Marketing Foundations Course

Lesson 1 • Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility

Examines ethical obligations in marketing practice and the consequences of deceptive tactics. Sets a professional standard students carry through the course.

Lesson 2 • The Marketing Mix Framework

Introduces the 4Ps and their extended variants as a decision-making scaffold. Students apply the framework to real product scenarios.

Lesson 3 • Understanding Markets and Demand

Explains how markets form, how demand is shaped, and what drives purchasing behavior. Connects market dynamics to strategic marketing decisions.

Lesson 1 • The Consumer Decision-Making Process

Walks through the five-stage buying process from need recognition to post-purchase evaluation. Provides the behavioral foundation for all targeting and messaging strategies.

Lesson 2 • Psychological Drivers of Purchase Behavior

Explores motivation, perception, learning, and attitude formation as internal purchase drivers. Students link psychological theory to practical messaging design.

Lesson 3 • B2B vs. B2C Buyer Behavior

Contrasts organizational buying processes with individual consumer behavior. Students adapt messaging and channel strategies to each buyer type.

Lesson 1 • Research Design and Methodology

Covers exploratory, descriptive, and causal research designs and when to apply each. Anchors all subsequent data-collection techniques in a rigorous planning framework.

Lesson 2 • Analyzing and Presenting Insights

Covers data cleaning, basic statistical interpretation, and insight storytelling for stakeholders. Students translate raw findings into strategic recommendations.

Lesson 3 • Secondary Data and Competitive Intelligence

Identifies published data sources, industry reports, and competitor analysis techniques. Students synthesize secondary data to complement primary findings.

Lesson 1 • Evaluating and Selecting Target Segments

Applies criteria such as segment size, growth, accessibility, and fit to select priority targets. Students practice scoring and ranking segments against business objectives.

Lesson 2 • Building Customer Personas

Guides students in synthesizing research data into detailed, actionable buyer personas. Personas become the reference tool for all subsequent campaign and content decisions.

Lesson 3 • Market Segmentation Principles

Defines segmentation criteria—demographic, psychographic, behavioral, and geographic—and evaluates their effectiveness. Establishes the analytical base for targeting decisions.

Lesson 1 • Brand Fundamentals and Brand Equity

Defines brand equity components—awareness, associations, perceived quality, and loyalty—and their business value. Provides the conceptual foundation for all brand-building decisions.

Lesson 2 • Brand Extension and Revitalization

Analyzes when and how to extend a brand into new categories or refresh a declining brand. Students assess extension fit and develop a revitalization brief.

Lesson 3 • Brand Identity and Visual Systems

Covers name, logo, color, typography, and tone of voice as a cohesive identity system. Students evaluate existing brand identities and identify consistency gaps.

Lesson 1 • IMC Strategy and Communication Objectives

Establishes the IMC planning process and how to set SMART communication objectives tied to business goals. Frames all channel and creative decisions that follow.

Lesson 2 • Budget Allocation and Campaign Measurement

Teaches budgeting methods and key performance indicators for evaluating IMC effectiveness. Students build a measurement dashboard aligned to campaign objectives.

Lesson 3 • Advertising and Creative Strategy

Covers message strategy, creative brief writing, and media selection for paid advertising. Students evaluate ad effectiveness using established creative criteria.

Lesson 4 • Public Relations and Experiential Marketing

Covers earned media, press relations, event marketing, and sponsorship as IMC components. Students integrate PR and experiential tactics into a broader campaign plan.

Lesson 1 • Pricing Fundamentals and Objectives

Defines pricing goals—profit maximization, market share, and survival—and their strategic implications. Connects pricing decisions to brand positioning established in earlier chapters.

Lesson 2 • Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management

Introduces demand-based and time-sensitive pricing models used in service and e-commerce contexts. Students design a dynamic pricing framework for a chosen business scenario.

Lesson 3 • Core Pricing Strategies

Covers cost-plus, value-based, competitive, and penetration pricing as primary strategic options. Students evaluate each strategy against a given market scenario.

Lesson 1 • Performance Monitoring and Adaptive Strategy

Establishes processes for tracking plan performance and making data-driven strategic adjustments. Students build a review cadence and decision framework for ongoing optimization.

Lesson 2 • Setting Marketing Goals and KPIs

Translates business objectives into measurable marketing goals with defined success metrics. Students practice cascading corporate strategy into department-level targets.

Lesson 3 • Situational Analysis and Strategic Audit

Applies SWOT, PESTLE, and competitive analysis to assess a brand's current strategic position. Integrates research, consumer, and brand knowledge from earlier chapters.

Lesson 4 • Strategic Options and Growth Frameworks

Covers Ansoff's matrix, Porter's generic strategies, and blue ocean thinking as growth tools. Students select and justify a strategic direction for their marketing plan.