Brand Building

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

• 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

Objectives

The Brand Building course focuses on challenges and opportunities of marketing new and existing products and services to the global marketplace. It builds on the knowledge acquired in previous Marketing and Advertising courses and applies key marketing and branding concepts in the international business context. It introduces students to international-level strategic and operational marketing tools and decision and influence techniques for building brands.

The course accomplishes its objectives through lectures, analyses and discussions of real business cases of actual global marketing issues, and through the establishment of a Brand's marketing and advertising strategy. It pays special attention to strategies used by international Brands. Specifically, the course analyses the impact of cultural, economic, technological, political, and legal differences on the branding and marketing process.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

• Understand the nature of marketing strategy and its linkages to brand strategy vis-à-vis local and international companies.
• Develop analytical frameworks in the screening of national markets defining the key factors in the firm's internationalisation process by evaluating the international business environment, stressing particularly the economic and cultural dimensions.
• Discuss the complexities and paradoxes that are prevalent in so many successful and failing international brands.
• Explore the tensions in adopting a global standardised Brand as opposed to a locally responsive brand in international marketing and relate these to the overall corporate strategy of companies.
• Consider ethical and social responsibility issues, in the development and implementation of the marketing strategy.

Learning outcomes

• Be able to analyse and propose the policies, strategies and actions to enhance the value of the brand.

Competencies

General skills

• Acquire an ethical commitment and a sense of social responsibility in professional actions.
• Show ability to adapt to contexts and changing business and social realities within a global environment.

Specific skills

• Analyse and understand the functioning of the market, nationally and internationally, for business decision making.
• Devise integrated business plans for development of business initiatives.

Basic skills

• Students can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialists and non-specialists.
• Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) in order to make judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific and ethical issues.

Core skills

• Become the protagonist of one's own learning process in order to achieve personal and professional growth and acquire all-round training for living and learning in a context of respect for linguistic, social, cultural, gender and economic diversity.
• Interact in international and worldwide contexts to identify needs and and new contexts for knowledge transfer to current and emerging fields of professional development, with the ability to adapt to and independently manage professional and research processes.
• Use oral, written and audiovisual forms of communication, in one's own language and in foreign languages, with a high standard of use, form and content.

Content

1. The Global marketing imperative
2. Macro-environment marketing: Socio-cultural, economic, political and legal elements
3. International marketing micro-environment: Competition, suppliers and customers
4. Strategic planning: Segmentation, targeting and positioning
5. Product management, Parfitt and Collins model and branding
6. Marketing research and brand value discovery. The total brand experience
7. Pricing, brand value and affordability
8. Sales management: The brand ambassadors and the competitive war
9. Brand building and advertising process: Strategic partners for brand building
10. Promotional and communication strategies (1)
11. Promotional and communication strategies (2)
12. Brands value assessment, share of market and profit and loss (P&L)

Evaluation

Regular term evaluation

The final grade will be determined by the weighted average of several continuous evaluation activities and a final exam.

• Class participation: 10%
  • Time period: throughout the course
  • Type of assessment: formative assessment
  • Type of activity: conceptual and synthesis
  • Grouping: individual
• Case discussions and case presentations: 10%
  • Time period: throughout the course
  • Type of assessment: formative assessment
  • Assessment agent: teacher
  • Type of activity: application and synthesis
  • Grouping: individual, group
• Group marketing plan partial submittals: 30%
  • Time period: every two weeks
  • Type of assessment: summative assessment
  • Assessment agent: teacher, self-evaluation, co-evaluation
  • Type of activity: application and synthesis
  • Grouping: group
• Group marketing plan final submittal and oral presentation: 20%
  • Time period: May 19th
  • Type of assessment: summative assessment
  • Assessment agent: teacher
  • Type of activity: application and synthesis
  • Grouping: group
• Final exam: 30%
  • A minimum score of 4 is required
  • Time period: exam week
  • Type of assessment: evaluative assessment
  • Assessment agent: teacher
  • Type of activity: conceptual and synthesis
  • Grouping: individual

Taking the final exam and obtaining a minimum score of 4 are necessary conditions in order to pass the course. If the student does not obtain a minimum of 4 in the exam, the final grade will be the minimum between 4 and the average of the exam and the continuous evaluation elements.

Important

Further specifications on grading and assignment rules

Participation in this course is graded as a bonus. Participation grade can increase your final grade for no more than 1.0. Your participation mark will be based on your class contribution. Some of the behaviours that contribute to effective class participation are captured in the following questions:

• Is the participant a good listener?
• Are the points that are made relevant to the discussion? Are they linked to the comments of others?
• Do the comments add to our understanding of the situation?
• Do the comments show evidence of analysis of the case?
• Does the participant distinguish between different types of data (that is, facts, opinions, beliefs, concepts, etc.)?
• Is there a willingness to share?
• Is there a willingness to test new ideas, or are all comments "safe"? (For example, repetition of case facts without analysis and conclusions or a comment already made by a colleague.)
• Is the participant willing to interact with other class members?
• Do comments clarify and highlight the important aspects of previous comments and lead to a clearer statement of the concepts being covered?

The questions above deal with both the process of class participation and (of equal or greater concern) the content of what you say. Please, trust that both quality and frequency are important, but that quantity can never make up for low quality.

Please do not confuse participation with attendance. Having a perfect attendance record may still result in a zero participation mark if you do not actively participate in class discussions. However, if you do not attend classes, you cannot participate. So, if your attendance falls below 80% of all classes (6 or more absences), your participation will be set to zero regardless of your contribution during the classes you were present at.

At the beginning of the term, you will self-form groups of 5 students that will develop a Company's marketing plan.

Although each group will get one mark, individual marks will be adjusted (upwards or downwards) based on the 360 degree evaluation that you will have to complete during the final exam.

Methodology

The course is composed of a mixture of lectures, tutorials, seminars, team groups and case discussions. The purpose of the lectures is to present and discuss theories, concepts, analytical techniques and empirical findings. We will supplement lectures with tutorials that will allow us to practice the analytical techniques introduced during the lectures. Additionally, we will discuss a number of comprehensive business cases. The goal of the case study is to apply the concepts to the context provided by the case and to make decisions based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Students are expected to be prepared and participate actively in class discussions.

In class

Teacher

• Teacher's exposition
• Doubts and questions resolutions

Student

• Case study discussions
• Group branding and marketing plan presentations
• Final exam

Directed (outside the classroom)

Teacher

• Read and assess case study reports
• Read and assess branding and marketing plan sections

Student

• Case study preparation
• Group marketing plan elaboration

Autonomous work

Student

• Reading of material before class
• Individual personal study of the subject
• Preparation for the final exam

Bibliography

Key references

• Czinkota,M.R.; Ronkainen,I.A. (2009). International Marketing (9 ed.). South-Western College Pub.
• Kotler P.; Keller,K.C. (2012). Marketing Management (12 ed.). Prentice Hall.