Indian School of Business
Marketing Management
Academic Year 2022-23 Digital Headstart Module
Instructor: Prof. Abhinav Uppal
Affiliation: Indian School of Business
Office Hours: Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:30
PM / By Appointment
Email: abhinav_uppal@isb.edu
Introduction
The objective of this course is to help you develop an understanding of marketing as a holistic function of a firm that
aids in creating and delivering superior value to its customers. This course will equip you with the fundamental
frameworks, decision tools, and analytical concepts required to evaluate and make sound marketing decisions.
The course will use lectures, case discussions, and assignments to help you:
1) appreciate the value of marketing concepts as guides for
a. diagnosing and addressing management problems, and
b. creating comprehensive marketing programs,
2) develop a disciplined approach to the analysis of marketing situations,
3) develop and execute strategies based on an understanding of customers,
4) appreciate how the elements of a successful marketing program fit together,
5) understand the role of marketing in global business strategies, and
6) make and defend marketing decisions in realistic business situations with incomplete information.
Learning Goals
The learning goals for ISB’s PGP are the following:
1. Critical and Integrative Thinking
2. Interpersonal Awareness and Working in Teams
3. Awareness of Global Issues Affecting Business
Recommended Textbooks
1. Kotler, Philip and Kevin Lane Keller (2016): Marketing Management, (Fifteenth edition), Prentice-Hall / Pearson
2. Noel Capon, Siddharth Shekhar Singh (2014): Managing Marketing: An Applied Approach, John Wiley & Sons
Course Schedule
Week 1, Session 1: (23/24 May)
•
Live Session:
• Introduction
• Customer Value Proposition
• Developing a Marketing Plan
•
Background Reading:
• Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 1 (Defining Marketing for the New Realities)
Week 1, Session 2 (25/26 May)
•
Live Session:
• Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
•
Background Reading:
• A Note on Positioning
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 9 (Identifying Market Segments and Targets)
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 10 (Crafting the Brand Positioning)
Async 1
•
Videos:
• Introduction to Marketing Analytics
• Margin Analysis
• Break-even Analysis
•
Assignment (Ungraded):
• CovidAction Assignment
•
Background Reading:
• Note on Low-Tech Marketing Math
Week 2, Session 3 (30/31 May)
•
Pre-session Reading:
• Kookaburra Cricket Bats: Dealing with Cannibalization
(Preparation questions for in-class discussion given in the case)
•
Live Session:
• Kookaburra Case Discussion
• Branding and Brand Extensions
•
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 11 (Creating Brand Equity)
Async 2
•
Videos:
• Customer Lifetime Value
•
Assignment (Ungraded):
• CLV Assignment
•
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 5 (Creating Long-Term Loyalty Relationships)
Week 2, Session 4 (1/2 June)
•
Pre-Session Reading:
• Cottle Taylor: Expanding the Oral Care Group in India
Preparation Questions for In-class Discussion:
1) What factors determine the demand for toothbrushes? How can you estimate this demand for
toothbrushes? How can it be increased?
2) How is Cottle doing in India? (What are their current/alternative segmentation strategies?)
3) Has Cottle enjoyed a first-mover advantage? Why? How?
4) How should Cottle accelerate the development of the toothbrush market in India?
5) What are Cottle’s target market segments?
6) Which of these segments makes the most sense for Cottle to reach? (Compare the existing scenario
with Lang and Patel’s projections).
•
Live Session:
• Cottle-Taylor Case Discussion
• Customers as Assets
•
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 6 (Analyzing Consumer Markets)
Week 3, Session 5 (6/7 June)
•
Pre-Session Reading:
• Unilever in Brazil: Marketing Strategies for Low-Income Consumers
•
Live Session:
• Unilever Brazil Case Discussion
•
Case Homework (Graded):
• Unilever Brazil Case Write-up (due on Sunday, June 5 at 11:59 PM)
1) Conduct Five Cs analysis for Unilever Brazil?
2) Should it target the NE Brazil market?
3) Evaluate three alternative branding strategies (use one of the three existing brands, brand extension,
or new brand) to compete in the low-income segment in North-East Brazil. Include a discussion of the
break-even cannibalization rate as a criterion.
