Strategic Marketing

Course Outline
Instructor: Dr. Keyoor Purani & Dr. Joffi Thomas

Course Title Strategic Marketing

Instructor(s) Dr. Keyoor Purani & Dr. Joffi Thomas
Course credit 3
Total No. of Sessions 30
Session Duration 60 minutes
Term VI
Year PGP-II, 2014-15

Introduction
In business, knowledge is not enough, experiencebased learning is crucial primarily because
most decisions in business are complex, multidimensional and require integrated approach.
Students, having undergone several courses in marketing and business strategy, may consider
this to be a capstone course. Students experience application of their understanding in a risk-
free simulated environment which provide an opportunity to not just learn and re-learn
classic strategic marketing frameworks but also allow trying them out.

The course also provides in parallel, several data-intensive strategic marketing situations and
allows students to analyze and take decisions. This course helps students integrate learning
of many different aspects in business and follow more applicationoriented approach in
enhancing decisionmaking skills in the area of marketing strategy. Students learn from
working with an enormous amount company and industry data, exploring strategic options,
and trying to unite various functional decisions into a coherent business strategy that
produces good results.

Objectives and scope

To appreciate market-oriented perspectives and linkages between corporate, divisional
and brand level strategies.
To understand marketing function and its linkages with other business functions such as
R&D, Finance, Operations
To apply scientific decision making approach and self-evaluate performance of the
decisions
To discuss emerging marketing thinking and practices that strongly redefines business and
corporate strategy

Text Book/ Required Readings

Cases, Notes and Other material as mentioned against specific sessions would be made
available separately in a course pack.
Additional Readings
Nirmalya Kumar, Marketing as Strategy, Penguin Portfolio, 2004, New Delhi
Orville Walker, John Mullins, Harper Boyd and Jean-Claude Larreche, Marketing Strategy
a decision focused approach, McGraw-Hill Education, 2006, New Delhi,
David Craverns and Nigel Piercy, Strategic Marketing, Tata McGraw hill Education, 2009,
New Delhi

Pedagogy &Special Instructions (if any)

The course acts as a capstone course for students and hence the emphasis is on application
of concepts rather than introducing the new concepts or frameworks. However, a few
Strategic Marketing concepts are discussed through case discussions while these concepts are
practically applied and tested by the participants through simulation sandwiched between
class-room sessions.

Just as a flight simulator allows flight crews to practice in a risk-free setting, the course allows
students to practice their skills in a concentrated amount of time before trying them out in a
real business environment. Experience-based training has proven to be the most efficient
management learning methodology. The course design allows students to go beyond strategy
formulation and implement their strategic plan through decisions at the tactical level, a
challenge not provided by traditional pedagogical methods. In particular, the possibility of
assessing the success or failure of marketing implementation over time is an important
feature of this course.

The learning would be focused around strategic concepts such as segmentation and
positioning strategies, strategic planning and budgeting, product-market expansion,
competitive strategies, product portfolio strategy as well as operational marketing
allocation of marketing budget to marketing mix. The course would offer intensive
competitive environment and enhance scientific decision making skills. The students would
learn how to analyze the situation using various market research reports, internal data, and
intelligence reports. They would also appreciate the relationship of marketing with finance,
operations, R&D and other departments within an organization as well as marketing
objectives and performance parameters.

All submissions Case assignments, strategy reflection notes would be through the virtual
classroom

For classes on simulation periods, at least one laptop per group is required.
 Session Plan

Session Topics Readings/Cases Faculty

1-2 Introduction - Lecture Discussions Simulation Manual KP+JT
3-4 Simulation Period 1 KP
5-6 Product Mix, Marketing Plan and Income Case: Cottle Taylor JT
Projections Case Discussions
Marketing
7-8 Simulation Period 2 KP
9-10 Strategy: Demand Forecasting, Pricing Case: Metabical JT
and Packaging Case Discussions
11-12 Simulation Period 3 & 4 KP
13-14 Marketing Strategy: Positioning and Case: Metabical/ Case: JT
Communications Case Discussions Clean Edge Razors/
Saxonville Sausages
15-16 Simulation Period 5 & 6 KP
17-18 Strategic Marketing Planning: Resource Case: Oscar Myers/ JT
Allocation Case Discussions Brannigan Foods/ P&G
(A)
19-20 Simulation Period 7 & 8 KP
21-22 Marketing Organization and Case: Gillette Personal JT
Performance Measures Care Division
23-24 Simulation Period 9 & 10 KP
25-26 Contemporary Perspectives on strategic Harrahs KP/JT
Marketing Lecture Discussions Entertainment
27-28 Simulation Period 11 & 12 KP
29-30 Conclusion Debrief, Group KP+JT
Presentations and Discussions

Evaluation Scheme
Component Weightage (%) Evaluation Emphasis
Class Participation (Individual) 15 Ability to analyze the
Case Assignments (Group) 10 information take decisions
and express view points
Strategy Reflection Notes (Group) 10 Reflection and critical
thinking
Simulation Exercise Performance (Group) 25 Collect information, Analyze
and solve integrated
problem, Team work
End Term Exam (Individual) 40 Application of concepts to
solve managerial problems,
Perspective, Conceptual
clarity and familiarity