘conventional’ advertising, consisting of banners and pop-up advertising placement. However, as the number of digital publishers keeps growing in Indonesia, this type of advertising is slowly being left behind by the publishers. In order to compete with each other, they needed to create something new in order to advertise, that would both attract the advertisers and their consumers. This was when the concept of ‘native’ advertising started to rise.

This case study seeks to analyze the marketing trends that companies can use to their advantage, and which to solidly avoid, unless done with laser precision. It should provide insight into the perceptions that consumers place upon a company, and how upsetting those perceptions can lead to alienation and isolation.

It focuses particularly on attempts by established companies and institutions to establish or re-establish meaningful communications.