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Report

Smart City

Essentials for City Leaders

By Michael R. Wade, Michel Peter Pfäffli, Raphaël Rollier, Blaise Vonlanthen, Remy Assir and Andrew Tarling

23 pages

October 2016

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This report is part of a series

Smart City: Essentials for city leaders
What is a Smart City anyways?

This report is part of a series

Smart City: Essentials for city leaders
What is a Smart City anyways?

What is a Smart City anyways?

By Michael R. Wade and Michel Peter Pfäffli

Summary

The term “Smart City” has lately become a buzzword for anyone involved in governing a city, yet it remains opaque and relatively ill-defined. Curre...

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The power of brand-led differentiation: What Vanzetti Engineering learned from luxury brands (A)

By Stéphane J. G. Girod and Martin Králik
Case reference: IMD-2688 ©2025

Summary

Survey after survey shows that executives think their business is in danger of being commoditized. This means their company is not able to differentiate sufficiently to command higher market prices and profits. Luxury brands, by contrast, are the opposite of commodity. Their whole approach to branding is based on desirability. This case series explores what companies can learn from luxury brands without becoming luxury brands themselves. The written A case gives a short background on Vanzetti Engineering, which is facing intensifying competition in an evolving marketplace, and launches the first question for discussion.

Reference IMD-2688

Organization Vanzetti Engineering

Industry Construction and Engineering;Manufacturing

Available Languages English

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