Here is the lecture schedule, with reading assignments:

1. Course Introduction (8/28/08) — We will review the syllabus and course objectives. The abbreviated lecture will discuss the definition of marketing, consumer lifestyles, and product and category definition.
Here are the notes from the first class.

2. Product Life Cycle (9/4/08) — Here we will discuss how products and consumer adoption mature in the marketplace.
Assignment: Take a look at RipStik® Caster Board’s website. Read the obituaries of Juan Metzger, Ellery Chun, and William Rosenberg.
Here are the notes from the class on the product life cycle.

3. Understanding the Consumer (9/11/08) — Tonight, we’ll look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the customer-readiness model, the IMPACT model, how memory works, consideration and awareness sets, and a basic theory of communication.
Assignment:
Submit a list of the people in your group, identifying the group captain and the name of product you will analyze. Read “The Science of Shopping” by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 11/4/96.
Here are the key slides from this class.

4. Theory of Reasoned Action (9/18/08) — Please note that this class will be held upstairs from the auditorium, in the Canzani Multi-Purpose Room (formerly the Acock Gallery). Same building, same fresh minty taste.
Assignment: Work on your retail study. Apply hierarchy of needs and IMPACT models on your own. Learn about condoms.
Here are the key slides from this class.

5. Positioning Strategy (9/25/08) — If you are going to see only one lecture, this is the other one.
Assignment:
Apply theory of reasoned action on your own.
Here are the key slides from this class.

6. Review of Models (10/2/08) — The
midterm (and final) exam is designed as a tool that any of us can use
when we face a new marketing challenge. It is a blank form that guides
how we approach our first understanding of the product. During
tonight’s class, we will preview the midterm exam, reviewing
some of the key models.
Assignment: Apply positioning
on your own. And, separately, submit a two-page report comparing your
observations of any retailer with the observations of Paco Underhill
(based on reading “The Science of Shopping” due for class #3).

7. Midterm Examination (10/9/08) — This is The Tool. (You can also find The Tool at tinyurl.com/thetool.)

8. Review of Models (10/16/08) — Please note that this class will be held upstairs
from the auditorium, in the Canzani Multi-Purpose Room (formerly the
Acock Gallery). Same building, same hard shell finish.
The midterm (and final) exam is designed as a tool that any of us can use when we face a new marketing challenge. It is a blank form that guides how we approach our first understanding of the product. During tonight’s class, we will review the midterm, so we will again review some of the key models.

9. Human Behavior (Observed) and Collaborative Filtering (10/23/08) — Students will share
their experiences — watching humans like mice in a maze — during direct
observation of a retail environment. We’ll also explore how new technologies are taking the shopping out of shopping.
Assignment: Read “The Science of the Sleeper” by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 10/4/99.

10. Branding (10/30/08) — A definition of branding.
Assignment:True Colors” by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, 3/22/99.

11. Personal Marketing: Ancient Techniques, New Media and Social Marketing (11/6/08) — We will explore ways that professionals (attorneys, accountants, architects, artists) have marketed themselves and their work and how technology facilitates the spread of your message.

12. Group Presentations (11/13/08) — Students will present their group projects, marketing analyses of a wide variety of products.
Assignment: Submit Group Projects before class starts. This is the Tool; nothing more.

Here’s what to expect. Rather than a formal presentation, you will simply answer questions from me and the rest of the class. Here are the questions I will ask:

a. What target audience did you choose and why?
b. What suggestions do you have for new technical superiority for re-birth?
c. What moment during the customer’s buying process offers an opportunity for marketing?
d. How might your product offer satisfaction at each level of the hierarchy of needs?
e. What insights do you have after considering the theory of reasoned action?
f. How would you change the product’s positioning?

13. Marketing Mix and Assessment (11/20/08) — How to know if your marketing is any good.
Assignment: [TBD] 

Thanksgiving Day (11/27/08)

14. Final Lecture and Review (12/4/08) — This is a broad review of how to live a creative life.  Assignment: Read “Brown’s Job” from The 100 Greatest Advertisements by Julian Lewis.

16. Final Examination (12/11/08) — This is optional, if you are satisfied with the preliminary final grade you received in class on 12/4/08.

Questions? Ask me.
Suggestions? Tell me.

Here is an alternative URL for this page: http://tinyurl.com/CCAD-LA341.