Brand Management

Brand Management is an advanced marketing course that will prepare students to lead a brand- centered marketing team in the consumer products/services arena.

Branding and marketing decisions are usually made in a context of imperfect information, decision models that combine analysis with judgment, and a marketplace that is fast-changing.

The emphasis in the course is to explore _what every brand/product manager needs to know_ to operate successfully in this real-world environment.

The concept of _brand equity_ is the unique aspect of this course versus other marketing classes and will be a unifying theme throughout. Understanding how to build strong brands is the strategic imperative of the course.

This class will first cover the role market research plays in helping make informed brand decisions. Next, the course will explore key branding concepts and frameworks that lead to effective management of these brands.

Finally, the course concludes with applying these key strategic branding concepts to the more tactical aspects of executing a brand's marketing efforts. In this final section of the course, we will devote 4 classes to building brands in the Web 2.0 world.

In addition, given the course's focus on _what every brand/product manager needs to know_, 4-5 contemporary branding experts in key fields, such as branding law and digital/social media, as well as senior marketing executives, will be guests in class, adding their current and relevant branding experiences to the class discussions.

Prerequisites:

• MKT7200 or MKT7800 or equivalent core