Course Description

This course offers a strategic perspective and examination on how the digital revolution is
changing the marketing landscape. We will explore this new digital realm and discuss its
revolutionary impact upon both firms and consumers. We will examine a wide range of digital
tools, introduce some new concepts, and share some stories about how firms and consumers
are adapting to this changing landscape. Managers will learn how to use digital tools to
strengthen their marketing efforts, while consumers will learn how to use these tools to enhance
their consumption experience.
Our course will review the foundations of marketing (i.e., product, promotion, placement, and
price) and discuss how these foundations are being shifted by the rise of the digital revolution.
We'll employ a variety of learning techniques, including video lectures, hands-on exercises, and
case studies. Our learning approach will be highly interactive; you will have the opportunity to
engage in a variety of hands-on activities.
Please note that this is not an e-commerce class. We will not examine social media analytics,
search engine optimization, or other digital marketing tactics. The other courses in our Digital
Marketing Specialization will cover these topics in considerable detail. Instead, this course is
broader in focus and more strategic in orientation.
Course Goals and Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
 Obtain a rich understanding of the foundation of marketing and how this foundation
is being shifted due to the rise of the digital revolution.
 Apply critical thinking skills regarding the role of digital tools and their impact upon
both firms and consumers.
 Learn several real-world examples of how digital tools are being applied to enhance
and enrich a variety of marketing activities.
Course Materials
Each week of the course has a set of videos and one required reading (from Harvard Business
Review, which is freely avialable online). There is no required textbook used in this course.
On Harvard Business Review, You can have access to 2 free articles per month without a
registered account or have access to 4 free articles with a registered account. Registration is
free.
Course Outline
The course consists of four modules.
Module 1: Course Overview and How Digital Tools are Changing Product
Content:
 About the Course and Your Classmates
 Basic Concept: Product
 Digital Concept 1: Customer Co-Creation
 Case Study: Threadless
 Digital Concept 2: Sharing Economy
 Exercise: Ideas.Lego.com
Module 2: How Digital Tools are Changing Promotion
Content:
 Basic Concept: Promotion
  Digital Concept 1: User-Generated Content
 Case Study: Go Pro
 Digital Concept 2: Doppelganger Brands
 Exercise: Wikipedia.org
Module 3: How Digital Tools are Changing Placement
Content:
 Basic Concept: Placement
 Digital Concept 1: New Retail
 Case Study: Tesla
 Digital Concept 2: Desktop Manufacturing
 Exercise: Thingiverse.com
Module 4: How Digital Tools are Changing Price
Content:
 Basic Concept: Price
 Digital Concept 1: Pay What You Want
 Case Study: Panera
 Digital Concept 2: Freemium
 Exercise: It's Full of Sparks
Elements of This Course
The course is comprised of the following elements:
 Lecture videos. Each week your instructor will teach you the concepts you need to
know through a collection of short video lectures. You may either stream these
videos for playback within the browser by clicking on their titles, or you can
download each video for later offline playback by clicking the download icon.
 Readings. Content from the required readings in each module will be included in
the Module Quiz questions. There are also optional readings for further information.
The content from the optional readings is not included in the exercise, discussion, or
quiz questions.
 Practice Quizzes (Optional). Each module has three sets of Practice Quizzes
based on lecture videos in the basic concept, digital concept 1 and 2 lessons. The
practice quizzes do not count towards passing the course; you may take them as
many times as you want and all questions provide feedback to help you understand
the questions better.
 Module Review Quizzes (Required). Each module concludes with a module review
quiz. The module review quiz draws upon all the topics in the module. You may
attempt each graded quiz two times per every four hours. Your highest score will be
used when calculating your final score in the class. There is no time limit on how
long you take to complete each attempt at the quiz.
 Case Study Peer Review (Required). Every module has a case study peer
assessment activity that focuses on the case study questions. The case study peer
reviews are required in this course. You must submit your answers, review 3 other
submissions from your peers, and earn up to 70% in order to pass the required peer
reviews.
 Exercise Quizzes (Required). Every module has an exercise activity. The exercise
activity provides an overview video with instructions to explore a website or an app,
with some questions to solve along the way. After completing the exercise, you will
complete an exercise quiz. The exercise quizzes are required. You may attempt each
exercise quiz two times per every four hours. Your highest score will be used when
 calculating your final score in the class. There is no time limit on how long you take
to complete each attempt at the quiz.
 Exercises Peer Review (Optional, Honors Assignment). Every module has an
exercise activity. The exercise activity provides an overview video with instructions to
explore a website or an app, with some questions to solve along the way. After
coming complete a task in that site, then you submit your work for a peer review
within the course. The peer reviews for the exercises are NOT required activities in
this course. However, they are honors assignment, which means if you complete
them, your work will be recognized in the course certificate, as honors. Read more
about Honors Assignment here.
 Discussion Forums. Posting in the forums is optional, but you are encouraged to
do so.
How to Pass This Course
I am continually looking to improve this course. Thus, this syllabus is subject to change. I
appreciate your input and ask that you have patience if we make adjustments to this course.
To qualify for a Verified Certificate, simply start verifying your coursework at the beginning of the
course (with no upfront charges), and pay the $79 Signature Track registration fee anytime
before you complete course. You can delay payment until you’re confident you’ll pass. Coursera
Financial Aid is available to offset the registration cost for students with demonstrated economic
needs. If you have questions about Signature Track, please see the help topics here.
If you choose not to verify your work, you can still participate in the complete course. Your final
grade will be recorded on your Accomplishments page.
Also note that this course is the first in the Digital Marketing Specialization offered by the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. By earning a Verified Certificate in this course, you
are on your way toward earning a Specialization Certificate in Digital Marketing.

