NEW YORK UNIVERSITYStern School of Business

Fall 2013

MKTG.UB.0055 Brand Strategy T-LC21: Monday & Wednesday 11:00 am-12:15 pm

Professor Tülin Erdem (terdem@stern.nyu.edu)Office Hours: Wednesday 2:30-3:30 pm or by appointment; Office: T-913

Course Outline:

This marketing elective focuses on the three major activities common to the brand & marketing planning across firms and industries: (1) analysis of market information, (2) development of brand strategy, (3) programming of the strategy and implementation of the marketing programs. The unifying framework for these activities is the annual marketing plan for the brand. Thus, the course attempts to simulate the brand manager’s job through the development andimplementation of a marketing plan for a particular good or service.

As might be surmised from the variety of activities covered by the course, a successful marketing planning process requires a broad set of skills. Thus, key concepts will be drawn from a variety of areas including marketing strategy,

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buyer behavior, economics, marketing research, statistics andeconometrics.

A variety of teaching methods will be used during the course,particularly cases and lecture/ discussion. The key feature of the course is a group project, which is the development ofan actual marketing plan for a product selected by the students. The course provides the generic background necessary for developing marketing plans; students tailor thecourse to their interests by their chosen project. Thus, thecourse can be a consumer product, industrial product, service, or even not-for-profit course depending upon the project.

Course Materials:

1. Lehmann and Winer, Analysis of Marketing Planning, 2008, 7th

Edition, McGrawHill-Irwin.2. A course reader with Cases.

Course Format

The course uses a combination of lectures and cases. Wewill also have few guest speakers.

Lectures

Lectures will be used to introduce new concepts, frameworks and tools that areimportant for conducting a thorough marketing analysis and developing branding strategy and programs. The lectures willcomplement the text and will not attempt to cover all points

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raised in the reading. These lectures will be interactive rather than simply a monologue.

Cases

Case discussions are a critical component of the learning process for this course. Students should be prepared for case discussions whether or not it is a writtenassignment. You will be evaluated on both the quantity and quality of your participation. In addition, students can beexpected to be “cold called” during a discussion.

The case method is one of the most effective means of sharpening your decision-making abilities, requiring you to be an active participant in a marketing strategy decision. The assigned cases are intended to give you practice in assembling data to support a decision. Further, the case method provides a vehicle by which you can apply the theories, concepts, and analytical devices discussed in class or in the book. Finally, the discussion forum provides an opportunity to argue your position and to learn from others by listening to their comments and criticisms.

In selecting case materials, I have tried to choose cases which fit the pedagogical objectives of the course andwhich are also (hopefully) interesting to participants. Some of the cases may appear to be far-removed from problemspertinent to your work or consumer experience, but in general, the lessons to be learned from the cases are universally relevant and transcend particular situations.

During case discussions each person should be prepared to share his or her individual views with the class. In these sessions, the instructor will act to facilitate discussion, not to provide recommendations for a particular course of action. The direction and quality of the discussion is the collective responsibility of the group, not the sole responsibility of the instructor.

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It should be emphasized that the case method of learning does not provide an answer to the problem being addressed. In most case discussions, several viable “answers” will be developed and supported by various participants within the total group. It is usually the casethat a single “best” course of action is not obvious at the time the decision has to be made; if that situation was common, business decision-making would be easier than it is!At the same time, some courses of action are better supported by the case facts than others. In addition, whilewhat actually happened is sometimes known, in no way should this be interpreted as the correct or incorrect solution. What is important is to develop a framework that will lead you to recognize the best options available.

Some students have found the following process helpful as a guide to case preparation:

1. Skim through the case to understand the basic setting and framework. This will help you to assimilate the facts of the case when you read it.

2. Review all tables and figures.3. Read the case study questions provided in the detailed

outline at the end of this syllabus. Use these questionsas a guide to some of the key issues in the case. Remember, it’s still up to you to decide what is important based on the evidence in each case.

4. Now read the case and begin to analyze it qualitatively and quantitatively. What are the key issues? What do yourecommend? What alternatives did you consider? Why did you select your preferred course of action?

5. Now with a reasonably good understanding of the situation, you should reread the case to incorporate important details that will impact your analysis.In preparing the cases, don't look for a single answer.Each case will raise a number of issues that need to beevaluated. A good recommendation is one that is based onsolid analysis and considers multiple courses of action.

