Learning objectives
Upon completion of the course students will have acquired advanced knowledge of marketing topics both at theoretical and application levels.
The course aims to provide a complete knowledge of the fundamental issues of strategic and operational marketing, with an international perspective and a focus on the relevance of customer retention for long term growth and profitability.
The student will develop the necessary knowledge to understand the issues related to the management of marketing strategies as well as the necessary knowledge about the levers of marketing mix used by companies to increase customer loyalty.
Specifically, acquired knowledge will be:
- marketing definition its historical origins
- concept of Strategic Business Unit
- portfolio management approaches (BCG and General Electric)
- choice of growth strategies (Ansoff’s matrix)
- assessment of information needs and concept of marketing information systems
- understanding B2B and B2C markets
-segmentation, targeting and positioning
- branding
- classification of products (consumer and industrial)
- managing products and product lines: stretching, filling and cannibalization
- setting prices with demand, competitive and cost approaches
- analyzing and classifying channels
- channel organization and management decisions
- promotion
-communication and digital marketing.
The above results in terms of knowledge and understanding will be attained by means of lectures, assigned readings and discussion of readings in class and managerial lectures. Case studies, academic papers and video cases are integral part of the exam.
Students will be able to apply learned concepts and methods to various situations and marketing problems. Students will more specifically be able to develop skills for thorough understanding, analysis and problem solving in marketing situations ranging from growth strategies to product, price, channel and promotion decisions. They will be able to interpret marketing developments and marketing impact of environmental changes. The above results in terms of knowledge application will be attained by means of lectures, assigned readings and discussion of readings in class, presentations on assigned readings and managerial lectures.
Upon completion of the course students will be able to apply analytical tools to marketing phenomena and situations in order to make autonomous and independent judgments. The ability to make judgments is expressed by a personal reflection on collected data and information and its processing. The achieved skills will enable students to take strategic and tactical marketing decisions. The specific goal of training students to make judgments is pursued by means of Q&A sessions during lectures.
Students will learn to expand, update and upgrade the level and variety of knowledge acquired by means of lectures and individual study with textbooks. Such development will lead students to adopt an attitude of curiosity and research for novelty and updates to better deal with marketing decisions.
Prerequisites
Course unit content
Please note that the International Branding and Retailing course, for the academic year 2024-25 consists of 10 Credits (CFU) equivalent to 70 hours of teaching in class.
for mere technical reasons it may show up in student's online system as two separate exams of 8 + 2 credits, for a total of 10, but in reality it is one single course, with a single exam and one instructor.
Full programme
- Concept of Marketing (definition of marketing, history of marketing concept)
- Marketing Strategy, Planning and Competition (concept of value, strategies and marketing planning)
- Assessment of information needs and information requests to marketing information systems
- phases in the marketing research process and approaches
-Understand Consumer and Business Markets
- Segmentation, Target Marketing, and Positioning
- Brand and branding strategies
- augmented product model
- classification of products (consumer and industrial)
- managing products and product lines: stretching, filling and cannibalization
- setting prices with demand, competitive and cost approaches
- analyzing and classifying channels
- channel organization and management decisions
- promotion
Bibliography
Classes are "in presence" only, with no streaming nor videorecording.
We classify students in "attending" and "non attending": the former come to classes "physically" and regularly and participate in all class activities, specifically discussions and managerial lectures. The latter do not come to classes physically or do it only occasionally, and do not participate in class activities, such as discussions or managerial lectures.
Attending students (as defined above) will prepare for the exam by studying the notes they take during class, prepare the readings that are assigned and discussed in class (also managerial lectures), and may use the slides that are made available on the Elly platform course page.
Non attending students must prepare for the exam by studying two textbooks. Specifically:
1) Kotler P., Armstrong G., Balasubramanian, S., Principles of Marketing - Global Edition - 19th Edition), Pearson Education ISBN13: 9781292449364
ISBN10: 1292449365 Capitoli: tutti, and
2) Ziliani, C. and Ieva, M. (2025). Loyalty Management
Driving Engagement with Loyalty Programs and Customer Experience, 2nd edition. Routledge, ISBN: 9781032510354. Capitoli: 1, 2 e 9 (in chapter 9 only the Starbucks case).
Please note that the two textbooks are not alternative to each other. Both must be studied as preparation for the exam.
Teaching methods
The above results in terms of knowledge and understanding will be attained by means of lectures, assigned readings and discussion of readings in class, managerial lectures and case studies. The specific goal of training students to make judgments is pursued by means of Q&A sessions during lectures.
Students will learn to expand, update and upgrade the level and variety of knowledge acquired by means of lectures and individual study with textbooks. Such development will lead students to adopt an attitude of curiosity and research for novelty and updates to better deal with marketing decisions. These learning skills are strongly reinforced all through the course through the use of readings to be prepared autonomously at home and later presented and discussed in class, managerial lectures and case studies. The final examination will stimulate students’ appraisal of their learning skills by means of a written examination
Assessment methods and criteria
Written examination. Different sets of questions are prepared for students who regularly attended classes and all others (so called Attending or Non Attending), as the materials to prepare are different (as diffusely explained above).
The exam lasts 60 minutes for everybody.
Through the students' answers knowledge and understanding of the issues proposed (point a of the course goals) and the ability of the student to apply the knowledge to specific questions (point b) are assessed.
Furthermore, since the questions are open, students are able to exercise significant independent judgment (point c) with respect to what is required and we can check the communication skills of the student (point d).
Finally, the need for handling categories and qualitative information acquired during the course, during the specific cases studies, requires the students to apply knowledge already possessed, and to learn and to evaluate new information (point e).
Other information
Please check professor's webpage and the Elly platform for updates on course, exams, dates and times, office hours and so on.
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
