eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

Objectives of the study The significance of the launch stage as a part of new product development is indisputable. In a global launch, a company’s foreign subsidiaries have an important role in executing a launch locally. The purpose of this study is to investigate a global brand launch in a Finnish subsidiary. This includes examining the launch process, identifying the key marketing decisions that drive the implementation, and analyzing the local subsidiary’s role during the launch.

Methodology The research questions of this study were addressed through a qualitative case study. The chosen methodology was used in order to understand, explain and interpret the case brand launch. The empirical data was collected via 18 semi- structured interviews that consisted of the local subsidiary’s team members as well as their customers.

Results of the Study The global strategy was to launch the brand in a standardized and simultaneous manner across Europe through local subsidiaries. The role of the Finnish team was to find a way to distribute and communicate the brand to the local market. The findings demonstrated how the local subsidiary was able to localize the launch through tactical launch decisions, even when the case launch was designed to be highly standardized. Adapting the marketing mix elements to meet the local surroundings while utilizing the synergies of globalization was found to not only be useful, but also necessary during the local launch. It was found, that localizing some parts of the launch decisions was equally useful as to keeping certain aspects global for the sake of efficiency and reliability. The findings also suggested that even though the tactical decisions were relevant in the local implementation, not all tactical decisions were equally adaptable considering the case brand launch. These findings imply that distribution, promotion, and training decisions require the most consideration when launching a global professional hair cosmetic brand in Finland. The findings further suggest that testing and follow-up are important and should be a part of a complete launch process.