FROGBOX Case
Lauren sighed. Although she was excited about the idea of moving to a new city after graduating from her MBA – her new job was going to be amazing – she also was dreading the move. When she had last moved as a student, she didn`t have as much “stuff” as she would need to take care of now. Just thinking about where she was going to find all the boxes that she would need made her feel tired. As a student, she also was on a very tight budget last time, and picked up boxes at the grocery and liquor stores. It was cheap but it only worked out because she didn’t have that much to move and it wasn’t that heavy. She wondered if she could afford to purchase ready-made boxes this time. Her older and more financially secure sister and brother-in law had done that last time they moved, but Lauren wasn’t sure she could swing it. New boxes could run as high as $3.00 for each 3-cubic foot box. Certainly she wasn’t going to be able to move like her new boss who just hired a moving company to bring the boxes, pack everything and drive it all to his new address. One of her friends, Julie, who also would be heading off to a new job, was excited about a company she had seen on Dragon’s Den, the Canadian reality business TV show.1 Named FROGBOX, it was created in 2008 as an environmentally friendly moving solution. Instead of having to use cardboard boxes, FROGBOX would supply high-density polyethylene plastic boxes that they would deliver to your current address and pick up from your new place after you had moved. The FROGBOX pitch to the Dragon entrepreneurs was successful and they ended up attracting investment as well as favorable press. After Julie mentioned her interest in using FROGBOX for her own move, Lauren recalled that she had seen their distinctive green trucks with the frog mascot at a summer food truck festival. They didn’t sell food, of course, but they certainly attracted a lot of attention! Julie said you also often noticed them parked at shopping malls and other places around the city, just to get the word out.

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!For!those!of!you!who!are!unfamiliar!with!this!popular!Canadian!business!reality!show,!please!check!out!the! Wikipedia!link!at:!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons'_Den_(Canada).!

Doug Burgoyne, the founder of FROGBOX, knew from his own experience that cardboard boxes were far from optimal. It could be very expensive to purchase new boxes, and you ended up with the problem of putting them together with packing tape and then having to break them down after you had moved. If you didn’t have a readily accessible recycling program, you could end up with boxes stored in your garage or basement until you decided how to handle them. You also ended up with all of that paper dust from the cardboard to clean up. And that was the best case scenario! If you decided to go the cheapest route and collect boxes from grocery stores and liquor outlets, you would end up with a range of different sized boxes that could not be easily stacked. They also might not be strong enough to handle the weight of their contents. Even worse, you might end up with boxes that contained mold, bed-bugs or other contaminants. From an environmental point of view, even though cardboard boxes could be recycled, the process took both energy and water. Furthermore, when the fibres broke down to the point where they could no longer be incorporated in new products, the residue of inks and other coatings would end up in landfills. In contrast, FROGBOXes can be used hundreds of times and they are sanitized before they are delivered. When they eventually need to be retired from use, the plastic material is recyclable. Consequently, the use of FROGBOXes has a much smaller negative environmental impact. FROGBOX’s business philosophy is one of sustainable prosperity. They believe that they can do what is right for the environment and still be a successful business.

How does it work? You decide how many boxes you are going to need, how long you will want them, and contact FROGBOX by phone or online. They deliver the boxes to your current address. You pack them and stack them for the movers or to transport them yourself. The FROGBOX system uses stackable hard plastic boxes with fold-down lids. They are industrial strength and measure 24” x 20” x 12” or 2.4 cubic feet. FROGBOXes are sturdy and protect your valuables from a box potentially collapsing and from moisture if you get rain or snow on your moving day. They also can supply wardrobes for moving your clothes – just move clothes from the rack in your closet to the rack in the FROGBOX. No folding, no fuss, and no wrinkles to sort out later! You also can purchase recycled packing paper – far better than newspaper because it is clean and free of ink. If you choose, you can ask for a dolly to help you move more than one box at a time. Lauren thought the FROGBOX alternative sounded great and she did some more research. She took a look at the FROGBOX website (www.FROGBOX.com) and could see right away that the boxes were easily stacked both empty and filled. The flaps at the top of the box lift up and fold down along the sides for easy stacking when they are empty and first delivered to you. Once you have filled your box, you just flip up the flaps and you are ready to go. She also found out how easy it was to assemble the flaps for the wardrobe box. No packing tape required!

