WHAT DO OUTSTANDING MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND FINANCE EXECUTIVES DO TOGETHER?

One answer to this question is that they work for Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW). Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, BWW is a fast-growing owner, operator, and franchisor of restaurants featuring Buffalo- and New York-style chicken wings and more. The menu offers 21 signature sauces and seasonings with flavor sensations ranging from Sweet BBQ to Blazin'. Each res- taurant features an extensive multimedia system for watching favorite sporting events. The company has received hundreds of "Best Wings" and "Best Sports Bar" awards from across the country. There are currently more than 1,100 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Management, marketing, and finance executives at BWW recently celebrated the college foot- ball bowl season by sponsoring the inaugural BWW Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day. The com- pany launched the "Million Dollar Bowl Pick 'Em Challenge," whereby from December 8 through December 19, guests can visit the GameBreak gaming platform in BWW restaurants and, on their mobile devices or desktop, pick the winners of all 39 college football bowl games. If a guest picks all games correctly, he or she will win $1,000,000, and if there is no million-dollar winner, the player with the most correct picks will win $10,000. Also, as a promotion, customers can access the GameBreak app and play a game called "Gametime Pick 'Em." This game asks fans to predict the winner of any bowl game yet to be played for a chance to win B-Dubs prize packs, which include a $125 BWW gift card and additional Dr Pepper merchandise.

During the recent BWW Citrus Bowl, when the Missouri Tigers played the Minnesota Golden Gophers, thousands of fans made their local Buffalo Wild Wings their headquarters to "tablegate" and enjoy the game with flavorful wings, cold beverages, and an all-day, in-restaurant GameBreak Live competition. Guests competed to score the most points on GameBreak Liveearning triple points during the BWW Citrus Bowl (1 pm to 4 pm ET). The guest earning the most points that day won a grand prize trip for four to the 2016 BWW Citrus Bowl, while those who came in 2nd through 75th received a $50 BWW gift card.

Buffalo Wild Wings had significant brand presence during the gamefor example, 100 kids from the local Orlando Boys and Girls Clubs received tickets to the game to be a part of the action. Between quarters during the game, BWW presented its annual contribution to their charitable partner, the Boys and Girls Club of America. Buffalo Wild Wings President and CEO, Sally Smith, presented the win- ning team with the newly designed BWW Citrus Bowl trophy.

Questions

1. From a management perspective, do you think the college football expenditures by BWW are warranted? Why?
2. From a marketing perspective, do you think the college football expenditures by BWW are warranted? Why?
3. From a finance perspective, do you think the college football expenditures by BWW are warranted? Why?
4. Management, marketing, and finance executives do not always agree, so how could differences in opinion be resolved?
5. As BWW spends more on advertising, does its breakeven point go up or down? Illustrate.
6. How does BWW's approach to marketing compare to recent trends regarding how to best spend advertising dollars?