University of Southern California
Marshall School of Business
MKT 445: New Product Development and Branding
Syllabus: Spring 2012
Professor Matthew Selove
Office: BRI 204F
Office Phone: 213-740-6948
E-mail: selove@marshall.usc.edu
Class Times and Locations:
Tue., Thurs. 12:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Tue., Thurs. 4:00 PM - 5:50 PM
Tue., Thurs. 6:00 PM - 7:50 PM
HOH 421
ACC 236
HOH 304
(Section 16490R)
(Section 16492R)
(Section 16493R)
Office Hours:
Immediately after class
(or by appointment)
Overview
This course addresses two of the most important problems companies face: how to develop
successful new products, and how to build and sustain brands. It will be useful to students
interested in a wide range of careers, including marketing research managers, product
managers, entrepreneurs, and consultants.
The first part of the course, on new product tactics, will cover interview techniques for
understanding customers’ needs, quantitative market research methods for measuring customer
preferences, and ways of predicting how successful a product will be if it is launched.
The second part, on new product strategy, will focus on analyzing a company’s unique
resources to decide which types of products it should develop. We will also address how to
develop new resources, and how to respond to products developed by innovative new
competitors.
The third part, on branding, will study how to build and sustain brands, when to extend an
existing brand to cover a new product, and when to launch an entirely new brand.
Prerequisite: BUAD 307 - Marketing Fundamentals
Required Text: Course Reader
Laptops and Cell phones
Please keep your laptops closed and cell phones silenced during class. The only exception is
that the messenger bag game will require at least one team member to bring a laptop to class.
Grading
25%
25%
40%
10%
Midterm exam 1
Midterm exam 2
Final team project
Class participation
An individual one-page write-up is due prior to each case discussion (you choose 5 out of the 6
cases to write up). The quality of these write-ups will be used as a tie-breaker for students who
are on the border between two grades.
Midterm Exams
There will be two midterm exams. The exam questions will be based on material from the
lectures and cases. I will hold an in-class review before each midterm, and I will also provide
you with more information about each midterm a couple of weeks before the date it is
scheduled.
Case Discussions
There are six case discussions. For each case, the class schedule (see below) lists questions
you should think about as you read the case.
For 5 out of the 6 cases (of your choice), you should then submit a one-page write-up (double
spaced) answering these questions on Blackboard prior to the start of class. The purpose of
these write-ups is to make sure that everyone is well-prepared, so that we can have a
productive discussion. These write-ups will also be used as a grading tie-breaker.
Final Team Projects
You should join a team of between 3 and 5 people who are all in the same section. (Teams of 6
are not allowed.)
Project deadlines:
April 3: One-paragraph project proposals are due by e-mail.
April 19 and 24: In-class project presentations (15-minutes per team) will take place.
April 26: Presentation write-ups are due at the start of class. Please e-mail me a copy and also
bring a hard copy to class. The write-up should be 6 to 8 pages (double-spaced) and should
cite any sources of information used as the basis of your report, such as books, newspaper
articles, web pages, and personal interviews.
Team Project Topic: New Product Proposal
1. Choose a company (not one from the class case discussions).
2. Provide a brief overview of the company: when it was founded; recent revenues and
profits; key products; types of customers it serves.
3. Describe at least 3 important resources the company has: What makes each resource
valuable? What makes it difficult to imitate?
4. Choose at least one key competitor and describe how its resources are different than
those of the focal company.
5. Based on this analysis of resources, come up with an idea for a new product the
company could launch. This product can be new to the world, new to the firm, or an
extension or improvement of an existing product line.
6. Describe market research that you would conduct before launching the product. Discuss
how you would use at least one qualitative method (e.g. interviews, ZMET) and at least
one quantitative method (e.g., surveys, perceptual mapping, conjoint analysis,
ASSESSOR).
7. Describe how the results of your market research might change your plans for the new
product. In what cases would the results cause you to abandon the product idea? How
might you change product features in response to the market research?
Team Management:
An important goal of the team project is to give you experience working in groups. All members
of a team will receive the same grade for the project; however, it is important for everyone to
contribute and be a reliable teammate. If a particular teammate is not meeting expectations,
then you should first address that person directly, and ask him/her to take the project more
seriously. If this does not work, then you may let me know. In extreme cases, I will allow a team
to remove a teammate, or I may reduce the project grade of someone who is not contributing.
