Marketing Communications and Strategy, EN 661 - Johns Hopkins ...

Marketing Communications and Strategy, EN 662.651.02
Fall 2011, Thursday 3 – 5:30; Room?
Instructor: Pamela H. Sheff
Campus extension: 410.516.7056
Cell: 410-336-0679
E-mail: pamsheff@gmail.com
Office: 102 Whitehead
Office hours: T/ Th: 1:30 – 3 p.m., Wed. 12-1p.m. and by appt.
Course Assistant: Scott Clark
E-mail: sclark34@jhu.edu
Required Texts: The Marketer’s Toolkit, Harvard Business School Press, ISBN:
1591397626; Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and
Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Harvard Business
School Publishing Company, ISBN: 9781591396192; Marketing Mistakes & Successes
by Robert F. Hartley, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-470-16981-0; The New
Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, ISBN:
978-0-470-54781-6; and Course Pack
Main link (All cases + Pricing simulation): http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/access/9844633
Team Link (Just the group simulation): http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/access/9699223
Course Objective: to answer the questions “What is marketing? Why do we do it? How
do we do it?”
The course will:
· Familiarize you with the role of marketing within an organization as well as the
contemporary and ethical contexts in which marketing operates;
· Introduce you to key marketing ideas, terms and practices;
· Develop your skills in marketing analysis, planning and strategy; and
· Provide practice in presenting, defending and critiquing your own marketing
recommendations.
We will explore the theory and practice of marketing in general, and in particular, as it
applies to engineering and entrepreneurial organizations. Since marketing is naturally
the study of human behavior, our discussions will often take an anthropological tone.
Classes will center on discussions and contemporary issues. I expect you to keep
current with developments in the media and come to class prepared to apply the
assigned readings to the issues we discuss. The course will run seminar style and

involve significant teamwork; each group will come to class prepared with a two page
analysis of the case/cases we are to discuss that day. Since our focus is on marketing
as it is practiced in the business world, you will also work in teams to research, develop
and present full-scale marketing plans for a choice of new products or services.
Presenting and critiquing team projects will provide opportunities to hone
communications skills.
Ethics Statement: The strength of the University depends on academic and personal
integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Ethical violations include
cheating on exams, plagiarism, re-use of assignments, improper use of the Internet and
electronic devices, unauthorized collaboration, alteration of graded assignments, forgery
and falsification, lying, facilitating academic dishonesty, and unfair competition.
Course Plan
Please read this syllabus with care and request clarification of requirements or policies
that are unclear to you. It is your responsibility to meet all deadlines and complete all
assignments noted here, even if they are not announced in class. I reserve the right to
change this syllabus at any time during the semester based on the needs of the class.
All re ad ing /and or assignments must be completed prior to the class for which
they are assigned.
Week 1 (September 1)
Introduction to Marketing
Assigned: Note on Marketing Strategy (Dolan); Marketer’s Toolkit, pp. xi – 17; Chapters
3 – 5.
Week 2 (September 8)
Presentation by Center for Educational Resources: Best Practices in Visual and Oral
Communication
Case discussion: NIKE
Assigned: Chapter 19, Marketing Mistakes & Successes (MMS); answer question 6 (p.
318) in a memo of no more than 2-3 double-spaced pages. To answer the question, you
must do some research into the athletic goods industry in 2011 and you must
incorporate the emergence of Under Armour into the competitive landscape.
Week 3 (September 15)
Understanding the Customer
Case discussion: IKEA Invades America
Assigned: Marketer’s Toolkit, Chapter 7; Blue Ocean Strategy, pp. 3 – 44; Answer the
following questions in a 2 -3 page double-spaced memo: What factors account for
IKEA’s success? Do you think IKEA is being overly optimistic in its growth plans – why
or why not? How would you make the company’s value proposition more attractive to
American consumers?

Week 4 (September 22)
Understanding the Competitive Landscape
Case discussion: McDonald’s
Assigned: Chapter 8, MMS ; Marketer’s Toolkit, Chapter 5; Blue Ocean Strategy, pp. 45
-115 New Rules, p. 71. Answer the following questions in a 2 - 3 page double-spaced
memo: Where is McDonald’s in 2011 and what long-term expansion mode would you
recommend for the company going forward? Why?
Week 5 (September 27) – Class meets on Tuesday!
Branding
Case discussion: Mountain Man Brewing Company
Assigned: Blue Ocean Strategy, Chapter 6; Marketer’s Toolkit, Chapter 6; New Rules,
Chapters 3-5. Answer the following questions in a 2 - 3 page double-spaced memo:
would you create a light beer and if so, describe how you would market the new
product. If not, explain why and how you would improve sales of your existing product.
Week 6 (October 6)
Pricing
Case discussion: online pricing simulation
Mid-term Exam (take home) assigned
Week 7 (October 13)
Disruptive Technologies
Reading: Dis ruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave; Ma rke te r’s Toolkit, Chapter 8
Mid-term Exam due
Form teams for market segmentation simulation game and presentation
Week 8 (October 20)
Case discussion: online market segmentation simulation
Week 9 (October 27)
Team Presentations
Week 10 (November 3)
Ethics in Marketing
Assigned: MMS , Chapter 23: Answer question 2, p. 378, in a 2 - 3 page double-spaced
memo; Marketer’s Toolkit, Chapter 2.
Develop ideas/products for marketing plans; form teams.
Week 11 (November 10)
Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy – Guest Speaker
Assigned: New Rules, Chapters 8 -10
Week 12 (November 17)
“Murder Boards” for marketing plan presentations

Week 13 (November 24 –Thanksgiving)
Week 14 (December 1)
Team Presentations of Marketing Plans
Marketing Plans due in written form
Assigned: Final Exam (take home essay) due ? by noon

Graded Assignments
Your grade in this class will be based on the following:
Class participation: 15%
Case analyses: 20%
Mid-term exam: 15%
Team presentation: 15%
Written Marketing Plan: 10%
Presentation of Marketing Strategy: 10%
Final Exam: 15%
35% of your grade in this class will be based on team activities. To insure fairness and
accountability, each team member will submit a written performance assessment for
every team assignment, including a grade, for his or her team members. You must fully
explain or defend the grade.