COURSE NUMBER: MBA267.1

COURSE TITLE: Brand Strategy Boot Camp

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3.0

INSTRUCTOR: Bill Pearce

E-MAIL ADDRESS: wdpearce@berkeley.edu

Office Hours Wednesday by appointment

PREREQUISITE(S): MBA206

CLASS FORMAT: Mix of case discussions, lectures, and group/individual projects.

REQUIRED READINGS: Cases, Course Reader.

BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE:

The final grade will be based on:

•        3 or 4-person Team Brand Project (final):  40%                                       

•        Five one-page case assignments:  30%

•        Class participation:  20%

•        Class exercises:  10%

DESIGNED FOR:

Students interested in careers in Marketing, Consulting or General Management.

FOCUS:

1. How to drive organic growth

2. Learning to lead through strategic clarity

3. How to avoid common career pitfalls in your early career and develop your “personal” brand

Introduction

Theory + Experience = Career Advantage

We take the CMO’s perspective on business growth, strategy and people development.  This course will teach you how to apply your MBA to maximum advantage in a Marketing, Strategy and/or General Management assignment.  Markets are by nature dynamic; how you apply your learning and express your understanding of your market position and opportunities is the key to career advancement.

To address these dynamics the course will be a semester-long immersion in the roles and responsibilities of a manager that has to make decisions based on marketplace reactions and results.  You will learn to identify, diagnose and enact solutions to business growth problems.  

At the end of the course, you will be able to confidently:

• Turn analytical skills into compelling arguments, both written and verbal;

• Evaluate qualitative and quantitative research and turn into actionable decisions;

• Learn how to lead through strategic clarity and provide a basis to evaluate growth drivers;

• Lead with influence versus authority;

• Develop marketing plans that drive sales and meet strategic and financial objectives.

The Course objective is to immerse students in the key marketplace drivers of B2B and B2C companies and how to generate organic growth. Emphasis will be placed on practical skills to successfully execute job responsibilities ultimately leading to promotion.  Professor will use case study, group and individual projects to determine final grade. Presentation and writing skills will be given extra attention.  

Class Participation / Attendance

You are responsible for the material in each case or project.  Given the meeting schedule each class is a full week of activity.  Missing class without an excuse will negatively impact your grade.  30% of your grade will occur in class, between comments and in-class exercises.

Class participation counts for a significant portion of your grade

I will both cold and warm call students.  I believe firmly in E.B. White’s posit, “Effective communication is clear and concise.”  Quality is rewarded; quantity discouraged.  Students will learn to structure comments for a senior manager audience.  Be prepared to convince your classmates of the merits of your proposals.  If you believe in your position defend it.

Team Project (Final)

I will assign groups of students a “Brand Team” and a business project.   Team selection will be totally random, akin to the business world. Each group will be scored based on the insightfulness and creativity.  

Homework: Critical Business Solutions (CBS)

Each student will be required to submit five one page CBS memos. Memos will be graded on a 1-6 scale.  If you receive a four or higher no further action is required; anything three and below will be given back for correction or clarification for resubmission and regrading.  Memos are due by 6:00 the day before class.  If they are late you will receive a lower grade at my discretion based on how late.  6:01pm is late just like in the workplace.

Required Texts

Readings available on Study.net.  Read and analyze readings prior to class for which they are assigned. For each case think out, and be prepared to defend, a plan of action for how you would proceed.

Please download and read the class learning objectives (Excel file) for a week-by-week layout of the Learning Objectives.

I look forward to a spirited exchange in the classroom that will be educational for both of us.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Bill Pearce is a Lecturer at the Haas School of Business. Before joining UC Berkeley in 2011 he received his MBA from Cornell University. Bill is a veteran marketing practitioner having held senior marketing positions at P&G and Campbell Soup. Additionally, Bill served as CMO for Taco Bell and Del Monte Foods. Bill is on the Board of Directors at Ooma, Rich Relevance and SpendGo. He is an Advisory Board member of Technorati Media, Virtual Fan Network and several other firms in the Digital marketing sector.