Marketing (MKTG)
MKTG 0001 Viral Marketing
Why do some products catch on and become popular while others fail? Why do apps and services take off while others languish? And why do certain ads, messages, or ideas stick in memory while others disappear the minute you hear them? Diffusion, social media, word of mouth, and viral marketing have become important topics for companies, brands, and organizations. Marketers want their product to be popular, organizations want their social change initiative to catch on, and entrepreneurs want their ideas to stick. This course investigates these and other topics as it explains how things catch on and become popular.
Fall, Spring, and Summer Terms
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 0002 Consumer Behavior
The purpose of this course is to provide students with working knowledge of the major theories and research findings in the area of consumer behavior. The goal of this course is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the psychologies behind behaviors, judgments, and decision-making, and to gain insight into how to apply them to influence behavior in the marketplace. By the end of this course, students should not only be familiar with a large body of consumer behavior literature, but should also be able to identify theories as they play out in the real world, and be able to apply behavioral principles to a variety of marketing problems.
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 1010 Introduction to Marketing
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the concepts, analyses, and activities that comprise marketing management, and to provide practice in assessing and solving marketing problems. The course is also a foundation for advanced electives in Marketing as well as other business/social disciplines. Topics include marketing strategy, customer behavior, segmentation, customer lifetime value, branding, market research, product lifecycle strategies, pricing, go-to-market strategies, promotion, and marketing ethics.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 1018 Introduction to Marketing
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the concepts, analyses, and activities that comprise marketing management, and to provide practice in assessing and solving marketing problems. The course is also a foundation for advanced electives in Marketing as well as other business/social disciplines. Topics include marketing strategy, customer behavior, segmentation, customer lifetime value, branding, market research, product lifecycle strategies, pricing, go-to-market strategies, promotion, and marketing ethics. (This is the honors section of MKTG 1010 open only to Joseph Wharton Scholars).
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 1010
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2110 Consumer Behavior
This course is concerned with how and why people behave as consumers. Its goals are to: (1) provide conceptual understanding of consumer behavior, (2) provide experience in the application of buyer behavior concepts to marketing management decisions and social policy decision-making; and (3) to develop analytical capability in using behavioral research.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7110
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 or MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2120 Data and Analysis for Marketing Decisions
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of data-driven marketing, including topics from marketing research and analytics. It examines the many different sources of data available to marketers, including data from customer transactions, surveys, pricing, advertising, and A/B testing, and how to use those data to guide decision-making. Through real-world applications from various industries, including hands-on analyses using modern data analysis tools, students will learn how to formulate marketing problems as testable hypotheses, systematically gather data, and apply statistical tools to yield actionable marketing insights.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7120
Prerequisite: (MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018) AND (STAT 1010 OR STAT 1110 OR STAT 4300)
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2210 New Product Management
Examination of the marketing aspects of products or services exclusive of their promotion, pricing or distribution. Focuses on decisions regarding product introduction, positioning, improvements, and deletion, and the tools available for making these decisions.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2620, MKTG 7210
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2240 Advertising Management
Immersion in the advertising development process and examination of the practice of advertising. Focuses on decisions regarding advertising objectives, copy selection, budget setting and media selection.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2650, MKTG 7240
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2250 Principles of Retailing
This course is a cross-functional overview of retailing – from types of retailers to current trends and strategies. The objective is to familiarize students with the retail business model in its various forms – from pure store-based retailers, to digital natives, and everything in-between. Topics will include structures & organizational models, channels & formats, real estate & locations, marketing & customer relationship management, the full merchandising cycle (planning & buying to display & pricing), and operations & technology. This knowledge will be fundamental to careers working for retailers themselves (e-commerce or omnichannel), but also in consulting to retailers, in banking or investing in the retail sector, or even starting a brand or retail concept. Those seeking more depth in product design & development, buying, planning, pricing, and visual merchandising should consider taking Retail Merchandising (MKTG 3060). Those seeking more depth in sourcing, distribution, fulfillment, and store/site operations should consider taking Retail Supply Chain Management (OIDD 3970)
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7250
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2270 Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce
The effect of the Internet and related technologies on business and social institutions is more profound than that of any prior invention, including the printing press and the internal combustion engine. Furthermore, marketing is critical to the success of firms that will shape the consumption-led economies that are fueled by these technologies. MKTG 2270 provides a research-based and framework-driven approach to succeeding in this environment, through a rigorous approach to understanding digital marketing and electronic commerce. The course is organized into two sections and utilizes relevant theory, empirical analysis, and practical examples, to develop the key learning points. Guest speakers will participate as well, as appropriate.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2700, MKTG 7270, MKTG 7700
Prerequisites: Using a spreadsheet, and basic statistics (linear regression)
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2340 Idea Generation & the Systematic Approach for Creativity
The ability to solve problems creatively and generate change is a recognized standard of success and plays an important role in gaining a competitive advantage in many areas of business management. This course is designed to teach students several creative problem solving methodologies that complement other managerial tools acquired in undergraduate and graduate studies. The course offers students the opportunity to learn how to solve problems, identify opportunities, and generate those elusive ideas that potentially generate enormous benefits to organizations. The objectives of this course are to enhance the students' (a) creativity, (b) ability to innovate and (c) ability to identify, recruit, develop, manage, retain, and collaborate with creative people. The course includes: 1. A review of the literature on creativity, creative people, innovation, and design as well as the leadership and management of creative people and innovation. 2. Hands on learning of approaches for generating creative ideas. Students will have the opportunity of implementing the techniques studied in class. 3. Applications of creativity to selected management domains - Approaches to the generation of creative options are not limited to the development of products and services or businesses, but can be applied to all areas of management, business, and life. The purpose of these sessions is to explore the applications of creative approaches to marketing, advertising, organizational design, negotiations, and other management challenges. 4. Integration - Both via individual assignments and a group project in which interdisciplinary teams of students generate a creative product/service/customer.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7340
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2370 Introduction to Brain Science for Business
This course provides an overview of contemporary brain science and its applications to business. Students are first rapidly introduced to the basic anatomy and physiology of the brain and become familiar with important techniques for measuring and manipulating brain function. The course then surveys major findings in neuroscience with applications to business, including vision, attention and advertising; valuation and marketing; decision making; learning, innovation and creativity; social influence, team-building, and leadership; and discussion of the ethical, legal, and societal implications of applying neuroscience to business. Applications to business, education, sports, law, and policy are discussed throughout.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7370
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2380 Consumer Neuroscience
How can studying the brain improve our understanding of consumer behavior? While neuroscience made tremendous strides throughout the past few decades, rarely were meaningful applications developed outside of medicine. Recently, however, breakthroughs in measurement and computation have accelerated brain science, and created an array of opportunities in business and technology. Currently, applications to marketing research and product development are experiencing explosive growth that has been met with both excitement and skepticism. This mini course provides an overview of the neuroscience behind and the potential for these developments. Topics will range from well-known and widely used applications, from eye-tracking measures in the lab and the field, to emerging methods and measures such as mobile technologies, face-reading, and neural predictors of market response. This course is self-contained and has no prerequisites. However, students with some background in business, economics, psychology, and/or neuroscience are likely to find some of the material covered in this course complementary to their existing knowledge. Much of the foundational work in consumer neuroscience and neuroeconomics involves laboratory experiments. Accordingly, we will read and discuss several experimental papers and the craft of designing an experiment will occasionally be discussed. However, we will not dedicate significant time to the methodology of experimental design and analysis. As will become clear as the course progresses, “consumer neuroscience" can be used to study almost any aspect of consumer behavior.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 3500, MKTG 7380, MKTG 8500
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2390 Visual Marketing
As consumers, we are constantly exposed to advertisements and experience visual messages from product packages in stores, retail displays, and products already owned. In essence, visual marketing collateral is omnipresent and is an essential part of corporate visual identity, strategy, branding, and communication. Some of this falls to creative graphic design, but advertising, design, and marketing can also be significantly enhanced by knowledge of how visual information and its presentation context can be optimized to deliver desirable and advantageous messages and experiences. This course will emphasize how to measure, interpret, and optimize visual marketing. This course will use lectures, discussions, exercises and a group project, to help students understand the underlying processes that influence our visual perception and visual cognition. Students will learn about the theoretical processes and models that influence, attention and visual fluency. Students will also be exposed to eye-tracking instruments that help measure eye movement. Finally, we will explore how visual stimuli can influence consumer memory, persuasion, and choice. We will examine practical applications in marketing, advertising, packaging, retail, and design contexts.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7390
