Hertz CEO Kathryn Marinello with CFO Jamere Jackson and other members of the executive team in 2017

Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2021

Two cases about Hertz claimed top spots in 2021's Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies

Two cases on the uses of debt and equity at Hertz claimed top spots in the CRDT’s (Case Research and Development Team) 2021 top 40 review of cases.

Hertz (A) took the top spot. The case details the financial structure of the rental car company through the end of 2019. Hertz (B), which ranked third in CRDT’s list, describes the company’s struggles during the early part of the COVID pandemic and its eventual need to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The success of the Hertz cases was unprecedented for the top 40 list. Usually, cases take a number of years to gain popularity, but the Hertz cases claimed top spots in their first year of release. Hertz (A) also became the first ‘cooked’ case to top the annual review, as all of the other winners had been web-based ‘raw’ cases.

Besides introducing students to the complicated financing required to maintain an enormous fleet of cars, the Hertz cases also expanded the diversity of case protagonists. Kathyrn Marinello was the CEO of Hertz during this period and the CFO, Jamere Jackson is black.

Sandwiched between the two Hertz cases, Coffee 2016, a perennial best seller, finished second. “Glory, Glory, Man United!” a case about an English football team’s IPO made a surprise move to number four.  Cases on search fund boards, the future of malls,  Norway’s Sovereign Wealth fund, Prodigy Finance, the Mayo Clinic, and Cadbury rounded out the top ten.

Other year-end data for 2021 showed:

  • Online “raw” case usage remained steady as compared to 2020 with over 35K users from 170 countries and all 50 U.S. states interacting with 196 cases.
  • Fifty four percent of raw case users came from outside the U.S..
  • The Yale School of Management (SOM) case study directory pages received over 160K page views from 177 countries with approximately a third originating in India followed by the U.S. and the Philippines.
  • Twenty-six of the cases in the list are raw cases.
  • A third of the cases feature a woman protagonist.
  • Orders for Yale SOM case studies increased by almost 50% compared to 2020.
  • The top 40 cases were supervised by 19 different Yale SOM faculty members, several supervising multiple cases.

CRDT compiled the Top 40 list by combining data from its case store, Google Analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption.

All of this year’s Top 40 cases are available for purchase from the Yale Management Media store .

And the Top 40 cases studies of 2021 are:

1.   Hertz Global Holdings (A): Uses of Debt and Equity

2.   Coffee 2016

3.   Hertz Global Holdings (B): Uses of Debt and Equity 2020

4.   Glory, Glory Man United!

5.   Search Fund Company Boards: How CEOs Can Build Boards to Help Them Thrive

6.   The Future of Malls: Was Decline Inevitable?

7.   Strategy for Norway's Pension Fund Global

8.   Prodigy Finance

9.   Design at Mayo

10. Cadbury

11. City Hospital Emergency Room

13. Volkswagen

14. Marina Bay Sands

15. Shake Shack IPO

16. Mastercard

17. Netflix

18. Ant Financial

19. AXA: Creating the New CR Metrics

20. IBM Corporate Service Corps

21. Business Leadership in South Africa's 1994 Reforms

22. Alternative Meat Industry

23. Children's Premier

24. Khalil Tawil and Umi (A)

25. Palm Oil 2016

26. Teach For All: Designing a Global Network

27. What's Next? Search Fund Entrepreneurs Reflect on Life After Exit

28. Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

30. Project Sammaan

31. Commonfund ESG

32. Polaroid

33. Connecticut Green Bank 2018: After the Raid

34. FieldFresh Foods

35. The Alibaba Group

36. 360 State Street: Real Options

37. Herman Miller

38. AgBiome

39. Nathan Cummings Foundation

40. Toyota 2010

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Business Case Studies

Case studies are written by professors at HBS and at renowned business programs worldwide and offer slices of business life, focusing on actual problems and decisions companies face.

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter? ^ 313110

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter? ^ 313110

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Cirque du Soleil ^ 403006

Cirque du Soleil

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Pinckney Street ^ 813182

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Amazon.com, 2021 ^ 716402

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The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations ^ 221039

The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

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Tata Group and Air India: Optimizing Brands, Routes, and Operations in the Airline Portfolio ^ KE1254

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EKI Energy Services: One Billion Carbon Credits ^ 123060

EKI Energy Services: One Billion Carbon Credits

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Planet Milk: Choosing a Route to Market ^ W28627

Planet Milk: Choosing a Route to Market

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Direct-to-Consumer Brand Suta: Weaving in Conversion Rate Optimization

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Independent Governance of Meta's Social Spaces: The Oversight Board ^ 823111

Independent Governance of Meta's Social Spaces: The Oversight Board

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To Feed the Planet: Juan Luciano at ADM

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Colossal: Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth

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Jackie Hu: Launching into Leadership (A)

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CFM International (A): Building a Durable Partnership That Works

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BROAD's Holon Building: Internationalization Strategy ^ W31768

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Operation Walk Canada: Improving Capacity in Guatemala ^ W31633

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Agilus Work Solutions: Back to the Office? ^ W31126

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51Talk: Navigating China's New Tutoring Policy ^ W30525

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Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH) has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with flight activity at levels not seen since the 1970s. Although the virus overshadows everything, three senior managers discuss a more long-term trend: the steadily declining...

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DEI and Brand Marketing of a Women's Off-Road Rally in Morocco's Sahara Desert ^ W01C53

DEI and Brand Marketing of a Women's Off-Road Rally in Morocco's Sahara Desert

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Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Real World ^ UV8648

Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Real World

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Penicillin: The Miracle Drug ^ UV8642

Penicillin: The Miracle Drug

This case is a study of the initial discovery of penicillin and how it came to be a mass-market product. The discovery of penicillin is fascinating first and foremost because of its direct, life-saving benefits and because of the context of World War II...

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ByteIQ: Service Vs. Product or Survival Vs. Democratization?

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Shopee: Hitting the Pause Button on International Expansion?

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Maersk: Keeping Things Cool in a Hot Market

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The Procter & Gamble Company: Plastic Waste and the Sachet Economy in the Philippines

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Einride's Autonomous Electric Trucks and Freight Mobility Platform: Industry 4.0 Trucking

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Neovida: Seeking Sustainability by Turning Coffee Cherry Waste into Superfood

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The Drax Power Station and Biomass Energy ^ TB0670

The Drax Power Station and Biomass Energy

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To Catch a Thief, Exercise ^ IN1892

To Catch a Thief, Exercise

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To Catch a Thief: Explainable AI in Insurance Fraud Detection ^ IN1889

To Catch a Thief: Explainable AI in Insurance Fraud Detection

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The Solution Shop and Storytelling Process

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Different Strokes: New York City's Not-So-Warm Welcome

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Strictly Business: Janice Greer's Leadership Challenge in Japan

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Changing of the Guard: Colleen Burton's Swiss Conundrum

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Us versus Them: Bridging the Fault Line between Salaried and Hourly Employees

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10 Business Case Studies to Teach Online

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  • Case Teaching
  • Course Materials
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FEATURED CASE STUDIES

COVID-19 at Oxford University Hospitals. Karthik Ramanna of University of Oxford

Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital. Laura Huang of Harvard Business School

Showrooming at BestBuy. Chen Lin of CEIBS

The Case of the Unidentified Industries, 2018. Mihir Desai of Harvard Business School

“Dear White Boss…” Meredith Burnett of Kogod School of Business at American University

Unilever’s New Global Strategy: Competing Through Sustainability. Christopher Bartlett of Harvard Business School

TrustSphere: Building a Market for Relationship Analytics. Anna Tavis of NYU School of Professional Studies

Benevento Foods: When the Rubber Hits the Dough. David Wood of Ivey Business School

Dollar Shave Club. Karin Kollenz-Quetard of EDHEC Business School

Uber Africa: Making Cash and Alternative Payments Work in Kenya through Contextual Leadership. Caren Scheepers of University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science

Curious to understand how educators are teaching business case studies virtually (whether they’ve done so for years or only recently transitioned their teaching online in the pandemic’s wake), we asked 10 experienced case teachers to share a case that they’ve found works particularly well in an online environment. The educators also reveal whether they’ve changed their approach to teaching the case—and how—to keep students engaged in a fully virtual setting.

We previously asked educators to share their favorite cases to teach in the classroom; the list below expands on that theme to include cases that work particularly well online. These cases range in topic from COVID-19 to race in the workplace and also represent a variety of disciplines, from entrepreneurship to operations management.

1. COVID-19 at Oxford University Hospitals

Karthik Ramanna, Professor of Business and Public Policy, University of Oxford

Karthik Ramanna

“The case COVID-19 at Oxford University Hospitals is set in mid-March of this year, just before the lockdowns and the first wave of the pandemic was expected to hit the West. There was a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the virus, and government advice was often contradictory. The case protagonist is the chief medical officer of one of the largest public hospitals in Europe, and she has to convene a hybrid meeting of her doctors explaining to them that the government wants elective surgeries to continue for a few more days, even as there are critical shortages of PPE. The reason is the government doesn’t want the hospital systems to back up with elective surgeries as we enter a potentially indefinite shutdown. But the surgeons are themselves nervous, and some want to defy the government order.

It’s a case about active listening, morale management, and collective decision-making in a crisis. The issues might seem, at first, very specific to medics, but all organizations—business, government, and nonprofit—are being stretched to make decisions that involve staff taking risks to keep operations going. How do you take the team along and reinforce your organizational culture through that journey? The protagonist has to communicate and work with her team in a hybrid environment (in person and online), so this case works really well for hybrid and online classrooms.

The first thing that comes up during the case discussion is the sheer number of issues on the CMO’s plate on just that one morning in mid-March. So, students need to learn how to prioritize, to triage. This is a great activity to disperse students into smaller breakout rooms to come up with a top-three priorities list. In the breakouts, they quickly see how varied their priorities are and how difficult it is in even a small group to come up with a consensus list. They start to understand what it means to have good judgment on such matters.

Next, there is the issue of communicating with the nervous surgeons. The case lends itself well to role plays online, because the protagonist has to address the surgeons in the same way. How do you placate your key employees in a remote setup during a pandemic when your own boss is requiring you to ask those employees to take more risks? Ideally, you’d want to have a difficult conversation like that in person, but we just aren’t being afforded that reality right now. Students learn to adapt their online presence for the task at hand.”

Educators interested in this case should email the Oxford Case Centre .

2. Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital

Laura Huang, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Laura Huang

Excerpted from Associate Professor Huang’s Inside the Case video :

“ Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital is a case I wrote that explores the journey of venture capitalist and founder Arlan Hamilton, a Black woman who identifies as LGBTQ. The case talks about the norms around venture capital and how women, people of color, and people with nontraditional backgrounds really struggle to secure the necessary venture capital for their firms and for entrepreneurial success. While the protagonist once lived in her car, she was able to go on to start Backstage Capital, an investment fund that seeks to support underestimated, disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

It’s a great case to really introduce important concepts in entrepreneurship, as well as early stage financing; what it means in terms of diversity, equality, and implicit bias; and really how pioneering individuals and organizations can change the world of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial financing and make it a more inclusive space. My hope is that this case pushes students to consider what these types of industries look like, and the types of progress that can be made, while really understanding entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurship and the opportunities within.”

“This is a great case to teach online because I find there are lots of things that people are willing to debate—and there are strong opinions. Over the course of going through this case in the class discussion, we’ll see lots of polarizing comments come out. And then what I like to do is put students into dyads or pairs. I often have someone who is assisting that helps put students into these pairs, where one person has one perspective and one person has a very different perspective. Then, when we put them in breakout rooms, they have a chance to one-on-one debate. When we come back as a class, we debrief, and we talk about these perspectives and the different points and the different ways in which they were able to communicate with each other.

We use lots of online tools here, such as breakout rooms and the chat features, to really stimulate discussion, and it makes the debrief really rich.”

Additional comments from Associate Professor Huang:

“In general, the biggest change that I’ve made in teaching online (instead of in the classroom), is using the online tools as an opportunity to get frequent and quick ‘pulse checks’ on what the students are thinking at any moment.

For example, if there’s a particularly provocative topic that we’re discussing, I love to ask students to just ‘chat in one adjective that describes your current feeling right now,’ This gives me a sense for how some are feeling, for example, ‘frustrated,’ while others are feeling ‘determined,’ and so on. I never would have been able to get such a quick check on the emotions in the entire room, in such a quick fashion, when in the physical classroom. This is extremely helpful when we’re discussing contentious issues, such as the ones that we discuss in Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital . I also encourage students to share examples from their own work experiences in this way.”