4) What marketing mix strategy would you recommend? Address the following issues in the
recommendation:
a) Brand (One of the three, Brand Extension, or New)
b) Formulation (which benefits to emphasize)
c) Packaging (Cardboard, Plastic)
d) Price
e) Distribution (Generalists, Specialists)
f) Promotion (70:30 or 30:70)
5) Write down a positioning statement for the new offering.
Async 3
•
Videos:
• Economic Value to the Customer
•
Assignment (Ungraded):
•
•
Atlantic Computer Assignment
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 14 (Developing Pricing Strategies and Programs)
Week 3, Session 6 (8/9 June)
•
Pre-session Reading:
• Atlantic Computer: A Bundle of Pricing Options
(Preparation questions for in-class discussion given in the case)
•
Live Session:
• Pricing
• Atlantic Computer Case Discussion
•
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 16 (Developing Pricing Strategies and Programs)
Async 4
•
Videos:
• Managing Distribution Channels
•
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 17 (Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Channels)
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 18 (Managing Retailing, Wholesaling and Logistics)
Week 4, Session 7 (13/14 June)
•
Pre-session Reading:
• Air France Internet Marketing: Optimizing Sponsored Search
(Preparation questions for in-class discussion given in the case)
•
Live Session:
• Marketing Communications
• Air France Case Discussion
•
Background Reading:
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 20 (Managing Mass Communications)
• Kotler and Keller: Chapter 22 (Managing Personal Communications)
Week 4, Session 8 (15/16 June)
•
Live Session:
• Final Presentations
• Bringing it all together
•
Class Assignment (Graded):
• Presentation: Summarizing a Marketing Plan (due one hour before the start of the session)
1) Conduct Five Cs analysis for a firm’s product offering of your choice. Naman
2) How has the firm segmented the market, and which customers is the firm targeting? Jatin
Jatin
3) Write down the positioning statement for the offering.
4) Justify the current positioning based on the Five Cs analysis and explain their implementation using the
Aman
4 Ps.
5) Bonus: How has COVID-19 affected the elements covered in your 5Cs analysis? Based on this, has
the firm changed the positioning of its offering? If not, would you recommend a different positioning?
Shubhi
Evaluation Components
Class Participation (Code 3N-a) - 10%
Case Homework (Code 4N) - 30%
Class Assignment (Code 2N-c) - 20%
Final Exam (Code 4N) - 40%
Assignment Schedule
Name of the
Component
Date of
Submission
Take-home
or in-class
Group
Assignment
File-type
Format
Coding
Scheme
Case
Homework
Due on Sunday,
June 5 at 11:59
PM
Take-home
Yes
DOCX/PDF
Ten pages allinclusive, singlespaced, 12-point
font
4N
Class
Assignment
Due one hour
before Session 8
Take-home /
In-class
Yes
PPT/PDF
Slide deck, 5-10
slides, may
include images /
videos
2N-c
Final Exam
As per the ASA
schedule
Online
Proctored
No
4N
Class Participation
Faculty’s preference on student’s webcam setting – Always ON
Your “Class Participation” grade will be based on your contribution in class and your participation in class case
discussions. In general, the expectation is that you would always attend the class and are always prepared to
participate. You may treat this class like a formal business meeting: prepare, attend and participate. Short quizzes
may be used in class for assessment.
Grades for class participation are not a function of how often you speak but whether you are prepared and willing
to contribute to the discussion. Often the best lessons come from your own experiences and the experiences of
others. Be mindful of the following:
•
Be a good listener! Don’t repeat or rephrase what others have said.
•
Be prepared! Demonstrate an understanding of the material.
•
Be concise! Get to the point, avoiding unnecessary rhetoric.
•
Be thoughtful! Explain why it teaches us something.
•
Keep the discussion moving forward. Try to build on someone’s previous remarks.
Case Discussions and Write-ups
Be decisive and specific. Take a position and argue for it. Try to avoid ambiguity in your analysis.
Do the math! Many cases provide an opportunity to manipulate real-world data. It is expected that you will recognize
when this is appropriate and will attempt to solve the problem. Obtaining the correct answer numerically is not nearly
as important as recognizing when and where to do the calculations, make comparisons and draw inferences.
