GRA 6440 Marketing Innovation Management
GRA 6440 Marketing Innovation Management
This course was cancelled autumn 2019.
How companies communicate their value proposition has huge impact on sales and brand building. Recent changes in communication technologies, related to this, customer information search and buying behavior, is changing how companies can effectively communicate with their customers. The ongoing digitalization of markets and marketing, provides vast opportunities, and has accentuated the need for companies to re-invent their marketing. With new technologies, companies also acquire more data about customers and their information search behavior. Such data is increasingly being used to target and personalize communication, bridging the creative and analytical competencies.
Marketing innovation management is about developing and implementing new concepts for communicating to acquire new customers, to increase sales with existing customers, or to strengthen their preference (i.e. loyalty) for the brand. The innovation process starts with defining the business problem. This will clarify what value the new concept will create for the company. The next stage is a creative process where a number of concept ideas are developed and evaluated. This stage relies heavily on various forms of marketing research. A business-case is needed before a decision to invest in development. of a new communication concept. A projection of the expected cash-flow effect, the risk elements and plan for implementation are key elements of a business case. When the new concept is developed a detailed plan for implementation is required. As most innovations have a slow adoption phase, companies need diagnostic information about leading indicators to know if a new concept is being successfully implemented.
In this course, students will develop a marketing innovation on their own. They will employ methodology for defining business problems, creation of ideas and concepts, testing, and projections of expected cash-flow effects. Guest lectures will provide examples and give inspiration to studying marketing innovations.
The course is designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the topic of marketing innovation and hands-on innovation project in a team with other students.
More in detail, the course shall give you:
- Overview of trends driving opportunities and challenges in marketing innovation
- In depth understanding of the marketing innovation funnel
- Identifying the business problem
- In depth understanding of creativity
- Organizing idea generation processes
- Concept development
- Estimating effects of innovation on revenues
- A strategic plan for implementation
- Set up and run an innovation project
- Conduct a concept test and develop a business case
Have deep thoughts on the origin of really good marketing ideas
The course is divided into 4 sections
(1) Managing innovation development processes
(2) Creativity in marketing innovation
(3) Concept testing
(4) Developing a business-case
A detailed schedule with dates will be distributed during the first class.
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours. This course is very interactive allowing you to develop a common understanding of all concepts. This requires that everyone has prepared the relevant materials in advance of each session. Students will work in groups with their marketing innovation project, and are expected to report, and discuss their projects during the semester. Please devote significant time to do so and come prepared!
For fulfilling the assignments, you will need to conduct a real marketing innovation project. Students work in groups of 2-3 students. Grades are given to the group.
Specific information regarding student assessment will be provided in class. The final grade for the course is based on the aggregated mark of the course components. Each component is weighted as detailed in the course description. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the points system and the mapping scale in the student portal @BI. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.
This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. Information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades, will be given when the course starts.
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
This course require students to have acquired basic knowledge in marketing management, consumer behavior and marketing research. At a minimum this knowldge should be at the bachelor level.
| Assessments |
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Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 20 Grouping: Group (2 - 3) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: A short paper (2-5) pages presenting the business problem motivating the need for a marketing innovation concept Exam code: GRA 64401 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 30 Grouping: Group (2 - 3) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: A power point presentation of the marketing innovation concept with a projection for effect in solving the business problem and a plan for implementation. Exam code: GRA 64401 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 50 Grouping: Group Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: Term paper (15-25 pages) presenting the development of a marketing innovation concept and a plan for implementation Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.