PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

Course Outline
Fall Semester 2019

Class Timings & Days: 8:30 am – 9:45 am, Monday and Wednesday, Main Campus
10:00 am – 11:15 am, Monday and Wednesday, Main Campus
8:30 am – 9:45 am, Tuesday and Thursday, Main Campus

Textbook: Principle of Marketing, South Asian Edition

Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, Prafulla Y. Agnihotri, Ehsan ul Haque

Instructor: Rimsha Bilal, [email protected]

Counseling Hours: 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Tuesday/Thursday, Room 213, Fauji Foundation
Building, Main Campus or by appointment.

Course Description and Objectives:

Students will examine the character and importance of the marketing process, its essential
functions, and the institutions exercising these functions. Course content focuses on the major
policies that underlie the activities of a typical marketing department and the social, economic,
and political implications of such policies.

Learning Outcome:

Upon Completion of this course the student will be able to:

o Demonstrate the ability to properly identify and select markets for which specific
products will be targeted.

o Gain an understanding of the basic functional aspects necessary to formulate an

Integrated Marketing Plan. This includes: Consumer Buying Behavior, Environment,
Marketing Research, Product Management, Promotion, Channels of Distribution, and
Pricing.

o Perform Marketing Research that is targeted towards reading topical articles related to
marketing and referencing these topics to what is being discussed in the class.

o Gain the ability to assemble a comprehensive, conceptual Marketing Plan based on the
material learned in this class. This objective deals with the practical application of the
subject of Marketing, and integrates the information presented in the entire class.

Principles of Marketing Rimsha Bilal

Class Discussion & Participation:

Students are expected to come prepared with questions and/or comments from the assigned
reading material. Discussions are interesting when examples and learning from outside the
textbooks are brought to class by participants. It is therefore expected that in addition to reading
the required chapters, you read newspapers especially the commercial sections as well as
magazines featuring marketing activities in the Pakistani environment.

Assignment:

The assignment in this course intends to help you in observing and understanding the concept of product
launches from a 360-degree perspective. It entails you to develop an understanding of market research,
market feasibility and then apply your own creativity based on the understanding of market.

Objective: For your business plan, you have to introduce a completely new good or service, at the bare
minimum, it has to be something currently not served in Karachi.
A few pointers to keep in mind when choosing a business (simply suggestions - not requirements - for
what have made good projects in the past):
 Something small. This will help you be more focused and make it easier for you to apply
marketing concepts in straightforward manner.
 Start with your own problem - is there a need that you have as a consumer that is not met by any
product in current market?

Business
 Start by selecting a business. (Demonstrate your brainstorming process that eventually lead you
to the final good you selected)
 Identify a marketing idea - an unsatisfied consumer need (please see the above section for
pointers on choosing a business).
 Creative thinking is encouraged, but your plan must be realistic and executable. Respect
reasonable constraints (i.e. resources) and environmental forces (i.e. the economy).
 Once you discover a consumer need and a target market, describe what good(s) or services(s)
you plan to offer to satisfy this need and which behavior you are targeting.
 Include how you would position your product
 Perceptual map
Market Situation
 Analyze your target market.
 Who are they? What are they like? What are their needs?
 Including the size and growth of the market.
 Environmental Forces: describe any of the social, economic, technological, competitive, and
regulatory trends that may be pertinent to the performance of your business, both currently and in
the future.
 Include SWOT analysis

Principles of Marketing Rimsha Bilal

Marketing Mix
 Specify and describe the proposed decisions for each marketing mix element
(the 4 Ps)
1. Product
 Your offerings. What is the need you discovered, and how will you satisfy it?
 Since you would have already described product in earlier sections, you can briefly
summarize your product here
2. Price
 Describe how you will price your product(s) and why
 Apply the various pricing strategies discussed in class to your product / service
3. Promotion
 What is your promotion strategy and why are you following this particular strategy?
 Try and develop a video (no longer than 30 seconds) / print campaign for your good/
service
4. Place
 How will your company deliver its goods/services to its customers (e.g., stores, direct
mail, online, etc.) and why. Your analysis must include a proper study of the distribution
strategy, its success with similar product nature in the past and why are you suggesting it
in line with your findings.
Important Notes
1. Apply the marketing knowledge you learned in class to your project. This will help you develop
a strong marketing plan, and will also give you a higher grade.
2. Be as specific as possible. For example, instead of saying the prices will differ across order sizes,
give specific numbers (1: Rs. 500, 2: Rs. 1000 etc.)
3. Provide an argument for your decisions. For example, if you are going to charge Rs.500 for your
service, also states WHY you think that price is reasonable or optimal.
4. You will be peer-reviewed on this project. The peer-review rubric will be provided to you at the
end of the semester and those marks will be included in your overall grade.