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2410 Entrepreneurial Marketing
This course focuses on the real life marketing challenges involved in launching an entrepreneurial venture. The primary goal of the course will to provide a roadmap for students seeking to actively engage as entrepreneurs, investors or managers in the startup culture. Many of the entrepreneurial marketing principles studied in this course will be equally applicable to mid-size and larger companies seeking new approaches to drive top-line growth. The course will address how start-ups, early growth stage and more mature companies have used entrepreneurial marketing as an essential competitive weapon to grow their businesses by gaining customers, driving revenue, acquiring funding and recruiting A-level employees, advisors and directors. Students will form teams and select an idea/concept for an entrepreneurial venture, and by the conclusion of the course will have developed a fully fleshed out and testable marketing plan. Preferably, the selected venture will be one that one or more members of the team would consider implementing, should their plan prove feasible.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7410
Prerequisite: (MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018) AND MKTG 2120
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2470 Marketing Strategy for Technology Platforms
This course focuses on the unique aspects of creating effective marketing and management strategies for technology-intensive on-line and off-line businesses. It addresses the effective competitive marketing strategies for winning in markets which are powered by technology: specifically, how firms create value for customers and how they can integrate technology in delivering a better consumer experience. While competitive marketing strategy is important for all managers, this course will be particularly useful to students who are planning to accept a position in leading technology companies, and marketing firms in which technology is likely to play an important role. In addition, the course will provide value to those who expect to work in consulting or investing in technology industries, and must analyze firm strategies. Course open to sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7470
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 or MKTG 1018
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2520 Marketing Analytics
Companies are currently spending millions of dollars on data-gathering initiatives, but few are successfully capitalizing on all this data to generate revenue and increase profit. Converting data into increased business performance requires the ability to extract insights from data through analytics. This course covers the three pillars of analytics – descriptive, predictive and prescriptive – within the marketing context. Descriptive Analytics examines different types of data and how they can be visualized, ultimately helping you communicate your findings and strengthen your team’s or organization’s decision making. Predictive Analytics explores the use of data for forecasting. You will learn to utilize various tools, including regression analysis, to estimate relationships among variables and predict future behavior. Prescriptive Analytics takes you through the final step — formulating concrete recommendations. These recommendations can be directed toward a variety of marketing actions, including pricing and social-platform outreach. Students will be exposed to several methods such as linear regression, logistic regression, multinomial regression, machine learning methods (e.g., neural networks and random forests). We will learn how to employ these methods for such managerial decisions as demand forecasting, pricing, and valuing customers. Overall, you will develop a data analytics mindset, learn new tools, and understand how to convert numbers into actionable insights.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 3520
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018 OR STAT 1010 OR STAT 1018
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2540 Pricing Policy
The pricing decision process including economic, marketing, and behavioral phenomena which constitute the environment for pricing decisions and the information and analytic tools useful to the decision maker.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2880, MKTG 7540
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 or MKTG 1018
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 2600 Innovation, Marketing Strategy, and Antitrust
This course considers business strategy and law, particularly the role of antitrust and intellectual property law in managing innovation. We will examine several highly innovative firms in technology rich areas, considering how they adapt their strategies to the competitive and legal environment, and asking whether antitrust law promotes or hinders innovation. The strategies of both current firms such as Uber, Google, Apple, and Microsoft and historical examples such as American Can Company, Standard Oil, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., and Kodak will provide context and source materials for the course. We will pay special attention to the role of intellectual property rights in fostering or hindering innovation. The legal focus is primarily on U.S. law, but the course will occasionally address foreign regimes as well. The course is useful to students interested in marketing or competitive business strategy, and, more broadly, to anyone desiring to understand the legal and public policy issues relating to competition and innovation.
Fall or Spring
Also Offered As: LGST 2050
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2620 New Product Development
In this hands-on experiential course, students will partner with a local start-up to apply design thinking steps taught throughout the course. Students will learn how to uncover deep consumer needs, effectively ideate, and create rapid prototypes to test their ideas with real customers. This class is well suited for those interested in careers in innovation or management consulting, marketing, product management, technology, or entrepreneurship. No prior experience or requirements are needed for this course.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2210
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2650 Principles of Advertising
This course focuses on advertising via all media - print, digital, video, TV, Internet, etc. Emphasis is placed on understanding the communication development process and consumer behavior (psychology), the measurement and evaluation of advertising effects, and developing appropriate media plans.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2240
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2660 Marketing for Social Impact
Private and public sector firms increasingly use marketing strategies to engage their customers and stakeholders around social impact. To do so, managers need to understand how best to engage and influence customers to behave in ways that have positive social effects. This course focuses on the strategies for changing the behavior of a target segment of consumers on key issues in the public interest (e.g., health behaviors, energy efficiency, poverty reduction, fundraising for social causes). How managers partner with organizations (e.g., non-profits, government) to achieve social impact will also be explored.
Fall
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2700 Digital Marketing, Social Media and E-Commerce
MKTG 2700 explores the digital marketing environment from both a consumer and business perspective. The course provides an overview of various online business models and delves into digital advertising and social media marketing techniques and technologies. A mixture of case studies, guest speakers and assignments, including one that uses real advertising data, translates theory into practice. It is recommended that students enrolling in the course be comfortable using Excel and are knowledgeable in applying regression analysis techniques. Students who would prefer a less technical course may wish to take MKTG 2270, Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce, a half cu course offered by the department.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2270, MKTG 7270, MKTG 7700
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2710 Models for Marketing Strategy
The course develops students’ skills in using analytics to make better marketing decisions. Compared to other courses in marketing analytics, the focus is less on ‘what is happening?’ or ‘what will happen?’ and more on ‘what should we do?’ I.e., the course moves beyond descriptive and predictive analytics into prescriptive analytics. It covers a variety of topics, models and tools: (1) Marketing mix modeling & optimization, (2) Choice modeling, choice-based conjoint analysis & market simulators, (3) Modeling churn & maximizing customer lifetime value, and (4) Quantifying causal effects in marketing. The course requires familiarity with Excel and linear regression from the very first day, but is otherwise self-contained. Lectures are organized around a mini-case or illustrate the model/technique at hand through one or more real-life applications.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7710
Prerequisite: (MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018) AND (STAT 1010 OR STAT 1018)
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2770 Marketing Strategy
This course views marketing as both a general management responsibility and an orientation of an organization that helps one to create, capture and sustain customer value. The focus is on the business unit and its network of channels, customer relationships, and alliances. Specifically, the course attempts to help develop knowledge and skills in the application of advanced marketing frameworks, concepts, and methods for making strategic choices at the business level.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7770
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2780 Strategic Brand Management
Which brands make you happy? Apple? Amazon? Starbucks? Everlane? Soulcycle? Sweetgreen? What draws you into these brands? How do companies create compelling brand experiences? How could you cultivate a well-loved brand? This course explores such questions with the goal of identifying the ingredients for building an inspired brand. The course is created for students interested in building a brand and/or immersing themselves in the enhancement of an existing brand, and it is comprised of lectures, cases, guest speakers, discussions, in and out of class exercises, and a final project. Broadly, the course will be divided into four parts: 1) Understanding Brand, 2) Crafting Brand, 3) Measuring Brand, and 4) Managing Brand. The course will provide students with an appreciation of the role of branding and (taking a consumer-centric approach) will augment students' ability to think creatively and critically about the strategies and tactics involved in building, leveraging, defending, and sustaining inspired brands.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 7780
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2790 AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology
This course takes a behavioral perspective on the topic of autonomous technology, such as Artificial Intelligence. It reviews new insights to help companies thrive in the dawning age of smart machines. The emerging behavioral science of autonomous technology helps us understand barriers to consumer adoption and how to design captivating AI experiences. Moreover, we discuss how to improve managerial decision-making with data and algorithms. This is a non-technical course. No coding or data science skills are required. The course uses a blend of pedagogical approaches, including interactive lectures, workshops, guest lectures, and case discussions, to bridge two perspectives. On one side, we acknowledge the tremendous value that autonomous technology can provide to firms and individual consumers. In many ways, automation defines progress. On the other side, we examine emerging risks for consumers in an AI-driven economy. The main theoretical lens will be offered by psychology, but we will also examine ideas from economics, management, history, statistics, computer science, art, sociology, and philosophy. The application contexts will focus on marketing. While also relevant to other disciplines (e.g., operations, innovation), the course is therefore especially suitable for students interested in a career in marketing (e.g., product management, customer experience management).
