Course Coordinator: Janet Stone

Email: janet.stone@adelaide.edu.au
Room: Room 13.15, Nexus 10 Building
Tel: 08 8313 0090

Preferred method of contact is by email.

Detailed  weekly schedule available in LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUMMARY in Learning and Teaching Activities section.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
1 Interpret complex marketing issues and problems using relevant theories, concepts and methods
2 Evaluate and synthesise new information and existing knowledge from a multitude of sources and experiences
3 Apply contemporary marketing theories to the demands of business and management practice
4 Critically analyse case studies to derive at recommendations to address marketing issues and opportunities
5 Recognise, and take account of, the importance of ethical conduct in marketing
6 Discuss Marketing Concepts in a professional and engaging manner

Text Book or Cengage NOW: Pride, William M., Ferrell, O.C., Lukas, Bryan A., Schembri, Sharon., Niininen, Outi. Marketing Principles Asia-Pacific 3rd Edition, Cengage, 2018, Melbourne. 9780170386180

Purchase of a “Cengage Now” subscription is sufficient – all of the text information is contained as E-Book support on the website.

Course Website: www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au
Cengage NOW: http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/E-X7FG2JH8HHAFQ

This course consists of lectures, and tutorials with discussions and case study presentations. You MUST be prepared to enter a discussion for the tutorial component


We will also strongly support the face to face work with digital content through the MyUni platform. This will include:
• Broadcast Emails
• Powerpoints
• Lecture recordings on video
• Weekly self check tests
• Digital Feedback on assignments – PDF of assignment rubric & video feedback (MP4)

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements. As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components, and self-directed study).

Students in this course are expected to attend all lecture sesions  (all lectures will be posted as videos online) throughout the trimester and engage with the online learning content in the relevant weeks.

The 3 hour weekly seminar has a flexible format.  The amount of time presenting actual lecture material and tutorials may vary based on the topic requirements.  

Students are expected to prepare for each session as detailed in Learning Activities Summary.  The required readings assist in extending knowledge of the weekly topic.  Tutorial questions and/or discussion case studies will involve student participation and presentation.  Case studies should be read as students ae expected to ask questions and discuss the material.  The 'Marketing Advice Report' will also be covered in each session during tutorial time, to help students work towards their final assignment.

All required readings, case studies, session lecture slides and session Echo 360 recordings are available in MyUni Canvas course module.

Additional reading materials (i.e. articles, examples, charts or tables), may from time to time be also posted in the MyUni module to enhance learning.

Session (Week #)	Lecture Topic	Readings (Chapter)	Quiz & Assignment Deadlines	Tutorial Chapter Questions/Discussion Topics
1	Key concepts in marketing	1		Assignment #3 group allocation
2	Marketing planning and strategy in a competitive environment	2, 3	Quiz #1	Chapter 1; Assignment #3 Company allocation
3	Marketing Research and Information systems	4		Chapter 2 & 3
4	Consumer Behaviour	5	Quiz #2	Chapter 4; Case Study 'Aqualisa Quartze'
5	Segmentation, target markets and positioning	6		Chapter 5; Case Study 'Aqualisa Quartze'
6	The power of branding	8	Quiz #3	Chapter 6; Case Study 'Aqualisa Quartze'
7	Product decisions	9		Chapter 8; Case Study 'Aqualisa Quartz'
8	Pricing decisions	10; Marketing Computer Simulation Reading material	Quiz #4	Chapter 9; Marketing Computer Simulation briefing
9	Distribution decisions	11	Marketing Computer Simulation Practice rounds	Chapter 10
10	Integrating marketing communications & Digital marketing and social networking	7,12	Marketing Computer Simulation Final round	Chapter 11; Debrief Marketing Computer Simulation practise rounds
11	Developing and managing services & Expanding the marketing mix	9,13		Chapter 7, 12
12	Expanding the marketing mix & Course and Exam review		Quiz#5; Assignment #3 deadline	Debrief Marketing Computer Simulation final round

Assessment	Due Date	Weight	Basis
Assignment #1:  Participation - In class, during Case study discussions, tutorial and debriefing computer simulation	All sessions	5%	Individual
Assignment #2:  Five (5) Online Quizzes	Every second weekend.  See Course Schedule for details	15%	Individual
Assignement #3:  Marketing Advice Report - 3000-3500 words Problem/scope to be negotiated with lecturer	Week 12	25%	Group work
Assignment #4:  Marketing Computer Simulation	Week 10	10%	Individual
Final Exam:  3 hours, closed book	TBA	45%	Individual

Rubric details of assessments are available in the Course Outline provided in the course's MyUni.