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Preparation questions for case discussions in class areprovided in Appendix A.

Course Requirements

Class Participation

You must be prepared to discuss all assigned readingsand cases. Your comments should reflect a depth ofunderstanding indicative of thorough analysis. You should beprepared to articulate and defend your position when calledon to do so. Active participation of all students is required but quality andfrequency of comments is more important than duration of each comment. Theability to speak comfortably to a group is a vital businessskill. If you are anxious about public speaking, the only wayto get better is to practice. The best way to reduce youranxiety is to be thoroughly prepared.

In order to encourage universal participation andpreparation, I WILL COLD CALLI WILL COLD CALL, especially during cases.

Class discussion should encourage the free and openexchange of ideas. If you want to challenge what I, oranother student, have said, do so. Constructive criticism is alwayswelcome and is an important part of the Stern experience. Do not be upsetif something you say is challenged - we learn most when wehave to defend our positions.

However, putting down legitimate comments (those notintended to be humorous) is not acceptable. Everyone's input,if not repetitious, must be considered valuable andencouraged. Feel free to question or disagree with otherstudents, however, such disagreement must be based on theidea and not the person. Respect for your fellow students isthe sine qua non of great discussions and great learningexperiences.

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It is important for your classmates, and me, to know who you are.Please help out by using your desk name card during everyclass session.

At the end of the semester, the teaching fellow working with your section and I will consider the following elements in evaluating your classroom contributions:

1. Are you a good listener?2. Do you contribute to the learning environment by sharing

your relevant businessexperiences and those you read about?

3. Do your comments show evidence of thorough analysis?4. Do you ask constructive questions of other students

that help to deepen everyone's understanding?

5. Do you distinguish between different kinds of data (i.e., facts and opinions)?

6. Are you willing to share ideas and information in a collegial fashion?

7. Are you willing to test new ideas, or are all comments "safe" (e.g., a repetition of the

case facts without new insights)?8. Are you willing to interact with other class members to

help refine ideas?9. Do your comments build on earlier comments to advance

the discussion or are youmerely repeating earlier comments or raising points thatdo not fit into the current discussion?

10. Do your comments incorporate concepts presented in lectures, readings and earlier cases?

11. Do you make your points succinctly?

Assignments

There will be four written assignments in this course.Questions are based on the following four cases that we willcover in the class: US Coffee A, Ontela, Optical Distortion

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and Lowe’s. Questions for these assignments can be found inthe Appendix.

These written assignments should not exceed four pages.Up to three pages of supporting material (tables, figures,graphs) may be attached. This material should be referencedin the text of the write-up. Professional quality writing andpresentation are expected. Write-ups must be double-spaced,in 12-point font with 1” margins.

Your answers and recommendations should be based onquantitative and qualitative analysis of case data. Youranalysis should anticipate potential objections to yourrecommendations and illustrate its superiority over otheralternatives. It should be analytic and deliberative intone. The most persuasive documents are the ones that debatemore than advocate. After all, if you do not look at allalternatives, how do you know that you have chosen the bestone? In answering the case questions, do not describe thecase, but focus on the following three factors: 1) carefulanalysis of the situation, 2) description of your decisionsor recommendations; 3) supporting logic and analyses.Assignments will be described in more detail as we getcloser to the due date. Note that these assignments requiredata analysis as well as creativity/judgment.

The assignments are due in class on the date the caseis discussed. Students are not only permitted to discussthe case with other members of the class, they areencouraged to do so.

The Major Project: Marketing Plan for a Brand

The major project in this class will be the systematic development of an annual marketing plan for a brand (can be a product, service, place, person, etc.). Thiswill be a team project. This project is an attempt to apply what you have learned in the course to a product or service of your choosing. The marketing plan should not exceed 30

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double-spaced pages. Supporting material can put in appendices. Each marketing plan should have a title page, an executive summary, a situation analysis section (industry analysis, customer analysis, competitor set definition, competitor analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities andthreats (SWOT)), a section on the development of marketing and brand strategy (objectives, segmentation, targeting, positioning, brand equity) and a section on marketing programs (pricing and promotions, communications, distribution). The marketing plans should have also a proposed marketing budget and a summary of contingency plans.More details will be provided in class.

