Case Brief:

Yorktown technologies - Glofish

25 March 2014

Marketing 495: Strategic Marketing Problems

Professor Dr. Jean Johnson

1. Problem Statement:
Alan Blake and Richard Crockett founded Yorktown Technologies in November 2001. The company was formed around the concept of producing ornamental fish that had glowed fluorescence color throughout their bodies. Dr. Pruchansky had previously developed the genetic modification that was needed to produce these fluorescent fish. Because of this development, Blake and Crockett were not able to patent this idea therefore they changed their business strategy from development to one of licensing to use existing technology in hopes of packaging and reselling.
Although Dr. Pruchansky gave Blake and Crockett a good faith agreement to license his patents for the genetically altered fish, he later withdrew from this agreement and decided to pursue actions that would make it difficult for Yorktown Technologies to be successful. Dr. Pruchansky worked tirelessly to convince regulators that Yorktown Technologies’ products were a threat to the environment. It is believed that Dr. Pruchansky’s motives for making these statements were questionable because he insisted his own fluorescent fish were unequivocally safe. In the end, Yorktown Technologies was able to obtain rights from the National University of Singapore to market the fluorescent zebra fish.
The marketing environment faced by Yorktown Technologies is that difficult because they cannot seem to get a successful distribution strategy. The controversy and political stigma surrounding GloFish may hinder marketing and distribution strategies. Environmental groups are concerned with the safety of genetically altered fish and the impact they would have on the native species and on the political side banning the possession and transportation of genetically