ASSIGNMENT #1: Student Participation
This assssment relates to the student's involvement in the sessions.

By the end of the course, the lecturer will know their students.  They will have spent a fair bit of time in a classroom and tutorial with them, seen some projects and taken attendance. This is ample opportunity for them to allocate 5% of the course mark to the quality of their contribution. This can be confronting for some people, but part of the transition to senior manager role involves being prepared to comment when the opportunity arises.

So this component of assessment in the course is essentially around the session’s tutorial/discussion time (case study, discussion questions, general participation, textbook marketing plan presentations), but general engagement within the class lectures is good too.

Therefore for Assignment 1 the overarching criterion is as follows:

ASSIGNMENT #3: Marketing Advice Report
Students will be allocated into groups and will act as consultants to the company of their choice.

As a group, they are required to provide marketing advice to their client. This is loosely in the form of a marketing plan and needs to follow the rubric provided to the students.

Each week’s lecture and discussion content build to assist the students in creating this piece of marketing advice. There is substantial weekly support at the Cengage NOW website http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/E-X7FG2JH8HHAFQ as you work through this.

It is also recommended that the students review Preparing a Marketing Plan prepared by Dr. Chris Medlin. This is available in the course's MyUni module.


ASSIGNMENT #4:  Marketing Computer Simulation
Students will participate in the computer-based marketing management and strategy simulation. It is a marketing simulation that provides a challenging decision-making exercise in which complex strategic marketing decisions must be made within a competitive Business to-Business realistic context. Students will participate individually against the computer ‘competition’.

The objective of this exercise is to place students into a realistic operating environment that requires the integration of strategy, marketing research, planning and decision-making. Students will be evaluated on the basis of their overall strategies and competitive results. The game requires decisions to be made simulating a specified number of years of operations.

Marks will be awarded based on the financial performance, market share and customer satisfaction of each individual in the simulation. This score is a reflection of the student’s understanding of the simulation world and also their marketing decision making over the assigned period. The grade reflects the student’s commitment to understanding the intricacies of marketing concepts and theories and its application in a simulated competitive environment.

Students will be given a ‘practice’ period then reflections of their experience will be shared during class time. Students will then have a period to complete a ‘final’ game simulation. The final grade for the assessment will be based on the score given by the simulation and a brief ‘reflections’ report submitted.

• To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 45% must be obtained on the examination as well as a total of at least 50% for individual work and a mark of 50% overall. Students not achieving the minimum exam mark will be awarded no more than 49 for the course.

• Assessment marks prior to the final exam will be displayed on the course website. Students are encouraged to check their marks and notify the Lecturer-in-Charge of any discrepancies.

• Students must attend at least 80% of classes or they will forgo their right to a supplementary exam on academic grounds

Assignment 1 - Class Discussion and (optional) blog support (Individual grade 10%)
Get involved
By the end of the course, I will know all of you pretty well. I will have spent over 35 hours in a classroom with you, seen some projects and taken attendance (really just as a reminder to me). This is ample opportunity for me to allocate 10% of the course mark to the quality of your contribution. This can be confronting for some people, but part of the transition to senior manager role involves being prepared to comment when the opportunity arises.
So this component of assessment in the course is essentially around the week’s case study, but general engagement within the class is good too.
Why not build a blog?
Grasp the nettle. Many people in business these days are creating a simple reflective blog – allowing it to be public but enhancing their personal brand. If you feel a little uncomfortable about speaking up in class, then why not do some reflection in a blog – even one that is public. This provides a triple benefit; you learn a few new skills, you can supplement the insights you demonstrated in the class, and it pumps you up the Google rankings against your name. In the first session I’ll show you how to get a blog going. It’s a five minute job. For the “tragic” among us, we might feed the blog with an outreach medium such as Twitter.
So for A1 the overarching criterion is as follows:
The instructor’s subjective assessment of the student’s contribution to the discussion of marketing concepts, principles and examples. This can occur in a face-to-face or blog context, or both.
 
Assignment 2 - Company Marketing Audit (Individual grade 15%)
In 1500 words, using a company/product/brand with which you are familiar you are required to conduct a marketing audit. This is a preliminary phase, where you get to view a company through a marketing lens and determine if you would like to use that company for Assignment 3.

Use a business report format (executive summary, table of contents, appendices). Using the learning from Sessions 1-3 you will need to critically assess the organisation/product/brand and its environment and address:
1. Who appears to be the company's customer?
2. What is the customer's need and how is that need being satisfied by the company.
3. Provide a brief environmental scan for your company and indicate opportunities and threats
4. Provide an outline of how your company would apply the five step market research process
5. Utilise your answers to questions 1-4 to derive recommendations for the company/product/brand.