3. TrustSphere: Building a Market for Relationship Analytics

Anna A. Tavis, Clinical Associate Professor, NYU, School of Professional Studies

Anna A. Tavis

“I teach this case in a synchronous online course called People and Organizational Management, which serves as an immersion and introduction to the MS in the Human Capital Analytics and Technology program at NYU’s School of Professional Studies.

The case describes a seven-year-old advanced-stage startup that introduces a cutting-edge relationship analytics technology to the market. The fact that this case is focused on measuring and interpreting patterns of digital communications is perfectly fitting with the current reality of remote working and learning that the students in this class are experiencing.

The case lends itself perfectly to online teaching. Here is how I make this case come alive for my students.

Manish Goel, the protagonist in this case, is based in London while the majority of my students are in the United States. As I’m now teaching the case online, I can (and do!) invite Manish Goel to guest lecture in class and tell his own story.

I also demo TrustSphere technology for the students just in time to enable them to understand how it works, as well as give them an opportunity to log in and try out the technology for themselves.

Once the facts are established and the initial business case is described and agreed upon, I divide the students into breakout groups and ask them to develop solutions for the case’s main dilemma. The online setting allows all teams to work in parallel on their own scenarios. I can also circulate and drop into the teams’ individual discussions.

When the groups are joined back, they showcase and defend their solutions. We keep a whiteboard running to record the key points in the presentations. In the end, we do an anonymous poll to vote for the best solutions among them all.

Finally, as a class, we prepare one agreed-upon presentation for Manish Goel, the CEO. The case ends with the class receiving the feedback from Manish on our solution in the next class.

A clear advantage of teaching this case online is that we are able to connect with the company, bring the CEO to a live class, establish parallel teams to work on the solutions, and learn from the CEO himself as to the efficacy of the solution we proposed. Additionally, the students learn the technology together in the demo presented in class and are able to connect not only to the content but also the context of the case.”

4. The Case of the Unidentified Industries, 2018

Mihir A. Desai, Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance, Harvard Business School

Mihir A. Desai

Excerpted from Professor Desai’s Inside the Case video :

“I developed versions of this case over the last 10 years as I was seeking a tool that would allow me to introduce finance in a rigorous but accessible way to audiences who might feel that finance could be intimidating or challenging.

This case’s format of a puzzle, almost like a game, is a really fun way to let people in so they discover finance is actually really fun. Although some of the concepts might be new to them, students quickly develop some really big intuitions about finance and the process. I’ve found this case to be the ideal way to introduce a finance course, and to introduce the idea of finance to MBA students, undergrads, and even executives.”

“I have taught this case online, and it’s really fun. I mean, the key thing to remember is the case takes some time, especially if you are willing to really explore what all those different ratios and numbers do, and it can take two sessions. So, in that kind of setting, I think the key thing to remember with online teaching is that I’ve at least found it to be somewhat less efficient. I just get through less. And so, some of the places you can go down a path, yet you might want to curtail that a little bit more.

For example, I take the bank, which is one of the first companies to be identified, and in traditional classrooms I do a little digression on banks. And when you’re doing it online, it’s just too costly to do that because it can take five or 10 minutes in a way that maybe would not happen in a classroom. So, the only thing I would say that’s really different about being online is you may want to just trim your sails a little bit in terms of the amount that you try to accomplish.”

Additional comments from Professor Desai:

“One of the challenges to teaching online is keeping attention and energy high. The Case of the Unidentified Industries, 2018 is a challenging but doable puzzle, so it provides lots of intrigue and morsels of rewards along the way to sustain an online format. Finally, it culminates in a tidy resolution, which provides students with a great feeling of satisfaction. The case can be punctuated with lots of shorter opportunities for breakout rooms where smaller groups can tackle a piece of the puzzle and then reconvene to share their ideas. Ideally, you could teach it over two one-and-a-quarter-hour sessions, with over 10 breakout rooms of three minutes each spread along the way. Students can prepare in advance or do it on the fly. To me, it’s the perfect antidote to the cold medium of online teaching.”

5. “Dear White Boss…”

Meredith Burnett, Professorial Lecturer, Kogod School of Business at American University

Meredith Burnett

“This Harvard Business Review article , which behaves much like a case, is about Black employees working in a majority white work environment. They feel like their work is monotonous. The job is very transactional. It’s about making numbers and motivating people to get those numbers, and if they don’t make it, they’re fired. But at the same time, their managers have created such a tense work environment that employees are reluctant to excel in the workplace, or even to contribute at the best level that they can. The case features a fictitious letter written from the perspective of a Black manager to a white boss explaining the tension and stress they feel. The letters describe how it feels to be Black employees. Written from the heart, they talk about how they feel alienated and that they are expected to be the official interpreters for other Black people in the workplace. They also feel like they’re always on the spot, being held personally culpable for every situation involving Black people in the workplace. It’s as if they are the authority on race relations just for being Black.

Even though it’s an older case, I enjoy teaching it because every year there’s something going on that makes this relevant. This semester, what I did differently online is I had students write their own letters and post them to the discussion forum. My students wrote over 100 letters, whether to a fictitious boss or a real one, and I found it useful to see how my 20- to 21-year-old students are experiencing race right now, especially when race is salient for them. It also prepares them for some of the issues that they may face as new entrants into the workforce.

It’s interesting because the majority of my students are not Black, so most of these letters were written by white students—giving them a voice on a subject that they may not otherwise be asked about and an opportunity to speak up about how management should be handling issues around race.

Because the letters are posted to the discussion board, students get to see every other student’s letter and comment. They give feedback to each other on the content of their letters and see how other students who are not like themselves feel about what the most important issues are around race in their organization.

I then take the letters and put them in a word cloud, which allows me to look visually at what students believe are the most important issues in a workplace around diversity, equity, and inclusion. In an online setting, it’s hard to create engagement, but this allows students to see what their classmates are really thinking and feeling. We would never have been able to do that during in-person class time—in 75 minutes, you might hear from a few students with big voices. Doing this online, students have been able to participate extensively.”

6. Unilever’s New Global Strategy: Competing Through Sustainability

Christopher A. Bartlett, Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, Harvard Business School

Christopher A. Bartlett

Excerpted from Professor Bartlett’s Inside the Case video :

“To be honest, I never intended to write this case. I think this case found me. I’d already retired after writing 100 or more teaching notes and cases and other pedagogic material. I was reading a Harvard Business Review article titled ‘Captain Planet,’ and it was an interview with Paul Polman, who had recently been appointed CEO of Unilever. Paul made some passionate statements, such as, ‘I want to double sales at Unilever by 2020,’ and, ‘I want to halve our carbon footprint at the same time.’ Then to my great amusement, he said, ‘And by the way, I don’t want any hedge funds investing.’ He wanted long-term investors who were sympathetic to and supportive of what he was trying to do. So, I thought, this is an interesting company and an interesting guy. I learned a huge amount and had a great deal of fun writing this case, and I hope you learn as much and have as much fun teaching it.”

“When it comes to the challenge of keeping Zoom-fatigued students engaged in online learning, this case gives you a lot of opportunities to keep them engaged and involved. There’s 13 minutes of video that can be introduced at four stages through the lesson. There’s also, up early, opportunities for breakouts around the role playing—the four role-playing roles can assemble in breakout groups and then come back into the main discussion.

At the end of the class, there is a decision—students choose which of three options they should decide on. And again, this is a perfect opportunity to bring in online polling. So, it will enrich and give variety to the teaching plan that’s outlined in the teaching note.”

Additional comments from Professor Bartlett on how his approach changed in teaching the case online:

“One of the main differences in online case teaching is recognizing the reality of Zoom fatigue. One effective way to respond is to bring more pedagogic variety into the class to reengage attention and drive discussion. In-class video supplements have long provided such a powerful way to enrich the classroom experience, and now online tools such as breakout rooms and online polling offer additional ways to keep students engaged and to energize discussion.”

7. Showrooming at BestBuy

Chen Lin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, CEIBS

Chen Lin

“My favorite case to teach online is Showrooming at BestBuy . Of course, this is a classic case with a well-defined question, strong theoretical support, and a good execution outcome that is great to teach whether you’re online, offline, or hybrid. We have to be sympathetic that online students this year have lots to deal with in their lives—so picking a case that’s simple, prevalent, and easy enough for them to understand the question (even if they don’t have time to fully read and digest the case) is an important first step to ensuring a successful discussion.

I did need to make some adjustments to teach this case online. Previously, in in-person settings, I would come up to students and randomly pick them to role play—either as the BestBuy manager, the price-sensitive customer, the supplier, or the Amazon manager. Students would often jump in to help their peers (‘Oh, I would also do X’ or ‘No, that’s not going to work’). In an online setting, because the communication process is more sequential than simultaneous, we lose these important dynamics if we don’t play up these subtle classroom rapports. So, it’s important to give students a few extra minutes for breakout discussion to put together their thoughts in a cohesive structure.

To teach this case online, I use Zoom’s poll function and breakout rooms. I don’t just use pre-set polls; I also create live polls on the spot. For example, ‘Student A’s point is interesting. Do you agree with their proposal that we should reduce the size of the showroom?’ The flow looks more natural using polls this way, and students get a chance to further develop their arguments. Good-paced polls and breakout sessions also help the online students direct their attention back every 15 to 20 minutes.

In short, one of the biggest differences of teaching cases online is that we need to find creative ways to chop long, sequential, one-way communication arguments into short, interactive, group-based responses. Digital tools such as polls and breakout rooms help, but more important is choosing a case that is conducive to facilitating a simple design of paced interactions.”

8. Benevento Foods: When the Rubber Hits the Dough

David Wood, Faculty Member, Ivey Business School

David Wood

“For most of us, case teaching was exclusively an in-person practice until March of 2020. Fortunately, we have learned that online case teaching can be equally as effective when adaptations are made to a traditional teaching plan. Benevento Foods is a good example of the potential for an online case learning experience. I use this case to introduce my students to quality management.

Now online, I have replaced traditional readings with videos and activities so students can practice the key concepts that they need in order to analyze the case. Students then work together in their learning teams to complete the quantitative analysis before discussing the case asynchronously. With a good understanding of the basics, the synchronous class can focus on the more challenging aspects of quality management—people. I use the responses from students to offer an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning. I use random breakout rooms to dive deeper into the root cause of the problem. And students help each other by posting and sharing their completed models and analyses. Class is lively and full of those precious ‘aha moments’ just like when we were back on campus. Then, when class concludes, students go online to complete their learning journals, where they record their most important takeaways from Benevento Foods. ”

9. Dollar Shave Club

Karin Kollenz-Quetard, Professor of Strategy and Innovation, EDHEC Business School

Karin Kollenz-Quetard

“Hi, my name is Karen Kollenz, and I’m a teacher of strategy and innovation at EDHEC Business School in France. My favorite case to teach online is Dollar Shave Club . Why? Well, there are three reasons.

First, it’s a highly versatile case; I teach it in my strategy courses and in my innovation courses. And I know from colleagues that they teach it in marketing and entrepreneurship. You can teach it to all kinds of audiences. I teach it mainly with master level students, MBAs, but also with executive audiences. And I know of a colleague who has discussed the case with undergrad audiences. And last but not least, it can be adapted to different lengths. I’ve used it in one-and-a-half-hour sessions, but I’ve also used it as the basis for six hours of discussion with executives. Of course, if you talk about it for a day, you go a little bit beyond the case. So that means for us teachers, we prepare one case and we can use it in many different courses and with many different audiences.

The second reason why I like Dollar Shave Club is because it’s highly interactive. Basically, it’s super easy with this case to change the topic and the activity every 15 minutes, which I believe is really necessary for online teaching. I do use polls; I do use quizzes, mainly with Socrative, but I’ve also tried Poll Everywhere. And for short voting, I use “hand up” or the polls that are included in Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate. I also do breakout groups—at least one every one-and-a-half hours. Sometimes I do short buzz groups in addition to that, where I send students to discuss a topic for two to five minutes.

And the third reason why I love Dollar Shave Club is it’s just fun to teach. We laugh a lot in class; the advertisements for Dollar Shave Club are just hilarious. I have not seen a single student who doesn’t love watching these ads. And everybody can relate to shaving, so it’s really easy to start a discussion.

