Running Head: CASE STUDY 2
Case Study 2
Team 10
Paola Marcano Bolivar, Emely Mayo, Derek McClenney
Carolina Mendiola, Justin Mendiola, and Edmarys
... [Show More] Menendez
Florida International University
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CASE STUDY 2
Analyze Gateway’s decisions to change advertising agencies so many times over the past
nine years. Identify and discuss specific factors that may have led to each decision to
change agencies.
As time passes, technology progresses and captivates new areas. Gateway realized this,
and the company’s goal was to keep up with upcoming advancements and time periods. “Many
companies… are focusing additional attention on the integration media as well as the use of
multiple media vehicles to achieve optimal impact” (Belch, 2015, p.339). Media and advertising
are becoming an essential part for companies and businesses to expand and have a greater
impact. Gateway was willing to change advertising agencies as many times until they found the
correct team with ideas that actually benefited the company. “Many companies have cut their
spending and others have changed agencies in the hope of achieving a better return on their
advertising expenditure” (Dowling, 1994). While it may have seemed risky to constantly change
advertising agencies, Gateway aspired to stay in and ahead of the game with their company.
In 1997, Gateway joined with DMB&B. They used actors and scripted scenes which was
the opposite of what Ted fell in love with. This created confrontations which ended up in a
catastrophe. Here is where Gateway had its first fall. In 1998 Jeff Weitzen began to run Gateway
and McCann-Erickson Worldwide became the new agency of record. The 2000 was dropped
from the name and a new logo was placed. In the process of minor changes like these, Waitt
realized a net loss of $94.3 in the fourth quarter of 2000. Erickson was fired, causing Gateway’s
second major sale drop. The Fallon agency then appeared also causing money loss for the
company from misunderstandings and negotiations the same year. In 2002 Gateway wanted to
modernize and disregarded their “folksy” ways. This major change caused the company to have a
loss in technology leadership and reliability. In 2004, they joined partnership with eMachines.
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CASE STUDY 2
The problem here was that, “Gateway was positioned as a feature-packed premium brand while
eMachines was more of a low-cost value brand.”
Discuss how Gateway’s frequent agency switching has affected the company’s branding
and positioning efforts. What recommendations would you make to Gateway management
regarding its agency switching and its impact on the company?
By making the shift of ad agencies from in-house to out-house, Gateway created a brand
image and differentiation of product from its competitors. At first Gateway solely relied on print
advertising that was in-house. But as Gateway grew, so did its media mix. They began to
incorporate the use of out-house and in-house advertising departments. The new agency created a
brand image for Gateway by using a tagline, “You’ve got a friend in the business,” in their
campaigns. A few months later the agency introduced the campaign, “Form South Dakota to the
rescue.”
However, Gateway and DMB&B did not see eye-to-eye as both sides struggled on how to
figure out the exact roles of the agency and the in-house group. With the help of media planning,
which requires media objectives and specific media strategies, the in-house and out-house ad
agencies could have created a better plan in creating campaigns [Show Less]