MK281 Marketing Principles and Strategy
Fall 2004
Course Outline
MK281 is a comprehensive course designed to introduce students to marketing
principles, concepts, and practices.
The essence of marketing is to deliver products and services that consumers want, at a
price they are prepared to pay, at places where they shop. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Yet
in real life, marketing is rarely easy, particularly when consumers’ tastes and preferences
change, competitive products enter the market, and marketers must make decisions based
on less than perfect information. MK281 probes the challenges facing marketers today.
Discussion and critique of various marketing successes and failures will aid in the
student’s understanding of how marketing must be adapted to meet both consumer’s
needs and corporate objectives.
MK281 introduces the techniques that marketers employ to identify the needs and wants
of consumers, as well as how to translate these needs into sound marketing strategy.
Concepts such as the marketing environment, the marketing mix, market segmentation,
market targeting, and positioning will be stressed.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
a. identify, describe, and evaluate the role of marketing in achieving corporate
objectives and building a business.
b. describe and identify real-life examples of both sound and faulty marketing
efforts,
c. assess various marketing problems, analyzing these using the case method, and
recommend feasible solutions.
d. develop a basic marketing plan for a service-based business
Required Reading
W.M. Price and O.C. Ferrell, Marketing, 12th edition, New York: Houghton-Mifflin:
2003; and
All hand-outs and supplemental readings as assigned by the instructor.
Required Special Projects
Students are responsible for assignments which they will complete in teams, as follow:
Case Analyses
Cases analyses must be submitted as written reports, following the standard case analysis
format reviewed in class. Each team submits one report on behalf of all participating
group members. Individuals whose names appear on the written report will receive the
grade awarded to the group. Individuals who do not participate in team meetings should
not have their names recorded on the assignment.
Case analyses will be provided approximately 1 week in advance of the due date.
Presentations
A second assignment will require the group to research a short topic and present a 10- to
15-minute (maximum) overview of the topic to the class. No written report is required.
Team should prepare a brief hand-out, and/or transparencies, PowerPoint presentation,
lecture, or interactive/involvement activity, for the class. Given the time constraint,
teams may designate one or two members to deliver the presentation on behalf of the
entire group. At the conclusion of the presentation, each team will submit a single page
identifying (1) the sources of your information, and (2) the participating group members’
names. A list of topics and presentation dates will be supplied early in the course. An
evaluation form for this research presentation appears in Appendix I.
The last assignment will focus on new product development, again to be completed in
team format, and will also entail only an informal presentation. Guidelines will follow.
Unlike the previously describe work, the project will be evaluated solely by classmates.
Class Format
Class discussion, in-class assignments, class participation, presentations and lecture.
Evaluation
Tests (likely 3)
150
Final Exam
150
Group Assignments: Cases
50
Group Assignments: Presentations (2)
150
Total Possible Points
......450
Course Content
Week
Chapters
Topic
1,2 (w/o Aug. 20, Sept 6)
1,3
Marketing Overview
Marketing Environment
Case Method
3 (w/o Sept 13)
2
Strategic Marketing Planning
4 (w/o Sept 27)
7
Social Responsibility and Ethics
5 (w/o Oct 4)
6
Market Research
7,8 (w/o Oct 11, 18)
10,11
Positioning
New Product Development
Product Life Cycle
Product Adoption
9 (w/o Oct 25)
11,12
Product Strategy
Branding and Packaging
10, 11 (w/o Nov 1, 8)
17, 18
Advertising and Public Relations
12 (w/o Nov 15)
19
Distribution
13 (w/o Nov 29)
15,16
Wholesaling, Retailing
14 (w/o Dec 6)
20,21
Pricing
State Standards met by this course
1.5.3 apply marketing concepts to international business
3.3
demonstrate the economic principles and concepts fundamental to marketing
3.4
demonstrate the concepts and strategies needed for career exploration,
development, and growth
3.5
explain the concepts and processes needed to move, store, locate, and/or transfer
ownership of goods and services
3.8
identify the concepts and strategies utilized in determining and adjusting prices to
maximize return and meet customers’ perception of value
3.9
decipher the concepts and processes needed to obtain, develop, maintain, and
improve a product or service mix in response to market opportunities
3.10 identify the concepts and strategies needed to communicate information about
products, services, images, and/or ideas to achieve a desired income
3.11
identify the strategies needed to determine client needs and wants; respond
through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions
and enhances future business opportunties