What have I changed when moving it online? Well, I think one of the main things I changed was the videos I used to show in class. That doesn’t really work perfectly in an online setting. So now I share the links in the chat, and the students watch the videos individually. Of course, as with every case, there are more planned interactions with all students using polls, quizzes, etc., as I already mentioned, which is the case for anything that you move from face to face to online. So, don’t hesitate to contact me if you think I can help you in teaching Dollar Shave Club .”

10. Uber Africa: Making Cash and Alternative Payments Work in Kenya Through Contextual Leadership

Caren B. Scheepers, Associate Professor, University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science

Caren B. Scheepers

“I love to teach my Uber case online, whether MBA or MPhil or executive education (corporate programs). I coauthored two cases on Uber, one about Uber in Kenya, where customers’ reluctance to use credit cards resulted in a cash option and mobile money option that had to be designed, and another one on Uber South Africa’s business-model innovation response to COVID-19. I have brought in the CEO to be a guest speaker online, and the students loved it.

Another case that I love to teach is one that won the European Foundation for Case Management (EFMD) award for the best written case in Africa. It’s about SweepSouth , an electronic platform for domestic workers, which is a commercial organization with a social value creation focus. Students identify with this platform easily too, since we call it the “Uber of domestic workers,” and it works well in teaching my class entitled Contextualizing Women Entrepreneurship.

Both of these cases demonstrate the strength of the sharing economy and the impact on the triple bottom line, especially for Uber, with its sharing of rides having a positive impact on conserving our planet.

I also make a point of writing and teaching cases where the protagonist is a Black man or Black woman to balance the focus on cases with white male protagonists. ( SweepSouth features a mixed-race female entrepreneur).”

Karthik Ramanna is a professor of business and public policy at the University of Oxford, where he is also director of the Oxford MPP and of the Oxford Case Centre on Public Leadership. He was previously on the faculty of Harvard Business School.

Laura Huang is an associate professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. Prior to joining HBS, she was an assistant professor of management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Her research examines early-stage entrepreneurship, and the role of interpersonal relationships and implicit factors in the investment decisions of financiers such as angel investors and VCs.

Anna A. Tavis is a professor and academic director of the Human Capital Management Department at NYU School of Professional Studies, senior fellow with the Conference Board, and the academic in residence with Executive Networks. She was named for inclusion in Thinkers50 Radar for 2020.

Mihir A. Desai is the Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School and a professor of law at Harvard Law School. His areas of expertise include tax policy, international finance, and corporate finance.

Meredith Burnett is a professorial lecturer in the Kogod School of Business at American University. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of organizational behavior and human resource management, and her research examines how individual differences and human resource policies interact to influence employee behavior. She is particularly interested in examining how these factors influence outcomes such as employee retention and employee knowledge sharing.

Christopher A. Bartlett is the Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. As a practicing manager prior to HBS, he worked as a marketing manager with Alcoa in Australia, as a management consultant in McKinsey’s London office, and as the country general manager of Baxter Laboratories’ subsidiary company in France. His research interests after joining HBS in 1979 focused on the strategic and organizational challenges confronting managers in large, complex corporations, and on the organizational and managerial impact of transformational change.

Chen Lin is an assistant professor of marketing at CEIBS and a former assistant professor of marketing at the Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University. Her research interests include digital and social media, internet marketing, and empirical marketing models. She has taught marketing research, digital marketing, and business technology innovation at the EMBA, EED, and MBA levels, and has been a marketing columnist for SINA Finance , Forbes , and Economist EIU.

David Wood is a member of the faculty in operations management at Ivey Business School, as well as a graduate of both the HBA and MBA programs. He spent many years in industry as the director of sales and marketing and then as vice president of manufacturing before becoming president for W. C. Wood Company, a global manufacturer of home appliances. He has written many cases on process design, quality management, and operations strategy. Wood is the coauthor of a series of books on learning with cases and writing cases, and he has won a number of teaching awards, including the David G. Burgoyne Teaching Award and Outstanding Case Teacher from The Case Centre.

Karin Kollenz-Quetard is professor of strategy and innovation at EDHEC Business School, and she also intervenes in customized programs at other business schools such as London Business School (UK) and HEC (France). She develops and delivers face-to-face and online executive-management development programs and keynotes with a focus on strategy and innovation. In December 2016, Karin was named one of the world’s leading business school professors by Financial Times .

Caren B. Scheepers is an associate professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria. She lectures on strategic implementation, MBA electives titled Contextual Leadership Intelligence and Diversity and Inclusion (Identity Work), and on strategic leadership on the MPhil in corporate strategy. She also developed and is hosting a GIBS Online Strategic Leadership course. She is also passionate about executive education programs and supporting companies in their strategy execution.

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CASE TEACHING

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Methodology

  • What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

  • Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
  • Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
  • Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
  • Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

  • Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
  • Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
  • Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

  • Normal distribution
  • Degrees of freedom
  • Null hypothesis
  • Discourse analysis
  • Control groups
  • Mixed methods research
  • Non-probability sampling
  • Quantitative research
  • Ecological validity

Research bias

  • Rosenthal effect
  • Implicit bias
  • Cognitive bias
  • Selection bias
  • Negativity bias
  • Status quo bias

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Teaching Resources Library

Case studies.

The teaching business case studies available here are narratives that facilitate class discussion about a particular business or management issue. Teaching cases are meant to spur debate among students rather than promote a particular point of view or steer students in a specific direction.  Some of the case studies in this collection highlight the decision-making process in a business or management setting. Other cases are descriptive or demonstrative in nature, showcasing something that has happened or is happening in a particular business or management environment. Whether decision-based or demonstrative, case studies give students the chance to be in the shoes of a protagonist. With the help of context and detailed data, students can analyze what they would and would not do in a particular situation, why, and how.

Case Studies By Category

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28 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

Caroline Forsey

Published: March 08, 2023

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your product and attracting future customers. But it's not easy to create case studies that your audience can’t wait to read.

marketer reviewing case study examples

In this post, we’ll go over the definition of a case study and the best examples to inspire you.

Download Now: 3 Free Case Study Templates

What is a case study?

A case study is a detailed story of something your company did. It includes a beginning — often discussing a conflict, an explanation of what happened next, and a resolution that explains how the company solved or improved on something.

A case study proves how your product has helped other companies by demonstrating real-life results. Not only that, but marketing case studies with solutions typically contain quotes from the customer. This means that they’re not just ads where you praise your own product. Rather, other companies are praising your company — and there’s no stronger marketing material than a verbal recommendation or testimonial. A great case study is also filled with research and stats to back up points made about a project's results.

There are myriad ways to use case studies in your marketing strategy . From featuring them on your website to including them in a sales presentation, a case study is a strong, persuasive tool that shows customers why they should work with you — straight from another customer. Writing one from scratch is hard, though, which is why we’ve created a collection of case study templates for you to get started.

Fill out the form below to access the free case study templates.

case study of business studies

Free Case Study Templates

Showcase your company's success using these three free case study templates.

  • Data-Driven Case Study Template
  • Product-Specific Case Study Template
  • General Case Study Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

There’s no better way to generate more leads than by writing case studies . But without case study examples to draw inspiration from, it can be difficult to write impactful studies that convince visitors to submit a form.

Marketing Case Study Examples

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we've put together a list of some of our favorites. This list includes famous case studies in marketing, technology, and business.

These studies can show you how to frame your company offers in a way that is both meaningful and useful to your audience. So, take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

These marketing case studies with solutions show the value proposition of each product. They also show how each company benefited in both the short and long term using quantitative data. In other words, you don’t get just nice statements, like "This company helped us a lot." You see actual change within the firm through numbers and figures.

You can put your learnings into action with HubSpot's Free Case Study Templates . Available as custom designs and text-based documents, you can upload these templates to your CMS or send them to prospects as you see fit.

case study template

1. " How Handled Scaled from Zero to 121 Locations with the Help of HubSpot ," by HubSpot

Case study examples: Handled and HubSpot

What's interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot cornerstone, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why the CEO of Handled founded the company and why he thought Handled could benefit from adopting a CRM. The case study also opens up with one key data point about Handled’s success using HubSpot, namely that it grew to 121 locations.

Notice that this case study uses mixed media. Yes, there is a short video, but it's elaborated upon in the other text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don't be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project's success.

Key Learnings from the HubSpot Case Study Example

  • Give the case study a personal touch by focusing on the CEO rather than the company itself.
  • Use multimedia to engage website visitors as they read the case study.

2. " The Whole Package ," by IDEO

Case study examples: IDEO and H&M

Here's a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, they’re greeted with a big, bold photo and the title of the case study — which just so happens to summarize how IDEO helped its client. It summarizes the case study in three snippets: The challenge, the impact, and the outcome.

Immediately, IDEO communicates its impact — the company partnered with H&M to remove plastic from its packaging — but it doesn't stop there. As the user scrolls down, the challenge, impact, and progress are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and intriguing visuals.

Key Learnings from the IDEO Case Study Example

  • Split up the takeaways of your case studies into bite-sized sections.
  • Always use visuals and images to enrich the case study experience, especially if it’s a comprehensive case study.

3. " Rozum Robotics intensifies its PR game with Awario ," by Awario

Case study example from Awario

In this case study, Awario greets the user with a summary straight away — so if you’re feeling up to reading the entire case study, you can scan the snapshot and understand how the company serves its customers. The case study then includes jump links to several sections, such as "Company Profile," "Rozum Robotics' Pains," "Challenge," "Solution," and "Results and Improvements."

The sparse copy and prominent headings show that you don’t need a lot of elaborate information to show the value of your products and services. Like the other case study examples on this list, it includes visuals and quotes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the company’s efforts. The case study ends with a bulleted list that shows the results.

Key Learnings from the Awario Robotics Case Study Example

  • Create a table of contents to make your case study easier to navigate.
  • Include a bulleted list of the results you achieved for your client.

4. " Chevrolet DTU ," by Carol H. Williams

Case study examples: Carol H. Williams and Chevrolet DTU

If you’ve worked with a company that’s well-known, use only the name in the title — like Carol H. Williams, one of the nation’s top advertising agencies, does here. The "DTU," stands for "Discover the Unexpected." It generates interest because you want to find out what the initials mean.

They keep your interest in this case study by using a mixture of headings, images, and videos to describe the challenges, objectives, and solutions of the project. The case study closes with a summary of the key achievements that Chevrolet’s DTU Journalism Fellows reached during the project.

Key Learnings from the Carol H. Williams Case Study Example

  • If you’ve worked with a big brand before, consider only using the name in the title — just enough to pique interest.
  • Use a mixture of headings and subheadings to guide users through the case study.

5. " How Fractl Earned Links from 931 Unique Domains for Porch.com in a Single Year ," by Fractl

Case study example from Fractl

Fractl uses both text and graphic design in their Porch.com case study to immerse the viewer in a more interesting user experience. For instance, as you scroll, you'll see the results are illustrated in an infographic-design form as well as the text itself.

Further down the page, they use icons like a heart and a circle to illustrate their pitch angles, and graphs to showcase their results. Rather than writing which publications have mentioned Porch.com during Fractl’s campaign, they incorporated the media outlets’ icons for further visual diversity.

Key Learnings from the Fractl Case Study Example

  • Let pictures speak for you by incorporating graphs, logos, and icons all throughout the case study.
  • Start the case study by right away stating the key results, like Fractl does, instead of putting the results all the way at the bottom.

6. " The Met ," by Fantasy

Case study example from Fantasy

What's the best way to showcase the responsiveness and user interface of a website? Probably by diving right into it with a series of simple showcases— which is exactly what Fantasy does on their case study page for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They keep the page simple and clean, inviting you to review their redesign of the Met’s website feature-by-feature.

Each section is simple, showing a single piece of the new website's interface so that users aren’t overwhelmed with information and can focus on what matters most.

If you're more interested in text, you can read the objective for each feature. Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you're greeted with a simple "Contact Us" CTA.

Key Learnings from the Fantasy Case Study Example

  • You don’t have to write a ton of text to create a great case study. Focus on the solution you delivered itself.
  • Include a CTA at the bottom inviting visitors to contact you.

7. " Rovio: How Rovio Grew Into a Gaming Superpower ," by App Annie

Case study example from App Annie

If your client had a lot of positive things to say about you, take a note from App Annie’s Rovio case study and open up with a quote from your client. The case study also closes with a quote, so that the case study doesn’t seem like a promotion written by your marketing team but a story that’s taken straight from your client’s mouth. It includes a photo of a Rovio employee, too.