After completing your visits, you are expected to submit a 1000 words write up presenting an analysis of
all the points mentioned above. The write up is expected to be in Times New Roman, font size 12 with
1.5 spacing.

This is a group assignment. Each group should consist of 5 members at maximum. There would be a
single word document submission per group.

Deadline for this assignment: 1st week of November. Submissions to be made on LMS by the group
leader.

Term Project:

The term project entails marketing audit of a brand operating in Pakistan. The final submission of this
work will be made in the form of a documentary (on a CD). The project is divided into phases and there

Principles of Marketing Rimsha Bilal

will be regular uptakes taken from students in order to monitor progress. The phases are described
below:

Module # 1 (Date: 16th – 19th September 2019)

You are expected to form groups and choose a leader. Select a company that is actively
marketing a brand in your environment. This can be an MNC or a local company.
Submit a document with basic details as follows:
1. Name of the brand, the company and your contact person.
2. Basic information about the brand using secondary sources such as company website,
online marketing websites and marketing periodicals. Information can include the
following:
a. History of the brand
b. Current market performance
3. Justification of why you want to study this brand.

Module # 2 (Date: 23rd / 24th October 2019)

Undertake a detailed research using secondary sources. Submit a simple document including the
following points:

1. Company’s philosophy: mission, vision, objectives, etc. (Use the company website and
the annual reports of at least two years).
2. Position of the brand in the market. Using secondary resources discuss brand and market
dynamics such as target customers, value proposition, product life cycle, competitors,
performance, etc.
3. Position of the brand in the company’s portfolio of products and brands. This requires a
discussion of company’s product lines. (Use the company website and marketing
periodicals available in the library).

Module # 3 (Date: 27/28th November 2019)

Conduct interview(s) with the brand manager and submit a simple document highlighting the
following points:

1. Pricing strategy of the brand and the factors impacting the pricing strategy.

Principles of Marketing Rimsha Bilal

 2. Distribution strategy of the brand. Identify the brand’s go-to-market strategy. Explain the
reasoning behind the specific distribution strategy and the coordination between the
brand’s sales team and distribution agency.
3. Promotional strategy of the brand. Detailed study of the different promotional tools and
media used by the brand to connect with its Target Group (TG).
a. Study in detail the promotional mix used by the brand highlighting the most used
tools.
b. Carefully study the positioning of the brand and how it is translated into a
communication strategy and objective.
c. How is this brand message adapted for communication across various
promotional media?
d. Conduct a consumer survey with 20-30 respondents to analyze how the brand
message is received and interpreted.
4. Competitive landscape within which your brand is placed. Use perceptual mapping to
locate significant competitors and your brand. Explain the positioning.

All module submissions to be made on LMS by the group leader.

The final output of this semester long project will be:

1. A summarized and impactful 15-minute-long class presentation. This presentation
will be made by the group and can include PowerPoint slides and/or video. Presentations
will be scheduled in the final week of the semester. These presentations must also be
uploaded on LMS.
2. A video of the brand’s marketing audit. This should capture your work across different
modules. The video must follow the format of a documentary and must include shots
from your retail audit, consumer survey, brand’s online presence, brand manager’s
interview and so on. There should be a voiceover to connect the visuals and present the
brand’s story in the video. These CDs must be submitted in class on December 5th/6th,
2018.

SEMESTER PLAN
Session Topic
1 Introduction to the course and the instructor
2 Understanding what is Marketing?
3 Marketing: Creating and capturing customer value
4 Company and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships
5 Analyzing the Marketing Environment
6 Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights
(Quiz 1)
7&8 Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior

Principles of Marketing Rimsha Bilal

 9 Business Markets & Business Buying Behavior
MID TERM EXAM (OCT 11-17, 2018)
10 & 11 Customer Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers
12 & Products, Services and Brands: Building Customer Value
13
14 & New Product Development and Product Life Cycle Strategies
15
16 Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value
17 Pricing Strategies
18 Marketing Channels: Delivering Customer Value
(Quiz II)
19 Retailing and Wholesaling
20 Communicating Customer Value: IMC Strategy
21 Advertising and Public Relations
22 Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
23 Direct and Online Marketing: Building Direct Customer Relationships
24 Creating Competitive Advantage
25 The Global Marketplace & Sustainable Marketing: Social Responsibility & Ethics
26-28 Student Presentations of Term Projects
FINAL EXAM (DEC 12-23, 2019)

Grading Plan:

Quizzes 10
Term Project 10
Presentation of the term project 10
Product Launch Assignment 10
Term exams 30
Final Exam 30

Total 100

Principles of Marketing Rimsha Bilal