2023-2024 / MARK0781-2

Strategic Marketing Seminar

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

 Master in management, professional focus in law and management5 crédits 
 Master in management, professional focus in law5 crédits 
 Master in management (120 ECTS)5 crédits 
 Master in management (120 ECTS) (Management of Transitional Organizational Systems (MOST))5 crédits 
 Master in management (60 ECTS)5 crédits 
 Extra courses intended for exchange students (Erasmus, ...)5 crédits 

Lecturer

Nadia Steils

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course Strategic Marketing Seminar can be considered as an intermediate marketing course, positioned between different marketing courses, and focusing on a strategic understanding of marketing as a discipline. This course builds on insights from the undergraduate marketing courses and will further advance your knowledge in marketing. At the end of the seminar, you shall be able to apply key frameworks and theories to analyze marketing-related issues in a strategic and analytical way to support the decision-making process of Chief Executives of any organization. 

The content of the course will closely follow the comprehensive book of Palmatier & Shridhar (2017) "Marketing Strategy: Based on First Principles and Data Analytics". The book is based on four marketing principles, from which three will be covered in this scourse, namely: 

  • Marketing Principle #1: All Customers Differ: Understanding customer heterogeneity
  • Marketing Principle #2: All Customers Change: Learning about customer dynamics 
  • Marketing Principle #3: All Competitors React: Understanding competitive advantag
The core topics, will be completed by advanced topics on

  • Digital marketing
  • Innovation marketing
  • Experience marketing
  • Sustainable marketing

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The course focuses on designing strategies from the market back to create, deliver, and sustain customer value in competitive and dynamic markets. To do so, this course deals with a comprehensive investigation and analysis of all major components of marketing strategy and their integration.



  • Strategy (KLO1): Establish a strategy in order to optimize the value chain of a company
  • Implementation (KLO2): Take charge of the everyday management of a company, and more especially of a project related to strategic marketing by analyzing one's managerial practice with a critical and ethical mind
  • Communication (KLO4): Communicate efficiently about a company
  • Adaptability (KLO5): Adapt one's managerial practice to the needs of a fast-evolving world...
    ... being conscious of its societal, economic, political, and environmental issues.
    ... showing curiosity and a scientific precision of academic level.
    ... showing creativity, autonomy, and entrepreneurial spirit.
    ... developing one's expertise in a lifelong learning perspective.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Students should have a good proficiency level in spoken and written English.
A basic marketing course in marketing and/or knowledge of the basic concepts of marketing is useful

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Specifically, the course will focus on the following content of the book: 

  • Introduction to marketing strategy 
  • Core topic 1: All customers differ - Customer Heterogeneity
  • Core topic 2: All customers change - Customer Dynamics  
  • Core topic 3: All competitors react - Competitive advantage
  • Advanced topic: Digital marketing
  • Advanced topic: Innovation marketing
  • Advanced topic: Experience marketing
  • Advanced topic: Sustainable marketing
  • Business Game 
Most of the sessions of the strategic marketing seminar will all take place in class except 1-2 online session.s (interactive session on Lola). The business game can be carried out either in class or remotely.

The first of the nine 3-hour sessions will begin with an introduction, outlining the overall objective, agenda, and context of the entire course. It will then proceed with the contents of the upcoming session.

Most of the sessions will then be taught in alternating phases of collective learning and individual learning.

  • In the collective learning phases, the foundational theoretical inputs will be delivered by the lecturer in traditional lecturer-centered, frontal teaching.
  • For the individual learning phases, the students will be given short, precisely formulated tasks related to the input previously given in the collective learning phase.
The last two sessions are dedicated to the business game "MyCereal Store", in which students have to participate in groups of 5 to 6 students. At the end of each session, students have to hand in a report, which counts for 35% of the final evaluation.

5% of the grade evalute the student's active participation in continuous tests.

The remaining 60% are for the individual written exam, composed of open questions and multiple choice questions.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course
Blended learning


Additional information:

Most of the courses will be taught in class; 1-2 session.s will be online (interactive learning path online). The last two sessions will be dedicated to the business game. Students can participate either in class or remotely. A Teams link will be provided to students wishing to participate remotely.

Recommended or required readings

The content of the course will closely follow the comprehensive book of Palmatier & Shridhar (2017) "Marketing Strategy: Based on First Principles and Data Analytics".

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )

Written work / report


Additional information:

First session of examination (January)




  • Individual evaluation (60%) - The Strategic Marketing Seminar examination in January is a written individual exam with Multiple choice questions and Open questions covering the different topics of the courses covered in class. 
    Exam questions will be multiple choice questions with only one correct answer out of four answer possibilities as well as open quesitons on the covered topics.
  • Group evaluation (business game report) (35%): At the end of each business game session, students have to hand in a report (as a group).
  • Continuous tests: Students' participation and score in evaluative quizzes in some of the advanced topics will count for 5% of the final grade.

Second session of examination:

  • Individual written exam in case you didn't pass the exam in January (60%)
  • Group report in case you didn't pass the group evaluation (business game report) (40%)
  • The grade of the continuous tests won't be part of the final grade in session 2.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

(See the document available on Lola for all guidelines related to the organization of the seminar)

Contacts

Instructor:


Nadia STEILS,

Assistant Professor at HEC Liège (ULiège) 

Department of Marketing


nadia.steils@uliege.be

Association of one or more MOOCs