Class Schedule
Introduction
Tue. 1/10
Course Overview
Part 1. New Product Tactics
Thurs. 1/12
Understanding Customer Needs
Tue.
1/17
Generating New Product Ideas
Thurs. 1/19
Perceptual Mapping
Tue.
Case Discussion: Johnson Wax: Enhance (A)
Case questions for one-page write-up:
(1) What customer needs are served by the new Enhance product?
(2) What information about Enhance do respondents have when they decide
which brand to purchase in the lab study?
(3) What additional information do they have when they decide whether to make
a repeat purchase?
(4) Given the results of the ASSESSOR test, what course of action would you
recommend to Johnson Wax?
Conjoint Analysis
1/24
Thurs. 1/26
Tue.
1/31
Thurs. 2/2
Messenger Bag Game
At least one member of your team should bring a laptop computer to class.
Messenger Bag Game: Results and Discussion
Tue.
Concept Testing
2/7
Thurs. 2/9
Concept Testing: Results and Discussion
Part 2. New Product Strategy
Tue.
2/14
Introduction to Resources
Thurs. 2/16
Company Resources: In-class mini-case discussions
Tue.
Review for Midterm 1
2/21
Thurs. 2/23
Midterm Exam 1
Tue.
Case Discussion: Google, Inc.
Case questions for one-page write-up:
(1) What are Google’s resources?
(2) What new products is Google developing?
(3) Will its current resources allow Google to be successful with these new
products?
Developing New Resources
2/28
Thurs. 3/1
Tue.
3/6
Thurs. 3/8
Case Discussion: Real Madrid Club de Futbol
Case questions for one-page write-up:
(1) What are Real Madrid’s resources?
(2) What investments do they need to make to sustain these resources?
(3) Should Real Madrid try to develop a large fan base in the United States?
Responding to Innovative New Competitors
Tue.
3/13
Spring Break
Thurs. 3/15
Spring Break
Tue.
Case Discussion: eReading: Amazon's Kindle
Case questions for one-page write-up:
(1) Name three companies that are threatened by the Kindle, and describe how
the Kindle could hurt their business.
(2) How should each of these companies respond to this threat?
3/20
Part 3. Branding
Thurs. 3/22
Building and Sustaining Brands
Tue.
Thurs. 3/29
Case Discussion: Burberry
Case questions for one-page write-up:
(1) What challenges did the Burberry brand face in 1997?
(2) How did the new management team address these challenges?
Fashion Cycles
Tue.
Choosing a Name, and Extending Brands
3/27
4/3
Each team should e-mail me (selove@marshall.usc.edu) a project proposal with:
- Names of all team members.
- A one-paragraph description of your project idea.
Thurs. 4/5
Review for Midterm 2
Tue.
Midterm Exam 2
4/10
Thurs. 4/12
Guest Speaker
Tue.
Case Discussion: Airotel Rumlang's Branding Challenge: A Conjoint Study
Case questions for one-page write-up:
(1) Do you think Airotel Rumlang should accept the Comfort Inn offer? Why or
why not?
(2) What (if anything) is wrong about the following argument? “Customers should
not care if a hotel has a famous brand name. If a hotel provides bad service,
competition will drive it out of business, so just the fact that a hotel stays in
business tells you it is a good hotel.”
4/17
Conclusion
Thurs. 4/19
Student Presentations of Team Projects
Tue.
Student Presentations of Team Projects
4/24
Thurs. 4/26
Course Wrap-up
Team projects are due at the start of class. Please e-mail me a copy and also
bring a hard copy to class.
Order of Readings in Course Reader
Johnson Wax: Enhance (A)
HBS Case 9-583-046
Google, Inc.
HBS Case 9-910-036
Real Madrid Club de Futbol
HBS Case 9-504-063
eReading: Amazon's Kindle
HBS Case 9-709-486
Burberry
HBS Case 9-504-048
Airotel Rumlang's Branding Challenge: A Conjoint Study
IMD Case IMD406