A
Advertising
A form of marketing communication used to persuade an audience to take or continue some
action, usually with respect to a commercial offering, or political or ideological support.
B
Brand equity
A phrase used in the marketing industry that describes the value of having a well-known brand
name, based on the idea that the owner of a well-known brand name can generate more money
from products with that brand name than from products with a less well-known name, as
consumers believe that a product with a well-known name is better than products with less well-
known names.[1]
Brand management
In marketing, brand management is the analysis of and planning on how that brand is perceived
in the market. Developing a good relationship with the target market is essential for brand
management.[2]
Brand proposition
A brand proposition is a statement about your company, product, services, etc., that clearly
demonstrates to customers what benefits they can derive out of your brand [20].
Break-even analysis
The break-even point in economics, business—and specifically cost accounting—is the point at
which total cost and total revenue are equal, i.e. "even". There is no net loss or gain, and one
has "broken even", though opportunity costs have been paid and capital has received the risk-
adjusted, expected return. [21]
C
Cross-functional team
A cross-functional team is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a
common goal. It may include people from finance, marketing, operations, and human resources
departments. Typically, it includes employees from all levels of an organization. [22]
Cost-based pricing
Cost based pricing is one of the pricing methods of determining the selling price of a product by
the company, wherein the price of a product is determined by adding a profit element
(percentage) in addition to the cost of making the product.[23]
Competitor-based pricing
A pricing method that makes use of competitors' prices for the same or similar product as basis
in setting a price. This pricing method focuses on information from the market rather than
production costs (cost-plus pricing) and product's perceived value (value-based pricing).[24]
Consociality (the degree to which the members of a platform can engage in social interaction in
either physical or virtual space)
Crowdsourcing
The process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a
large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional
employees or suppliers.[3]
Cult of Done Manifesto
The Done Manifesto posted by Bre Pettis and Kio Stark is a set of working rules based on a
sense of urgency. No time for careful deliberation, move on.
Customer co-creation
The idea that customers can help design and develop products in addition to buying them. Such
activity really helps enhance new product development activities.
Customer segmentation
The practice of dividing a customer base into groups of individuals that are similar in specific
ways relevant to marketing, such as age, gender, interests, spending habits, and so on.[5]
D
Digital authenticity
The degree to which a product’s online promotion provides customers with a genuine portrayal of
its origins, features, and benefits (as well as its limitations). Authentic promotional campaigns
typically focus on telling a story rather than making a claim. This story is usually connected to the
brand in a genuine manner and provides customers with a sense that the brand has a purpose
other than just making money.
Digital marketing
The marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach consumers. The key
objective is to promote brands and product benefits through various forms of digital media such
as the Internet, mobile phones, and social media.
Distribution
Product distribution is the process of making a product or service available for use or
consumption by a consumer or business user, using direct means or using indirect means with
intermediaries.
Doppelgänger brand image
A doppelgänger brand image is a family of disparaging images and stories about a brand that
are circulated in popular culture by a loosely organized network of consumers, antibrand
activists, bloggers, and opinion leaders in the news and entertainment media.
E
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
As the most popular theory about persuasion, ELM suggests that there are two main routes to
persuasion: (1) the central route, which is cognitive in nature and (2) the peripheral route, which
is more emotional in nature.
F
FUH2 Campaign
This creative viral internet campaign began in 2008 in response to General Motor’s marketing of
the Hummer SUV. In the mid-2000s, General Motors tried to position this brand as the ultimate 4-
wheel drive vehicle capable of taking on any challenge, and used the slogan, “Like Nothing Else.”
Fused deposition modeling
An additive manufacturing technology commonly used for modeling, prototyping, and production
applications. It is one of the techniques used for 3D printing.[6]
Freemium Model
Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a
product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional