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 3550, MKTG 7790, MKTG 8550
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 or MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 2880 Pricing Strategies
This course is designed to equip students with the concepts, techniques, and latest thinking on pricing issues, with an emphasis on ways in which to help a firm improve its pricing. The orientation of the course is about practice of pricing, not theory. We will focus on how firms can improve profitability through pricing, look at how firms set their prices and how to improve current practices to increase profitability. The first part of the course focuses on how to analyze costs, customers, and competitors in order to formulate proactive pricing strategies. The second part focuses on price promotions, price bundling, price discrimination, versioning, nonlinear pricing, pricing through a distribution channel, dynamic pricing, etc.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2540, MKTG 7540
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 or MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 3060 Retail Merchandising (Center Special Topic)
As a follow-on to Principles of Retailing (MKTG 2250), this course delves more deeply into both the fundamentals and recent trends in the end-to-end retail merchandising process. The objective is to familiarize students with both the theory and practice of planning, buying, designing, pricing, and displaying merchandise to consumers. This knowledge will be fundamental to careers working for retailers themselves (e-commerce or omnichannel), but also in consulting to retailers, in banking or investing in the retail sector, or even starting a brand or retail concept. Those seeking more depth in sourcing, distribution, fulfillment, and store/site operations should consider taking Retail Supply Chain Management (OIDD 3970).
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 8060
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018 OR MKTG 2250
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 3090 Special Topics: Experiments for Business Decision Making
EXPERIMENTS FOR BUSINESS DECISION MAKING: In the past decade, massive shifts in how companies interact with their customers have suddenly made field experiments an economically feasible way to learn about a variety of business questions such as what types of promotions are most effective, what products should be stocked at a store, how e-mail promotions should be designed, how sales staff should be compensated, etc. Many marketers engaged in online retailing, direct-marketing, online advertising, media management, etc. are rapidly embracing a "test and learn" philosophy and a number of platforms such as Google Website Optimizer, have been developed to facilitate rigorous field experiments in the online environment. Just as with the quality revolution in manufacturing during the 1980s and 1990s, the rapid rise of the "test and learn" philosophy in marketing has created a huge demand for those who can design, field, and analyze marketing experiments. Through this course, you will learn and practice a wide range of critical skills, from the statistical methods used to design and analyze experiments to the management and strategy required to execute an experiment and act on the results. Although the cases and examples will focus on marketing problems, the material covered can be applied in a number of other domains particularly operations management and product design.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 8090
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010
1 Course Unit
MKTG 3500 Special Topics - Consumer Neuroscience
CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE: How can studying the brain improve our understanding of consumer behavior? While neuroscience made tremendous strides throughout the 20th century, rarely were meaningful applications developed outside of medicine. Recently, however, breakthroughs in measurement and computation have accelerated brain science and created a dizzying array of opportunities in business and technology. Currently, applications to marketing research and product development are experiencing explosive growth that has been met with both excitement and skepticism. This mini-course provides an overview of the neuroscience behind and the potential for these developments. Topics will range from well-known and widely used applications, such as eye-tracking measures in the lab and field, to emerging methods and measures, such as mobile technologies, face-reading algorithms, and neural predictors of marketing response. The course will also discuss applications in branding and product development, including wearable physiological devices and apps, sensory branding for foods and fragrances, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and neuroscience-based products designed to enhance cognitive functions. These applications stem from many subfields of cognitive neuroscience, including attention, emotion, memory, and decision making. This course is self-contained and has no prerequisites. However, students with some background in business, economics, psychology, and/or neuroscience are likely to find the material covered in this course complementary to their existing knowledge.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2380, MKTG 7380, MKTG 8500
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 3520 Special Topics - Marketing Analytics
MARKETING ANALYTICS: Companies are currently spending millions of dollars on data-gathering initiatives - but few are successfully capitalizing on all this data to generate revenue and increase profit. Moving from collecting data to analysis to profitable results requires the ability to forecast and develop a business rationale based on identified data patterns. Marketing Analytics will cover the three pillars of analytics - descriptive, predictive and prescriptive. Descriptive Analytics examines different types of data and how they can be visualized, ultimately helping you leverage your findings and strengthen your decision making. Predictive Analytics explores the potential uses of data once collected and interpreted. You will learn to utilize different tools, such as regression analysis, and estimate relationships among variables to predict future behavior. Prescriptive Analytics takes you through the final step - formulating concrete recommendations. These recommendations can be directed toward a variety of efforts including pricing and social-platform outreach.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 8520
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 AND STAT 1010
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 3530 Special Topics: The Business of Wellness: Marketing and Consumption
Wellness relates to the active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health. The global wellness industry represents a rapidly expanding, multi-trillion-dollar market. The purpose of this course is to provide a better understanding of the marketing of wellness brands, services, and products and the consumer behavior of wellness. Throughout the course, we will explore: 1) The evolution of the wellness industry and its various sub-industries (e.g., fitness, beauty, mindfulness, mental health, food/drink, tourism, etc.); 2) How organizations “sell wellness” through marketing strategies and tactics; and 3) “Consuming wellness,” or the consumer psychology and behaviors that contribute to or detract from one’s personal wellness. We will also consider significant ethical and moral issues in the wellness industry, and how consumers can be more discerning of wellness offerings. These topics will be explored through the specific lenses of marketing, consumer culture, and consumer psychology. By the end of the semester, students should have a better understanding of the wellness industry, including its various stakeholders, evolution, the business opportunities and challenges, and consumer behaviors.
Spring
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010
1 Course Unit
MKTG 3550 Special Topics - AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology
“AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology” (or “AI in Our Lives” for short) takes a behavioral perspective on the topic of autonomous technology, such as Artificial Intelligence. It reviews new behavioral insights to help companies thrive in the dawning age of smart machines. We focus on both the behavior of consumers and how managers should make decisions about consumers. Related to the former, the emerging behavioral science of autonomous technology helps us understand barriers to consumer adoption and how to design captivating AI experiences. Related to the latter, we discuss how to improve decision-making with data and algorithms. This is a non-technical course. No coding or data science skills are required. The course uses interdisciplinary materials and a blend of pedagogical approaches, including interactive lectures, workshops, guest lectures, and case discussions. In addition to its many substantive insights, the course offers moments of reflection to help you understand how technology is changing our lives, and how each of us can help effect positive change in the world. The course bridges two perspectives. On one side, we acknowledge the tremendous value that autonomous technology can provide to firms and individual consumers. In many ways, automation defines progress. On the other side, we examine emerging risks for consumers in an AI-driven economy. The main theoretical lens will be offered by psychology, but we will also examine ideas from economics, management, history, statistics, computer science, art, sociology, and philosophy. The application contexts will be focused on marketing. While also relevant to other disciplines (e.g., operations, IT, innovation, or general management), this course is therefore especially suitable for students interested in a career in marketing (e.g., product management, brand management, service design, and customer experience management). The ultimate goal of the course is to help ensure that the amazing technologies currently being developed bring about positive change. The course will strive to achieve that by tackling the following UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDG9 (Innovation), SDG8 (Economic growth), SDG3 (Health and wellbeing), SDG10 (Reduced inequality), and SDG12 (Responsible consumption and production). The course complements the research activities of the new Wharton Human-Centered Technology Initiative.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2790, MKTG 7790, MKTG 8550
Prerequisite: MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018
1 Course Unit
MKTG 3990 Independent Study
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 8990
Prerequisite: MKTG 2120
1 Course Unit
MKTG 4010 Marketing Analytics Capstone: Learning by Doing
In this class students will (1) Apply knowledge to practice for an actual client, with a focus on the synthesis of knowledge acquired across curriculum (2) Practice analytical thinking skills (analyzing and framing business problems and problem-solving techniques), including consideration of ethical issues. (3) Practice written and oral communication skills, as well as working in an (assigned) team environment, by leveraging the experience developed in earlier years of the leadership Journey. (4) Reflect on their own social and intellectual development over their time at Wharton and Penn.
