MGMT E-6600

Strategic Brand Marketing

Syllabus
January 2016

Instructor: John L. Teopaco, DBA

Associate Professor, Marketing Program Director
Fisher College
jteopaco@fas.harvard.edu

Co-Instructor: David A. Shore, PhD

Adjunct Professor, Business School, University of Monterrey,
Mexico
Former Associate Dean, Harvard School of Public Health
dshore@fas.harvard.edu

Class Meeting Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Class Location: 1 Story Street - 306

[Please check the Extension School website before the first class to confirm the
classroom assignment.]

Office hours are available by appointment in the classroom on days teaching, and
throughout the course by email.

Snow Cancellations: 617-495-4024, 617-496-NEWS, Harvard Extension Website

http://extension.dce.harvard.edu

Required Course Materials:

Coursepack:
Students must use this unique link to access this coursepack at the discounted student
rate.
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/42903020

Textbook:
Shore, David A., Launching and Leading Change Initiatives in Health Care
Organizations: Managing Successful Projects, published by Jossey-Bass.
ISBN: 978-1-118-09914-8. Available at the Harvard COOP.

10/14/2019
Course Description

In today’s market, almost any product can be transformed into a commodity as

competitors copy successful products. In this course, students will learn how to position
and brand products and services in order to prevent them from being turned into
commodities. Case studies will be used to develop analytical and brand management
skills. Lectures and discussions on change management will provide requisite skills to
implement brand marketing initiatives. Participants will write two case analyses. By the
conclusion of the course, participants will understand the key variables to a successful
strategic branding campaign.

At the conclusion of this course you will be able to answer the following six questions:

1) What is branding?
2) Why do I want it?
3) How do I get it?
4) How can I most strategically leverage it?
5) How do I measure it?
6) How do I keep it?

Our course, as a seminar, will employ various forms of active learning including case
discussions, lectures, and readings.

The Case Method of Learning

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

- Ancient Proverb

Cases provide vehicles for learning diagnostic skills. They illustrate applications of the
concepts and frameworks introduced by the assigned readings. Case studies are
instructive in two ways. Initially, they require pre-class preparation, offering an
opportunity to diagnose case problems and issues, to select appropriate forms of analysis
(e.g., quantitative, logic, experience, conceptual), and to apply the lessons in the form of
case solutions. Before the start of class, each student should be able to recommend
concrete measures to the challenges presented in the case study and be capable of
defending them based upon solid evidence and coherent analysis.

Secondly, case studies illustrate the diversity of approaches to any given problem,
encouraging students to realize that others do not always diagnose, analyze, and solve
dilemmas in the exact same fashion. This course demands that class members understand
alternative approaches, learn from their colleagues, and engage in a constructive dialogue
with their peers. To do so requires that participants listen to each other as well as talk in
class. Furthermore, we ask that class members defend their position in order that they
may fully understand its strengths and weaknesses. There is no single right answer for a
case, just as there is rarely a single right decision in actual practice.

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You will be expected to be present for all class sessions and to arrive on time. Your
participation grade will reflect your comments made during discussions. You will be
evaluated on your performance for each class. If you absolutely cannot attend class,
please let the instructor know in writing in advance and provide a specific reason.
The grading of class participation is necessarily a subjective exercise. However, some
criteria for evaluating effective contributions include:
 Does the student demonstrate an eagerness to participate?
 Is the student a good listener? Does he/she build on others’ comments?
 Is the student willing to interact with other class members?
 Are the points made relevant to the discussion? Are they linked to others’
comments?
 Do comments demonstrate evidence of in-depth analysis of the case?
 Do comments add to our understanding of the situation?
 Do comments make a substantive contribution to the advancement of our
analysis?
 Is there a willingness to test new ideas, or are the comments “safe?”
 Do comments show an understanding of concepts or analytical techniques
properly applied to the current situation?
 Is the student presenting insightful quantitative analysis?
 Is the student presenting ethical considerations and insights?

Grading Percent of Grade

Participation 33.3%
Written Case Analysis #1 33.3%
Written Case Analysis #2 33.3%
100%

Written Case Analyses

Each written case analysis should be no longer than five, double-spaced, typewritten
pages. It should be addressed to the appropriate executive in the case. The report should
be an actionable, thorough but concise, well-supported document. Do not repeat case
facts unless you are citing them as support for your analysis. [Refer to guidelines
provided separately and to the article “How to Write a Case-Based Essay” in your
coursepack.]

Harvard Extension School Grading Policies

Grades reflect the quality and quantity of a student’s work submitted throughout the term
according to the grading standards listed below. Undergraduate- and graduate-credit
students may earn the following grades:

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  A and A− grades represent work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery
of the subject and, in the case of A, work of extraordinary distinction. There is no
grade of A+.
 B+, B, and B− grades represent work of good to very good quality throughout the
term; however, it does not merit special distinction.
 C+, C, and C− grades designate an average command of the course material.
 D+, D, and D- grades indicate work that shows a deficiency in knowledge of the
material.
 E is a failing grade representing work that deserves no credit. E may also be
assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses from which they
have not officially withdrawn by the withdrawal deadline.
This description is drawn directly from the Harvard Extension School website. Harvard
Extension School policy is that grades below a B- do not count toward the Certificate
Program.

Academic Honesty

The University and its faculty take challenges to academic honesty very seriously.
Instances of plagiarism — in which students present someone else’s work as their own,
whether by downloading material from the Internet, copying passages from a book, or in
some other way without full attribution — can have serious consequences. Each of you
will receive a letter from the Dean of Students reiterating the Extension School’s
insistence on academic honesty. This course requires the extensive use of published
literature, and demands that class members provide complete acknowledgements of all
sources. All students are encouraged to review Writing with Sources, prepared by
Harvard’s Expository Writing Program— available at the COOP and on-line at
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos/index.cgi?section=resources

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 MGMT E-6600 STRATEGIC BRAND MARKETING
January 2016 Course Schedule

PROF. TOPIC DATE ASSIGNMENT

Teopaco Branding 1/4/16 (1) Syllabus

Overview (2) Learning by the Case Method
(3) Marketing Class Discussion
Guidelines
(4) A Rose by Any Other Name

Teopaco Positioning 1/5/16 (1) The Birth of the Swatch

For Branding (2) Understanding Brands

Teopaco Building 1/6/16 (1) Inside Intel Inside

Brand Equity (2) Brands and Branding

Teopaco Leveraging 1/7/16 (1) Written Case Analysis Due:

Brand Equity Mountain Man Brewing
Company
(2) Dove: Evolution of a Brand

Teopaco Rejuvenating 1/11/16 (1) Snapple

Brand Equity (2) The Brand Report Card

Teopaco 1/12/16 (1) Burberry

(2) Launching the BMW Z3
Roadster

Teopaco Resuscitating 1/13/16 (1) Written Case Analysis Due:

a Brand The Black & Decker Corp. (A):
Power Tools Division

Shore Strategies for 1/14/16 Text Reading: Pages 1-40

Leading Successful
Change Initiatives -
Part I

MLK, Jr. Day 1/18/16 NO CLASS

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 MGMT E-6600 STRATEGIC MARKETING
January 2016 Course Schedule

INSTRUCTOR TOPIC DATE ASSIGNMENT

Leslie; Driving Innovation 1/19/16 In-classroom assignment

O’Shaughnessy & Growth at
Harvard’s DCE:
2014-15 Retrospective

Shore Strategies for 1/20/16 Text Reading: Pages 1-40

Leading Successful (continued)
Change Initiatives -
Part II

Shore The Trust 1/21/16 Text Reading: Pages 83-105

Prescription for
Marketing

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