The Wharton School

University of Pennsylvania

Dynamic Marketing Strategy

MKTG 612

Spring 2017, Quarter 4

Syllabus DRAFT

Christophe Van den Bulte

Gayfryd Steinberg Professor & Professor of Marketing

Office: 759 JMHH Tel: 215-898-6532

Office hours: By appointment (send an e-mail) E-mail: [email protected]
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Course objective
This course will help you build skills in tackling five key questions in any business or organization:
Who is your customer, What do you offer them, how do you Deliver that value, how do you Capture
part of that for yourself, and how do you Sustain your relevance and profitability against the
competition and over time.

The course builds on the MKTG 611 core course, but emphasizes how marketing challenges change
throughout the Product Life Cycle (PLC). You will learn thinking skills and analytical tools to
tackle the main marketing challenges in each phase of the PLC—Introduction, Growth, Maturity,
and Decline.

Learning methods
The course uses (a) lectures and readings, (b) case discussions, (c) small assignments, and (d) a small
computer simulation exercise.

Cases give you the opportunity to hone your skills in framing issues and tackling them with only
imperfect information at hand, taking into account the specifics of a particular industry/market at a
particular stage of development.

Assignments and exercises give the opportunity to develop your skills in marketing analytics.

1
Outline of typical class session
While the flow of each class will vary, especially between cases and lectures, in general each class
will have three facets:

1) The real world business problem. Most classes will begin with an example of a critical issue
that managers face. This example could be either a formal case, a mini-case, or just a vignette.
For formal case discussions, I will assume that everyone has read and is prepared to discuss
the case. It is not necessary to do any library work or bring in outside information about the
company or the industry beyond what is described in the case. In fact, that would distract from
the discussion and the objective, as we are learning how to make better decisions given the
information available at the time of the case. Discussion and questions are strongly
encouraged.

2) Analytical frameworks for thinking through the problem. For the business problem at hand,
the class will explore one or more analytic frameworks through which the problem might be
approached, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses. The purpose is to provide a systematic
basis for framing the problem effectively and decide on an attractive path of action.

3) Informing the decision through data. Given a general analytic framework, some classes will
go on to explore how greater precision or deeper insight can come from analytics—typically
of market data providing customer insights, but more than occasionally also accounting or
financial data providing insights on effectiveness and profitability.

Course materials
There is no textbook.

Readings and case studies are available through Canvas. Required materials are distributed through
Study.Net, and optional materials through Penn Library Course Reserve (both on Canvas). For the
Study.net materials, you can decide to use only the electronic (softcopy) version, or to add an order
for Wharton Printing to produce a hard copy as well.

Other materials, including some data sets and spreadsheets, will be distributed through Canvas.

Course website
Many of the course’s activities will involve the use of Wharton’s Canvas software, which you can
access at: https://wharton.instructure.com/login

Please bookmark this website and check it regularly. The site will contain copies of slide decks,
additional materials like spreadsheets and surveys, and other information about the course.

2
Grading
The final grade is based on the performance on various components:

Exam (take-home) 75%

Assignments 15%
Class participation 10%

Repeated or egregious violations of the Wharton concert rules listed below can depress your grade
beyond your class participation score.

Class participation

All course sessions involve classroom discussion of both theoretical questions and practical
implications. This requires careful preparation of the case or pre-class reading, if any. You should be
prepared to share your ideas as well as to listen to and interpret issues presented by others. The quality
of your contribution matters more than the quantity. Comments that move a discussion forward in a
productive direction are particularly welcome.

If you have documentable special circumstances such as time conflicts between multiple exams,
illness, or grave personal difficulties such as a death in the family, that prevent you from attending
class, you may petition the MBA Program Office to work with me find a resolution. The MBA
Program Office will require documentation of your conflict.

Classroom expectations
Wharton concert rules apply:

• All phones, tablets, laptops and other electronic devices turned off
• Class starts and ends on time
• Sit according to the seating chart
• Name tents displayed

Office hours
TH 17:00-18:00
FR 10:00-11:50

3
 Topical Overview

1. Mar. 14 Course introduction

Case: Tesla Motors

2. Mar. 16 Pre-launch decisions I: Designing the new offer

Read: Analyzing Consumer Preferences

3. Mar. 21 Pre-launch decisions II: Sizing up the opportunity

Case: The Medicines Company
Case numbers due in advance*

4. Mar. 23 Growth decisions I: Leveraging word of mouth and social media

Mini-survey: Answer due in advance*

5. Mar. 28 Growth decisions II: Clarifying branding, positioning and targeting

Case: L'Oréal Plénitude

6. Mar. 30 Marketing analytics I: Improving marketing spend decisions - Intro

Case: Georgia Aquarium

7. Apr. 4 Marketing analytics II: Improving marketing spend decisions - Cases

10. Apr. 6 Marketing analytics III: Improving targeting decisions

Video: What Can Conjoint Analysis Do for You?
Case: Montclair Video (no prep questions)

7. Apr. 11 Fighting the competition I: Proactive defense and barriers to entry

Case: Xerox in 1973
Read: Gateways to Entry

8. Apr. 13 Fighting the competition II: Reactive defense -MarketSpace exercise

Decisions due in advance*
After class reading: Theory and Application of Defensive Strategy

11. Apr. 18 Fighting the competition III: Localized response & Fighting brands
Case: Altius Golf
Read: Should You Launch a Fighter Brand?

12. Apr. 20 Managing the decline stage + Course wrap-up

Case: Showrooming at Best Buy

* Details, incl. deadlines, described on Canvas