features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (offline) goods that expand the functionality of
the free version of the software.[25]
G
Generic product
Generic brands of consumer products (often supermarket goods) are distinguished by the
absence of a brand name, instead identified solely by product characteristics and identified by
plain, usually black-and-white packaging. Generally, they imitate more expensive branded
products, competing on price.
I
Intangible good
An intangible good is a good that is intangible, meaning that it cannot be touched, as opposed to
a physical good (an object). Digital goods, such as downloadable music and mobile apps, or
virtual goods used in virtual economies are all examples of intangible goods.
M
Marginal costs
In economics and finance, marginal cost is the change in the total cost that arises when the
quantity produced has an increment by unit. That is, it is the cost of producing one more unit of a
good.[8]
Market share
Market share is the percentage of a market (defined in terms of either units or revenue)
accounted for by a specific entity.[9]
Multiple sclerosis
It is a demyelinating disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal
cord are damaged.[27]
N
New Retail
A collection of strategies (both physical and digital) that physical retailers are using to react to the
challenges of operating in a digital world.
O
P
Pareto Principle
This principle comes from the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who found, back in 1896, that
80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. Since this time, this principle has
become known as the 80/20 rule and has been found to apply to a large number of
phenomenon. For example, 80% of the world’s income is controlled by 20% of its population.[10]
Pay What You Want (PWYW)
A pricing strategy that allows customers to name their own price.
Persuasion
A marketing process that seeks to change a person's attitude or behavior towards an offering.
One of the most common forms of persuasion is advertising.
Placement
Placement aspect of the marketing mix focuses on making a product conveniently accessible to
potential customers. It involves the physical movement of the product from a manufacturer
through a series of marketing channel intermediaries ending with an independent retailer.
Placement involves the important retailing function of displaying the product upon its shelves.
Price comparison tools
Price comparison tools have allowed pricing to move from prices revealed at the point of
purchase to prices negotiated at the point of consideration. Price comparison has become easier
for customers armed with a smartphone and a price search app such as Price Grabber or
RedLaser. Leveraging these price comparison tools, customers can instantly compare prices on
a physical retailer’s shelf with prices for the exact same product at Amazon.com and a large
number of other online retailers.
Price segmentation
A suitable strategy if you have a narrow product range and can identify groups of prospects who
would buy if the price was lower or who would be prepared to pay a higher price in return for a
factor that they felt added value to the product.[11]
Pricing strategy
A pricing strategy is a firm’s basic approach to how it prices its products. Pricing captures the
value of the product for the firm. Thus, having a good pricing strategy is critical for a firm’s
profitability and very survival. The development of a pricing strategy often entails considering a
product’s cost of production, what customers are willing to pay, and the prices of competing
products.
Product
A product is really anything that fulfills a customer need or want. It is a good, service, or idea that
has a distinctive selling proposition consisting of tangible or intangible attributes.
Product development
Product development is the process of designing, creating, and marketing new products or
services to benefit customers. Sometimes referred to as new product development, the discipline
is focused on developing systematic methods for guiding all the processes involved in getting a
new product to market.[12]
Product segmentation
To operate a product segmentation strategy, carry out research to identify groups of customers
who want benefits or levels of functionality that are not available currently in a product category.
By creating different versions of a product, you can match those customers’ needs more
precisely.
Promotion
Promotion covers the methods of communication that a marketer uses to provide information
about its product. This information – both verbal and visual – is persuasive in nature, appeals to
customers’ intellect or emotions, and influences them to buy your product instead of your
competitor's.
Premium Pricing
Premium pricing (also called image pricing or prestige pricing) is the practice of keeping
the price of one of the products or service artificially high in order to encourage favorable
perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price.[28]
Price elasticity
Price elasticity of demand (PED or Ed), or elasticity, is the degree to which the desire for
