Fall 2009
MKTG 860 Strategic Marketing
College of Business, San Francisco State University
Instructor: / Sanjit SenguptaDTC Office: / 835 Market Street, #572
Office hours: / Wednesday 11:45-14:00 Thursday 16:45 – 18:30 PM, or by appointment
Telephone: / 415 817-4366
Email: /
Instructor web page: /
Course web page: /
Class Meetings: / Wednesday 14:00 – 16:45 PM DTC 556
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Strategic marketing is concerned with the development, implementation and evaluation of marketing plans for product-markets. The focus in this course is on strategic decisions, decisions which have a long-term impact on the organization and which are difficult and costly to reverse. The specific learning objectives of this course are:
1. To understand marketing terms, principles, and frameworks as the basis for marketing planning and implementation.
2. To practice analytical decision-making in marketing.
3. To know the process of researching and writing a marketing plan for an organization.
4. To develop oral and written communication skills and teamwork skills.
COURSE MATERIALS
A Framework for Marketing Management, 4/e, by Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller. Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-602660-5.
Marketing Plan Outline, McGraw-Hill Irwin, downloaded from
The four cases need to be purchased from the Harvard Business School Publishing website using a credit card. Click on the “Sign In” link at the top of the page. Register as a new customer if you have never done that before or sign in as a returning customer. After signing in access my course by clickinghere. The course title is, Strategic Marketing Fall 2009.
Four articles from Business Week and 4 articles from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Hot links to these will be provided in iLearn through the library’s electronic database. If you have never used the SFSU Library electronic databases, you will need to go to the library website and click on Library Account / PIN under Quick Links and apply for a PIN number.
PowerPoint overheads on the Kotler chapters available from iLearn.
COURSE FORMAT
Participants are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. You are encouraged to raise issues in class unresolved from the readings. Lectures will highlight and clarify important principles from the readings. Class discussion will revolve around the application of principles to real-world business problems. The emphasis in these discussions will be on multi-way interaction. You should feel free to comment on anything the instructor or colleagues say. The spirit of all discussion should be constructive, to foster learning.
GRADING POLICIES
Course grades will be based on evaluation in six assignments with the following weights.
15%Three individual case write-ups, 5% each
15%Three group case presentations, 5% each
10%Group Oral Presentation of Marketing Plan
30%Group Written Marketing Plan
15%Attendance and in-class participation
15%Final Exam
- Individual case write-ups need to be submitted for the McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble SK-II, Red For Women, and IDEO cases. Each write-up should include problem definition (from the point of view of the protagonist), analyses (strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions) and recommendations within a one-page memo. Think of yourself as a staff member or consultant advising the protagonist when you write the memo. These should be uploaded in iLearn before class on the scheduled date. Out of the four memos, only the best three will be counted for your grade. On the day the case is scheduled, you will be assigned to a small group and given a specific question. The group will discuss the question, formulate an answer and make a presentation to the rest of the class. If you are new to the case method of learning, please read the note carefully on the last page of this syllabus.
- Participants should form groups of 5-6 individuals and each group should select a product-market for an existing organization. Then develop a marketing plan from scratch for this product-market. Select an organization that is interested in your output. This gives it a stake in cooperating in your data collection efforts, making your task easier. Start your search early for a good client and motivated team members. You will need to collect both secondary and primary data for this project. Every member of the group must participate in writing and presenting a part of the plan. The oral presentation and written plan should be pitched to a higher level of management for approval. The oral presentation should summarize and highlight the key aspects of the written plan. Any secondary data used in the plan should be properly cited in footnotes.
- Your punctual attendance and participation during class meetings is vital to the success of the class. In fact, if you anticipate missing more than two classes for whatever reason, you should not register for this course. The ability to think on your feet and make creative contributions to business meetings is a skill worth developing. Therefore, a considerable portion of the course grade is assigned to in-class participation. You may be asked to respond to instructor queries on assigned readings, raise issues relevant to the material being discussed, or provide new insights based on your experience. Quality rather than quantity of contribution is important. Each week you can earn 1 point for attendance and 1 point for saying something meaningful in class.
- There will be a discussion forum in iLearn, where you can apply marketing concepts and frameworks to companies, products and services that may or may not have been covered in class. Feel free to post questions, comments or web links related to marketing topics in the course, and reply to each other’s messages. I will also join in these discussions periodically. Each week you can earn 1 point for posting a message of your own (be explicit on how this relates to the course material) or replying to someone else’s message. In order to get weekly credit for an online contribution, your messages must be posted by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, the day of the class.
- The final exam will be a closed-book in-class test of knowledge and application of strategic marketing principles in short essay format.
A weighted aggregate score will be computed across the above five evaluations. Aggregate scores will earn course grades according to the following cut-offs.
95 - 100% / 4.0 / A90 - 94% / 3.7 / A-
86 - 89% / 3.3 / B+
83 - 85% / 3.0 / B
80 - 82% / 2.7 / B-
76 - 79% / 2.3 / C+
73 - 75% / 2.0 / C
70 - 72% / 1.7 / C-
66 - 69% / 1.3 / D+
63 - 65% / 1.0 / D
60 - 62% / 0.7 / D-
less than 60% / 0.0 / F
If at any time during the semester you wish to discuss your performance or any other issues, please feel free to contact me!
COURSE POLICIES
Reading material assigned according to the schedule should be read BEFORE the class.
Material submitted in written form is expected to be an effective business communication. Poor grammar, spelling, punctuation and appearance detract from the effectiveness of your message and will be graded accordingly.