Another thing this example does well? It immediately includes a link to the product that Rovio used (namely, App Annie Intelligence) at the top of the case study. The case study closes with a call-to-action button prompting users to book a demo.

Key Learnings from the App Annie Case Study Example

  • Feature quotes from your client at the beginning and end of the case study.
  • Include a mention of the product right at the beginning and prompt users to learn more about the product.

8. " Embracing first-party data: 3 success stories from HubSpot ," by Think with Google

Case study examples: Think with Google and HubSpot

Google takes a different approach to text-focused case studies by choosing three different companies to highlight.

The case study is clean and easily scannable. It has sections for each company, with quotes and headers that clarify the way these three distinct stories connect. The simple format also uses colors and text that align with the Google brand.

Another differentiator is the focus on data. This case study is less than a thousand words, but it's packed with useful data points. Data-driven insights quickly and clearly show how the value of leveraging first-party data while prioritizing consumer privacy.

Case studies example: Data focus, Think with Google

Key Learnings from the Think with Google Case Study Example

  • A case study doesn’t need to be long or complex to be powerful.
  • Clear data points are a quick and effective way to prove value.

9. " In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study ," by Switch

Case study example from Switch

Switch is an international marketing agency based in Malta that knocks it out of the park with this case study. Its biggest challenge is effectively communicating what it did for its client without ever revealing the client’s name. It also effectively keeps non-marketers in the loop by including a glossary of terms on page 4.

The PDF case study reads like a compelling research article, including titles like "In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study," "Scenario," and "Approach," so that readers get a high-level overview of what the client needed and why they approached Switch. It also includes a different page for each strategy. For instance, if you’d only be interested in hiring Switch for optimizing your Facebook ads, you can skip to page 10 to see how they did it.

The PDF is fourteen pages long but features big fonts and plenty of white space, so viewers can easily skim it in only a few minutes.

Key Learnings from the Switch Case Study Example

  • If you want to go into specialized information, include a glossary of terms so that non-specialists can easily understand.
  • Close with a CTA page in your case study PDF and include contact information for prospective clients.

10. " Gila River ," by OH Partners

Case study example from OH Partners

Let pictures speak for you, like OH Partners did in this case study. While you’ll quickly come across a heading and some text when you land on this case study page, you’ll get the bulk of the case study through examples of actual work OH Partners did for its client. You will see OH Partners’ work in a billboard, magazine, and video. This communicates to website visitors that if they work with OH Partners, their business will be visible everywhere.

And like the other case studies here, it closes with a summary of what the firm achieved for its client in an eye-catching way.

Key Learnings from the OH Partners Case Study Example

  • Let the visuals speak by including examples of the actual work you did for your client — which is especially useful for branding and marketing agencies.
  • Always close out with your achievements and how they impacted your client.

11. " Facing a Hater ," by Digitas

Case study example from Digitas

Digitas' case study page for Sprite’s #ILOVEYOUHATER campaign keeps it brief while communicating the key facts of Digitas’ work for the popular soda brand. The page opens with an impactful image of a hundred people facing a single man. It turns out, that man is the biggest "bully" in Argentina, and the people facing him are those whom he’s bullied before.

Scrolling down, it's obvious that Digitas kept Sprite at the forefront of their strategy, but more than that, they used real people as their focal point. They leveraged the Twitter API to pull data from Tweets that people had actually tweeted to find the identity of the biggest "hater" in the country. That turned out to be @AguanteElCofler, a Twitter user who has since been suspended.

Key Learnings from the Digitas Case Study Example

  • If a video was part of your work for your client, be sure to include the most impactful screenshot as the heading.
  • Don’t be afraid to provide details on how you helped your client achieve their goals, including the tools you leveraged.

12. " Better Experiences for All ," by HermanMiller

Case study example from HermanMiller

HermanMiller sells sleek, utilitarian furniture with no frills and extreme functionality, and that ethos extends to its case study page for a hospital in Dubai.

What first attracted me to this case study was the beautiful video at the top and the clean user experience. User experience matters a lot in a case study. It determines whether users will keep reading or leave. Another notable aspect of this case study is that the video includes closed-captioning for greater accessibility, and users have the option of expanding the CC and searching through the text.

HermanMiller’s case study also offers an impressive amount of information packed in just a few short paragraphs for those wanting to understand the nuances of their strategy. It closes out with a quote from their client and, most importantly, the list of furniture products that the hospital purchased from the brand.

Key Learnings from the HermanMiller Case Study Example

  • Close out with a list of products that users can buy after reading the case study.
  • Include accessibility features such as closed captioning and night mode to make your case study more user-friendly.

13. " Capital One on AWS ," by Amazon

Case study example from Amazon AWS

Do you work continuously with your clients? Consider structuring your case study page like Amazon did in this stellar case study example. Instead of just featuring one article about Capital One and how it benefited from using AWS, Amazon features a series of articles that you can then access if you’re interested in reading more. It goes all the way back to 2016, all with different stories that feature Capital One’s achievements using AWS.

This may look unattainable for a small firm, but you don’t have to go to extreme measures and do it for every single one of your clients. You could choose the one you most wish to focus on and establish a contact both on your side and your client’s for coming up with the content. Check in every year and write a new piece. These don’t have to be long, either — five hundred to eight hundred words will do.

Key Learnings from the Amazon AWS Case Study Example

  • Write a new article each year featuring one of your clients, then include links to those articles in one big case study page.
  • Consider including external articles as well that emphasize your client’s success in their industry.

14. " HackReactor teaches the world to code #withAsana ," by Asana

Case study examples: Asana and HackReactor

While Asana's case study design looks text-heavy, there's a good reason. It reads like a creative story, told entirely from the customer's perspective.

For instance, Asana knows you won't trust its word alone on why this product is useful. So, they let Tony Phillips, HackReactor CEO, tell you instead: "We take in a lot of information. Our brains are awful at storage but very good at thinking; you really start to want some third party to store your information so you can do something with it."

Asana features frequent quotes from Phillips to break up the wall of text and humanize the case study. It reads like an in-depth interview and captivates the reader through creative storytelling. Even more, Asana includes in-depth detail about how HackReactor uses Asana. This includes how they build templates and workflows:

"There's a huge differentiator between Asana and other tools, and that’s the very easy API access. Even if Asana isn’t the perfect fit for a workflow, someone like me— a relatively mediocre software engineer—can add functionality via the API to build a custom solution that helps a team get more done."

Key Learnings from the Asana Example

  • Include quotes from your client throughout the case study.
  • Provide extensive detail on how your client worked with you or used your product.

15. " Rips Sewed, Brand Love Reaped ," by Amp Agency

Case study example from Amp Agency

Amp Agency's Patagonia marketing strategy aimed to appeal to a new audience through guerrilla marketing efforts and a coast-to-coast road trip. Their case study page effectively conveys a voyager theme, complete with real photos of Patagonia customers from across the U.S., and a map of the expedition. I liked Amp Agency's storytelling approach best. It captures viewers' attention from start to finish simply because it's an intriguing and unique approach to marketing.

Key Learnings from the Amp Agency Example

  • Open up with a summary that communicates who your client is and why they reached out to you.
  • Like in the other case study examples, you’ll want to close out with a quantitative list of your achievements.

16. " NetApp ," by Evisort

Case study examples: Evisort and NetApp

Evisort opens up its NetApp case study with an at-a-glance overview of the client. It’s imperative to always focus on the client in your case study — not on your amazing product and equally amazing team. By opening up with a snapshot of the client’s company, Evisort places the focus on the client.

This case study example checks all the boxes for a great case study that’s informative, thorough, and compelling. It includes quotes from the client and details about the challenges NetApp faced during the COVID pandemic. It closes out with a quote from the client and with a link to download the case study in PDF format, which is incredibly important if you want your case study to be accessible in a wider variety of formats.

Key Learnings from the Evisort Example

  • Place the focus immediately on your client by including a snapshot of their company.
  • Mention challenging eras, such as a pandemic or recession, to show how your company can help your client succeed even during difficult times.

17. " Copernicus Land Monitoring – CLC+ Core ," by Cloudflight

Case study example from Cloudflight

Including highly specialized information in your case study is an effective way to show prospects that you’re not just trying to get their business. You’re deep within their industry, too, and willing to learn everything you need to learn to create a solution that works specifically for them.

Cloudflight does a splendid job at that in its Copernicus Land Monitoring case study. While the information may be difficult to read at first glance, it will capture the interest of prospects who are in the environmental industry. It thus shows Cloudflight’s value as a partner much more effectively than a general case study would.

The page is comprehensive and ends with a compelling call-to-action — "Looking for a solution that automates, and enhances your Big Data system? Are you struggling with large datasets and accessibility? We would be happy to advise and support you!" The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads.

Key Learnings from the Cloudflight Case Study Example

  • Don’t be afraid to get technical in your explanation of what you did for your client.
  • Include a snapshot of the sales representative prospects should contact, especially if you have different sales reps for different industries, like Cloudflight does.

18. " Valvoline Increases Coupon Send Rate by 76% with Textel’s MMS Picture Texting ," by Textel

Case study example from Textel

If you’re targeting large enterprises with a long purchasing cycle, you’ll want to include a wealth of information in an easily transferable format. That’s what Textel does here in its PDF case study for Valvoline. It greets the user with an eye-catching headline that shows the value of using Textel. Valvoline saw a significant return on investment from using the platform.

Another smart decision in this case study is highlighting the client’s quote by putting it in green font and doing the same thing for the client’s results because it helps the reader quickly connect the two pieces of information. If you’re in a hurry, you can also take a look at the "At a Glance" column to get the key facts of the case study, starting with information about Valvoline.

Key Learnings from the Textel Case Study Example

  • Include your client’s ROI right in the title of the case study.
  • Add an "At a Glance" column to your case study PDF to make it easy to get insights without needing to read all the text.

19. " Hunt Club and Happeo — a tech-enabled love story ," by Happeo

Case study example from Happeo

In this blog-post-like case study, Happeo opens with a quote from the client, then dives into a compelling heading: "Technology at the forefront of Hunt Club's strategy." Say you’re investigating Happeo as a solution and consider your firm to be technology-driven. This approach would spark your curiosity about why the client chose to work with Happeo. It also effectively communicates the software’s value proposition without sounding like it’s coming from an in-house marketing team.

Every paragraph is a quote written from the customer’s perspective. Later down the page, the case study also dives into "the features that changed the game for Hunt Club," giving Happeo a chance to highlight some of the platform’s most salient features.

Key Learnings from the Happeo Case Study Example

  • Consider writing the entirety of the case study from the perspective of the customer.
  • Include a list of the features that convinced your client to go with you.

20. " Red Sox Season Campaign ," by CTP Boston

Case study example from CTP Boston

What's great about CTP's case study page for their Red Sox Season Campaign is their combination of video, images, and text. A video automatically begins playing when you visit the page, and as you scroll, you'll see more embedded videos of Red Sox players, a compilation of print ads, and social media images you can click to enlarge.

At the bottom, it says "Find out how we can do something similar for your brand." The page is clean, cohesive, and aesthetically pleasing. It invites viewers to appreciate the well-roundedness of CTP's campaign for Boston's beloved baseball team.

Key Learnings from the CTP Case Study Example

  • Include a video in the heading of the case study.
  • Close with a call-to-action that makes leads want to turn into prospects.

21. " Acoustic ," by Genuine

Case study example from Genuine

Sometimes, simple is key. Genuine's case study for Acoustic is straightforward and minimal, with just a few short paragraphs, including "Reimagining the B2B website experience," "Speaking to marketers 1:1," and "Inventing Together." After the core of the case study, we then see a quote from Acoustic’s CMO and the results Genuine achieved for the company.

The simplicity of the page allows the reader to focus on both the visual aspects and the copy. The page displays Genuine's brand personality while offering the viewer all the necessary information they need.

  • You don’t need to write a lot to create a great case study. Keep it simple.
  • Always include quantifiable data to illustrate the results you achieved for your client.

22. " Using Apptio Targetprocess Automated Rules in Wargaming ," by Apptio

Case study example from Apptio

Apptio’s case study for Wargaming summarizes three key pieces of information right at the beginning: The goals, the obstacles, and the results.

