Index
Week 1 – What is Marketing Strategy? .......................................................................................................... 3
Lecture 1 – What is Marketing Strategy (part 1) ...............................................................................................3
1.1 What is strategy?.....................................................................................................................................3
Lecture 2 – What is Marketing Strategy (part 2) ...............................................................................................7
2.1 What is marketing? .................................................................................................................................7
2.2 What is Marketing Strategy? .................................................................................................................14
Tutorial - Crafting a killer business case ...........................................................................................................16
Week 2 – The playing field ........................................................................................................................... 17
Knowledge clip 2.1 – the playing field part 1 ...................................................................................................17
Knowledge clip 2.2 – the playing field part 2 ...................................................................................................22
Preparation – Steiner et al. (2016) ...................................................................................................................32
Lecture 3 – Deep Dive Playing Field .................................................................................................................33
3.1 Customer segmentation ........................................................................................................................33
3.2 Article Steiner et al. (2016)....................................................................................................................41
Week 3 – The behavior of the players .......................................................................................................... 44
Knowledge clip 3.1 – Price Leadership .............................................................................................................44
Knowledge clip 3.2 – Price Leadership .............................................................................................................49
Knowledge clip 3.3 – Quality Leadership..........................................................................................................56
Knowledge clip 3.4 – Quality Leadership..........................................................................................................59
Knowledge clip 3.5 – Hybrid Strategies ............................................................................................................62
Knowledge clip 3.6 – Time Leadership .............................................................................................................64
Knowledge clip 3.7 – Time Leadership .............................................................................................................67
Knowledge clip 3.8 – Time Leadership .............................................................................................................70
Preparation – Ritson (2024) .............................................................................................................................72
Preparation - Siebert et al. (2022) ....................................................................................................................73
Preparation - Hingston and Noseworthy (2018) ..............................................................................................75
Preparation - Hamilton and Chernev (2013) ....................................................................................................77
Lecture 4 – Deep Dive Behavior of the Players .................................................................................................78
4.1 Deep Dive ..............................................................................................................................................78
Week 4 – Practical work: combining playing field and behavior ................................................................... 82
Preparation – Calyx & Corolla case ..................................................................................................................82
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, Knowledge clip 3.9 – Value Proposition ...........................................................................................................83
Lecture 5 – Playing field + Behavior .................................................................................................................88
5.1 Calyx and Corolla: Market Analysis and Business Development ...........................................................88
Week 5 – Ethics in Marketing ...................................................................................................................... 92
Knowledge clip 4.1 – Deontology and Utilitarianism .......................................................................................92
Knowledge clip 4.2 – Contract Theory and Communitarianism .......................................................................93
Knowledge clip 4.3 - Stakeholder and Shareholder Theory ..............................................................................94
Preparation - Sandel (2013) .............................................................................................................................96
Lecture 6 – Deep dive Ethics .............................................................................................................................97
6.1 Introduction to business ethics in marketing ........................................................................................97
6.2 Moral reasoning ....................................................................................................................................98
6.3 Moral framing .....................................................................................................................................102
Preparation – Chaput & Paulsson (2023) .......................................................................................................105
Week 6 – Rules of the Game & Dynamic Strategy Adaption ........................................................................106
Knowledge clip 5 – The Rules of The Game ....................................................................................................106
Preparation - McGrath (2013)........................................................................................................................110
Lecture 7 – Dynamic Strategy Adaption .........................................................................................................112
7.1 Death to sustainable Competitive advantage? ...................................................................................112
7.2 Changing the playing field ...................................................................................................................114
7.3 Changing behavior...............................................................................................................................118
7.4 Changing rules .....................................................................................................................................119
Exam preparation ..........................................................................................................................................121
Rehearsal exam – on Canvas .........................................................................................................................121
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,Week 1 – What is Marketing Strategy?
Lecture 1 – What is Marketing Strategy (part 1)
Marketing strategy is about
- WHERE: relevant markets
- WHAT: product service
- WHICH: rules/requirements are there to obey/break
1.1 What is strategy?
is the connection between goals and actions:
1. Goals: desired future
2. Strategies: flexible game(s) plan
3. Actions/Tactics: tangible short-term tasks that can be
precisely identified, monitored and evaluated.
Part 1: Goals
Goals = desired future
Goals need to be clear in content and time horizon. Sometimes goals are formulated in absolute
terms, sometimes relative to a fix point (e.g., competitor)
→ Goals can be set on different organizational levels: Corporate, SBU & Functional
1. Corporate goals = Overall management objectives
examples: shareholder value, overall growth rate
2. Strategic Business Unit goals (=SBU)
examples: increase market share by 5%, start-up 5 new countries
3. Functional goals (=Marketing action objectives)
examples: product price, sell 100 units of X, increase newsletter penetration by 10%
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, Part 2: Strategy
Strategy = a game plan for getting there; achieving (long-term) goals.
→ Strategies can be implemented on 3 levels: Corporate, SBU & functional
1. Corporate strategies
Focus on fundamental decisions that influence the firm as whole, i.e. strategic decisions that
cannot be decentralized, e.g.
o synergy between SBUs,
o selection of markets (and brand identities), and
o enabling & cultivating a market-oriented culture
→ Overall management strategy at corporate level
For example: ‘’Create a luxury company’’, ‘’Take the best care of all employees’’, ‘’Create a
more balanced portfolio of brands’’.
2. Strategic Business Unit strategies (SBU)
- Business strategies: seek to gain competitive advantage in an SBU.
- Business strategies must be in line with the corporate strategies.
→ SBU strategy
For example: Netflix could have said ‘’Offer unique value through exclusive content’’
3. Functional strategies
Fundamental decisions in areas such as pricing, promotion, distribution, product,
procurement, finance, sales,
production, etc.
For example: ‘’stay below biggest
competitors channel price’’, ‘’Seek
advertising alliance with retailer’’,
‘’Make production sleeker’’
Definition of Strategy
- Provides a medium- to long-term (flexible) plan for future actions. Strategy represents the
connection between goals and (operative) actions.
- Goals are therefore not part of the strategy, but its normative reference point. Actions are
taken to translate the strategic guidelines into concrete results.
- Strategies are not fixed but need to be adaptable to changing environmental conditions.
A strategy needs to be flexible:
§ “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face” Mike Tyson
§ “No plan (strategy) survives contact with the enemy” Helmuth von Moltke
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