Human-Centered Marketing

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Retail magnate, John Wanamaker (1838-1922), once famously said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half." Almost a century later, and despite all the advancements in effectiveness measurements, marketing technology, and marketing channels, various studies have shown the waste is still substantial. This experiential course introduces the notions of ‘’Human Centered Marketing” as a response to the marketing waste, or rather, as an insurance for Marketing effectiveness. As such, the course is a special application of design thinking process and human centered mindsets to marketing efforts in which the customer, or target of the marketing effort, is at the center of the effort’s design. They will participate, at every step, from the definition of our marketing challenge to ideation, prototyping, testing, and market launch planning. Students will serve a real client (selected by the instructor). They will take on their client’s marketing challenge. The students are expected to apply the design thinking process and the appropriate human centered mindsets to creation of their final marketing solution. The course will be run across multiple modalities. It will include ~4 weeks of class on campus (at various points throughout the term), ~6 weeks of remote synchronous sessions, and ~5 weeks of asynchronous modules. Only students who can commit to being on campus for the 4 in-person meetings should register for this course.