Readers then have the opportunity to continue reading — or they can walk away right then with the information they need. This case study also excels in keeping the human interest factor by formatting the information like an interview.

The piece is well-organized and uses compelling headers to keep the reader engaged. Despite its length, Apptio's case study is appealing enough to keep the viewer's attention. Every Apptio case study ends with a "recommendation for other companies" section, where the client can give advice for other companies that are looking for a similar solution but aren’t sure how to get started.

Key Learnings from the Apptio Case Study Example

  • Put your client in an advisory role by giving them the opportunity to give recommendations to other companies that are reading the case study.
  • Include the takeaways from the case study right at the beginning so prospects quickly get what they need.

23. " Airbnb + Zendesk: building a powerful solution together ," by Zendesk

Case study example from Zendesk

Zendesk's Airbnb case study reads like a blog post, and focuses equally on Zendesk and Airbnb, highlighting a true partnership between the companies. To captivate readers, it begins like this: "Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend."

The piece focuses on telling a good story and provides photographs of beautiful Airbnb locations. In a case study meant to highlight Zendesk's helpfulness, nothing could be more authentic than their decision to focus on Airbnb's service in such great detail.

Key Learnings from the Zendesk Case Study Example

  • Include images of your client’s offerings — not necessarily of the service or product you provided. Notice how Zendesk doesn’t include screenshots of its product.
  • Include a call-to-action right at the beginning of the case study. Zendesk gives you two options: to find a solution or start a trial.

24. " Biobot Customer Success Story: Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida ," by Biobot

Case study example from Biobot

Like some of the other top examples in this list, Biobot opens its case study with a quote from its client, which captures the value proposition of working with Biobot. It mentions the COVID pandemic and goes into detail about the challenges the client faced during this time.

This case study is structured more like a news article than a traditional case study. This format can work in more formal industries where decision-makers need to see in-depth information about the case. Be sure to test different methods and measure engagement .

Key Learnings from the Biobot Case Study Example

  • Mention environmental, public health, or economic emergencies and how you helped your client get past such difficult times.
  • Feel free to write the case study like a normal blog post, but be sure to test different methods to find the one that best works for you.

25. " Discovering Cost Savings With Efficient Decision Making ," by Gartner

Case study example from Gartner

You don't always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need a few paragraphs and bullet points. Gartner does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The case study closes with a shaded box that summarizes the impact that Gartner had on its client. It includes a quote and a call-to-action to "Learn More."

Key Learnings from the Gartner Case Study Example

  • Feel free to keep the case study short.
  • Include a call-to-action at the bottom that takes the reader to a page that most relates to them.

26. " Bringing an Operator to the Game ," by Redapt

Case study example from Redapt

This case study example by Redapt is another great demonstration of the power of summarizing your case study’s takeaways right at the start of the study. Redapt includes three easy-to-scan columns: "The problem," "the solution," and "the outcome." But its most notable feature is a section titled "Moment of clarity," which shows why this particular project was difficult or challenging.

The section is shaded in green, making it impossible to miss. Redapt does the same thing for each case study. In the same way, you should highlight the "turning point" for both you and your client when you were working toward a solution.

Key Learnings from the Redapt Case Study Example

  • Highlight the turning point for both you and your client during the solution-seeking process.
  • Use the same structure (including the same headings) for your case studies to make them easy to scan and read.

27. " Virtual Call Center Sees 300% Boost In Contact Rate ," by Convoso

Case study example from Convoso

Convoso’s PDF case study for Digital Market Media immediately mentions the results that the client achieved and takes advantage of white space. On the second page, the case study presents more influential results. It’s colorful and engaging and closes with a spread that prompts readers to request a demo.

Key Learnings from the Convoso Case Study Example

  • List the results of your work right at the beginning of the case study.
  • Use color to differentiate your case study from others. Convoso’s example is one of the most colorful ones on this list.

28. " Ensuring quality of service during a pandemic ," by Ericsson

Case study example from Ericsson

Ericsson’s case study page for Orange Spain is an excellent example of using diverse written and visual media — such as videos, graphs, and quotes — to showcase the success a client experienced. Throughout the case study, Ericsson provides links to product and service pages users might find relevant as they’re reading the study.

For instance, under the heading "Preloaded with the power of automation," Ericsson mentions its Ericsson Operations Engine product, then links to that product page. It closes the case study with a link to another product page.

Key Learnings from the Ericsson Case Study Example

  • Link to product pages throughout the case study so that readers can learn more about the solution you offer.
  • Use multimedia to engage users as they read the case study.

Start creating your case study.

Now that you've got a great list of examples of case studies, think about a topic you'd like to write about that highlights your company or work you did with a customer.

A customer’s success story is the most persuasive marketing material you could ever create. With a strong portfolio of case studies, you can ensure prospects know why they should give you their business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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5 Benefits of Learning Through the Case Study Method

Harvard Business School MBA students learning through the case study method

  • 28 Nov 2023

While several factors make HBS Online unique —including a global Community and real-world outcomes —active learning through the case study method rises to the top.

In a 2023 City Square Associates survey, 74 percent of HBS Online learners who also took a course from another provider said HBS Online’s case method and real-world examples were better by comparison.

Here’s a primer on the case method, five benefits you could gain, and how to experience it for yourself.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is the Harvard Business School Case Study Method?

The case study method , or case method , is a learning technique in which you’re presented with a real-world business challenge and asked how you’d solve it. After working through it yourself and with peers, you’re told how the scenario played out.

HBS pioneered the case method in 1922. Shortly before, in 1921, the first case was written.

“How do you go into an ambiguous situation and get to the bottom of it?” says HBS Professor Jan Rivkin, former senior associate dean and chair of HBS's master of business administration (MBA) program, in a video about the case method . “That skill—the skill of figuring out a course of inquiry to choose a course of action—that skill is as relevant today as it was in 1921.”

Originally developed for the in-person MBA classroom, HBS Online adapted the case method into an engaging, interactive online learning experience in 2014.

In HBS Online courses , you learn about each case from the business professional who experienced it. After reviewing their videos, you’re prompted to take their perspective and explain how you’d handle their situation.

You then get to read peers’ responses, “star” them, and comment to further the discussion. Afterward, you learn how the professional handled it and their key takeaways.

HBS Online’s adaptation of the case method incorporates the famed HBS “cold call,” in which you’re called on at random to make a decision without time to prepare.

“Learning came to life!” said Sheneka Balogun , chief administration officer and chief of staff at LeMoyne-Owen College, of her experience taking the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program . “The videos from the professors, the interactive cold calls where you were randomly selected to participate, and the case studies that enhanced and often captured the essence of objectives and learning goals were all embedded in each module. This made learning fun, engaging, and student-friendly.”

If you’re considering taking a course that leverages the case study method, here are five benefits you could experience.

5 Benefits of Learning Through Case Studies

1. take new perspectives.

The case method prompts you to consider a scenario from another person’s perspective. To work through the situation and come up with a solution, you must consider their circumstances, limitations, risk tolerance, stakeholders, resources, and potential consequences to assess how to respond.

Taking on new perspectives not only can help you navigate your own challenges but also others’. Putting yourself in someone else’s situation to understand their motivations and needs can go a long way when collaborating with stakeholders.

2. Hone Your Decision-Making Skills

Another skill you can build is the ability to make decisions effectively . The case study method forces you to use limited information to decide how to handle a problem—just like in the real world.

Throughout your career, you’ll need to make difficult decisions with incomplete or imperfect information—and sometimes, you won’t feel qualified to do so. Learning through the case method allows you to practice this skill in a low-stakes environment. When facing a real challenge, you’ll be better prepared to think quickly, collaborate with others, and present and defend your solution.

3. Become More Open-Minded

As you collaborate with peers on responses, it becomes clear that not everyone solves problems the same way. Exposing yourself to various approaches and perspectives can help you become a more open-minded professional.

When you’re part of a diverse group of learners from around the world, your experiences, cultures, and backgrounds contribute to a range of opinions on each case.

On the HBS Online course platform, you’re prompted to view and comment on others’ responses, and discussion is encouraged. This practice of considering others’ perspectives can make you more receptive in your career.

“You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from your peers,” said Ratnaditya Jonnalagadda , a software engineer who took CORe.

In addition to interacting with peers in the course platform, Jonnalagadda was part of the HBS Online Community , where he networked with other professionals and continued discussions sparked by course content.

“You get to understand your peers better, and students share examples of businesses implementing a concept from a module you just learned,” Jonnalagadda said. “It’s a very good way to cement the concepts in one's mind.”

4. Enhance Your Curiosity

One byproduct of taking on different perspectives is that it enables you to picture yourself in various roles, industries, and business functions.

“Each case offers an opportunity for students to see what resonates with them, what excites them, what bores them, which role they could imagine inhabiting in their careers,” says former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in the Harvard Business Review . “Cases stimulate curiosity about the range of opportunities in the world and the many ways that students can make a difference as leaders.”

Through the case method, you can “try on” roles you may not have considered and feel more prepared to change or advance your career .

5. Build Your Self-Confidence

Finally, learning through the case study method can build your confidence. Each time you assume a business leader’s perspective, aim to solve a new challenge, and express and defend your opinions and decisions to peers, you prepare to do the same in your career.

According to a 2022 City Square Associates survey , 84 percent of HBS Online learners report feeling more confident making business decisions after taking a course.

“Self-confidence is difficult to teach or coach, but the case study method seems to instill it in people,” Nohria says in the Harvard Business Review . “There may well be other ways of learning these meta-skills, such as the repeated experience gained through practice or guidance from a gifted coach. However, under the direction of a masterful teacher, the case method can engage students and help them develop powerful meta-skills like no other form of teaching.”

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How to Experience the Case Study Method

If the case method seems like a good fit for your learning style, experience it for yourself by taking an HBS Online course. Offerings span seven subject areas, including:

  • Business essentials
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  • Entrepreneurship and innovation
  • Finance and accounting
  • Business in society

No matter which course or credential program you choose, you’ll examine case studies from real business professionals, work through their challenges alongside peers, and gain valuable insights to apply to your career.

Are you interested in discovering how HBS Online can help advance your career? Explore our course catalog and download our free guide —complete with interactive workbook sections—to determine if online learning is right for you and which course to take.

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Blog Graphic Design

15+ Professional Case Study Examples [Design Tips + Templates]

By Alice Corner , Jan 12, 2023

Venngage case study examples

Have you ever bought something — within the last 10 years or so — without reading its reviews or without a recommendation or prior experience of using it?

If the answer is no — or at least, rarely — you get my point.

Positive reviews matter for selling to regular customers, and for B2B or SaaS businesses, detailed case studies are important too.

Wondering how to craft a compelling case study ? No worries—I’ve got you covered with 15 marketing case study templates , helpful tips, and examples to ensure your case study converts effectively.

Click to jump ahead:

  • What is a Case Study?

Business Case Study Examples

Simple case study examples.

  • Marketing Case Study Examples

Sales Case Study Examples

  • Case Study FAQs

What is a case study?

A case study is a research method to gain a better understanding of a subject or process. Case studies involve in-depth research into a given subject, in order to understand its functionality and successes.

In the context of a business, however, case studies take customer success stories and explore how they use your product to help them achieve their business goals.

Case Study Definition LinkedIn Post

As well as being valuable marketing tools , case studies are a good way to evaluate your product as it allows you to objectively examine how others are using it.

It’s also a good way to interview your customers about why they work with you.

Related: What is a Case Study? [+6 Types of Case Studies]

What is a marketing case study?

A marketing case study is a type of marketing where you use your existing customers as an example of what your product or services can achieve. You can also create case studies of internal, successful marketing projects.

Here’s an example of a marketing case study template:

marketing case study example

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, business case studies can be a powerful resource to help with your sales, marketing, and even internal departmental awareness.

Business and business management case studies should encompass strategic insights alongside anecdotal and qualitative findings, like in the business case study examples below.

Conduct a B2B case study by researching the company holistically

When it comes to writing a case study, make sure you approach the company holistically and analyze everything from their social media to their sales.

Think about every avenue your product or service has been of use to your case study company, and ask them about the impact this has had on their wider company goals.

Venngage orange marketing case study example

In business case study examples like the one above, we can see that the company has been thought about holistically simply by the use of icons.

By combining social media icons with icons that show in-person communication we know that this is a well-researched and thorough case study.

This case study report example could also be used within an annual or end-of-year report.