Spring
Prerequisite: (MKTG 1010 OR MKTG 1018) AND WH 1010 AND WH 2010 AND MGMT 3010
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 4760 Applied Probability Models in Marketing
This course will expose students to the theoretical and empirical "building blocks" that will allow them to construct, estimate, and interpret powerful models of consumer behavior. Over the years, researchers and practitioners have used these models for a wide variety of applications, such as new product sales, forecasting, analyses of media usage, and targeted marketing programs. Other disciplines have seen equally broad utilization of these techniques. The course will be entirely lecture-based with a strong emphasis on real-time problem solving. Most sessions will feature sophisticated numerical investigations using Microsoft Excel. Much of the material is highly technical.
Spring
Also Offered As: STAT 4760
1 Course Unit
MKTG 6110 Marketing Management
This course addresses how to design and implement the best combination of marketing efforts to carry out a firm's strategy in its target markets. Specifically, this course seeks to develop the student's (1) understanding of how the firm can benefit by creating and delivering value to its customers, and stakeholders, and (2) skills in applying the analytical concepts and tools of marketing to such decisions as segmentation and targeting, branding, pricing, distribution, and promotion. The course uses lectures and case discussions, case write-ups, student presentations, and a comprehensive final examination to achieve these objectives.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 6120 Dynamic Marketing Strategy
Building upon Marketing 611, the goal of this course is to develop skills in formulating and implementing marketing strategies for brands and businesses. The course will focus on issues such as the selection of which businesses and segments to compete in, how to allocate resources across businesses, segments, and elements of the marketing mix, as well as other significant strategic issues facing today's managers in a dynamic competitive environment. A central theme of the course is that the answer to these strategic problems varies over time depending on the stage of the product life cycle at which marketing decisions are being made. As such, the PLC serves as the central organizing vehicle of the course. We will explore such issues as how to design optimal strategies for the launch of new products and services that arise during the introductory phase, how to maximize the acceleration of revenue during the growth phase, how to sustain and extend profitability during the mature phase, and how to manage a business during the inevitable decline phase.
Fall or Spring
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 6130 Strategic Marketing Simulation
Building upon Marketing 611, Marketing 613 is an intensive immersion course designed to develop skills in formulating and implementing marketing strategies for brands and businesses. The central activity will be participation in a realistic integrative product management simulation named SABRE. In SABRE, students will form management teams that oversee all critical aspects of modern product management: the design and marketing of new products, advertising budgeting and design, sales force sizing and allocation, and production planning. As in the real world, teams will compete for profitability, and the success that each team has in achieving this goal will be a major driver of the class assessment. The SABRE simulation is used to convey the two foci of learning in the course: the changing nature of strategic problems and their optimal solutions as industries progress through the product life cycle, and exposure to the latest analytic tools for solving these problems. Specifically, SABRE management teams will receive training in both how to make optimal use of marketing research information to reduce uncertainty in product design and positioning, as well as decision support models to guide resource allocation.
Spring
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7110 Consumer Behavior
Marketing begins and ends with the customer, from determining customers' needs and wants to providing customer satisfaction and maintaining customer relationships. This course examines the basic concepts and principles in customer behavior with the goal of understanding how these ideas can be used in marketing decision making. The class will consist of a mix of lectures, discussions, cases, assignments, project work and exams. Topics covered include customer psychological processes (e.g., motivation, perception, attitudes, decision-making) and their impact on marketing (e.g., segmentation, branding, and customer satisfaction). The goal is to provide you with a set of approaches and concepts to consider when faced with a decision involving understanding customer responses to marketing actions.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2110
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5-1 Course Unit
MKTG 7120 Data and Analysis for Marketing Decisions
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of data-driven marketing, including topics from marketing research and analytics. It examines the many different sources of data available to marketers, including data from customer transactions, surveys, pricing, advertising, and A/B testing, and how to use those data to guide decision-making. Through real-world applications from various industries, including hands-on analyses using modern data analysis tools, students will learn how to formulate marketing problems as testable hypotheses, systematically gather data, and apply statistical tools to yield actionable marketing insights.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2120
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND STAT 6130
0.5-1 Course Unit
MKTG 7210 New Product Management
This course provides a total immersion in the new product development process - from sourcing ideas and innovation, through new product sales forecasting. The focus is on collective learning, what works, what doesn't, and why. While the primary focus is the new product development process within a corporate structure, some coverage is given to key issues surrounding start-ups.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2210
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7240 Advertising Management
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to learn and apply the major frameworks, theories, current research findings, principles and practices of effective advertising management as part of an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program. By the end of this course, students should not only be familiar with a large body of advertising knowledge, but should also be able to apply this information to create and evaluate effective advertising strategies and tactics. The emphasis will be on: 1) understanding the psychology of customer motivation and persuasion; 2) crafting effective and creative messages; 3) making efficient selections and use of media; and 4) understanding metrics, all within the broader Integrated Marketing Communications perspective.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2240
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7250 Principles of Retailing
This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of the retailing industry. Primary focus will be on the customer facing activities of retailers, including assortment planning, private-label development and the management of in-store operations, and the back-door activities (forecasting and supply chain management) that support customer interaction. In addition, current issues facing retailers, such as customer relationship management, industry consolidation and supplier relations, will be explored. The course will also survey topics in finance, operations, information technology and real estate as they relate to retail.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2250
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7270 Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce
The effect of the Internet and related technologies on business and social institutions is more profound than that of any prior invention, including the printing press and the internal combustion engine. Furthermore, marketing plays a key role in shaping the modern consumption-led economies fueled by these technologies. MKTG 7270 provides a research-based and framework-driven approach to understanding digital marketing and electronic commerce. The course is organized into two sections and utilizes relevant theory, empirical analysis, and practical examples, to develop the key learning points. Guest speakers will participate as well, as appropriate.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2270, MKTG 2700, MKTG 7700
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7330 Marketing for Social Impact
Private and public sector firms increasingly use marketing strategies to engage their customers and stakeholders around social impact. To do so, managers need to understand how best to engage and influence customers to behave in ways that have positive social effects. This course focuses on the strategies for changing the behavior of a target segment of consumers on key issues in the public interest (e.g., health behaviors, energy efficiency, poverty reduction, fund-raising for social causes). How managers partner with organizations (e.g., non-profits, government) to achieve social impact will also be explored.
