COURSE NUMBER: MBA267.2
COURSE TITLE: Brand Strategy Boot Camp
UNITS OF CREDIT: 3.0
INSTRUCTOR: Bill Pearce
E-MAIL ADDRESS: william_pearce@haas.berkeley.edu
CLASS WEB PAGE LOCATION: http://bspace.berkeley.edu
MEETING DAY(S)/TIME: Tuesdays, 6:00PM-9:00PM
PREREQUISITE(S): MBA206
CLASS FORMAT: Mix of case
discussions, lectures, and group/individual projects.
REQUIRED READINGS: Cases, Course Reader available on Study.net
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%
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
This course is designed for students interested in careers in
Marketing, Consulting or General Management.
Focus:
1. How
to drive organic growth
2. Learning
to lead a cross-functional organization
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 write briefs that provide a basis to evaluate growth
drivers;
·
Lead with influence versus authority;
·
Develop long-range business plans to 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. 20% of your
grade will occur in class, between comments and in-class exercises.
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
without substance admonished. Students should 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 an “Innovation 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.
EWMBA 267 is a BILD course; the project will be based on real world
companies and issues. It will also require to you work outside of
class as a team on your assigned company.
Case Memos: Each student will be required to submit
five one page case memos. Memos will be graded on a 1-6 scale. If
you receive a five no further action is required; anything below a five will be
given back for correction or clarification in-class for resubmission and
regarding. Memos are due by 6:00 the day before class.
Required
Texts: Readings
available on Study.net and provided as texts. 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. Chapters and
concepts covered in the assigned texts will be integral in the final projects
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.