You will need to submit a draft of the situation analysis on November 11. This will be graded and I will provide feedback that you are expected to integrate into yourfinal marketing plans.

You will also make a PowerPoint presentation aboutyour proposed marketing plan. The presentation time will be approximately 10 minutes and 5 minutes will be set aside for Q&A.

Grading and Due Dates of Assignments:

Marketing Plan (team project; in pairs or three people)Due date

Situation Analysis 7.5 % 11/11

Presentation 7.5 % 12/4-9

Written Report 25 % 12/11

Assignments (individually) #1 10 % 10/2#2 10 % 10/16#3 10 % 11/6

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#4 10 % 11/25

Class Participation 20 %

Other Administrative Details

1. You should attend all class sessions and complete all assigned readings before each class. You should minimizedisturbances during class, i.e., talking, arriving late,leaving early, etc.

2. Students are expected to adhere to the Stern School’s Honor Code, “I will not lie, cheat or steal to gain an academic advantage,or tolerate those who do.”

3. No extra credit will be given in this course. Please seeme right away if you are concerned about your performance in the class.

4. Deviations from the syllabus may be necessary.5. Out of respect for the other students in your class, it

is important for you to focus your full attention on the class, for the entire class period. Most students observe proper decorum, but it takes only one person’s behavior to distract the entire class. Students have complained to the school about others who act in a distracting manner. Please adhere to the following rules:

Arrive to class on time. Once you have arrived, you should leave the

classroom only if absolutely necessary. Leaving tomake or take phone calls, to meet with classmates,or to go to an interview, is not considered appropriate behavior.

If you know in advance that you will miss a class,please let the teaching fellow know in advance.

Laptops act as a powerful distraction. Use of laptops for non-class purposes during class time has been a particular source of student complaintsat Stern. Therefore the Stern School

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administration has established the default policy of not allowing laptops in class.

Turn off your cell phone and any other communications device.

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CLASS SCHEDULE

9/4 Introduction to the Course: Marketing Analysis, Planning, Strategy & Management Read: L&W, Ch. 1

Analysis of Market Information

9/9 Case: Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready to Market

9/11 Industry Analysis, Competitive Set DefinitionRead: L&W, Ch. 2, 3

9/16 Customer Analysis IRead: L&W, Ch. 5

9/18 Customer Analysis II

9/23 Case: Omnitel Pronto Italia 09/25 Competitor Analysis

Read L&W: 4Case: Barco Projection Systems

9/30 Marketing Research to get Market Information

10/2 Market Potential and Sales ForecastingRead: L&W, Ch. 6

Case: US Coffee A ** Assignment 1 is due **

Developing Marketing Strategy

10/7 Marketing and Brand Strategy IRead: L&W, Ch. 7

10/9 Brand Equity I

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10/16 Case: Ontela PickDeck (A) and (B): Customer Segmentation,Targeting and Positioning ** Assignment 2 is due **

10/21 Brand Equity II

10/23 Brand Equity Management and Brand ExtensionsCase: Burberry

10/28 Guest Speaker I: Using Business Analytics to GuideMarketing StrategyJames Walker, Prophet, Senior Partner

Programming of the strategy and implementation of the marketing programs

10/30 Pricing & Price Promotions IUnderstanding and Measuring Customer Value

11/4 Pricing & Price Promotions IICase: Coca-Cola’s New Vending Machine

11/6 Case: Optical Distortion, Inc. ** Assignment 3 is due **

11/11 Advertising and Communications ** Situation Analysis is due **

11/13 Case: Dove

11/18 Distribution Strategy: Designing and Managing Marketing Channels Case: Hewlett-Packard Imaging Systems Division

11/20 Guest Speaker II: Managing On-Line communications Douglas Silverstein, AmEx

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11/25 Case: Loewe’s, Optimizing the Marketing Communications Mix

** Assignment 4 is due **

11/27 Integrated Marketing CommunicationsBackground Case: Cunard Line Ltd.:Managing Integrated Marketing Communications

12/2 Planning for Global Marketing Case: Samsung Electronics Company: Global Marketing

12/4 Marketing Plan Presentations

12/9 Marketing Plan Presentations

12/11 Course Summary ** Marketing Plans are due**

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Appendix

Case Discussion Questions

Product Team Cialis: Getting ready to Market ( 9-505-038 )

1. Why are the most relevant dimensions along which to segment the patient market for ED treatment? Of the segments identified, which would you target initially with Cialis?