Late assignments will be penalized with lower grades.
Evidence of academic dishonesty is taken very seriously by your instructor and will be severely dealt with.
Classroom behavior must be conducive to learning.
The last day to drop the class is September 11.
Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact the instructor. The Disability Programs and Resource Center is available to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process.
SCHEDULE
8/26 / Introductions
Defining Marketing for the Twenty-First Century / Kotler Ch 1
Marketers Target Men’s Hair as Promising Frontier / WSJ 12/1/08
9/2 / Developing and Implementing Marketing Strategies and Plans / Kotler Ch 2,
Why Business Plans Don’t Deliver / WSJ 6/22/09
9/9 / Understanding Markets, Market Demand, and the Marketing Environment / Kotler Ch 3
Creating Customer Value, Satisfaction, and Loyalty / Kotler Ch4
Case:McDonald’s / HBSP
9/16 / Analyzing Consumer Markets / Kotler Ch 5
Food Firms Cook Up Ways to Combat Rare Sales Slump / WSJ 4/21/09
9/23 / Analyzing Business Markets / Kotler Ch 6,
To Sell Online Software, Firms Must Employ Old-School Tactics
/ WSJ 8/26/089/30 / Identifying Market Segments and Targets / Kotler Ch 7
Case: P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project / HBSP
10/7 / Creating Brand Equity / Kotler Ch 8
Blowing Up Pepsi / BW 4/16/09
10/14 / Creating the Brand Positioning and Dealing with Competition / Kotler Ch 9
Setting Product Strategy and Marketing Through the Life Cycle / Kotler Ch 10
Case: Go Red For Women: Raising Heart Health Awareness / HBSP
10/21 / Designing and Managing Services / Kotler Ch 11
Developing Pricing Strategies and Programs / Kotler Ch 12
Case: Phase Zero: Introducing New Services at IDEO / HBSP
10/28 / Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Channels / Kotler Ch 13
Managing Retailing, Wholesaling and Logistics / Kotler Ch 14
Starbucks: Howard Schultz vs. Howatd Schultz / BW 8/6/09
11/4 / Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications / Kotler Ch 15
Managing Mass Communications / Kotler Ch 16
Giving Products a Good Backstory / BW 5/14/09
11/11 / Veteran’s Day: No Class
SCHEDULE (Continued)
Date / Topic / Reading11/18 / Managing Personal Communications / Kotler Ch 17
Managing Marketing in the Global Economy / Kotler Ch 18
GM: Marketing in the Time of Bankruptcy / BW 6/4/09
11/25 / Thanksgiving Recess: No class
12/2 / Project Work
12/9 / Marketing Plan Reports & Presentations Due
12/16 / Final Exam
Introduction to the Case Method[1]
The case method of instruction has been used successfully to train students and managers since the early part of the last century. The goal is to develop an ability to reason effectively when dealing with specific problems. Appropriate use of theory and acquisition of procedural skills are also important goals. You may be familiar with case method of learning from earlier classes but it might be worth our time to emphasize some important aspects. The two main components of the case method of instruction are the case and the students.
The Case
A case is a written account of an actual situation that raises problems that the protagonist (usually a manager) in the situation must solve. The case contains background information on the objective of the activity, its size and location, and the people and institutions involved. Within this context, the case relates a series of events and issues that confront the protagonist. The problem may not be defined clearly. An important part of a general management education is to develop an ability to determine what the problem is as well as the best course of action for its solution.
The aim of a case is to present facts that were known or available to the case protagonist and which formed the basis for his or her analysis and decision. The decision is typically not described in the case; rather the development of decisive courses of action is left to the student. If a decision is indicated in the case, the discussion often focuses upon an analysis of the validity of the decision.
A case may be only one or two pages in length, or it may run to 20 pages or more. It
may contain organization charts, excerpts from surveys, statistical analyses, and other
supplementary data. In relating events leading to the administrative difficulties, the case may
impart substantive information about techniques, procedures, systems, organization structure,
environmental conditions and other facts. Since a case is an account of an actual experience and
since all experiences are unique, at least in terms of some of their details, it is important that the
case be concerned with major issues that underlie executive action, such as strategic planning,
product line management or product development.
The Students
A case is read by students prior to its discussion in class. The facts of the case are
appraised in the discussion. Participants in the discussion not only suggest the course of action
they would recommend but defend their analysis and course of action. Although the
discussion of many cases may lead to a decision accepted by a majority of the class members,
the discussion is not necessarily intended to culminate in any one approved solution; there is no
one correct answer.
In preparing the case, the student does more than analyze the specific problem involved.
Typically, the student will relate the case problem to problems he has encountered in his or her
own experience. The student's view of the case may be prejudiced by their experience. Thus, in
the discussion, the individual participant may find that the opinions of other members in the
class differ sharply from their own. An individual may learn, through the comments of others,
that she has overlooked certain salient points. Another may find that he has weighed one factor
more heavily than other members have. This interaction of presenting and defending
conflicting points of view causes individual members to reconsider the views they had of the case before the discussion commenced.It leads to a clearer perception of the problems, a recognition of the many and often conflicting interpretations of facts and events, and a greater awareness of the complexities within which management decisions are reached.
1
[1]Bernhardt, Kenneth L. and Thomas C. Kinnear (1991), Cases In Marketing Management, 5th edition, Boston, MA:
Irwin. Adapted from writings by Schrieber, Hunt, McNair, Newman, Planty, Smithet al.