something changes as its price rises. [29]
Prosumer
A prosumer is a person who consumes and produces a product. [30]
Q
Quad
An open grassy area located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus.
It is the heart of the campus. Many activities from playing Frisbee to chatting with friends,
napping to studying can be taken place there.
R
Research Online Purchase Offline (ROPO)
Research online, purchase offline (ROPO), also research online, buy offline (ROBO) or Online-
to-Store (O2S-Factor), is a new trend in buying behavior where customers research relevant
product information to qualify their buying decision, before they actually decide to buy their
favorite product in the local store.[19]
Retail
Retail is the process of selling consumer goods and/or services to customers through multiple
channels of distribution to earn a profit.
Rule of 1
Typically only about 1% of all submissions will be useful enough to implement.
Radical innovation
Radical innovation is an invention that destroys or supplants an existing business model. Unlike
architectural or incremental innovation, radical innovation blows up the existing system or
process and replaces it with something entirely new.[31]
Reference prices
A reference price (RP) is the price that a purchaser announces that it is willing to pay for a good
or service. [32]
S
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
An additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered
material (typically metal), aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D
model, binding the material together to create a solid structure.[13]
Shopper marketing
Shopper marketing is "understanding how one's target consumers behave as shoppers, in
different channels and formats, and leveraging this intelligence to the benefit of all stakeholders,
defined as brands, consumers, retailers, and shoppers."
Showrooming
The practice of examining merchandise in a traditional brick and mortar retail store or other
offline setting and then buying it online, sometimes at a lower price. Online stores often offer
lower prices than their brick and mortar counterparts because they do not have the same
overhead cost.[14]
Social recognition
Public acknowledgement of a person's status or merits (achievements, virtues, service, etc.)
Stage-Gate method
The Stage-Gate method from Robert G. Cooper is an approach that can be used to make the
product development process more effective. It is a blueprint for managing the new product
process from an idea to launching a product. Each stage consists of a set of certain cross
functional and parallel activities which must be successfully completed prior to obtaining
management approval to proceed to the next stage of product development. The entrance to
each stage is called a gate.[15]
Stereolithography
An additive manufacturing or 3D printing technology used for producing models, prototypes,
patterns, and production parts up one layer at a time by curing a photo-reactive resin with a UV
laser or another similar power source.[16]
Sharing Economy
The sharing economy is a way of distributing goods and services that differs from the traditional
model of corporations hiring employees and selling products to consumers. [33]
T
Tangible good
Tangible goods are physical products defined by the ability to be touched. They are distinct from
intangible goods, as well as services like a spa treatment [17]
3D printing
3D printing (or additive manufacturing, AM) is any of various processes used to make a three-
dimensional object.
U
User-Generated Content
User-Generated Content occurs when a product’s customers create and disseminate online
ideas about a product or the firm that markets it. These ideas are often in the form of text but also
come in other forms such as music, photos, or videos. UGC has three key characteristics: (1)
The contribution is by users of a product rather than the firm that sells this product; (2) it is
creative in nature and the user adds something new; (3) it is posted online and generally
accessible.
V
Value proposition
Value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It's the primary reason a prospect should
buy from you. It explains how your product solves customers’ problems, improves their situation
(relevancy), or delivers specific benefits (quantified value).
Value-based pricing
Value-based price (also value optimized pricing) is a pricing strategy which sets prices primarily,
but not exclusively, according to the perceived or estimated value of a product or service to the
customer rather than according to the cost of the product or historical prices. [34]
W
Webrooming
The practice of researching items online and then purchasing them in-store, is the reverse of
showrooming – browsing for items in a store and purchasing them online later.[18]
Z
Zero Price Effect
It is a phenomenon whereby the demand for a good, service, or commodity is significantly
greater at a price of exactly zero compared to a price even slightly greater than zero. Graphically,
a zero price effect appears as a discontinuity in the demand curve at a price of zero. [35]