Highlight the key takeaway from your marketing case study

To create a compelling case study, identify the key takeaways from your research. Use catchy language to sum up this information in a sentence, and present this sentence at the top of your page.

This is “at a glance” information and it allows people to gain a top-level understanding of the content immediately. 

Purple SAAS Business Case Study Template

You can use a large, bold, contrasting font to help this information stand out from the page and provide interest.

Learn  how to choose fonts  effectively with our Venngage guide and once you’ve done that.

Upload your fonts and  brand colors  to Venngage using the  My Brand Kit  tool and see them automatically applied to your designs.

The heading is the ideal place to put the most impactful information, as this is the first thing that people will read.

In this example, the stat of “Increase[d] lead quality by 90%” is used as the header. It makes customers want to read more to find out how exactly lead quality was increased by such a massive amount.

Purple SAAS Business Case Study Template Header

If you’re conducting an in-person interview, you could highlight a direct quote or insight provided by your interview subject.

Pick out a catchy sentence or phrase, or the key piece of information your interview subject provided and use that as a way to draw a potential customer in.

Use charts to visualize data in your business case studies

Charts are an excellent way to visualize data and to bring statistics and information to life. Charts make information easier to understand and to illustrate trends or patterns.

Making charts is even easier with Venngage.

In this consulting case study example, we can see that a chart has been used to demonstrate the difference in lead value within the Lead Elves case study.

Adding a chart here helps break up the information and add visual value to the case study. 

Red SAAS Business Case Study Template

Using charts in your case study can also be useful if you’re creating a project management case study.

You could use a Gantt chart or a project timeline to show how you have managed the project successfully.

event marketing project management gantt chart example

Use direct quotes to build trust in your marketing case study

To add an extra layer of authenticity you can include a direct quote from your customer within your case study.

According to research from Nielsen , 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer and 70% trust recommendations even if they’re from somebody they don’t know.

Case study peer recommendation quote

So if you have a customer or client who can’t stop singing your praises, make sure you get a direct quote from them and include it in your case study.

You can either lift part of the conversation or interview, or you can specifically request a quote. Make sure to ask for permission before using the quote.

Contrast Lead Generation Business Case Study Template

This design uses a bright contrasting speech bubble to show that it includes a direct quote, and helps the quote stand out from the rest of the text.

This will help draw the customer’s attention directly to the quote, in turn influencing them to use your product or service.

Less is often more, and this is especially true when it comes to creating designs. Whilst you want to create a professional-looking, well-written and design case study – there’s no need to overcomplicate things.

These simple case study examples show that smart clean designs and informative content can be an effective way to showcase your successes.

Use colors and fonts to create a professional-looking case study

Business case studies shouldn’t be boring. In fact, they should be beautifully and professionally designed.

This means the normal rules of design apply. Use fonts, colors, and icons to create an interesting and visually appealing case study.

In this case study example, we can see how multiple fonts have been used to help differentiate between the headers and content, as well as complementary colors and eye-catching icons.

Blue Simple Business Case Study Template

Marketing case study examples

Marketing case studies are incredibly useful for showing your marketing successes. Every successful marketing campaign relies on influencing a consumer’s behavior, and a great case study can be a great way to spotlight your biggest wins.

In the marketing case study examples below, a variety of designs and techniques to create impactful and effective case studies.

Show off impressive results with a bold marketing case study

Case studies are meant to show off your successes, so make sure you feature your positive results prominently. Using bold and bright colors as well as contrasting shapes, large bold fonts, and simple icons is a great way to highlight your wins.

In well-written case study examples like the one below, the big wins are highlighted on the second page with a bright orange color and are highlighted in circles.

Making the important data stand out is especially important when attracting a prospective customer with marketing case studies.

Light simplebusiness case study template

Use a simple but clear layout in your case study

Using a simple layout in your case study can be incredibly effective, like in the example of a case study below.

Keeping a clean white background, and using slim lines to help separate the sections is an easy way to format your case study.

Making the information clear helps draw attention to the important results, and it helps improve the  accessibility of the design .

Business case study examples like this would sit nicely within a larger report, with a consistent layout throughout.

Modern lead Generaton Business Case Study Template

Use visuals and icons to create an engaging and branded business case study

Nobody wants to read pages and pages of text — and that’s why Venngage wants to help you communicate your ideas visually.

Using icons, graphics, photos, or patterns helps create a much more engaging design. 

With this Blue Cap case study icons, colors, and impactful pattern designs have been used to create an engaging design that catches your eye.

Social Media Business Case Study template

Use a monochromatic color palette to create a professional and clean case study

Let your research shine by using a monochromatic and minimalistic color palette.

By sticking to one color, and leaving lots of blank space you can ensure your design doesn’t distract a potential customer from your case study content.

Color combination examples

In this case study on Polygon Media, the design is simple and professional, and the layout allows the prospective customer to follow the flow of information.

The gradient effect on the left-hand column helps break up the white background and adds an interesting visual effect.

Gray Lead Generation Business Case Study Template

Did you know you can generate an accessible color palette with Venngage? Try our free accessible color palette generator today and create a case study that delivers and looks pleasant to the eye:

Venngage's accessible color palette generator

Add long term goals in your case study

When creating a case study it’s a great idea to look at both the short term and the long term goals of the company to gain the best understanding possible of the insights they provide.

Short-term goals will be what the company or person hopes to achieve in the next few months, and long-term goals are what the company hopes to achieve in the next few years.

Check out this modern pattern design example of a case study below:

Lead generation business case study template

In this case study example, the short and long-term goals are clearly distinguished by light blue boxes and placed side by side so that they are easy to compare.

Lead generation case study example short term goals

Use a strong introductory paragraph to outline the overall strategy and goals before outlining the specific short-term and long-term goals to help with clarity.

This strategy can also be handy when creating a consulting case study.

Use data to make concrete points about your sales and successes

When conducting any sort of research stats, facts, and figures are like gold dust (aka, really valuable).

Being able to quantify your findings is important to help understand the information fully. Saying sales increased 10% is much more effective than saying sales increased.

While sales dashboards generally tend it make it all about the numbers and charts, in sales case study examples, like this one, the key data and findings can be presented with icons. This contributes to the potential customer’s better understanding of the report.

They can clearly comprehend the information and it shows that the case study has been well researched.

Vibrant Content Marketing Case Study Template

Use emotive, persuasive, or action based language in your marketing case study

Create a compelling case study by using emotive, persuasive and action-based language when customizing your case study template.

Case study example pursuasive language

In this well-written case study example, we can see that phrases such as “Results that Speak Volumes” and “Drive Sales” have been used.

Using persuasive language like you would in a blog post. It helps inspire potential customers to take action now.

Bold Content Marketing Case Study Template

Keep your potential customers in mind when creating a customer case study for marketing

82% of marketers use case studies in their marketing  because it’s such an effective tool to help quickly gain customers’ trust and to showcase the potential of your product.

Why are case studies such an important tool in content marketing?

By writing a case study you’re telling potential customers that they can trust you because you’re showing them that other people do.

Not only that, but if you have a SaaS product, business case studies are a great way to show how other people are effectively using your product in their company.

In this case study, Network is demonstrating how their product has been used by Vortex Co. with great success; instantly showing other potential customers that their tool works and is worth using.

Teal Social Media Business Case Study Template

Related: 10+ Case Study Infographic Templates That Convert

Case studies are particularly effective as a sales technique.

A sales case study is like an extended customer testimonial, not only sharing opinions of your product – but showcasing the results you helped your customer achieve.

Make impactful statistics pop in your sales case study

Writing a case study doesn’t mean using text as the only medium for sharing results.

You should use icons to highlight areas of your research that are particularly interesting or relevant, like in this example of a case study:

Coral content marketing case study template.jpg

Icons are a great way to help summarize information quickly and can act as visual cues to help draw the customer’s attention to certain areas of the page.

In some of the business case study examples above, icons are used to represent the impressive areas of growth and are presented in a way that grabs your attention.

Use high contrast shapes and colors to draw attention to key information in your sales case study

Help the key information stand out within your case study by using high contrast shapes and colors.

Use a complementary or contrasting color, or use a shape such as a rectangle or a circle for maximum impact.

Blue case study example case growth

This design has used dark blue rectangles to help separate the information and make it easier to read.

Coupled with icons and strong statistics, this information stands out on the page and is easily digestible and retainable for a potential customer.

Blue Content Marketing Case Study Tempalte

Case Study Examples Summary

Once you have created your case study, it’s best practice to update your examples on a regular basis to include up-to-date statistics, data, and information.

You should update your business case study examples often if you are sharing them on your website .

It’s also important that your case study sits within your brand guidelines – find out how Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool can help you create consistently branded case study templates.

Case studies are important marketing tools – but they shouldn’t be the only tool in your toolbox. Content marketing is also a valuable way to earn consumer trust.

Case Study FAQ

Why should you write a case study.

Case studies are an effective marketing technique to engage potential customers and help build trust.

By producing case studies featuring your current clients or customers, you are showcasing how your tool or product can be used. You’re also showing that other people endorse your product.

In addition to being a good way to gather positive testimonials from existing customers , business case studies are good educational resources and can be shared amongst your company or team, and used as a reference for future projects.

How should you write a case study?

To create a great case study, you should think strategically. The first step, before starting your case study research, is to think about what you aim to learn or what you aim to prove.

You might be aiming to learn how a company makes sales or develops a new product. If this is the case, base your questions around this.

You can learn more about writing a case study  from our extensive guide.

Related: How to Present a Case Study like a Pro (With Examples)

Some good questions you could ask would be:

  • Why do you use our tool or service?
  • How often do you use our tool or service?
  • What does the process of using our product look like to you?
  • If our product didn’t exist, what would you be doing instead?
  • What is the number one benefit you’ve found from using our tool?

You might also enjoy:

  • 12 Essential Consulting Templates For Marketing, Planning and Branding
  • Best Marketing Strategies for Consultants and Freelancers in 2019 [Study + Infographic]

How to write a case study — examples, templates, and tools

case study of business studies

It’s a marketer’s job to communicate the effectiveness of a product or service to potential and current customers to convince them to buy and keep business moving. One of the best methods for doing this is to share success stories that are relatable to prospects and customers based on their pain points, experiences, and overall needs.

That’s where case studies come in. Case studies are an essential part of a content marketing plan. These in-depth stories of customer experiences are some of the most effective at demonstrating the value of a product or service. Yet many marketers don’t use them, whether because of their regimented formats or the process of customer involvement and approval.

A case study is a powerful tool for showcasing your hard work and the success your customer achieved. But writing a great case study can be difficult if you’ve never done it before or if it’s been a while. This guide will show you how to write an effective case study and provide real-world examples and templates that will keep readers engaged and support your business.

In this article, you’ll learn:

What is a case study?

How to write a case study, case study templates, case study examples, case study tools.

A case study is the detailed story of a customer’s experience with a product or service that demonstrates their success and often includes measurable outcomes. Case studies are used in a range of fields and for various reasons, from business to academic research. They’re especially impactful in marketing as brands work to convince and convert consumers with relatable, real-world stories of actual customer experiences.

The best case studies tell the story of a customer’s success, including the steps they took, the results they achieved, and the support they received from a brand along the way. To write a great case study, you need to:

  • Celebrate the customer and make them — not a product or service — the star of the story.
  • Craft the story with specific audiences or target segments in mind so that the story of one customer will be viewed as relatable and actionable for another customer.
  • Write copy that is easy to read and engaging so that readers will gain the insights and messages intended.
  • Follow a standardized format that includes all of the essentials a potential customer would find interesting and useful.
  • Support all of the claims for success made in the story with data in the forms of hard numbers and customer statements.

Case studies are a type of review but more in depth, aiming to show — rather than just tell — the positive experiences that customers have with a brand. Notably, 89% of consumers read reviews before deciding to buy, and 79% view case study content as part of their purchasing process. When it comes to B2B sales, 52% of buyers rank case studies as an important part of their evaluation process.

Telling a brand story through the experience of a tried-and-true customer matters. The story is relatable to potential new customers as they imagine themselves in the shoes of the company or individual featured in the case study. Showcasing previous customers can help new ones see themselves engaging with your brand in the ways that are most meaningful to them.

Besides sharing the perspective of another customer, case studies stand out from other content marketing forms because they are based on evidence. Whether pulling from client testimonials or data-driven results, case studies tend to have more impact on new business because the story contains information that is both objective (data) and subjective (customer experience) — and the brand doesn’t sound too self-promotional.