Case write-ups are a group assignment. Please work in your groups and submit your group assignment (10 pages
all-inclusive, single-spaced, 12-point font) on the due date. Late submissions will be heavily penalized.
Policy on using outside sources of information: Do not use any external sources of information when preparing
for case discussions or producing written case analyses. Outside sources of information include the library, the
mass media, the Internet, and any people outside your learning team. Cases are designed to be self-contained
sources of information about specific business situations. Using outside information creates two problems. First,
certain information may be deliberately left out or disguised. Obtaining this information may confuse or misguide
you in your approach. Second, this course uses a combination of classic and more recent cases. The analyses for
the classic cases are widely available from various sources (including students from previous years). These classic
cases are retained because of their proven success as teaching tools, but the entire learning is in discovering for
yourself how to apply the concepts covered in lectures and readings. If you use other sources, you are cheating
yourself as well as other students.
Attendance Policy
Learning is an interactive process. ISB students are admitted partly based on the experiences they bring to the
learning community and what they can add to class discussions. Therefore, attendance is an essential aspect of
studying here. Absence is only appropriate in cases of extreme personal illness, injury, or close family bereavement.
Voluntary activities such as job interviews, business school competitions, travel plans, joyous family occasions, etc.,
are not valid reasons for missing a class. Late arrival and early departure are disruptive to the learning environment;
you should log in to the class before the scheduled start time and stay till the conclusion of the class. However, if a
student is forced to miss a class session, the same should be notified to the respective Academic Associate with a
copy to the faculty and the ASA office along with supporting documentary proof.
ISB expects students to attend all class sessions in every course and watch/participate in all asynchronous
activities. Attendance during synchronous sessions will be recorded. However, if a student is forced to miss
synchronous sessions due to entirely unavoidable reasons, the school policy is below:
•
•
•
•
If a student misses up to 20% of synchronous sessions in a course, i.e., one session, there will be no grade
penalty.
If a student misses more than 20% and up to 30% of synchronous sessions in a course, i.e., two sessions,
s/he will obtain a letter grade lower than that awarded by the faculty according to the curve for the course.
If a student misses more than 30% and up to 40% of synchronous sessions in a course, i.e., three sessions,
the student will receive a letter grade that is two levels lower than that awarded by the faculty according to the
curve for the course.
If a student misses more than 40% of synchronous sessions in a course, i.e., four or more sessions, the
student will receive an ‘F’ grade in that course.
ISB Coding scheme for ALL coursework
What kinds of collaborative activities are
allowed?
What material can be referred to?[1]
References/Coding
Scheme
Can I discuss general
concepts and ideas
relevant
to
the
assignment
with
others?
Can
I
discuss
specific
issues
associated with the
assignment
with
others?
Can I refer to
external
material?[2]
Can I refer to the
case-study
solutions
or
problem
set
solutions?
4N
N
N
N
N
3N- a
Y
N
N
N
3N-b
N
N
Y
N
2N-a
Y
Y
N
N
2N-b
Y
N
Y
N
2N-c
N
N
Y
Y
1N
Y
Y
Y
N
0N
Y
Y
Y
Y
As a general rule:
•
Students are responsible for submitting original work that reflects their own effort and interpretation. Remember
that any submission should be your own work and should not be copied in part or verbatim from any other
source, whether external or internal.
•
An honour code violation is an honour code violation. A violation under coding scheme 0N is not less severe
than others. A 0N coding scheme submission is judged against a 0N coding scheme, and a 4N coding scheme
submission is judged against a 4N coding scheme; therefore, any honour code violation is equally severe
irrespective of the coding scheme of the submission.
•
Students can discuss cases and assignments with the course instructor and the Academic Associate for the
course.
•
Required and recommended textbooks for the course and the course pack can be used to answer any individual
or group assignment.
•
Although not all submissions may be subject to an academic plagiarism checker (e.g., turn-it-in), in retrospect,
if the Honour Code Committee feels the need, any of the previous submissions of an individual or a group can
be subjected to academic plagiarism checker technology.
•
When in doubt, the student should contact the instructor for clarifications.
[1]
[2]
Any referencing needs to be accompanied with appropriate citations
A non-exhaustive list includes journal articles, news items, databases, industry reports, open courseware