Module 1 (Product) Overview

Overview
How has the digital revolution altered the way that products are marketed? In this module, you
will learn how new digital tools are enabling customers to take a more active role in developing
and sharing products. After introducing the notion of what a product is and how products are
changing, we will explore how University of Illinois students, members of the Internet Generation,
use digital tools to offer product ideas to companies. This module will then explore two important
digital concepts: Customer Co-creation and Sharing Economy.
In addition to learning about these concepts, you will also have the opportunity to apply them by
participating in a hands-on exercise peer review (Ideas.Lego.com) [Honors Assignment] and
through a real-world case study peer review (Threadless). As a result of these various learning
activities, you will develop a deep understanding about how digital tools are transforming the
product landscape.

Time
This module should take approximately 7 hours of dedicated time to complete, with its readings
and assignments.

Agenda
The components for this module are listed below (with required assignments in bold italics):

Content Estimate

Module 1 Readings 90 minut

Basic Concept: Product 10 minut

Basic Concept Practice Quiz 10 minut

View from the Quad: Offering Product Ideas 5 minute

Digital Concept 1: Customer Co-creation 30 minut

Digital Concept 1 Practice Quiz 10 minut

Case Study Introduction: Threadless 10 minut

Case Study Peer-graded Assignment: Threadless 70 minut

Digital Concept 2: Sharing Economy 30 minut

Digital Concept 2 Practice Quiz 10 minut

 Exercise: Ideas.Lego.com 10 minut

Exercise Peer-graded Assignment: Ideas.Lego.com [Honors Assignment] 70 minut

Exercise Quiz: Ideas.Lego.com 30 minut

Module 1 Review Quiz 30 minut

Module 1 Transcript
Module 1 Transcript - Marketing in a Digital World.pdf PDF File

Goals and Objectives

After completing this module, you will be able to:

 Understand what products are and how they fit into the marketing mix.

 Appreciate how digital tools are changing how products are developed and offered.

 Differentiate firm created vs. co-created products and brands.

 Learn about the Sharing Economy and how it is affecting both firms and consumers.

 Analyze a real-world case that employs the concept of co-creation.

 Engage in an exercise in which you learn how customers contribute product ideas to
firms [Honors Assignment].

Guiding Questions
As you complete the lectures and assignments, you will be able to develop answers to the
guiding questions. These questions should be the focus of your learning.

 What are the main differences or characteristics of firm created vs. co-created
products and brands?

 What is the Sharing Economy and how is it affecting both firms and consumers?

 Based on the topics discussed in this module, what have you learned about the
evolution from traditional to digital marketing?
Key Phrases/Concepts
Look for the following key terms or phrases as you complete the readings and interact with the
lectures. These topics will help you better understand the content in this module. Please visit the
Glossary page for more keywords and descriptions.

 Digital Marketing

 Product

 Customer Co-creation

 Sharing Economy

Getting and Giving Help

You can get/give help via the following means:

 Use theLearner Help Center to find information regarding specific technical

problems. For example, technical problems would include error messages, difficulty
submitting assignments, or problems with video playback. If you cannot find an
answer in the documentation, you can also report your problem to the Coursera staff
by clicking on the Contact Us! link available on each topic's page within the Learner
Help Center.

Note: Due to the large number of students enrolled in this course, the instructor may not be able
to answer emails sent directly to his account. Rather, questions should be reported as described
above.