MKTG606 - Strategic Marketing

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

MKTG600 Managerial Marketing , MKTG603 Marketing Research

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

This is an advanced course that integrates the knowledge of market and competitor analysis with strategic business considerations, to achieve superior performance in sales growth, market share and profit contribution. It is designed to introduce the various topics in strategic marketing such as organisational strategy; defensive strategies; competitive and life-cycle strategies at the level of the business unit; portfolio analysis, diversification and differentiation; social, ethical, technological and global issues as they impact on marketing performance. Besides understanding the theoretical foundations, participants are required to address the application of marketing principles in real life or simulated situations. Pragmatism is the main thrust of the course. The program is devised to stimulate learning by doing and as such the course requires you to use your knowledge via case studies and projects.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate an understanding of, and be able to explain, the relationship between corporate and marketing strategy; (GA4, 5, 8)

LO2 - Conduct and report on market situation analysis, taking into account the ethical implications of marketing proposals; (GA 3, 4, 5, 8)

LO3 - Working both autonomously and collaboratively, design and evaluate competitive marketing strategies; (GA 4, 5, 7, 8)

LO4 - Demonstrate an understanding of, and be able to explain, the need for evaluation and reformulation of marketing strategies in local and international contexts. (GA 4, 5, 6, 8)

Graduate attributes

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics covered: 

• The corporate strategy and marketing strategy relationship
• Marketing and business strategy, planning and competitive advantage
• Analysing markets and competition; competitive intelligence
• Market segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies
• Relationship strategies
• Planning for new products
• Product, branding, and customer service strategies
• Marketing channel strategies
• Pricing strategy
• Marketing communications strategies
• Sales force and direct marketing strategies
• Marketing strategy organisation, implementation and control 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Mode of delivery: Lectures, seminars and workshops on campus or mixed mode  

Pattern of attendance and duration: 12 week-semester or equivalent. Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit, including class attendance, readings and assignment preparation.

This unit is taught in a three-hour workshop mode. The intention is to make the workshops as interesting and as interactive as possible, while at the same time ensuring that the lecturer is able to communicate essential theories, concepts and applications in Strategic Marketing. Students are encouraged to ask questions, and there will be substantial opportunities to engage in discussions about set discussion questions, readings and contemporary issues in Strategic Marketing. There is case study presentation that would facilitate collaborative learning in the classrooms.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessments for this unit aim to give students an opportunity to engage in learning outside the classroom, and the readings undertaken, and to demonstrate these learnings (and how they are linked to learning in the classroom and via the readings) to an independent assessor.

The purposes of each assessment task are listed in the section that follows this section, and these purposes are in turn linked to the Learning Outcomes for each assessment task (which are also specified). Furthermore 30% of the marks in this unit are based on group work. Being able to work in teams is perceived as an important skill by employers. The 70% of the marks based on individual work are intended to allow individuals to demonstrate their own efforts and competency in Social Marketing, in an absolute sense, and relative to others.

In order to pass this unit, you are required to submit both pieces of assessment, and achieve an aggregate pass mark of 50% overall. The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for you to demonstrate your achievement of each learning outcome.

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for you to demonstrate your achievement of each learning outcome.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Required text(s)  

Walker, O, Mullins, J, Mavondo, F, Guntas, J, Kriz, A, & Osborne, C. 2015 Marketing Strategy: A Decision-Focused Approach, McGraw-Hill, NSW, Australia   

Recommended references  

Reed, P 2015, Strategic marketing: decision making and planning, 4th edn, Cengage Learning, Melbourne, Australia.  

Aaker, D. 2014, Strategic Market Management, 10th edition, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.   

Kotler, P, Kartajaya, H & Setiawan, 2015, Marketing 3.0: from products to customers to the human spirit, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ.   

Further references   

Blythe, J., & Zimmerman, A. 2004. Strategic Planning for Global Markets. Marketing Review, 4(4), 369-384.   

Christensen, C. M., & Bower, J. L. 1996. Customer power, strategic investment, and the failure of leading firms. Strategic Management Journal, 17(3), 197-218.   

Cravens, D. W., Piercy, N. F., & Baldauf, A. 2009. Management framework guiding strategic thinking in rapidly changing markets. Journal of Marketing Management, 25(1/2), 31-49.   

Erdem, T and Joffre, S 1998. Brand Equity as a Signaling Phenomenon, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7 (April), 131–57.  

Feng-Chuan Pan, S. 2004. Ally Strategic Alliance with Consumers? Who Care? Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 4(1/2), 323-329.   

Keller, K. L. 1993. Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing, 57, 1-22.  

Keller, K.L. 2002, Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity, 2d ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.  

McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. S. 2011. Creating and Capturing Value: Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, Resource-Based Theory, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1480-1495. doi: 10.1177/0149206310385696   

Naik, P. A., Raman, K., & Winer, R. S. 2005. Planning Marketing-Mix Strategies in the Presence of Interaction Effects. Marketing Science, 24(1), 25-34. doi: 10.1287/mksc.1040.0083   

Sheremata, W. A. 2004. Competing through innovation in network markets: strategies for challengers. Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 359-377. doi: 10.5465/AMR.2004.13670986   

Tsai, W., Su, K.-H., & Chen, M.-J. 2011. Seeing through the eyes of a rival: competitor acumen based on rival-centric perceptions. Academy of Management Journal, 54(4), 761-778. doi: 10.5465/AMJ. 2011.64870138   

Upson, J. W., Ketchen Jr, D. J., Connelly, B. L., & Ranft, A. L. 2012. Competitor analysis and foothold moves, Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 93-110. doi: 10.5465/amj.2008.0330   

Extended reading  

European Journal of Marketing  

Industrial Marketing Management  

International Journal of Research in Marketing  

Journal of Consumer Research  

Journal of Marketing  

Journal of Marketing Research  

Journal of Retailing  

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science  

Journal of Travel Research  

Journal of Advertising  

Journal of Advertising Research  

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing  

Journal of Business Research  

Journal of Consumer Affairs  

Journal of International Marketing  

Journal of Marketing Management  

Journal of Services Marketing  

Journal of Strategic Marketing  

Marketing Science