Fall
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7340 Idea Generation and the Systematic Approach for Creativity
The ability to solve problems creatively and generate change is a recognized standard of success and plays an important role in gaining a competitive advantage in many areas of business management. This course is designed to teach students several creative problem solving methodologies that complement other managerial tools acquired in undergraduate and graduate studies. The course offers students the opportunity to learn how to solve problems, identify opportunities, and generate those elusive ideas that potentially generate enormous benefits to organizations. The objectives of this course are to enhance the students' (a) creativity, (b) ability to innovate and (c) ability to identify, recruit, develop, manage, retain, and collaborate with creative people. The course includes: 1. A review of the literature on creativity, creative people, innovation, and design as well as the leadership and management of creative people and innovation. 2. Hands on learning of approaches for generating creative ideas. Students will have the opportunity of implementing the techniques studied in class. 3. Applications of creativity to selected management domains - Approaches to the generation of creative options are not limited to the development of products and services or businesses, but can be applied to all areas of management, business, and life. The purpose of these sessions is to explore the applications of creative approaches to marketing, advertising, organizational design, negotiations, and other management challenges. 4. Integration - Both via individual assignments and a group project in which interdisciplinary teams of students generate a creative product/service/customer
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2340
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7370 Introduction to Brain Science for Business
This course provides an overview of contemporary brain science and its applications to business. Students are first rapidly introduced to the basic anatomy and physiology of the brain and become familiar with important techniques for measuring and manipulating brain function. The course then surveys major findings in neuroscience with applications to business, including vision, attention and advertising; valuation and marketing; decision making; learning, innovation and creativity; social influence, team-building, and leadership; and discussion of the ethical, legal, and societal implications of applying neuroscience to business. Applications to business, education, sports, law, and policy are discussed throughout.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2370
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7380 Consumer Neuroscience
How can studying the brain improve our understanding of consumer behavior? While neuroscience made tremendous strides throughout the past few decades, rarely were meaningful applications developed outside of medicine. Recently, however, breakthroughs in measurement and computation have accelerated brain science, and created an array of opportunities in business and technology. Currently, applications to marketing research and product development are experiencing explosive growth that has been met with both excitement and skepticism. This mini course provides an overview of the neuroscience behind and the potential for these developments. Topics will range from well-known and widely used applications, from eye-tracking measures in the lab and the field, to emerging methods and measures such as mobile technologies, face-reading, and neural predictors of market response. This course is self-contained and has no prerequisites. However, students with some background in business, economics, psychology, and/or neuroscience are likely to find some of the material covered in this course complementary to their existing knowledge. Much of the foundational work in consumer neuroscience and neuroeconomics involves laboratory experiments. Accordingly, we will read and discuss several experimental papers and the craft of designing an experiment will occasionally be discussed. However, we will not dedicate significant time to the methodology of experimental design and analysis. As will become clear as the course progresses, “consumer neuroscience" can be used to study almost any aspect of consumer behavior.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2380, MKTG 3500, MKTG 8500
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7390 Visual Marketing
As consumers, we are constantly exposed to advertisements and experience visual messages from product packages in stores, retail displays, and products already owned. In essence, visual marketing collateral is omnipresent and is an essential part of corporate visual identity, strategy, branding, and communication. Some of this falls to creative graphic design, but advertising, design, and marketing can also be significantly enhanced by knowledge of how visual information and its presentation context can be optimized to deliver desirable and advantageous messages and experiences. This course will emphasize how to measure, interpret, and optimize visual marketing. This course will use lectures, discussions, exercises and a group project, to help students understand the underlying processes that influence our visual perception and visual cognition. Students will learn about the theoretical processes and models that influence, attention and visual fluency. Students will also be exposed to eye-tracking instruments that help measure eye movement. Finally, we will explore how visual stimuli can influence consumer memory, persuasion, and choice. We will examine practical applications in marketing, advertising, packaging, retail, and design contexts.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2390
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7410 Entrepreneurial Marketing
This course focuses on the real life marketing challenges involved in launching an entrepreneurial venture. The primary goal of the course will to provide a roadmap for students seeking to actively engage as entrepreneurs, investors or managers in the startup culture. Many of the entrepreneurial marketing principles studied in this course will be equally applicable to mid-size and larger companies seeking new approaches to drive top-line growth. The course will address how start-ups, early growth stage and more mature companies have used entrepreneurial marketing as an essential competitive weapon to grow their businesses by gaining customers, driving revenue, acquiring funding and recruiting A-level employees, advisors and directors. Students will form teams and select an idea/concept for an entrepreneurial venture, and by the conclusion of the course will have developed a fully fleshed out and testable marketing plan. Preferably, the selected venture will be one that one or more members of the team would consider implementing, should their plan prove feasible.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2410
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130) AND MKTG 7120
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7470 Marketing Strategy for Technology Platforms
This course focuses on the unique aspects of creating effective marketing and management strategies for technology-intensive on-line and off-line businesses. It addresses the effective competitive marketing strategies for winning in markets which are powered by technology: specifically, how firms create value for customers and how they can integrate technology in delivering a better consumer experience. While competitive marketing strategy is important for all managers, this course will be particularly useful to students who are planning to accept a position in leading technology companies, and marketing firms in which technology is likely to play an important role. In addition, the course will provide value to those who expect to work in consulting or investing in technology industries, and must analyze firm strategies.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2470
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7520 Marketing Analytics
Companies are currently spending millions of dollars on data-gathering initiatives, but few are successfully capitalizing on all this data to generate revenue and increase profit. Converting data into increased business performance requires the ability to extract insights from data through analytics. This course covers the three pillars of analytics – descriptive, predictive and prescriptive – within the marketing context. Descriptive Analytics examines different types of data and how they can be visualized, ultimately helping you communicate your findings and strengthen your team’s or organization’s decision making. Predictive Analytics explores the use of data for forecasting. You will learn to utilize various tools, including regression analysis, to estimate relationships among variables and predict future behavior. Prescriptive Analytics takes you through the final step — formulating concrete recommendations. These recommendations can be directed toward a variety of marketing actions, including pricing and social-platform outreach. Students will be exposed to several methods such as linear regression, logistic regression, multinomial regression, machine learning methods (e.g., neural networks and random forests). We will learn how to employ these methods for such managerial decisions as demand forecasting, pricing, and valuing customers. Overall, you will develop a data analytics mindset, learn new tools, and understand how to convert numbers into actionable insights.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2520, MKTG 3520, MKTG 8520
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130) AND STAT 6130
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7540 Pricing Policy
The course provides a systematic presentation of the factors to be considered when setting price, and shows how pricing alternatives are developed. Analytical methods are developed and new approaches are explored for solving pricing decisions.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2540, MKTG 2880
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 7600 Innovation, Marketing Strategy, and Antitrust
This course considers business strategy and law, particularly the role of antitrust and intellectual property law in managing innovation. We will examine several highly innovative firms in technology rich areas, considering how they adapt their strategies to the competitive and legal environment, and asking whether antitrust law promotes or hinders innovation. The strategies of both current firms such as Uber, Google, Apple, and Microsoft and historical examples such as American Can Company, Standard Oil, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., and Kodak will provide context and source materials for the course. We will pay special attention to the role of intellectual property rights in fostering or hindering innovation. The legal focus is primarily on U.S. law, but the course will occasionally address foreign regimes as well. The course is useful to students interested in marketing or competitive business strategy, and, more broadly, to anyone desiring to understand the legal and public policy issues relating to competition and innovation.
Fall or Spring
Also Offered As: LGST 8050
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7680 Contagious: How Products, Ideas and Behaviors Catch On
Why do some products catch on and achieve huge popularity while others fail? Why do some behaviors spread like wildfire while others languish? How do certain ideas seem to stick in memory while others disappear the minute you hear them? More broadly, what factors lead to trends, social contagion, and social epidemics? Interactive media, word of mouth, and viral marketing are important issues for companies, brands, and organizations. This course looks at these and other topics as it examines how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and become popular. Marketers want their product to be popular, organizations want their social change initiative to catch on and entrepreneurs want their ideas to stick. This course will touch on four main aspects: (1) Characteristics of products, ideas, and behaviors that lead them to be successful. (2) Aspects of individual psychology that influence what things are successful. (3) Interpersonal processes, or how interactions between individuals drive success. (4) Social networks, or how patterns of social ties influence success.
