Indian School of Business

MARKETING STRATEGY
Academic Year & Term: 2019-20 Term: 6

Instructor: S. Arunachalam (Sessions …1 – 10)

Affiliation: ………………ISB Office Hours: TBA

Email: [email protected]

Course Objective and Key-takeaways from the course

The focus of this course is strategic marketing, wrapping together all of the marketing skills. As this is a
capstone course in marketing that “ties everything together” all marketing mix variables will be
discussed in an integrated way, with a focus on the fundamental, strategic marketing issues that confront
senior management. This is a case-based course where you will analyze real world business cases to
develop skills in evaluating and formulating strategic marketing decisions.

Strategic decisions, unlike tactical decisions, have long term effects and are costly to change once
implemented. Through a combination of readings, lectures and cases, you will learn the drivers of a
successful strategy and reasons why a given strategy may succeed or fail. This course emphasizes
quantitative techniques for analyzing business problems and developing measurable recommendations
for action.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

− Analyze key marketing ideas and phenomena, especially the core theme of delivering superior value
to customers.
− Develop an appreciation for important marketing assets (e.g., brands, loyal customers), for the notion
of optimal marketing investments, and the process of resource allocation.
− Acquire basic skills in analytical approaches to strategic marketing issues.

Learning Goals

The following learning goals will be covered:

1. Critical and Integrative Thinking

− Case discussions, quantitative techniques in solving marketing problems

2. Effective Oral Communication

− Class participation, individual assignments

3. Interpersonal Awareness and Working in Teams

− Group assignment
Course Description
See “Course objective and key-takeaways from the course” above and session-wise readings/cases.
Recommended Book: George S. Day and Christine Moorman, Strategy from the Outside In: Profiting
from Customer Value, McGraw-Hill, 2010 (Copies available at LRC)

Course Pack Distribution to students

Course material is issued to students (cases and readings) in the form of a course pack.

Evaluation Components:

1. Individual component:
i. One-page case reports – 10 (2 * 5 points)
ii. In class simulation – 20 (2 * 10 points)
iii. One detailed case analysis – 15
iv. Class participation - 10
2. Group component:
i. One detailed group case analysis – 15
ii. Group project – 30
• Project report - 15
• Presentation - 15

Coding Scheme for assignments: 4N

http://atrium:14825/Programmes/PGP/ASA/StudentManual/ISB-
HonourCode/Pages/CodingschemeforALLcoursework.aspx

This course focuses on “learning by doing.” Cases are the core of this course. Cases are your
opportunity to analyze real world business problems and develop recommendations. Read the cases very
carefully and come to class prepared to provide constructive input to the group discussion. Situations in
cases are frequently complex, only partial information is available, and relevant data are often presented
in a non-linear fashion, just as the business problems you will encounter in the real world. You will
succeed in your case analysis by making assumptions transparent to all, developing recommendations
with a basis in business theory, and support your work with a quantitative analysis of data in the case.

In that spirit, each group is required to analyze ONE of the cases and develop management
recommendations. I will work quickly to form groups of roughly equal size. Team size will be
determined by number of enrollees.

Individual and Group Submissions. See detailed plan at the end of the syllabus.

Short in-class quizzes/assignments on the cases might also be given before or after case discussions.
Attendance & Punctuality (http://atrium/Programmes/PGP/ASA/StudentManual/Programme-Administration/Pages/Attendance-Seating.aspx)
ISB insists on 100% class attendance for all its courses. Absence is only appropriate in cases of extreme
personal illness, injury, or close family bereavement. Voluntary activities such as job interviews, business school
competitions, travel plans, joyous family occasions, etc. are never valid reasons for missing any class. The
mechanism and extent of penalty to be imposed for absence is left to the discretion of the faculty.”

The school policy is below:

If a student m misses 20% of sessions in a course; there will be no grade penalty.
If a student m misses 30% of sessions in a course, s/he will obtain a letter grade lower than that awarded by the
faculty for that course.

If a student m misses 40% of sessions in a course, the student will receive a letter grade that is two levels lower.
If a student m misses 50% of sessions or more in a course, the student will receive an ‘F’ grade for that course.
Note: For half credit courses, 30% m may not be applicable given it will equate to one and a half sessions.

DETAILED SESSION PLANS

* : To submit a one page, note before start of class; simulation – in class exercise
# : Individual detailed case analysis submission.
** : Group case analysis submission.