2. What is Viagra’s positioning in the marketplace in 2002? How would you characterize the Viagra brand?

3. What would be the most effective way to position Cialisin the marketplace?

4. What marketing mix activities should accompany the launch of Cialis?

a. What would be the most important messages to communicate to the target patients? To physicians?To partners?

b. What medium would you use to reach each of these parties and what would your relative resource allocation be to each?

c. How would you price Cialis? (assuming no health care coverage). What type of promotions would you offer?

5. What competitive response do you anticipate from Pfizer? From Bayer-GlaxoSmithKline?

Omnitel Pronto Italia (9-501-002)

1. What was Omnitel’s competitive advantage when the service was launched in December 1995?

2. Why did the launch not perform expectations?3. What are the economics of LIBERO?

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4. Why is the churn rate so high for many European countries?

5. Do you expect the churn rate to increase or decrease with the launch of LIBERO?

6. What do you learn from consumer research (see Exhibits 5 to 8)?

7. Will LIBERO lead to a price war? If yes, what would OMNITEL do to avoid one?

8. If you were Fabrizio Bona, what changes would you make to LIBERO and why?

Barco Projection Systems (A) (9-591-133)

1. Assess the market and competitive situation facing Barco. What exactly is Sony trying to accomplish with its 1270 “Superdata” projector?

2. What are the major options open to Erik Dejonghe? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the options?

3. What do you think Electrohome will do?4. What should Barco do?

U.S. Coffee Market (A) (9-582-087)

1. Make and justify the following forecastsa. the size of the total retail market in 1983 and

1988b. the split of the market by major segments (decaf

versus caf., etc.)Please

i. Justify the choice of the dependent variables, independent variables, data points(if applicable)

ii. Discuss the assumptions that you underlie your forecasts (differentiate facts from assumptions)

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iii. Discuss any caveats associated with your forecasts

2. What are the implications of your forecasts in Question 1 for the marketingstrategy of each major producer?

Ontela PicDec (A) and (B) (KEL450-1)

(A)1. Based on the three customer personas, which consumer

segment should Ontela target?2. Create a positioning statement for your chosen target

persona and identify the key themes that should be emphasized in the messaging for the PicDec service to this segment.

3. What are the risks of using qualitative persona to select target segments?

(B)1. Based only on the cluster analysis data, which

preference related variables are most useful for segmentation identification and evaluation? Which variables are least useful?

2. Create descriptive profiles for the customers segment represented by each cluster, without using information provided in Exhibits 3 and 4.

3. Now use the profiling information in Exhibit 4 to create a revised profile for each cluster. Is this profile different from what you guessed based only on the preference data?

4. Which segment(s) would you recommend as a target for PickDeck? Justify.

5. Develop a positioning statement for your elected targetcustomer(s).

Burberry (9-504-048)

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1. Compare Burberry’s market position relative that of itscompetitors, including Polo, Coach, Armani, and Gucci. Is Burberry’s competitive position sustainable in the long-term? Why or why not?

2. Describe Burberry’s customer base. Who is Burberry’s target customer? How could Burberry’s popularity among non-target customers affect the brand? How should Burberry respond to this popularity?

3. What is Burberry’s brand equity? Discuss how Burberry does on different brand equity dimensions.

4. Because demand tends to be unpredictable in the world of fashion, the fashion business is inherently risky. In this context, consider the various changes Bravo made upon her arrival at Burberry. To what extent have these changes exacerbated or mitigated Burberry’s risk profile?

5. Bravo’s team is currently juggling a lot of things, including multiple brands (e.g., London, Blue and Black), multiple collections (e.g., womenswear, menswear), multiple channels (e.g., wholesale, retail).What is the role of these elements in Burberry’s overall business model? For example, what is the role of each of the sub-brands? What is the role of company-owned stores? What is the role of licensing?

6. Bravo’s team has managed to elevate the overall status of the Burberry brand. How has it managed to accomplishthis?

7. Should Burberry launching Brit, the new perfume line? What other product categories should Burberry be entering?

Coca-Cola’s New Vending Machine (A): Pricing to Capture Value, or Not? (9-500-068)

1. What is Coke? What does Coke mean to the average consumer?

2. Is selling Coke through interactive vending machines a good or bad idea? Why?

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3. Where, how, and for whom does this technology create/destroy value? (e.g., loyal Coke customers, switchers among cola products, loyal Pepsi customers?).

