MKTG 3221: Consumer Behavior and Strategy Fall 2014: Wed 3:30-6:15 pm, CHHS 159 Instructor Information Dr. Linyun Yang Office: 244B, Friday Building, 2F Email: l.yang@uncc.edu Office hours by appointment Course Overview Businesses spend an enormous amount of time, money, and other resources on monitoring, predicting, understanding, and influencing the behavior of consumers. Their success depends on convincing consumers to use their products and services rather than competitors offerings. This course provides a contemporary, strategic approach to consumer behavior. Throughout the course, students will examine cutting edge examples of how key concepts and theories can be applied to company, brand, and organizational decisions. This course will also have a heavy emphasis on application through assignments and in class exercises. Students will learn how marketing managers use their research based knowledge to reach consumers more efficiently and to create more effective segmentation, positioning, and branding strategies. Course Format The course will combine lectures, in-class exercises, videos, student presentations, and class discussion. We will use many different materials in this course to illustrate consumer behavior phenomena and to get you thinking about managerial implications of those findings. It is important that each of you comes to class prepared. The level and success of the discussions depends on the willingness and ability of everyone to participate actively. Course Materials Consumer Behavior 1 st edition, by Frank R. Kardes, Marla L. Cronley, and Thomas W. Cline Additional required readings will be posted online throughout the semester 1
Course Assessment Note: Assignments will be taken down a letter grade for each day they are turned in late. Assignment Individual or Group Due % Grade Research Participation Individual Ongoing 5 Finding Examples Individual Ongoing 5 Class Participation Individual Ongoing 10 Quiz #1 Individual W 9/17 16 Experience Map Assignment Group W 10/1 16 Quiz #2 Individual W 10/22 16 Image-Identity Gap Analysis Group W 11/5 16 Quiz #3 Individual W 12/10 16 Individual Assignment Details Research Participation (5%) There are two alternative ways to complete the research participation requirement. The first is to be a subject for academic research projects for a maximum of 2 hours. You will be assigned to participate in specific research projects. This requirement provides students with first-hand experience in marketing research. Your participation in academic research projects will also help Marketing Faculty continue to develop state-of-the-art marketing thought which is ultimately brought back to the classroom. The second alternative way to fulfill this requirement is to attend the Department of Marketing distinguished speaker series or read assigned academic research papers. You will then write reports based on the research presented in each of the seminars or research papers. The grading for either will be Pass/Fail. Finding Examples (5%) You will be required to provide examples for ten of the topics covered in class. Examples must be submitted on Moodle before class on the day the topic is discussed. Submissions will be graded on a pass/fail basis. No late submissions will be accepted. 2
Class Participation (10%) Your individual participation will be graded based on: Discussion Contribution: Each of you can improve the quality of the course by sharing your own insights from the readings and observations in the real word. Your comments will be evaluated based on quality, not quantity. Group Exercises: On several occasions during class, you will be asked to work in groups to craft a solution to a problem provided by the instructor. The group will be asked to employ the solution insights learned from the lecture/discussion and assigned reading of the week. Quizzes (16% each) There will be three quizzes. These quizzes are not cumulative and will focus solely on the topics covered in class. The quizzes will be closed book/notes and consist of multiple choice and possibly short answer questions. Group Assignment Details Forming Your Group During the second week of class, you will be asked to form groups of 4 to 5 members. You will be working in these groups for all group exercises and write-ups. You will be asked to evaluate the participation of each team member in your group for all of the group assignments. Experience Map Assignment (16%) Create an experience map that captures the emotional state of a user through an essential interaction with a brand of your choosing. That experience can be anything from buying and unboxing a new iphone to calling AT&T customer service. Whatever the experience, it should be one that informs a user s lasting attitudes and opinions about your brand. Your map should highlight the best and worst parts of the experience and how those moments relate to the brand s intended user experience. You will submit a one-page experience map and describe your research process and findings in a 10- minute presentation. Presentation order will be determined by random drawing. Bring a color print-out of your one-pager to class (in addition to submitting on Moodle before the beginning of class). Image-Identity Gap Analysis (16%) To nurture and sustain a brand effectively, you must be constantly in touch with what your stakeholders (consumers, users, members) think about your brand and what you (your organization) think of your brand. It helps to have some language to pull these constructs apart. Brand image is defined as the set of actual associations the consumer has with a brand. Brand identity is defined as the set of aspirational associations the organization would like to have of its brand. Perform an image-identity gap analysis by capturing the brand associations from these two perspectives. 3
