Brand Strategy Workshop

2.5 credits

In this project-based course, students consult with the senior leadership teams of local companies that are in need of a brand strategy. In doing so, students address the following questions: What is the firm's desired brand strategy? How does the firm currently see its brand? How does the marketplace perceive the firm? (Internal and external perceptions rarely match.) What can the firm do organizationally (hiring, structure, incentives, etc.) to move toward providing the desired brand? What can the firm do using marketing activities, including product and service experiences, to move consumer perceptions toward this desired positioning?The course introduces students to an intuitive framework in which to develop answers to these questions and a series of research tools to collect the needed information. Students then actually use these tools to help a local company design brand strategy. Students in this course realize several meaningful benefits: (1) Greater preparedness to add immediate value in the corporate workforce, where they are sure to come across the topic of brand building. This class provides them with practical exposure to a proven methodology and an array of appropriate tools for aligning organizations going through a brand transformation or engaging in a brand-related project. (2) Access to senior level leadership challenges. This course provides an opportunity for students to interact regularly with the upper management of the participating company, thereby enabling them to learn from real-life, demanding experiences. Class sessions consist of lectures relating to brand strategy development methodologies and tools and discussions pertaining to the course project. Multiple team meetings with the client firm outside of the scheduled class times are required. Grading is based on peer, professor and client evaluations of team success.