autumn 2016
BED-2103 Specialized issues in marketing and retailing - 20 ECTS

Type of course

This topic is reserved for students on Advanced marketing and for those who choose Advanced marketing as 3rd year specialization in the Bachelor program of economy and leadership (Campus Harstad)

Course content

Consumer Behaviour:

  • Understanding consumer behaviour, and the main variables affecting it.
  • The essentials of consumer psychology (cognitive - attention, involvement, memory, attitudes and intentions - and behavioural perspectives - behaviour analysis, operant conditioning, classical conditioning).
  • Applying knowledge about consumers¿ behaviour in marketing strategy.
  • Behavioural laws and principles, and how they can be used in marketing.

Branding:

  • Why we brand and why we remember certain brands.
  • The difference between internal and external branding.
  • Strategic models to manage a brand¿s identity and image.
  • Strategies to develop leadership in a chosen category.
  • Case study of a well-known brand.

Business-to-Business Marketing:

  • The characteristics of business-to-business marketing.
  • Organizational buyer behaviour.
  • B2B marketing strategy.
  • B2B product management/ development.
  • B2B channels.
  • B2B communication; customer dialog, advertising, trade shows, PR, one-to-one media, sales and sales management.
  • B2B price strategies.
  • The evaluation of B2B marketing efforts.
  • B2B relationship management

Retailing:

  • Different type of store-based retailers
  • How retailers differ in terms of their retail mixes
  • Trends in the structure of the retail industry and retail formats
  • Critical issues when designing a store
  • Alternative methods of store layout
  • The use of atmospherics to affect purchase behaviour
  • The concept of active retailing
  • Effective techniques to affect purchase behaviour

Travel and Tourism:

  • Destination and attraction development
  • The tourist market: demand, travel patterns, tourist behaviour
  • Environmental, cultural and economic impacts of tourism on nature, humans and society
  • International tourism and trends


Objectives of the course

Marketing is a critical part of today¿s business, and marketing skills are essential for all areas of business. This course covers selected issues in marketing to develop student¿s knowledge and skills in more specialized areas of the marketing field.  It consist of five modules: consumer behaviour, branding, business-to-business marketing, retailing, and travel & tourism. While the first three modules are obligatory, students can chose between the module in retailing or the module in travel and tourism. Hence, all students will complete four modules. Students will be familiar with relevant research and development work in several of these specialized areas and they will carry out a one-week problem-based group assignment in each of their four modules.

The consumer behaviour module aims to provide an understanding of consumer behaviour, and the main variables affecting it. Students will learn the essentials of consumer psychology, which can be divided to cognitive (e.g., attention, involvement, memory, attitudes and intentions) and behavioural perspectives (e.g., behaviour analysis, operant conditioning, classical conditioning). The theme will put this consumer science into marketing practice, as students will learn how to apply their knowledge, about consumers¿ behaviour, to use in marketing strategy. By the end of the module, students should know important behavioural laws, and principles, and how they can be used in marketing.

The objective of the branding module is to give the students broad knowledge of why firms brand and why consumers remember certain brands. The aim is also to develop an understanding for the importance of distinguishing between internal and external branding when dealing with different types of branding. Finally, students will be familiar to strategic models to manage a brand¿s identity and image to be a leader in its respective category.

In the business-to-business marketing (B2B) module, students will acquire a thorough insight into critical elements for successful business-to-business marketing toward commercial and public sectors. Governmental and organizational customers represent for many businesses the main income/target market. Students will as such find knowledge and skills in B2B-marketing as very useful for their professional work. A specific aim in B2B Marketing is therefore to provide the students with sufficient insight in order to enable them to use relevant theory for practical tasks.

The retailing module focuses on food retailers and aims to build critical knowledge about store-based food retailing, including how to compete with different retail mixes, store layout principles, the effectiveness of point-of-sale promotions, the use of retail atmospherics, and the ideas and thoughts of those asking for more active retailers. The main theme in this module is various in-store tactics that food retailers can use to stimulate customers¿ perceptual and emotional responses, and ultimately their purchase behaviour.

Since tourism currently is one of the world¿s largest industries and therefore of major interest and importance for economic development throughout the world, the module in travel and tourism give students an insight into important aspects of tourism development, such as sustainability and impacts of tourism development. Moreover, the module addresses the characteristics of tourism markets, destinations and products, knowledge that is necessary for those who aim to work in tourism management. Having finished the module the students will have knowledge of how tourism works, both as a national and international industry and as an academic discipline. After completing the module, students should also be able to explain the characteristics of tourism and to understand the main challenges and opportunities of the tourism industry.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) in the form of work on business cases constitutes a major part of the learning process in this course. This makes the course more enjoyable as well as giving the students an opportunity to immediately practice the theory.


Language of instruction and examination

English

Teaching methods

Theme-based lectures giving students a theoretical foundation in consumer behaviour, branding, business-to-business marketing, retailing, and travel and tourism. For each of the four themes (modules), students will work over a period of one week (7 days) in groups with a practical business case (PBL-assignment).

Assessment

The final course grade is made up of the four PBL-assignments / practical business cases (which count for 60% of the final course grade) and a 4-hour individual written school exam (which count for 40% of the final course grade). Each PBL-report is examined by one internal examiner using a grading system ranging from A-F, where F is failure to pass the exam. The written school exam is graded by one internal examiner and one external examiner using the same grading system.

The school exam will take place at Campus Harstad.


Recommended reading/syllabus

Textbooks

Hillesland, J., Rudolph, T., Meise, J.N. Gisholt, 0., Bendixen, A., Fjeldstad, T., Nordfalt, J. & Clement, J. (2013): Fundamentals of retailing & Shopper Marketing. Harlow, England: Pearson.

Sorensen, H. (2009). Inside the mind of the shopper, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Peter, J. P., & Olson, J. C. (2009): Consumer behavior & marketing strategy (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-10: 00734047641ISBN-13: 978-0073404769.

Dwyer, F. R. & Tanner, J. F. (2009). Business marketing: connecting strategy, relationships,
and learning. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. ISBN 9780073529905. 678 pp.

Keller, K. L. (2013). Strategic brand management: building, measuring, and managing brand
equity. 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson. ISBN 9780132664257. 590 pp.
 

Journal articles

Aaker, D.A and Joachimsthaler, E. (2000): The Brand Relationship Spectrum: The key to the Brand Architecture Challenge. California Management Review, 42(4), 8-23.

Davenport, T.H., Mule, L.D., & Lucker, J.(2011): Know What Your Customers Want Before They Do. Harvard Business Review, December, 2-8.

 

Chandon, P., Hutehinson, J.W., Bradlow, E.T., & Young, S.H. (2009): Does in-store marketing work? Effects of the number and position of shelf facings on brand attention and evaluation at the point of purchase. Journal of Marketing, 73, 1-17.

Keller, K.L. (1999): Managing Brands for the Long Run: Brand Reinforcement and Revitalization Strategies.California Management Review, 41(3), 102-124.

Additional articles will be announced after program start.

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  • About the course
  • Campus: Harstad |
  • ECTS: 20
  • Course code: BED-2103