Assignment 2: Assessment Criteria



Assignment 3 – Company Marketing Advice (Group – Pair – Grade 20%)
3000 words – table of contents, appendices and tables are excluded from a word count.
Students will be formed into pairs and will act as a consultants to the company of your choice. You can choose to consult to one of the companies you covered in assignment 2, or a completely new one.
As a pair, you are required to provide marketing advice to your client. This is loosely in the form of a marketing plan and needs to follow the rubric as given below.
Each week’s lecture and discussion content builds to assist you in creating this piece of marketing advice. There is substantial weekly support at the Cengage NOW website http://login.cengagebrain.com/course/E-X7FG2JH8HHAFQ as we work through this.

The Marketing Environment
The marketing environment consists of external forces that directly or indirectly influence an organisation’s acquisition of inputs (human, financial, natural resources and raw materials, and information) and creation of outputs (goods, services, or ideas).
SWOT Analysis
One tool marketers use to assess an organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is the SWOT analysis.
Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that can influence an organisation’s ability to satisfy its target markets.
Opportunities and threats exist independently of the organisation and therefore represent issues to be considered by all organisations, even those that are not competitors.
Marketing Objectives
A marketing objective states what is to be accomplished through marketing activities.
Marketing goals should be based on a careful study of the SWOT analysis and should relate matching strengths to opportunities and/or convert weaknesses and threats.
Marketing Strategy
The next phase in strategic planning is the development of strategies for each functional area of the organisation.
Within the marketing area, a strategy is typically designed around two components: (1) the selection of (a) target market segment(s) and (2) the creation of a marketing mix that will satisfy the needs of the chosen target market.
Implementing Marketing Strategies
Marketing implementation is the process of putting marketing strategies into action.
Controlling Marketing Activities
The formal marketing control process includes the establishment of performance standards, evaluation of actual performance by comparing it with established standards, and reduction of differences between desired and actual performance.

Do:
• Present the case in report format with subheadings and paragraphs following a logical structure.
• Use tables, diagrams and further analysis of data to clarify, illustrate and supplement analysis and support your recommendations.
• Use page numbers and 1½ spacing for ease of reading and feedback.
• Use citations from original sources when they are used, using an accepted format such as Harvard. If sources have not been acknowledged, they will be considered as plagiarised!
• Proof read your reports thoroughly, for grammatical and spelling errors.
Do not:
• (DO NOT) Use bullet points unless you are simply presenting a list which is self explanatory. Bullet points do not lend themselves to discussion and explanations.
• (DO NOT) Copy material or use ideas from other sources without acknowledging the source. Failure to acknowledge the source will be interpreted as plagiarism which is a serious offence.
• (DO NOT) Use SWOT analysis as the only form of analysis - this is a good starting point but you will need to go much further using the concepts from the course as the framework. You may summarise the SWOT analysis in a diagram or a table and briefly explain it in the body of the report.

Assignment 3: Assessment criteria


Assignment 4 - Case Study Presentation and Discussion (Group grade 5%)
Each group of students will briefly present a negotiated case, outline relevant questions and facilitate the related discussion. The focus of each session should be on the previous week’s topics and relevant topics from earlier seminars.

Presenting students will be expected to:
1. provide a brief summary of the case, the relevant environment and issues arising from the case, including prior reading of any websites
2. develop suitable questions for discussion, and
3. give their considered points of view as part of a facilitated discussion of all students in the class.

All students should come prepared and be able to take part in the discussion of issues that arise in the course of the case discussion. The presenting students will facilitate discussion among the class to further explore the question and thinking related to formulating an answer to case discussion questions.

Assignment 4: Assessment criteria

Presentation of Assignments
• Please must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
• All assignments must be submitted electronically through the MyUni assignments portal
• Please attach an ‘Assignment Cover Sheet’, which is signed and dated by you before submission.
• All group assignments must be attached to a ‘Group Assignment Cover Sheet’, which must be signed and dated by all group members before submission. All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.
• Lecturers can refuse to accept assignments which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.

No Resubmission
Once your paper is in, it’s in. You can’t take your assessed paper, rework it and resubmit it.

Re-Marking / Disputes
The markers work very closely for consistency. We mark to rubrics (that you have) and we consult throughout the marking process. If you wish to dispute a mark you’ve been given, you need to raise it with the lecturer in charge within a week, giving the areas (referring to the rubric) that you think deserve more attention. You might get an email in response, but you’ll probably be asked to come in and see the lecturer.

Late Assignment Submission
Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by according to the schedule below. Submitting your assignment late (with or without an extension) also means you miss the primary marking cycle; it probably will get returned to you a lot later than your classmates get theirs.