Introduction to Marketing

Syllabus

Course coordinator
Diana-Luiza DUMITRIU, PhD / e-mail: diana.dumitriu@comunicare.ro

Description and objectives

Marketing is a key component for the activity of every organization, no matter its domain. However, within the increasingly dynamic
and complex social and business environment, marketing needs to cope with unprecedented challenges, driven by more and more
demanding customers, aggressive global competition, turbulent markets or significant technological changes with high social and
economic impact. This course gives special attention to comprehensive assessment of marketing’s dynamic role in the contemporary
global society and development of efficient marketing strategies.
The main objectives of the Introduction to marketing course cover aspects such as:
• Understanding the importance of strategic marketing decisions;
• Understanding customers' behavior and segmentation models;
• Understanding the structure and the dynamics of the marketing mix;
• Critically evaluating and identifying the advantages and disadvantages of different positioning strategies;

C Course structure S Seminar structure Date

1 Key turning points for the general
dynamics of the marketing field
2 Segmentation criteria & models
3 The consumer behaviour & the
consumer journey map
4 (Re)defining the marketing mix.
Product policy decisions
5 Price strategies
6 Retail marketing: global and local
dynamics and trends
7 Promotion mix: general overview
on promotion tactics and channels
1 Strategic marketing orientation & 10.10.2018
building of competitive advantage
2 Targeting & positioning 24.10.2018
3 The omnichannel consumer and the * 31.10.2018
multiscreen marketing opportunities
4 New Product Development (NPD) & 21.11.2018
Product life cycle
Freemium & Sympathetic pricing 5.12.2018
5 Online shops and online shopping * 12.12.2018
experience
7 Adapting the promotion objectives to 16.01.2019
the product life cycle stage & the
contextual business dynamics

General approach:
The format of the class covers interactive lectures, argumentative discussions, and case studies. The students are encouraged to
contribute with insightful comments and to engage in individual and team assignments during both seminar and course sessions.
Evaluation Criteria
The final grade consists of 3 components:
1. Participation in discussions and quality of the contributions – 10 %
2. Marketing diary on the run assignment (field observation activity) – 10%
(min. 2 field observation reports/ analysis)
3. Video Marketing Glossary group project – 30%
4. Final written exam - 50%

Criterion to enter the written exam:

- minimum 50% attendance rate to classes (min. 4 meetings)

Criteria for the re-evaluation session:

1. Marketing diary on the run assignment (field observation activity) – 20%
2. Video Marketing Glossary project – 30%
3. Final written exam - 50%

Criteria of passing (conditions for 5)

- Class attendance over 50% (min. 4 meetings)
- Presentation of the team assignment (Video Marketing Glossary project)
- Submission of the Marketing diary on the run assignment (min. 2 field observation reports/ analysis)
- A minimum of 5 points (from the total 10 points) for the written exam
Criteria of evaluation (conditions for 10)
- Class attendance over 80%
- Reading through and proving a good understanding of the recommended bibliography
- Consistent activity during course and seminar applications and discussions
- Correct application of concepts and methods in the final test
- Critical approach and quality of the analysis shown in the Marketing diary on the run assignment (field observation activity)
- Creativity, quality of documentation and high capacity of synthesis in presenting the marketing concept (Video Marketing
Glossary project)

Details about the group project:

Video Marketing Glossary project - a team of 5-6 students will create a short video in which they will present a specific marketing
concept selected by the team & have an oral presentation of max.10 min on the chosen topic. Examples of marketing concepts that
can be presented: perceptual map (24.10.2018), consumer empathy map (31.10.2018), product line extension vs product line
stretching (21.11.2018), freemium pricing (5.12.2018), sensory retailing (12.12.2018), geomarketing (16.01.2019).

General requirements: the video material should have between 1' 30'' and 3' 15'' and should be original.

Evaluation criteria: the capacity to make a relevant synthesis of both academic and business materials, the structure of the
presentation, the critical approach of the topic, the quality of documentation for the presentation, the relevance of the examples (try to
provide examples that are more recent) the quality and creativity of the final output. Make sure you go through min. 5 academic
papers that approach the subject you are presenting (min. 3 of them should have been published after 2013). You have the possibility
to include the references in your video-presentation (at the end of it) or just provide a separate Word/Pdf. document with the
references that you used in preparing the presentation.
The field observation notes/ reports (min. 2) should be sent on e-mail by 18.01.2019. They should critically address and discuss
relevant news/ examples/ observations for the marketing dynamics of the local or global market (each should have between 1-3 pages,
images & sources included).

References
Course
Barry, J. & Weinstein, A. (2009). Business psychographics revisited: from segmentation theory to successful marketing practice.
Journal of Marketing Management. 25 (3-4), 315-340.
Chung-Long, Y., Wang, F., & Brouthers, K.D. (2016). Competitor identification, perceived environmental uncertainty, and firm
performance. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 33, 21–35.
Drummond, G., Ensor, J., & Ashford, R. (2008). Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control (Chapters 1, 2, 4, 9). Oxford: Elsevier.
Gauria,D.D., Ratchfordb, B., Pancrasc, J., & Talukdar, D. (2017). An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Promotional Discounts on
Store Performance. Journal of Retailing, 93 (3), 283–303.
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2012). Principles of Marketing. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Kucuk, S. U. (2017). Visualizing Marketing. From Abstract to Intuitive. Edmonds, Washington, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
Peighambari, K., Sattari, S., Kordestani, A., & Oghazi, P. (2016). Consumer Behavior Research. A Synthesis of the Recent Literature.
SAGE Open, 6(2), 1–9.
Trout, J., & Rivkin, S. (2008). Differentiate or die: survival in our era of killer competition. New Jersey: Wiley.
Trout, J., & Rivkin, S. (2010). Repositioning Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change, and Crisis (Chapters 9 & 10.) New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Yurova, Y., Rippé, C.B., Weisfeld-Spolter, S., Sussan, F., Arndt, A. (2016). Not all adaptive selling to omni-consumers is influential:
The moderating effect of product type. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, 271-277.

Seminar
Bradley, F. (2003). Strategic Marketing. In the Customer Driven Organization (Chapters 7, 10, 13). Chichester: Wiley.
Hougaard, A., & Bjerre, M. (2009). The Relationship Marketer. Rethinking Strategic Relationship Marketing (Chapters, 1, 2, 10).
Berlin: Springer
Lemon, K.N., & Peter C. Verhoef, P.C., Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey. Journal of
Marketing: AMA/MSI Special Issue, 80, 69–96.
Meyers-Levy, J., & Loken, B. (2015). Revisiting gender differences: What we know and what lies ahead. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 25 (1), 129–149.
Nisar, T.M., & Prabhakar, G. (2017). What factors determine e-satisfaction and consumer spending in e-commerce retailing? Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services, 39, 135-144.
Saghiri, S., Wilding, R., Mena, C., & Bourlakis, M. (2017). Toward a three-dimensional framework for omni-channel. Journal of
Business Research. 77, 53-67.
Segijn, C.M., Voorveld, H.A.M, Vandeberg, L., Pennekamp, S.F., & Smit, E.G. (2017). Insight into everyday media use with multiple
screens, International Journal of Advertising, 36 (5), 779-797.