4. Are there any pricing related issues that can adversely affect the firm?

5. What did Coca-Cola do right? What did it do wrong? How would you have done it?

Optical Distortion, Inc. 9-575-072

1. What characteristics of the ODI contact lens are likely to make it appealing or unappealing to different types of farmers? 2. In what geographic areas should ODI focus its efforts? 3. On what market segments (in addition to geographic) should ODI focus its efforts?

4. What pricing policy should ODI adopt?5. What level of marketing efforts should ODI be considering? In particular, what

information, incentives and technical assistance will be required to induce (a) trial and (b) purchase?

6. What is a realistic goal for ODI by 1978?

Dove: Evolution of a Brand (9-508-047)

1. What is Dove’s brand equity?2. What was Dove’s brand positioning in 1950s? in 2007?3. How did Unilever organize to do product category

management and brand management in Unilever before 2000?What was the corresponding structure after 2000? How wasbrand meaning controlled before 2000 and how is controlled at the time of the case?

4. Spend a little time searching blogs, using Google Blog Search, Technorati, BlogRunner or any other blog search engines, to get a sense of what people are saying about Dove today. What does this discussion contribute to the meaning of the brand?

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5. Footnote 1 of the case leads you to a blogger who asks, with reference to the age of YouTube advertising, “Is marketing now cheap, fast and out of control?” Footnote 2 refers to Dove as having started a conversation “that they don’t have control of.” In “When Tush comes to Dove,” Seth Stevenson writes about the “risky bet Dove is making.” Do you see risks for the Dove brand today?

Cunard Line, Ltd: Managing Integrated Communications (9-594-046)

1. What is the brand equity of Cunard? What is the brand equity of QE2? of other ships?

2. What should Cunard’s branding strategy be? Should the emphasis be on the umbrella brand identity or the individual ships? Why?

3. Evaluate Cunard’s marketing communications.4. What are the implications of a more “sale-oriented”

format with more emphasis on price for tactical advertising? Was Cunard’s tactical advertising successful?

5. Which marketing communication elements do you believe should receive greater/lesser emphasis by Cunard? Why? Specifically, what about the role of direct marketing?

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.: Optimizing the Marketing Communications Mix (KEL563)

1. What are the primary factors that influence customers to pursue a kitchen remodel project? Describe the major steps involved in their buying cycle. 2. How did the customer experience mapping exercise benefit Lowe’s? what

additional data would you have collected in order to map the buying process in detail?

3. What marketing campaign (traditional or digital or both) would be appropriate for

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Lowe’s NGIS? 4. Based on the new information you now have regarding the customer experience map and the survey results, what are the top three pain points for consumers during the early stages of the buying process?

5. Analyze the effectiveness numbers in Exhibit 7. Whatdo they tell you about the

customer buying process? What changes would you recommend and why?

6. Do you agree with the relative priority assigned to each stage of consumer decision making in Exhibit 8? If not, why not and what changes would you make?

7. How would the marketing plan differ in terms of relative priority assigned to each stage of consumer decision making for Home Depot, whose remodeling program has already customer awareness? Would the marketing strategy be skewed more toward traditional and digital marketing? Why?

8. Use Exhibits 7 and 8 to determine a marketing budget and how it should be allocated across various marketingchannels. Also, calculate ROI and share of marketing spend for each tactic.

Hewlett-Packard Imaging Systems Division: Sonos 100 C/F Introduction (9-593-080)

1. What does HP brand stand for in this market? In general?2. What factors are affecting competition, product

development and marketing requirements in the ultrasoundimaging market?

3. Should HP enter the low-end segment of this business? What is the role of this product in MPG’s product portfolio?

4. How should the Sonos 100 CF be distributed: through ISY’s direct sales force or through manufacturers’ reps?What are the economic and organizational implications ofyour decision?

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Samsung Electronics Company: Global Marketing Operations (9-504-051)

1. What is the essence of the Samsung brand? What are its identity dimensions? How have Samsung brand identity andimage evolved over time?

2. How strong is the Samsung brand? Can Samsung pass Sony and become a top ten global brand?

3. What are the ingredients of SEC’s corporate turnaround strategy? What are the implications for marketing?

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