Topics , Cases, & Readings

Introduction to Marketing Strategy
Readings:
• Note on Marketing Strategy, by Robert Dolan , 598061
• Marketing Myopia , by Levitt (HBR)
• When is marketing a strategy? By Niraj Dawar (HBR)
1
Case: The Black & Decker Corporation (A): 595057
Case questions:
1. Why does Black & Decker (B &D) only have 9% of the tradesman segment?
2. What is Makita‟s competitive strategy and what role does Milwaukee play?
3. What should B & D do?
Integrating marketing mix elements

Readings:
• Note on Market segmentation, target market selection, and positioning, by Mikolas Saravary and
Anita Elberse 506019
• Note: Integrated Marketing Communications: Creativity, Consistency, and Effective Resource
Allocation, 2637BC
• Hybrid insights (qualitative + quantitative)
2
Case: Fashion Channel* : 2075
Case questions:
1. Develop a factual analysis of the segmentation options, and evaluate the pros and cons of
each. a. First, qualitatively evaluate the pros and cons of each of the three scenarios using a
chart. b. What is the expected outcome of each of the targeting scenarios? (Complete both the
Ad Revenue and Financial calculators to fully understand the financial impact of the
scenarios)
2. Which segmenting/targeting scenario would you use and why?
Marketing strategy simulation * (7018-HTM-ENG)

3 In class exercise that provides students with ‘real’ time action and decisions experience. Students
experience marketing strategy formulation and effective execution.

Product management
4 Readings:
• Note on The product manager 812105
 • ‘Finding the right job for your product’, by Christensen et al, MIT Sloan
• New Rules for Bringing Innovations to Market, by Chakravorti (HBR)

Case: Procter & Gamble India: Gap in the product portfolio? # IMB 433
Case questions:
1. Has P&G India managed to carve out a distinctive position in the Indian detergents market?
2. Comment on the company‟s journey towards achieving milestones as per „Project 2-3-4‟
3. What challenges does P&G India face in 2011?
4. Assess P&G India‟s product line policy.
5. What recommendations will you make to the P&G India team to help them achieve the target
set forth in Project 2-3-4?
Multiple regression, Logistic regression for marketing-mix analysis

5 Arunachalam, S.,Sharma, Amalesh. "Marketing Analytics", "Essentials of Business Analytics, An

Introduction to the Methodology and its Applications", Forthcoming
Food truck challenge simulation* (7201-HTM-ENG)
6
In class ‘real’ time decision making exercise. Experience the challenging tradeoffs that managers
face as they launch a new business, product, service, or process.
Application of customer metric – CLV, Branding options
Reading:
• The Mismanagement of Customer Loyalty, by Reinartz & Kumar (HBR)
• Three Questions You Need to Ask About Your Brand, by Kevin Lane Keller et al. (HBR)
7
Case: Rosewood Hotels and Resorts ** 2087
Case Questions:
1. Why is Rosewood considering a new brand strategy?
2. What are the pros and cons of moving from individual brands to a corporate brand?
3. Will the move to corporate branding maximize CLV? Explain.
Brand equity, Metrics, quantitative analysis involving brand management, and brand-consumer
behavior linkages.
Reading:
• Note on Perceptual Mapping: A Manager‟s Guide 590121
• What is brand? (A chapter from brands & branding)
8 • Brand Valuation. (A chapter from brands & branding)

Case: 1.) Himalya shampoo: Building a differentiated image W13349

Case: 2.) Mountain man brewing 2069
Case Questions:
1. Is there a problem in the Mountain man branding?
2. Ways to solve the problem; demonstrate the power/role of brand.
Sales - Marketing Interface
Reading:
• Ending the war between sales & marketing, by Kotler et al., (HBR)

9 Case: Avaya (A) * 508048

Case Questions:
1. What is Avaya‟s problem and why?
2. Ways to solve the problem.
3. Map the marketing and sales activities into the buying process.
10 Group project presentation & Wrap-up

Case Submissions

Case discussions are intended to present dilemmas as they are encountered by managers, so it is
important to deal with the cases as you find them. In case discussions, the present tense should be
interpreted as referring to the time frame of the case or its end. Please do not prepare for the class
discussion by seeking out additional or more recent data on the firms or industries in the case. All case
summaries are due before the class in which the case is being discussed.

Individual submissions:
1. One page note for cases marked with asterisk (*):

These summaries to be one page (both sides, single spaced with a line in between paragraphs) at
most (12 point font Times Roman), with a maximum of a two page appendix with analysis. The case
summaries need to answer two questions: (a) what is the key problem in the case? and (2) How
would you go about solving the stated key problem? Do not completely rely on the questions for
discussion in the syllabus as the structure for your report. These questions are meant to signal the
main issues to be addressed during the class discussion.

2. Detailed case submission for one case marked with (#):

The write-up should be a comprehensive report comprising of key issue(s), recommendation(s),

rationale through supporting analysis, contingencies (scenario analysis), and appendices. The memo
should be 3 pages with up to 4 pages of supporting materials (like analysis sheet, tables, and
framework etc.).

Group submission marked with double-asterisk (**):

Same format as detailed case submission noted in point 2 for individual submission above. Please
mention the names of the group members in the report.