Launching New Products and Services Spring 2018 Professor Michal Maimaran

Syllabus

Launching New Products and Services (MKTG-465)

Section 61: T/F, 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
Section 62: T/F, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Note: On Friday, April 20, class will be held during lunch time (12:00-1:30pm) at 1430 instead of
the usual morning time to accommodate Pizza Hut CMO’s guest lecture. Lunch will be served.

Note: Per the school’s calendar, there is no class on Friday 6/8/2018.

The makeup class has been scheduled to Wednesday, 5/16/2018.

Professor Michal Maimaran

Office: 5479, Global Hab
Phone: 847 491 7151
E-mail: m-maimaran@kellogg.northwestern.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00pm–3:30pm, or by appointment

Nature and Purpose of the Course

The course deals with the challenge of launching new products and services into the market. Focusing
on large and established companies interested in pursuing growth, we will discuss the steps needed to
bring products to market, including understanding customer needs, conducting sales forecasts, and
designing a launch plan, including targeting, positioning, communication, pricing, and distribution
decisions. Class sessions will include a combination of lectures, in-class exercises, case discussions,
simulations, and guest speakers.

Course Materials

The course packet will be available online on Canvas. Additional readings, class notes, assignments,
and other material will be posted on Canvas as well. There is no required book for this course, but
recommended books include
 C. Merle Crawford and C. Anthony Di Benedetto, New Products Management, 11th edition,
McGraw Hill Education
 Alexander Chernev, The Marketing Plan Handbook, 5th edition, Cerebellum Press

Course Prerequisites

MKTG-430: Marketing Management (Core course)

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Launching New Products and Services Spring 2018 Professor Michal Maimaran

Communication Policy

Students should feel free to contact me with any questions throughout the quarter. Questions regarding
material covered in class, assignments, or cases may be raised (1) in person during office hours,
before/after class, or at a scheduled appointment, (2) in class, so others may benefit, or (3) by email.

Grading

Individual assignments 40%

Group assignment 10%
Group project 35%
Class participation 10%
Peer evaluation 5%

Individual assignments: There will be five individual assignments available for submission.
Students need to submit only four assignments. Students who submit all five will have their
grade based on the best four out of the five they submitted. Each of the assignments is worth
10% of the grade. All individual assignments should be summited through Canvas prior to class
when they are due.

Group assignment and group project: By the end of week 2, students should organize
themselves into teams of 5-6 students. Team will submit together the group assignment and the
group project.

In the group project, students will analyze a product that was launched. Teams will need to
submit their choice of product with a short summary by week 5. Detailed guidelines will be
posted on Canvas.

Class participation: Students are expected to come prepared for each session, including
completing the readings, preparing for case discussion, and submitting any relevant
deliverables. Students are encouraged to participate during class sessions by sharing their
viewpoints in a respectful way, and to share with me relevant examples from the media and/or
examples from students’ own industry experiences that are relevant to the class.

Peer evaluation: To ensure all group members contribute equally to the group work, all team
members will evaluate each other’s contribution at the end of the quarter. A negative peer
evaluation can have a significant impact on your final grade (e.g., from A to B or B to C).

Re-grade requests: Re-grade requests must be submitted in writing within 10 days from when
the assignment is returned. Along with the graded assignment, you must attach a letter
explaining why you are requesting a re-grade. Although I will consider the specific concerns
cited in your letter, I will re-grade the entire assignment. Please remember that small changes in
your grade on a single assignment typically do not affect your overall course grade.

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Launching New Products and Services Spring 2018 Professor Michal Maimaran

Classroom Etiquette

Adherence to deadlines: In fairness to everyone in class, late submissions of assignments will

not be accepted.

Mobile-devices policy: Tablets are allowed during class only if used for class purposes and lay
flat on your desk. Other mobile devices are not allowed unless otherwise noted.

Attendance, punctuality, and leaving early: Any unexplained absences, late arrivals, and/or
early exits will count against students’ class-participation score. Explanations of absences must
be provided to the professor via email prior to the start of the class. Attendance exceptions are
made in accordance with Kellogg policy for religious holidays, funerals, and student/dependent
hospitalizations. If a student has a medical condition that may occasionally necessitate leaving
class mid-class, this information should be disclosed to the professor via email during Week 1
of the course.