89% of consumers read reviews before buying, 79% view case studies, and 52% of B2B buyers prioritize case studies in the evaluation process.

Case studies are unique in that there’s a fairly standardized format for telling a customer’s story. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. It’s all about making sure that teams are clear on the goals for the case study — along with strategies for supporting content and channels — and understanding how the story fits within the framework of the company’s overall marketing goals.

Here are the basic steps to writing a good case study.

1. Identify your goal

Start by defining exactly who your case study will be designed to help. Case studies are about specific instances where a company works with a customer to achieve a goal. Identify which customers are likely to have these goals, as well as other needs the story should cover to appeal to them.

The answer is often found in one of the buyer personas that have been constructed as part of your larger marketing strategy. This can include anything from new leads generated by the marketing team to long-term customers that are being pressed for cross-sell opportunities. In all of these cases, demonstrating value through a relatable customer success story can be part of the solution to conversion.

2. Choose your client or subject

Who you highlight matters. Case studies tie brands together that might otherwise not cross paths. A writer will want to ensure that the highlighted customer aligns with their own company’s brand identity and offerings. Look for a customer with positive name recognition who has had great success with a product or service and is willing to be an advocate.

The client should also match up with the identified target audience. Whichever company or individual is selected should be a reflection of other potential customers who can see themselves in similar circumstances, having the same problems and possible solutions.

Some of the most compelling case studies feature customers who:

  • Switch from one product or service to another while naming competitors that missed the mark.
  • Experience measurable results that are relatable to others in a specific industry.
  • Represent well-known brands and recognizable names that are likely to compel action.
  • Advocate for a product or service as a champion and are well-versed in its advantages.

Whoever or whatever customer is selected, marketers must ensure they have the permission of the company involved before getting started. Some brands have strict review and approval procedures for any official marketing or promotional materials that include their name. Acquiring those approvals in advance will prevent any miscommunication or wasted effort if there is an issue with their legal or compliance teams.

3. Conduct research and compile data

Substantiating the claims made in a case study — either by the marketing team or customers themselves — adds validity to the story. To do this, include data and feedback from the client that defines what success looks like. This can be anything from demonstrating return on investment (ROI) to a specific metric the customer was striving to improve. Case studies should prove how an outcome was achieved and show tangible results that indicate to the customer that your solution is the right one.

This step could also include customer interviews. Make sure that the people being interviewed are key stakeholders in the purchase decision or deployment and use of the product or service that is being highlighted. Content writers should work off a set list of questions prepared in advance. It can be helpful to share these with the interviewees beforehand so they have time to consider and craft their responses. One of the best interview tactics to keep in mind is to ask questions where yes and no are not natural answers. This way, your subject will provide more open-ended responses that produce more meaningful content.

4. Choose the right format

There are a number of different ways to format a case study. Depending on what you hope to achieve, one style will be better than another. However, there are some common elements to include, such as:

  • An engaging headline
  • A subject and customer introduction
  • The unique challenge or challenges the customer faced
  • The solution the customer used to solve the problem
  • The results achieved
  • Data and statistics to back up claims of success
  • A strong call to action (CTA) to engage with the vendor

It’s also important to note that while case studies are traditionally written as stories, they don’t have to be in a written format. Some companies choose to get more creative with their case studies and produce multimedia content, depending on their audience and objectives. Case study formats can include traditional print stories, interactive web or social content, data-heavy infographics, professionally shot videos, podcasts, and more.

5. Write your case study

We’ll go into more detail later about how exactly to write a case study, including templates and examples. Generally speaking, though, there are a few things to keep in mind when writing your case study.

  • Be clear and concise. Readers want to get to the point of the story quickly and easily, and they’ll be looking to see themselves reflected in the story right from the start.
  • Provide a big picture. Always make sure to explain who the client is, their goals, and how they achieved success in a short introduction to engage the reader.
  • Construct a clear narrative. Stick to the story from the perspective of the customer and what they needed to solve instead of just listing product features or benefits.
  • Leverage graphics. Incorporating infographics, charts, and sidebars can be a more engaging and eye-catching way to share key statistics and data in readable ways.
  • Offer the right amount of detail. Most case studies are one or two pages with clear sections that a reader can skim to find the information most important to them.
  • Include data to support claims. Show real results — both facts and figures and customer quotes — to demonstrate credibility and prove the solution works.

6. Promote your story

Marketers have a number of options for distribution of a freshly minted case study. Many brands choose to publish case studies on their website and post them on social media. This can help support SEO and organic content strategies while also boosting company credibility and trust as visitors see that other businesses have used the product or service.

Marketers are always looking for quality content they can use for lead generation. Consider offering a case study as gated content behind a form on a landing page or as an offer in an email message. One great way to do this is to summarize the content and tease the full story available for download after the user takes an action.

Sales teams can also leverage case studies, so be sure they are aware that the assets exist once they’re published. Especially when it comes to larger B2B sales, companies often ask for examples of similar customer challenges that have been solved.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about case studies and what they should include, you may be wondering how to start creating great customer story content. Here are a couple of templates you can use to structure your case study.

Template 1 — Challenge-solution-result format

  • Start with an engaging title. This should be fewer than 70 characters long for SEO best practices. One of the best ways to approach the title is to include the customer’s name and a hint at the challenge they overcame in the end.
  • Create an introduction. Lead with an explanation as to who the customer is, the need they had, and the opportunity they found with a specific product or solution. Writers can also suggest the success the customer experienced with the solution they chose.
  • Present the challenge. This should be several paragraphs long and explain the problem the customer faced and the issues they were trying to solve. Details should tie into the company’s products and services naturally. This section needs to be the most relatable to the reader so they can picture themselves in a similar situation.
  • Share the solution. Explain which product or service offered was the ideal fit for the customer and why. Feel free to delve into their experience setting up, purchasing, and onboarding the solution.
  • Explain the results. Demonstrate the impact of the solution they chose by backing up their positive experience with data. Fill in with customer quotes and tangible, measurable results that show the effect of their choice.
  • Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that invites readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to nurture them further in the marketing pipeline. What you ask of the reader should tie directly into the goals that were established for the case study in the first place.

Template 2 — Data-driven format

  • Start with an engaging title. Be sure to include a statistic or data point in the first 70 characters. Again, it’s best to include the customer’s name as part of the title.
  • Create an overview. Share the customer’s background and a short version of the challenge they faced. Present the reason a particular product or service was chosen, and feel free to include quotes from the customer about their selection process.
  • Present data point 1. Isolate the first metric that the customer used to define success and explain how the product or solution helped to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
  • Present data point 2. Isolate the second metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
  • Present data point 3. Isolate the final metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
  • Summarize the results. Reiterate the fact that the customer was able to achieve success thanks to a specific product or service. Include quotes and statements that reflect customer satisfaction and suggest they plan to continue using the solution.
  • Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that asks readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to further nurture them in the marketing pipeline. Again, remember that this is where marketers can look to convert their content into action with the customer.

While templates are helpful, seeing a case study in action can also be a great way to learn. Here are some examples of how Adobe customers have experienced success.

Juniper Networks

One example is the Adobe and Juniper Networks case study , which puts the reader in the customer’s shoes. The beginning of the story quickly orients the reader so that they know exactly who the article is about and what they were trying to achieve. Solutions are outlined in a way that shows Adobe Experience Manager is the best choice and a natural fit for the customer. Along the way, quotes from the client are incorporated to help add validity to the statements. The results in the case study are conveyed with clear evidence of scale and volume using tangible data.

A Lenovo case study showing statistics, a pull quote and featured headshot, the headline "The customer is king.," and Adobe product links.

The story of Lenovo’s journey with Adobe is one that spans years of planning, implementation, and rollout. The Lenovo case study does a great job of consolidating all of this into a relatable journey that other enterprise organizations can see themselves taking, despite the project size. This case study also features descriptive headers and compelling visual elements that engage the reader and strengthen the content.

Tata Consulting

When it comes to using data to show customer results, this case study does an excellent job of conveying details and numbers in an easy-to-digest manner. Bullet points at the start break up the content while also helping the reader understand exactly what the case study will be about. Tata Consulting used Adobe to deliver elevated, engaging content experiences for a large telecommunications client of its own — an objective that’s relatable for a lot of companies.

Case studies are a vital tool for any marketing team as they enable you to demonstrate the value of your company’s products and services to others. They help marketers do their job and add credibility to a brand trying to promote its solutions by using the experiences and stories of real customers.

When you’re ready to get started with a case study:

  • Think about a few goals you’d like to accomplish with your content.
  • Make a list of successful clients that would be strong candidates for a case study.
  • Reach out to the client to get their approval and conduct an interview.
  • Gather the data to present an engaging and effective customer story.

Adobe can help

There are several Adobe products that can help you craft compelling case studies. Adobe Experience Platform helps you collect data and deliver great customer experiences across every channel. Once you’ve created your case studies, Experience Platform will help you deliver the right information to the right customer at the right time for maximum impact.

To learn more, watch the Adobe Experience Platform story .

Keep in mind that the best case studies are backed by data. That’s where Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Analytics come into play. With Real-Time CDP, you can gather the data you need to build a great case study and target specific customers to deliver the content to the right audience at the perfect moment.

Watch the Real-Time CDP overview video to learn more.

Finally, Adobe Analytics turns real-time data into real-time insights. It helps your business collect and synthesize data from multiple platforms to make more informed decisions and create the best case study possible.

Request a demo to learn more about Adobe Analytics.

https://business.adobe.com/blog/perspectives/b2b-ecommerce-10-case-studies-inspire-you

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/business-case

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/what-is-real-time-analytics

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Class 11 Business Studies Case Study Questions

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CBSE Class 11 Business Studies Case Study Questions are available on myCBSEguide App . You can also download them from our student dashboard .

For students appearing for grade 11 CBSE exams from the Commerce stream, Business Studies is a fundamental subject. Business Studies is considered to be quite interesting as well as an occupying subject as compared to all other core subjects of the CBSE class 11 commerce stream. To ace this CBSE exam, students are not only required to work hard but they ought to learn to do smart work too.

Among all the other core subjects of the Commerce stream i.e accountancy, economics and business studies, Business Studies is the one that is purely theoretical. It is termed to be comparatively easier and more scoring than the other mandatory subjects of the commerce stream. Many students who opt for the commerce stream after their 10-grade exams desire to learn in-depth about the business organizations and their work, for them the subject is of utmost importance. Business Studies is an essential component of the class 11 commerce stream curriculum.

In order to ace the subject the student needs to have conceptual clarity. CBSE has designed the syllabus for class 11 Business Studies so as to provide students with a basic understanding of the various principles prevalent in the Business organizations as well as their interaction with their corresponding environment.   

Case Study Questions in class 11 (Business Studies)

Case-based questions have always been an integral part of the Business Studies question paper for many years in the past. The case studies have always been considered to be challenging for the students, for such questions demand the application of their knowledge of the fundamental business concepts and principles. Last year i.e-  2021 CBSE introduced a few changes in the Business Studies question paper pattern to enhance and develop analytical and reasoning skills among students.

It was decided that the questions would be based on real-life scenarios encountered by the students.CBSE not only changed the way case-based questions were formulated but also incremented their weightage in the Business Studies question paper. The sole purpose of increasing the weightage of case-based questions in the class 11 curriculum by CBSE was to drift from rote learning to competency and situation-based learning.

What is a case study question? (Business Studies)

In Business Studies, a case study is more like a real-world test of how the implementation works. It is majorly a report of an organization’s implementation of anything, such as a practice,a product, a system, or a service. The questions would be based on the NCERT textbook for class 11 Business Studies. Case-based questions will definitely carry a substantial weightage in the class 11 Business Studies question paper. questions.

A hypothetical text will be provided on the basis of which the student is expected to solve the given case-based question asked in the Business Studies class 11 exam. Initially, the newly introduced case-based questions appeared to be confusing for both the students and the teachers. Perhaps, they were reluctant to experiment with something new but now a lot more clarity is there that has made the question paper quite student-friendly.

Case study questions could be based on any chapter or concept present in the NCERT textbook. Thus, it is expected from the students to thoroughly revise and memorize the key business fundamentals. 

