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Paula Hendricks, Director of Marketing for Rapid Reel Lawn Master Company (RRLMC), tasked with developing a plan to exploit the current trend in lawn mower purchasing patterns must craft a strategic proposal for the executive planning committee. RRLMC, a manufacturer of reel mowers, experienced an increase in sales due to a confluence of factors: high gasoline prices, increased concern with the environment, the trend toward smaller yards and a focus on health and exercise. Paula needed to develop a plan for the company to sustain the bonanza and determine whether this trend offered new opportunities for marketing.

The data for the case were collected through examination of a major reel lawn mower manufacturer in the USA, through experience teaching and using the market segmentation process, as well as personal interviews and secondary research on the history of firms within the industry. The results of a literature review have been incorporated to flesh out the discussion.

This case is targeted primarily at undergraduate students in upper-level marketing classes, e.g., Relationship Marketing, Marketing Management and Strategic Marketing. Additionally, it can be used in management classes (e.g. Strategic Management) where industry segmentation is discussed. It would also benefit introductory MBA marketing courses as this case directs students’ attention to the role of products’ perceived benefits and how markets may be segmented in order to assess and select prime segments of the market for targeting.

Debates why and how some practices become universal – taking as a case in point closed‐chest massage (CCCM). Points out that CCCM was recognized in 1960 and its use generated heated debates, which altered the technique and reshuffled existing infrastructures. Claims that debates act as a catalyst for university. Investigates the emergence of CCCM, the debate on the merits (or otherwise) of closed versus open‐chested cardiac massage, and who could use the method of CCCM. Indicates that CCCM only became universally practised when it was incorporated into the infrastructure for dealing with emergency cases, and thus became taken for granted.