Not Offered Every Year
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7700 Digital Marketing, Social Media and E-Commerce
MKTG 7700 explores the digital marketing environment from both a consumer and business perspective. The course provides an overview of various online business models and delves into digital advertising and social media marketing techniques and technologies. A mixture of case studies, guest speakers and assignments, including one that uses real advertising data, translates theory into practice. It is recommended that students enrolling in the course be comfortable using Excel and are knowledgeable in applying regression analysis techniques. Students who would prefer a less technical course may wish to take MKTG 7270, Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce, a half cu course offered by the department.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2270, MKTG 2700, MKTG 7270
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7710 Models for Marketing Strategy
The course develops students’ skills in using analytics to make better marketing decisions. Compared to other courses in marketing analytics, the focus is less on ‘what is happening?’ or ‘what will happen?’ and more on ‘what should we do?’ I.e., the course moves beyond descriptive and predictive analytics into prescriptive analytics. It covers a variety of topics, models and tools: (1) Marketing mix modeling & optimization, (2) Choice modeling, choice-based conjoint analysis & market simulators, (3) Modeling churn & maximizing customer lifetime value, and (4) Quantifying causal effects in marketing. The course requires familiarity with Excel and linear regression from the very first day, but is otherwise self-contained. Lectures are organized around a mini-case or illustrate the model/technique at hand through one or more real-life applications.
Fall
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2710
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7750 Managing Customer Value
As the concept of CRM becomes common parlance for every marketing executive, it is useful to take a step back to better understand the various different behaviors that underlie the development of successful CRM systems. These "behaviors" include customer-level decisions, firm actions, and the delicate but complex interplay between the two. Accordingly this course is comprised of four main modules. We start with the discussion of customer profitability - focusing on the concepts of "customer lifetime value" and "customer equity". We will examine how to measure long-run customer profitability in both business-to-customer and business-to-business environments, and the uses of these measures as major components assessing overall firm valuation. Second, we move to the value that the firm provides to its customers - better understanding the true nature of customer satisfaction and its non-trivial relationship with firm profitability. Third, we examine each of the three main components of the firm's management of its customer base: customer acquisition, development, and retention - and the complex resource allocation task that must be balanced across them. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of various tactical and organizational aspects of customer relationship management.
Spring
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7760 Applied Probability Models in Marketing
This course will expose students to the theoretical and empirical "building blocks" that will allow them to construct, estimate, and interpret powerful models of consumer behavior. Over the years, researchers and practitioners have used these models for a wide variety of applications, such as new product sales, forecasting, analyses of media usage, and targeted marketing programs. Other disciplines have seen equally broad utilization of these techniques. The course will be entirely lecture-based with a strong emphasis on real-time problem solving. Most sessions will feature sophisticated numerical investigations using Microsoft Excel. Much of the material is highly technical.
Spring
Also Offered As: STAT 7760
1 Course Unit
MKTG 7770 Marketing Strategy
This course views marketing as both a general management responsibility and an orientation of an organization that helps one to create, capture and sustain customer value. The focus is on the business unit and its network of channels, customer relationships, and alliances. Specifically, the course attempts to help develop knowledge and skills in the application of advanced marketing frameworks, concepts, and methods for making strategic choices at the business level.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2770
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
0.5-1 Course Unit
MKTG 7780 Strategic Brand Management
Which brands make you happy? Apple? Amazon? Starbucks? Everlane? Soulcycle? Sweetgreen? What draws you into these brands? How do companies create compelling brand experiences? How could you cultivate a well-loved brand? This course explores such questions with the goal of identifying the ingredients for building an inspired brand. The course is created for students interested in building a brand and/or immersing themselves in the enhancement of an existing brand, and it is comprised of lectures, cases, guest speakers, discussions, in and out of class exercises, and a final project. Broadly, the course will be divided into four parts: 1) Understanding Brand, 2) Crafting Brand, 3) Measuring Brand, and 4) Managing Brand. The course will provide students with an appreciation of the role of branding and (taking a consumer-centric approach) will augment students' ability to think creatively and critically about the strategies and tactics involved in building, leveraging, defending, and sustaining inspired brands.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2780
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
0.5-1 Course Unit
MKTG 7790 AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology
This course takes a behavioral perspective on the topic of autonomous technology, such as Artificial Intelligence. It reviews new insights to help companies thrive in the dawning age of smart machines. The emerging behavioral science of autonomous technology helps us understand barriers to consumer adoption and how to design captivating AI experiences. Moreover, we discuss how to improve managerial decision-making with data and algorithms. This is a non-technical course. No coding or data science skills are required. The course uses a blend of pedagogical approaches, including interactive lectures, workshops, guest lectures, and case discussions, to bridge two perspectives. On one side, we acknowledge the tremendous value that autonomous technology can provide to firms and individual consumers. In many ways, automation defines progress. On the other side, we examine emerging risks for consumers in an AI-driven economy. The main theoretical lens will be offered by psychology, but we will also examine ideas from economics, management, history, statistics, computer science, art, sociology, and philosophy. The application contexts will focus on marketing. While also relevant to other disciplines (e.g., operations, innovation), the course is therefore especially suitable for students interested in a career in marketing (e.g., product management, customer experience management).
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2790, MKTG 3550, MKTG 8550
Prerequisites: MKTG 6110 and MKTG 6120 or MKTG 6130
1 Course Unit
MKTG 8060 Retail Merchandising (Center Special Topic)
As a follow-on to Principles of Retailing (MKTG 7250), this course delves more deeply into both the fundamentals and recent trends in the end-to-end retail merchandising process. The objective is to familiarize students with both the theory and practice of planning, buying, designing, pricing, and displaying merchandise to consumers. This knowledge will be fundamental to careers working for retailers themselves (e-commerce or omnichannel), but also in consulting to retailers, in banking or investing in the retail sector, or even starting their a brand or retail concept. Those seeking more depth in sourcing, distribution, fulfillment, and store/site operations should consider taking Retail Supply Chain Management (OIDD 6970).
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 3060
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 OR MKTG 7250
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 8090 Experiments for Business Decision Making (Center Special Topic)
In the past decade, massive shifts in how companies interact with their customers have suddenly made field experiments an economically feasible way to learn about a variety of business questions such as what types of promotions are most effective, what products should be stocked at a store, how e-mail promotions should be designed, how sales staff should be compensated, etc. Many marketers engaged in online retailing, direct-marketing, online advertising, media management, etc. are rapidly embracing a "test and learn" philosophy and a number of platforms such as Google Website Optimizer, have been developed to facilitate rigorous field experiments in the online environment. Just as with the quality revolution in manufacturing during the 1980s and 1990s, the rapid rise of the "test and learn" philosophy in marketing has created a huge demand for those who can design, field, and analyze marketing experiments. Through this course, you will learn and practice a wide range of critical skills, from the statistical methods used to design and analyze experiments to the management and strategy required to execute an experiment and act on the results. Although the cases and examples will focus on marketing problems, the material covered can be applied in a number of other domains particularly operations management and product design.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 3090
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110
1 Course Unit
MKTG 8500 Special Topics - Consumer Neuroscience
CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE: How can studying the brain improve our understanding of consumer behavior? While neuroscience made tremendous strides throughout the 20th century, rarely were meaningful applications developed outside of medicine. Recently, however, breakthroughs in measurement and computation have accelerated brain science and created a dizzying array of opportunities in business and technology. Currently, applications to marketing research and product development are experiencing explosive growth that has been met with both excitement and skepticism. This mini-course provides an overview of the neuroscience behind and the potential for these developments. Topics will range from well-known and widely used applications, such as eye-tracking measures in the lab and field, to emerging methods and measures, such as mobile technologies, face-reading algorithms, and neural predictors of marketing response. The course will also discuss applications in branding and product development, including wearable physiological devices and apps, sensory branding for foods and fragrances, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and neuroscience-based products designed to enhance cognitive functions. These applications stem from many subfields of cognitive neuroscience, including attention, emotion, memory, and decision making. This course is self-contained and has no prerequisites. However, students with some background in business, economics, psychology, and/or neuroscience are likely to find the material covered in this course complementary to their existing knowledge.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2380, MKTG 3500, MKTG 7380
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 8520 Special Topics - Marketing Analytics
MARKETING ANALYTICS: Companies are currently spending millions of dollars on data-gathering initiatives - but few are sucessfully capitalizing on all this data to generate revenue and increase profit. Moving from collecting data to analysis to profitable results requires the ability to forecast and develop a business rationale based on identified data patterns. Marketing Analytics will cover the three pillars of analytics - descriptive, predictive and prescriptive. Descriptive Analytics examines different types of data and how they can be visualized, ultimately helping you leverage your findings and strengthen your decision making. Predictive Analytics explores the potential uses of data once collected and interpreted. You will learn to utilize different tools, such as regression analysis, and estimate relationships among variables to predict future behavior. Prescriptive Analytics takes you through the final step - formulating concrete recommendations. These recommendations can be directed toward a variety of efforts including pricing and social-platform outreach.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2520, MKTG 3520, MKTG 7520
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND STAT 6130
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 8550 Special Topics - AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology
“AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology” (or “AI in Our Lives” for short) takes a behavioral perspective on the topic of autonomous technology, such as Artificial Intelligence. It reviews new behavioral insights to help companies thrive in the dawning age of smart machines. We focus on both the behavior of consumers and how managers should make decisions about consumers. Related to the former, the emerging behavioral science of autonomous technology helps us understand barriers to consumer adoption and how to design captivating AI experiences. Related to the latter, we discuss how to improve decision-making with data and algorithms. This is a non-technical course. No coding or data science skills are required. The course uses interdisciplinary materials and a blend of pedagogical approaches, including interactive lectures, workshops, guest lectures, and case discussions. In addition to its many substantive insights, the course offers moments of reflection to help you understand how technology is changing our lives, and how each of us can help effect positive change in the world. The course bridges two perspectives. On one side, we acknowledge the tremendous value that autonomous technology can provide to firms and individual consumers. In many ways, automation defines progress. On the other side, we examine emerging risks for consumers in an AI-driven economy. The main theoretical lens will be offered by psychology, but we will also examine ideas from economics, management, history, statistics, computer science, art, sociology, and philosophy. The application contexts will be focused on marketing. While also relevant to other disciplines (e.g., operations, IT, innovation, or general management), this course is therefore especially suitable for students interested in a career in marketing (e.g., product management, brand management, service design, and customer experience management). The ultimate goal of the course is to help ensure that the amazing technologies currently being developed bring about positive change. The course will strive to achieve that by tackling the following UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDG9 (Innovation), SDG8 (Economic growth), SDG3 (Health and wellbeing), SDG10 (Reduced inequality), and SDG12 (Responsible consumption and production). The course complements the research activities of the new Wharton Human-Centered Technology Initiative.
Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 2790, MKTG 3550, MKTG 7790
1 Course Unit
MKTG 8900 Advanced Study Project (ASP)
ADVANCED STUDY PROJECT (GENERAL): The principal objectives of this course are to provide opportunities for undertaking an in-depth study of a marketing problem and to develop the students' skills in evaluating research and designing marketing strategies for a variety of management situations. Selected projects can touch on any aspect of marketing as long as this entails the elements of problem structuring, data collection, data analysis, and report preparation. The course entails a considerable amount of independent work. (Strict library-type research is not appropriate) Class sessions are used to monitor progress on the project and provide suggestions for the research design and data analysis. The last portion of the course often includes an oral presentation by each group to the rest of the class and project sponsors. Along with marketing, the projects integrate other elements of management such as finance, production, research and development, and human resources.
Fall or Spring
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND MKTG 7250
0.5-1 Course Unit
MKTG 8930 Advanced Study: MKTG in Emerging Economies: Understanding & MKTG to the Chinese and Indian Consumer
This course is a two part series. The first part concentrates on the Indian Consumer and the second part concentrates on the Chinese Consumer. India and China add up to half of the world's population. Each presents its own challenges and opportunities. US and European MNCs have been in both countries for many years, but emerging market MNC's are becoming stronger and in many cases overtaking US and European companies despite their strong brands and know-how. Marketing to the Indian Consumer will provide a careful understanding of: The opportunity and challenges in the Indian consumer market 2) Various segments within the Indian consumer market. 3) Consumer psychology and decision making processes in each segment 4) Distribution channels in Indi Media in India: Mass, Local and non-traditional. 6) Bottom of the pyramid consumers and rural markets. 7) Product design and development decisions. The course will focus on the following industries: consumer packaged goods, mobile phones, financial services (insurance and banking), healthcare, sports and entertainment, and transportation. The course will involve case studies from local and international companies, guest lecturers, and visits to consumer homes to observe their tastes, habits, and preferences.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: WH 2160
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 8950 Global Business Week
GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK: MKTG 895 is one in an array of Global Business Week (GBW) study tour courses offered by various departments across Wharton. Each of the GBW courses offered in a term, will entail travel to a different part of the world and address a different element of economic driver for a country or industry. A faculty member will drive the topic and curriculum associated with a study tour to a region of the world where the study of a topic will provide insights and clarity available only by being in country. In country lectures from the lead faculty and area experts in industry, academia and government will form much of the basis of class time. In addition, students will experience relevant company and cultural settings where they will again hear from industry experts. Each course will require an individual student paper, a participation component, and a pre-travel or in-country set of assignments. See course syllabus for details. CUSTOMER CENTRICITY AT THE LEADING EDGE OF ANALYTICS AND TECHNOLOGY: LEARNING FROM SCANDINAVIA. Instructor: Peter Fader. The concept of "customer centricity," i.e., that not all customers are created equal, is gaining credibility and traction. More and more firms are coming to the realization that understanding and leveraging the behavioral differences across customers can potentially be more sustainably profitable than more conventional product- centric thinking that continues to dominate today's business landscape. At the heart of this transformation are three critical ingredients data, analytics, and technology. Using customer data at a granular level allows firms greater visibility into customer interactions, their use of social media, biometrics, and geolocation as tools to enhance business models and even create new ones. It allows a firm to be deliberate about which customers to go after and what kinds of services to provide them. For many, the key to profitable growth lies in successfully harnessing and developing the tools, organizational structures, and corporate cultures that create and enhance these capabilities.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 8970 Advanced Study: Luxury Branding and Retailing - Bringing it into the 21st Century
The luxury industry has been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with some estimates suggesting a contraction of over 20%. Some of the changes in consumer behavior directly affected luxury in the short-term, but these changes in behavior may eventually revert to past history when the pandemic is over. Examples of these include the drop in tourism travel, work from home trends, reduced traffic to physical retail and malls, and the reduction of festive social activities (e.g., weddings). Other trends affected many industries and are likely to fundamentally change consumer behavior long-term: (1) net zero retail now, (2) digital by design, (3) thoughtful experience, (4) re-localization and (5) lead with purpose. This course explores the special challenges that are faced by luxury brands as they try to navigate rapidly evolving shopping behaviors in both the online and offline environments. In this course we will articulate the key principles for successful luxury branding & experiences and focus on the challenges and opportunities that luxury brands face. Although we will have some traditional lecture/discussion classes, the course is primarily experiential. We will explore luxury broadly across many product categories. We will learn from what we see on location, but we will also critically assess how companies are coping with the challenges of the post-covid retailing environment.
Not Offered Every Year
Mutually Exclusive: WH 2180
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 8990 Independent Study
A student contemplating an independent study project must first find a faculty member who agrees to supervise and approve the student's written proposal as an independent study (MKTG 899). If a student wishes the proposed work to be used to meet the ASP requirement, he/she should then submit the approved proposal to the MBA adviser who will determine if it is an appropriate substitute. Such substitutions will only be approved prior to the beginning of the semester.