You will submit a one-page experience map and describe your research process and findings in a 10- minute presentation. Presentation order will be determined by random drawing. Bring a color print-out of your one-pager to class (in addition to submitting on Moodle before the beginning of class). Class Policies Promptness To minimize disruptions, please do not come late or leave early. If you must, let me know in advance. E-Mail When sending me an email, please include MBAD 6271 in the subject heading. I have a filter that will allow me to give priority to your emails. This is also the best way to contact me with any questions. Re-Grading If you believe an error has been made in grading your assignments, you may request a re-grade by doing the following: 1. Write a brief note to me explaining why you think there is an error. Please attach a copy of the graded assignment. 2. All re-grade requests must occur within seven (7) calendar days of the day graded material is returned to the class. 3. I reserve the right to re-grade the entire contents of any submitted assignment. Your grade may go up or down. Academic Integrity Students have the responsibility to know and observe the requirements of The UNC Charlotte Code of Student Academic Integrity. This code forbids cheating, fabrication or falsification of information, multiple submissions of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, and complicity in academic dishonesty. Any special requirements or permission regarding academic integrity in this course will be stated by the instructor, and are binding on the students. Academic evaluations in this course include a judgment that the student's work is free from academic dishonesty of any type, and grades in this course therefore should be and will be adversely affected by academic dishonesty. Students who violate the code can be expelled from UNC Charlotte. The normal penalty for a first offense is zero credit on the work involving dishonesty and further substantial reduction of the course grade. In almost all cases the course grade is reduced to F. Copies of the code can be obtained from the Dean of Students Office. Standards of academic integrity will be enforced in this course. Students are expected to report cases of academic dishonesty to the course instructor. Diversity The Belk College of Business strives to create an inclusive academic climate in which the dignity of all individuals is respected and maintained. Therefore, we celebrate diversity that includes, but is not limited to ability/disability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. 4
Tentative Course Schedule All reading assignments are tentative. Make sure to check Moodle for the most updated readings. All page numbers correspond to the 1 st edition of the optional textbook. Wk Day Topic Reading/Assignment 1a W 8/20 Consumer Behavior Course Overview 1b Consumer Research Text pg. 20-22, 26 2a W 8/27 Consumer Perception I 2b Consumer Perception II Click on Pringles ad Text pg. 62-70 NYT - Anywhere the Eye Can See Text pg. 74-79 Note: Add/drop deadline is on 8/27 3a W 9/3 Memory Text pg. 126-131 3b Attitude Formation Text pg. 91-92 4a W 9/10 Motivation & Emotion Text pg. 102-106, 114-115 4b Quiz #1 Review Experience Map Overview 5a W 9/17 Quiz #1 6a W 9/24 Classical Conditioning Text pg. 120-124 6b Operant Conditioning Text pg. 124-126 7a W 10/1 Experience Map Presentations Submit on Moodle before class Bring color print-out of assignment to class 8a W 10/8 Automatic Behavior NYT Voting Booth Feng Shui Text pg. 136-138 8b Consumer Habits 5
Wk Day Topic Reading/Assignment 9a W 10/15 Psychology of Money Wharton Are you a tightwad or spendthrift? NY Magazine The Money-Empathy Gap 9b Quiz #2 Review Image-Identity Gap Overview 10a W 10/22 Quiz #2 11a W 10/29 Social Influence I Text pg. 286-299 11b Social Influence II Text. Pg. 299-310 12a W 11/5 Image-Identity Gap Presentations Submit on Moodle before class Bring color print-out of assignment to class 13a W 11/12 Culture I JCMC A cross-cultural analysis of websites 13b Culture II 14a W 11/19 Decision Making Process Text pg. 214-219, 223-231 Complete pre-class exercise 14b Creativity WSJ How to be creative 15 W 11/26 Thanksgiving No Class 16a W 12/5 Branding Strategy Stanford GSB Highly Trusted Brands Text pg. 165-169 16b 17 W 12/10 Quiz #3 Review Quiz #3 3:00 4:30 pm 6