Here’s what the FROGBOX products look like (from left to right; two filled FROGBOXes on a dolly, a stack of FROGBOXes waiting to be filled, and a wardrobe box for moving your clothing on hangers):

They really can hold a lot! Even heavy items! In the close-up view, you also can see the ergonomic handles that make the boxes easy to lift and carry.

Finally, Lauren was really impressed to learn about FROGBOX’s commitment to the environment. They have optimized their delivery routes to ensure that they spend as little time driving around as possible and they use a bio-diesel fuel for their trucks. She also found out that their quirky name and the tropical frog mascot weren’t just differentiating tools to make their green boxes and their company

motto of “from one pad to another” more memorable. They actually donate 1% of their sales revenue to frog habitat restoration. Looking into FROGBOX further, Lauren also saw that there were several positive testimonials on their website. For example, Tim from Vancouver wrote, “FROGBOX is a simple service, well-executed. You need boxes? They got boxes: big, solid (but lightweight), plastic affairs. They'll drop them off at your old pad, you pack and move them, and then they swing by the new place to take 'em back. They'll make drops on the weekend and at convenient weekday hours. The drivers are friendly and efficient, and can show up on pretty short notice.” Julie from Seattle: “This is definitely the way to go if you're moving--no buying or scavenging boxes, no schlepping them to your home, taping them together and then cutting them apart and schlepping them to recycling.” Betty from Toronto: “Professional, easy to deal with. They helped to make my move more organized. What sold me was their wardrobe boxes. I didn't have to pack any of my clothes, I just hung them up and moved them from one closet to my new closet. Wonderful!” In fact, there were 21 pages of reviews. FROGBOX also had posted articles from local and national newspapers, as well as business-oriented publications such as Profit and Entrepreneur. The company readily acknowledges that they rely heavily on providing excellent customer service and reaping the rewards of positive wordof-mouth. After customers have moved, they are in touch to thank them for their business and to ask them to submit a review if they would like to tell others about their experience. Posting online rather than using print communication also keeps their carbon footprint low. In addition, they also have developed valuable networking and recommendation relationships with other companies that are involved in the moving business, such real estate agents, movers and junk removal firms. FROGBOX is always encouraging people to make referrals to colleagues, friends and relatives. Lauren saw that it would be $159 to rent a 2-bedroom bundle package deal of 35 FROGBOXes for a week and that she could get wardrobes for $5 each per week. There also was a $30 flat rate for delivery. Because she did have a lot of home office items to move, it would be better to go with the 2-bedroom bundle and she

thought that she probably needed about 3 wardrobe boxes. She made her request online and received a very speedy reply in response to her preferred move dates. FROGBOX confirmed the day before and showed up right on time – not like the usual delivery service that expected you to wait around during a 4-hour window. It was so simple to fill up the boxes, fold down the flaps and stack them up for the movers. Despite her limited budget, Lauren felt that she had to hire movers. Unlike past moves, she was taking furniture, so didn’t think that she could just rely on some friends with a truck like she had with previous moves. She also found that some of the filled FROGBOXes were far too heavy for her to easily lift, especially if they contained books or CDs and DVDs. The movers had provided her with an estimate and she hoped that it wouldn’t run over that cost. On moving day, everything went so smoothly that she was in her new apartment two hours ahead of time. The movers were really impressed with the ergonomic handles of the FROGBOXes and they stacked perfectly in the truck. Things came out of the truck just as quickly as they went in; Lauren was pleasantly surprised that her bill actually came to $325 less than was estimated – just because everything went so quickly! That meant she had saved more on her move than the FROGBOXes cost her – an occurrence that FROGBOX customers often experience. The next few days were very busy with unpacking and deciding where things should go. The closets in her new place were a bit smaller than she had been used to having, so she decided to spend some of her surplus on some closet organizers. This meant that it was going to be difficult to get the boxes all unpacked within the one-week rental time frame. She was a bit worried that she would have to pay for another week’s rental but when she called FROGBOX about the problem, they said that they were going to be right in her area two days later and that they would be happy to combine her pickup with another person’s, at no extra charge. They didn’t need her boxes for anyone else and always liked to combine trips when they could both to reduce their own costs and their carbon footprint. Lauren was more than satisfied with her experience and assured the FROGBOX representative that she would be happy to submit a review; she also would tell anyone planning a move that FROGBOX was the way to go. The only thing she