Seating: Students’ assigned seat for the quarter will be the seat they choose for the second
class.

Honor Code

The Kellogg Honor Code is applicable in this class. Violations of the Kellogg Honor Code are subject
to disciplinary sanctions. General ethics and honor-code concerns may apply to the specific
components of this course as follows:

For any graded assignment, students are prohibited from using materials containing related analyses
from other sources. This includes, but is not limited to, material from current and former Kellogg
students and/or analyses from the internet. Similarly, students may not use materials distributed by
faculty to previous classes (e.g., a case summary handed out to last year’s class). Further, students
must not discuss individual assignments with any other students. For any group assignments,
discussions for the group assignment should be limited to your group.

Note: This discussion may not cover all possible applications of the Honor Code. Please contact the
professor if anything is unclear about the honor code as it has been expressed. In addition, the Kellogg
Student Honor Code is linked below:
http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/stu_aff/policies/honorcode.htm.

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 Launching New Products and Services Spring 2018 Professor Michal Maimaran

Course Schedule*
Class 1 Tuesday April 3, 2018 Introduction
Class 2 Friday April 6, 2018 Understanding Customer Needs
Market Trends
Problem Detection Studies (PDS)
Class 3 Tuesday April 10, 2018 Understanding Customer Needs
Derived Importance Studies (DIS)
Kano Model
Ideation Templates
Read: Discovering the Kano Model
Class 4 Friday April 13, 2018 Prototype Exercise
Due: Group Information, due 5pm
Class 5 Tuesday April 17, 2018 Conjoint Analysis
Read: Conjoint Analysis: A Do it Yourself Guide
Due: Individual Assignment #1 (PDS and DIS)
Class 6 Friday April 20, 2018 Guest Speaker: Zipporah Allen, Chief Marketing Officer at Pizza Hut
12:00-1:30pm, Room 1430
Class 7 Tuesday April 24, 2018 Marketing Simulation: Using Conjoint Analysis for Business Decisions
* Bring laptop to class
Class 8 Friday April 27, 2018 Diffusion Models and Sales Forecast
Read: Note on Innovation Diffusion: Rogers' Five Factors
Read: Technical Report: Want to Know how Diffusion Speed Varies
across Countries and Products? Try Using a Bass Model
Due: Individual Assignment #2 (Conjoint analysis)
Class 9 Tuesday May 1, 2018 Case: “Montreaux Chocolate USA: Are Americans Ready for Healthy
Dark Chocolate?”
Due: Individual Assignment #3 (Montreaux case write up)
Class 10 Friday May 4, 2018 Concept Test Session
Due: Project topic, due 5pm
Class 11 Tuesday May 8, 2018 Guest Speaker: Paul Schrimpf, Partner, Prophet
Class 12 Friday May 11, 2018 Case: “New Product Pressure: Canales Discos Presión SL”
Pricing and Positioning of New Products
Due: Group Assignment, due 5pm
Class 13 Tuesday May 15, 2018 Case: “Telenor: Revolutionizing Retail Banking in Serbia”
Due: Individual Assignment #4 (Telenor case write up)
Class 14 Wednesday May 16, 2018 Guest Speaker: Eric Epstein, Director, Snacks at Mars
(June 8th Makeup)
Class 15 Friday May 18, 2018 Case: “Metabical: Pricing, Packaging, and Demand Forecasting for a New
Weight-Loss Drug”
Due: Individual Assignment #5 (Metabical case write up)
Class 16 Tuesday May 22, 2018 Product Roll Out: The Game Plan
Class 17 Friday May 25, 2018 Guest Speaker: John McFarland, Director, Digital Experience &
Connected Vehicles at General Motors
Class 18 Tuesday May 29, 2018 Case: “Coca Cola Goes Green”
Class 19 Friday June 1, 2018 Winning at New Products
Course Review
Class 20 Tuesday June 5, 2018 Final Presentations
Due: Final Project Presentation, due 8 am
Friday June 8, 2018 Due: Final Project Paper, due 5pm
* Items are due before class unless otherwise noted