Business Studies syllabus of class 11 CBSE   

The entire Business Studies course is divided into 2 parts:

  • Part A, Foundation of Business
  • Part B, Finance and Trade

The class 11 Business Studies exam is for a total of 100 marks, 80 marks are for the theory and the remaining 20 for the project. Most of the questions are based on the exercises from the NCERT textbook. It is recommended to rigorously go through the contents of the book. A single textbook has been published by NCERT for Class 11 Business studies. There are a total of 10 chapters in this book divided into 2 parts. 

CBSE Class – 11

Business Studies (Code No. 054)

Theory: 80 Marks Time: 3 Hours Project: 20 Marks

Case Study Passage (Business Studies class)

As part of these questions, the students would be provided with a hypothetical situation or text, based on which analytical questions will have to be answered by them. It is a must for the students to read the passage in depth before attempting the questions. In the coming examination cycle (2022-23), case-based questions have a weightage of around 30%. These questions can be based on each chapter in the NCERT book for Business Studies, grade 11.

Students must prepare well for the case-based questions before appearing for their Business Studies exam as these questions demand complete knowledge of the various concepts in their syllabus. CBSE plans to increase the weightage of such questions in the upcoming years.

Sample case-based Questions in Business Studies

Business Studies as a subject provides a way of perceiving and interacting with the business ecosystem. It is a core subject of the commerce stream that is purely theoretical and relevantly easier than the other compulsory subjects of the stream. Class 11 Business Studies syllabus is closely related to trade and commerce. The subject cannot be ignored as it is the foundation of many concepts and theories which are studied at an advanced level in class 12.

The case-based questions asked in the CBSE Business Studies question paper for class 11 are of two types:

As per the latest circular issued by CBSE on Assessment and Evaluation practices of the board for the session 2022-23, CBSE has clearly mentioned that competency-based questions including case studies will be different from subjective questions.  

The questions can also be categorized on their difficulty level:

  • Direct: such questions can be easily solved. Their answer is visible in the given passage itself.
  • Indirect/ Analytical: such questions are confusing and tricky. These can be solved by the application of the theory or principle that is highlighted in the provided text. 

How To Prepare For Case-based Questions? (Business Studies grade 11)

Students need to prepare well for the case-based questions before appearing for their class 11 Business Studies exam. Here are some tips which will help the student to solve the case-based questions at ease:

  • Read the provided text carefully
  • Try to comprehend the situation and focus on the question asked
  • Analyze and carefully answer the question asked
  • In general, the passage given would be lengthy in Business Studies case-based questions but their solutions are comparatively short and simple
  • One can significantly save time if they follow a reversal pattern, that is going through the questions before reading the comprehensive case study passage.
  • Answer in a concise manner
  • One should concentrate on solidifying key fundamental principles/theories
  • Go through the NCERT textbook in depth. The language used is crisp and simple.
  • While providing solutions to the case-based question, pick the keyword/keyline based on which you are driving insights.

 In order to excel in the Business Studies class 11 exam, one needs to ignore the shortcut techniques and get to read the NCERT textbook rigorously. Case studies can be easily solved if your key fundamentals are strong and clear. The best part of having these questions is that the asked question itself projects a hint of its answer. These simple points if kept in mind will definitely help the students to fetch good marks in case study questions, class 11 Business Studies. 

Case study question examples in Business Studies

Here a re some given case study questions for CBSE class 11 Business Studies. If you wish to get more case study questions and other study material, download the myCBSEguide app now. You can also access it through our student dashboard.

Business Studies Case Study 1

Read the hypothetical text given and answer the following questions:

Manish, Rahul and Madhav live in the same locality. They used to meet and discuss their ideas. After discussing the recent fire breakout in their area, they decided to take fire insurance for their house or work area. Manish gets his house insured against fire for ₹1 lakh and during the policy period, his house gets damaged due to fire and the actual loss amounts to ₹2.5 lakh. The insurance company acquired the burning material and approved his claim. Rahul gets his godown insured against fire for ₹1 lakh but does not take enough precautions to minimize the chances of fire like installing fire extinguishers in the factory. During the policy, a fire takes place in his godown and he does not take any preventive steps like throwing water and calling the employees from the fire fighting department to control the fire. He suffered a loss of ₹1,20,000. Madhav took a fire insurance policy of ₹20 lakh for his factory at an annual payment of ₹24,000. In order to reduce the annual premium, he did not disclose that highly explosive chemicals are being manufactured in his factory. Due to a fire, his factory gets severely damaged. The insurance company refused to make payment for the claim as it became aware of the highly explosive chemicals.

How much can Manish claim from the insurance company?

  • None of the above

How much compensation can Rahul get from the insurance company?

Which principle is violated in the case of Rahul?

  • Insurable Interest
  • Utmost Good Faith

How much amount is the insurance company liable to pay to Madhav if he files a case against it?

  • Insufficient information

Which principle of Insurance is violated by Madhav?

  • Insurable interest
  • Subrogation
  • Proximate Cause

The insurance company acquired the burnt material and approved his claim. Which principle of Insurance is highlighted in the given statement.

  • (a) Mitigation
  • (a) Utmost Good Faith
  • (d) Subrogation

Business Studies Case Study 2

 Sarthak Electronics Ltd. has a loss of Rs 15,00,000 to pay. They are short of funds so they are trying to find means to arrange funds. Their manager suggested a claim from the insurance company against stock lost due to fire in the warehouse. He actually meant that they can put their warehouse on fire and claim from insurance companies against stock insured. They will use the claim money to pay the loan.

  • Will the company receive a claim if the surveyor from the insurance company comes to know the real cause of fire?
  • Write any two Values which the company ignores while planning to arrange money from false claims.
  • State any three elements of fire insurance

Business Studies Case Study 3

OLX and qickr are examples of well-known websites used to conduct business. Tarasha’s sofa set got spoiled in the rain. Her friend suggested that she should change the fabric so that it looks new and put it for sale on Olx. Tarasha followed her friend’s advice and got her sofa repaired so that it looked better and uploaded nicely clicked pictures on the website without disclosing the fact that it was damaged from the inside. She found a buyer and sold it for Rs 10,000. After five days the buyer found the real state of the sofa set and called Tarasha but she did not answer any of the calls.

  • identify the type of business highlighted in the above case.
  • Identify any two values which are overlooked by Tarasha.
  • Explain any two benefits and limitations of e-business.

Advantages of case study questions in Business Studies

Class 11 Business Studies syllabus is not very vast but has to be focussed upon as it forms the base for your 12th grade Business Studies syllabus. Students are supposed to prepare themselves thoroughly from the NCERT textbook. The Case-based questions prominently focus on the real and current scenarios of the Business world. Approximately 30% of the question paper will comprise case study questions that demand high-order thinking and reasoning skills from the students. The students ought to practice class 11 Business Studies case-based questions from the various options available to them, so as to excel in the subject.

  • Enhance the qualitative and quantitative analysis skills of students
  • Provides an in-depth understanding of the key Business theories/concepts
  • Inculcate intellectual capabilities in students
  • Help students retain knowledge for a longer period of time
  • The questions would help to discard the concept of rote learning
  • Case studies promote and strengthen practical learning.

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Case Studies in Business Essentials: Business Development with Anna Chase (GSAS & Postdocs)

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The Yale Office of Career Strategy is hosting its Case Studies in Business Essentials series, consisting of five sessions held both in person and via Zoom through February 23 to April 11. This program enhances your professional toolkit by introducing core business functions across academia, non-profits, and the private sector. Industry experts will present case studies around a recent business challenge to offer insights into their approach to strategic problem-solving and decision-making.

Join us for a case-study workshop on business development! In this workshop, you will learn about: 1. How to expand a business, seizing new opportunities, and nurturing relationships with existing clients. 2. Learn how to strategically enter into partnerships 3. Career opportunities in business development Don’t miss this networking opportunity with our speaker Anna Chase (Head of Business Development, Profluent Bio)

Anna Chase, PhD Anna is a 2017 graduate of the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B) program in the GSAS. After graduating, she was a fellow at M Ventures, Merck KGaA’s venture fund, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Duke-NUS in Singapore and Atlantic Labs in Berlin. She then co-founded Rubik Therapeutics, a Boston-based oncology therapeutics company. She is currently the Head of Business Development at Profluent Bio, a Series A biotech utilizing generative AI to design bespoke proteins, where she has been responsible for establishing Profluent’s partnering activities.

Tags: Career Preparation Workshops , Career Development Leaders Program (CDLP) , Exploring Careers , Humanities and Social Sciences PhD Pathways , STEM PhD Pathways

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Home » Guidance » Protecting Family Assets and Future Generations with Proactive Estate Planning

Protecting Family Assets and Future Generations with Proactive Estate Planning

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Company Background

A family-owned, closely held real estate LLC valued at $50-70 million sought out Cherry Bekaert for estate planning guidance to ensure the business remained in the family. Despite only one child being actively involved the business, located in Greenville, South Carolina, they wanted both children to maintain equal ownership for the sake of future generations.

Additionally, the sunsetting of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2025 caused concern for the family and the future of their business, as it could lead to changes in the gift and estate tax exclusion. Utilization of the lifetime exclusion was important for the family to help protect investments without materially impacting lifestyle.

The family reached out to Cherry Bekaert’s Estate & Trust Tax Planning team for assistance with estate planning, and for guidance surrounding the implications of the TCJA anticipated sunset and its current lifetime exclusion. By first analyzing the family’s short-term and long-term goals, the team recommended the Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) as a strategy to utilize lifetime exclusions while maintaining control over the transferred assets.

The SLAT is an irrevocable trust created by one spouse for the benefit of the other spouse and future generations utilizing their lifetime exclusion. The SLAT is funded by ownership interests in the family business. The other spouse can utilize part of their exclusion by gifting certain assets to a trust solely for the children and to another SLAT for the spouse and children.

The SLAT structure provided significant advantages, including valuation discounts, income tax benefits and asset protection.

Cherry Bekaert’s Estate & Trust Tax Planning team developed a strategy to bolster the real estate LLC with significant asset protection for current and future generations through identifying which assets to include in the trust and assisting with designing a trust and partnership structure to hold these assets. The restructuring of the trust will last for many generations in perpetuity and safeguard it from creditors, divorce and estate taxes. Subsequently, because the trust income is not taxed at the trust level, its value will grow each year. The client also found comfort in knowing that trustees can make discretionary distributions if additional income is needed. However, future investments can be made by the trust, rather than directly by individuals, to prevent future appreciation of the family members’ estates.

Cherry Bekaert’s Estate & Trust Tax Planning team’s strategy ensured the real estate LLC remained intact for future generations and provided the company with significant benefits, including asset protection, valuation discounts and income tax benefits. In collaboration with Cherry Bekaert’s Valuation team, they also provided the client with real estate and business entity appraisals, including valuation discounts on partnership interests that enabled the family to shield transferred assets from gift tax without having to fully utilize the lifetime exclusion.

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Video Case Studies: PayPal helps improve the customer experience for Southwest Airlines

PayPal Editorial Staff

February 16, 2024

Together with PayPal, Southwest Airlines explores forward thinking solutions to further enhance their customer experience.

Southwest Airlines is the world's largest low-cost carrier, operating non-stop flights to more than 120 destinations across over 10 countries. With PayPal, Southwest customers can purchase airline tickets at southwest.com seamlessly and securely. PayPal and Southwest continue to expand their relationship to provide efficiency and an even better customer experience.

We spoke with Chris Priebe, Managing Director of Payments and Risk at Southwest Airlines to discuss how PayPal and Southwest continue to collaborate and innovate the future of payments.

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Southwest Airlines Case Study (PDF)

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  26. Case Studies in Business Essentials: Business Development with Anna

    The Yale Office of Career Strategy is hosting its Case Studies in Business Essentials series, consisting of five sessions held both in person and via Zoom through February 23 to April 11. This program enhances your professional toolkit by introducing core business functions across academia, non-profits, and the private sector.

  27. Estate Planning Case Study for Real Estate Business : Cherry Bekaert

    A family-owned, closely held real estate LLC valued at $50-70 million sought out Cherry Bekaert for estate planning guidance to ensure the business remained in the family. Despite only one child being actively involved the business, located in Greenville, South Carolina, they wanted both children to maintain equal ownership for the sake of ...

  28. Case Study: Southwest Airlines Video

    Southwest Airlines is the world's largest low-cost carrier, operating non-stop flights to more than 120 destinations across over 10 countries. With PayPal, Southwest customers can purchase airline tickets at southwest.com seamlessly and securely. PayPal and Southwest continue to expand their relationship to provide efficiency and an even better customer experience.