would change, she told them, was that she wished they had smaller boxes for the heavy things. Even though she had only used scrounged grocery and liquor store boxes before, at least you could find smaller ones for your books. If FROGBOX could produce boxes that were exactly half the size of their standard container, they still could be easily stacked and they would be much easier for people who planned to move their items themselves.

Questions 1) What has the FROGBOX company done to demonstrate their positive vision concerning their use of resources and attitude toward nature? (20 marks) Note that points that you bring up for this answer should not reappear in Q2. 2) Evaluate the relative advantage/disadvantage to the consumer of the FROGBOX moving system compared with purchased or grocery/liquor store cardboard boxes. (35 marks) 3) How has FROGBOX taken advantage of information and identification/comparative reference group influence to influence consumers? (35 marks) You should group your answer under two headings to describe each type of influence. If there is an example that you believe could fit under both information influence and identification influence, you should put it under the identification influence heading. 4) How has Laura’s age and income, relative to other people mentioned in the case, affected how she has utilized moving services (both past and present)? (10 marks) Case Instructions This assignment is to be done on an individual basis without discussion among your classmates. If you need clarification, you should direct your questions to me. You can use any combination of sentences and bullet points that you find useful. You do not need to provide standard introductions and conclusions but only need to answer the questions as posed. You also do not need to provide any kind of reference list or citation for your PPT notes. Rely only on the information that is provided in the case. You may know something about FROGBOX already or you may have even used them, but you will not receive bonus marks for discussing material that does not appear in the case. You are restricted to three single-spaced pages in twelve-point font with one-inch margins but should not need to use that much space. You will be allowed to go

over your limit by ¼ page without penalty. After that point, extra material will not be read and marked. Please double-space between each question clearly identifying where your answer for one question ends and the next begins. Finally, identify the case and provide your ID number at the top of your first page. Please DO NOT include a cover sheet and DO NOT put your name on the assignment. Your assignment should be submitted to turnitin.com by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday Oct 9. Late submissions will receive a 20% per day deduction. You do not need to hand in any hard copy. You will need the Class ID (8748787) and the password (Hupfer) to get set up in Turnitin.com. If you are unfamiliar with the program, you can find out more about how to get set up at http://www.turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training. Some of you may have already set up profiles for previous courses under a group name or number. Please use your student ID# to set up your profile for this course. Getting a Good Mark The best way to do well on this assignment is to find as much evidence as you can to support your answer. Simply picking out a piece or two of evidence and elaborating around it will not earn you a good mark. I do not expect you to find every point that applies to each question but I do expect you to identify most of the relevant facts to support your answer. Be very precise and concise. Look at the mark allocation for each question to get an idea of how much I am expecting to see you write for each question. For example, the question concerning reference group influence is worth 35 marks and so should take up about 35% of your three-page allocation. To get an idea of the kinds of answers I am expecting to see, look at the Prams case and answer key that I have posted on Avenue. This was a shorter case in a year when I had three short cases rather than two longer ones, but it will help you to see the kinds of answers that I am looking for. They should be very specific and include as much evidence as possible.