Fall or Spring
Mutually Exclusive: MKTG 3990
Prerequisite: MKTG 6110 AND (MKTG 6120 OR MKTG 6130)
0.5-1 Course Unit
MKTG 9400 Measurement and Data Analysis in Marketing - Part A
MKTG 9400 and MKTG 9410 provide an understanding and working knowledge of statistical data analysis for assessing how one variable is predicted (and possibly caused) by other variables. The courses focus on "funny Y's and messy X's" and extend the students' tool kit beyond classic linear regression and ANOVA in two directions. (1) Analyzing binary data, ordered response data, choice data, count data, truncated or censored data, and duration data; (2) Identifying and tackling causal identification challenges when analyzing non-experimental data. All assignments can be completed using R, SAS, or Stata.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9410 Measurement and Data Analysis in Marketing - Part B
MKTG 9400 and MKTG 9410 provide an understanding and working knowledge of statistical data analysis for assessing how one variable is predicted (and possibly caused) by other variables. The courses focus on "funny Y's and messy X's" and extend the students' tool kit beyond classic linear regression and ANOVA in two directions. (1) Analyzing binary data, ordered response data, choice data, count data, truncated or censored data, and duration data; (2) Identifying and tackling causal identification challenges when analyzing non-experimental data. All assignments can be completed using R, SAS, or Stata.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9420 Research Methods in Marketing - Part A
This course provides an introduction to the fundamental methodological issues that arise in experimental and quasi-experimental research. Illustrative examples are drawn from the behavioral sciences with a focus on the behavior of consumers and managers. Topics that are covered include: the development of research ideas; data collection and reliable measurement procedures; threats to validity; control procedures and experimental designs; and data analysis. Emphasis is placed on attaining a working knowledge of the use of regression methods for non-experimental and quasi-experimental data and analysis of variance methods for experimental data. The primary deliverable for this course is a meta-analysis of a research problem of the students choosing that investigates the effects of research methods on empirical results.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9430 Research Methods in Marketing - Part B
This course provides an introduction to the fundamental methodological issues that arise in experimental and quasi-experimental research. Illustrative examples are drawn from the behavioral sciences with a focus on the behavior of consumers and managers. Topics that are covered include: the development of research ideas; data collection and reliable measurement procedures; threats to validity; control procedures and experimental designs; and data analysis. Emphasis is placed on attaining a working knowledge of the use of regression methods for non-experimental and quasi-experimental data and analysis of variance methods for experimental data. The primary deliverable for this course is a meta-analysis of a research problem of the students choosing that investigates the effects of research methods on empirical results.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9500 Judgment and Decision Making Perspectives on Consumer Behavior - Part A
The purpose of this course is to provide a solid foundation for critical thinking and research on the judgment, decision-making and choice aspects of consumer behavior. There is a focus on how people process information when making judgments and choices and how the processes of judgment and choice might be improved. Topics of discussion include rationality, judgment under uncertainty, judgment heuristics and biases, risk taking, dealing with conflicting values, framing effects, prospect theory, inter-temporal choice, preference formation, and the psychology of utility. The focus will be on the individual decision-maker, although the topics will also have some applicability to group and organizational decision-making and behavioral research methodologies.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9510 Judgment and Decision Making Perspectives on Consumer Behavior - Part B
The purpose of this course is to build off MKTG 950, "Judgment and Decision Making Perspectives on Consumer Behavior - Part A" with a more specialized focus that will vary from year to year. This course is intended for those interested in deepening their study of Judgment and Decision Making beyond the basics.
Fall, odd numbered years only
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9520 Contemporary Topics in Consumer Research - Part A
The purpose of this seminar is to provide graduate students with an overview of contemporary topics in consumer research. Depending on faculty, areas addressed may include basic research on consumer knowledge (learning and memory), goals, persuasion, and emotions, with applications to branding. consumer finance, human-technology interaction, and social influence. The course draws from the literature in marketing, psychology and economics. The course will enable students to conceptualize, operationalize, and develop research ideas. Therefore, the focus is on understanding theoretical and methodological approaches to various aspects of consumer behavior, as well as advancing this knowledge by developing testable hypotheses and theoretical perspectives that build on the current knowledge base.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9530 Contemporary Topics in Consumer Research - Part B
The purpose of this seminar is to provide graduate students with an overview of contemporary topics in consumer research. Depending on faculty, areas addressed may include basic research on consumer knowledge (learning and memory), goals, persuasion, and emotions, with applications to branding. consumer finance, human-technology interaction, and social influence. The course draws from the literature in marketing, psychology and economics. The course will enable students to conceptualize, operationalize, and develop research ideas. Therefore, the focus is on understanding theoretical and methodological approaches to various aspects of consumer behavior, as well as advancing this knowledge by developing testable hypotheses and theoretical perspectives that build on the current knowledge base.
Spring, even numbered years only
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9540 Economic/OR Models of Marketing - Part A
This doctoral seminar reviews analytical models relevant to improving various aspects of marketing decisions such as new product launch, product line design, pricing strategy, advertising decisions, sales force organization and compensation, distribution channel design and promotion decisions. The primary focus will be on analytical models. The seminar will introduce the students to various types of analytical models used in research in marketing, including game theory models for competitive analysis, agency theory models for improving organization design and incentives within organizations, and optimization methods to improve decision making and resource allocation. The course will enable students to become familiar with applications of these techniques in the marketing literature and prepare the students to apply these and other analytical approaches to research problems that are of interest to the students.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9550 Economic/OR Models of Marketing - Part B
This is a continuation of MKTG 954. This doctoral seminar reviews analytical models relevant to improving various aspects of marketing decisions such as new product launch, product line design, pricing strategy, advertising decisions, sales force organization and compensation, distribution channel design and promotion decisions. The primary focus will be on analytical models. The seminar will introduce the students to various types of analytical models used in research in marketing, including game theory models for competitive analysis, agency theory models for improving organization design and incentives within organizations, and optimization methods to improve decision making and resource allocation. The course will enable students to become familiar with applications of these techniques in the marketing literature and prepare the students to apply these and other analytical approaches to research problems that are of interest to the students.
Spring, odd numbered years only
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9560 Empirical Models in Marketing - Part A
This course is designed to generate knowledge of the use of quantitative statistical, econometric, and Machine Learning methods and their application to Marketing problems. A strong emphasis is also placed on the applied nature of applying these methods in terms of data requirements, exogenous versus endogenous variation, and computational challenges when using complex models. Students outside of Marketing are welcome, and we discuss how these models can be applied to other disciplines. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the key issues and approaches in empirical marketing modeling.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9570 Empirical Models in Marketing - Part B
This course is designed to generate awareness and appreciation of the way several substantive topics in marketing have been studied empirically using quantitative models. This seminar reviews empirical models of marketing phenomena including consumer choice, adoption of new products, sales response to marketing mix elements, and competitive interaction. Applies methods and concepts developed in econometrics and statistics but focuses on substantive issues of model structure and interpretation, rather than on estimation techniques. Ultimately, the goals are a) to prepare students to read and understand the literature and b) to stimulate new research interests. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the key issues and approaches in empirical marketing modeling.
Spring, even numbered years only
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9710 Advanced Topics in Marketing - Part A
Taught collectively by the faculty members from the Marketing Department, this course investigates advanced topics in marketing. It is organized in a way that allows students to 1) gain depth in important areas of research identified by faculty; 2) gain exposure to various faculty in marketing and their research values and styles; and 3) develop and advance their own research interests.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9720 Advanced Topics in Marketing - Part B
Taught collectively by the faculty members from the Marketing Department, this course investigates advanced topics in marketing. It is organized in a way that allows students to 1) gain depth in important areas of research identified by faculty; 2) gain exposure to various faculty in marketing and their research values and styles; and 3) develop and advance their own research interests.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9730 Research Seminar in Marketing - Part A
This course is taught collectively by the faculty members from the Marketing Department. It is designed to expose Doctoral students to the cutting-edge research in marketing models in order to help them to define and advance their research interests. This course will offer: in-depth discussions on some important topics in marketing by experts in respective areas; tools, and methodologies required for conducting research in those areas; broad exposure to our faculty members and their proven research styles.
Fall
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9740 Research Seminar in Marketing - Part B
This course is taught collectively by the faculty members from the Marketing Department. It is designed to expose Doctoral students to the cutting-edge research in marketing models in order to help them to define and advance their research interests. This course will offer: in-depth discussions on some important topics in marketing by experts in respective areas; tools, and methodologies required for conducting research in those areas; broad exposure to our faculty members and their proven research styles.
Spring
0.5 Course Units
MKTG 9950 Dissertation
Fall or Spring
0 Course Units
MKTG 9990 Supervised Independent Study
Requires written permission of instructor and the department graduate adviser.
Fall or Spring
0.5-2 Course Units