Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Abas Mirzaei
Contact via abas.mirzaei@mq.edu.au
E4A 520
Consultation hour: Mondays 4-5pm
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
MKTG202 and MKTG203
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Firms of nearly all types have come to the realisation that one of the most valuable assets they have is their brand. This unit explores branding across goods and services and introduces relevant theory used to design effective branding strategies. Besides discussing appropriate theories and models, the unit will also incorporate practical branding cases, so that students should be able to make and evaluate branding decisions in the future. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the psychological principles at the consumer level that will improve managerial decision making with respect to brands. The unit will cover the importance of brand equity and the application of the marketing mix to brand strategies.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Brand Development Strategy | 50% | No | Weeks 7 to 12 |
Unit Participation | 10% | No | Continuous |
Final Examination | 40% | No | University Examination Period |
Due: Weeks 7 to 12
Weighting: 50%
Brand Development Strategy assessment is designed to develop branding strategies for new businesses and start ups.
This assessment has two components: Group Presentation (25%), and Individual Essay (25%).
Group Presentation (25%)
After forming groups in week 2 (groups of 5 people), students will develop and present their brand development strategies for a new business/start up. In doing so, students need to come up with a new business/start up across a broad range of categories and industries. Groups will have two weeks to decide on their choice of business, and confirm it with their tutor, by week 4.
Group presentations will commence on week 8 and continues until week 12, in tutorials.
All groups are required to give a 25-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes class discussion.
Each member of the group MUST present. All presentations will be marked as a group effort. Each student will be awarded the group presentation mark, however peer evaluation marks will be applied to adjust the marks based on each member’s contribution.
No extensions will be granted. Students who fail to present will be awarded a mark of 0, except for cases in which an application for disruption to studies is made and approved.
Marking rubric and assessment criteria will be found on iLearn.
Individual Essay: Brand Communities (25%), Due: 13 April, 11:59pm.
Students will prepare an Individual Essay on Brand Community and its role in customer-brand relationship. Students are expected to review the literature on brand communities, critically analyse and discuss the importance of brand communities in brand-customer relationship over long-term.
Marking rubric and assessment criteria will be found on iLearn.
Due: Continuous
Weighting: 10%
Students participation in the unit will be assessed by the unit convenor and tutors throughout the semester.
Students participation will be assessed according to levels of engagement in the following streams:
Engagement in lectures:
Answering questions, asking questions, commenting on lecture materials
Engagement in tutorials,
Getting involved in class discussions, answering and asking questions, commenting on other groups presentations. Students are expected to attend at least 10 of the 12 tutorials. Please note that tutorial attendance won't be counted as participation.
Engagement online on iLearn,
Students are encouraged to contribute to online discussions, posting interesting brand-related content on iLearn, and commenting on other posts.
Note: Maximum participation mark students may earn from each of the above three streams is 7 out of 10. In other words, to get the FULL participation mark, students will need to be active in at least two streams.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 40%
A final examination is included as an assessment task for this unit to provide assurance that:
A 2-hour (and 10-minute reading time) final examination for this unit will be held during the University Examination period.
You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam
The Macquarie university examination policy details the principles and conduct of examinations at the University. The policy is available at:http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/examination/policy.htm
Delivery of unit material:
Prizes: http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/undergraduate_degrees/prizes_scholarships
Unit resources:
Prescribed textbook
Keller, Kevin L. (2013), Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. Global 4th edition. Pearson: Sydney.
Recommended textbooks:
Aaker, D. (2014). Aaker on branding: 20 principles that drive success. Morgan James Publishing.
Internet sites of interest
http://www.wpp.com/wpp/marketing
http://www.euromonitor.com/australia
http://zenithoptimedia.com/zenith/marketers-portal
http://www.forethought.com.au/Think-Tank/Papers
http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights
Technology used and required
Students are required to learn how to use MS PowerPoint, word processing, and learning management systems (iLearn).
Unit webpage
Please note that the unit's logon iLearn address can be found here: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
Changes since the last offering of this Unit
Since its last offering in Session 1, 2015, the group presentation has been replaced by a brand audit report which requires groups to conduct a brand audit. Moreover a class participation assignment has been added to encourage students to participate in class and online discussions.
Satisfactory completion of unit:
Students are required to accumulate at least 50% of the total marks possible in order to satisfactorily pass this unit.
Week |
Lecture |
Chapter |
Tutorial |
Week 1 Friday 3 March |
Introduction and Unit Administration Brands and Brand Management |
1 |
No tutorial |
Week 2 Friday 10 March |
Customer-Based Brand Equity and Brand Positioning Brand Resonance and the Brand Value Chain |
2 3 |
Group formation Brand development presentation brief and expectations
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Week 3 Friday 17 March |
Choosing Brand Elements to Build Brand Equity |
4 |
Class discussion/ activity Individual essay brief and expectations |
Week 4 Friday 24 March |
Brand Stories Brand Communities |
Aaker (2016) |
Class discussion/ activity |
Week 5 Friday 31 March |
Integrating Branding Communications to Build Brand Equity |
6 |
Brand community discussion |
Week 6 Friday 7 April |
Leveraging Secondary Brand Knowledge to Build Brand Equity |
7 |
Individual essay discussion and consultation |
Week 7 Friday 14 April |
Good Friday, NO LECTURE & TUTORIALS |
No tutorials this week (Good Friday) | |
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Mid-term break |
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Week 8 Friday 5 May |
Measuring Sources of Brand Equity |
9 10 |
Group Presentation |
Week 9 Friday 12 May |
Designing and Implementing Brand Architecture Strategies |
11 |
Group Presentation |
Week 10 Friday 19 May |
Introducing and Naming New Products and Brand Extensions |
12 |
Group Presentation |
Week 11 Friday 26 May |
Managing Brands Over Time Brand Relevance |
13 |
Group Presentation |
Week 12 Friday 2 June |
Managing Brands Over Geographic Boundaries and Market Segments |
14 |
Group Presentation |
Week 13 Friday 9 June |
Closing Observations / Unit Review |
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Exam revision - pop quiz Exam briefing; unit review |
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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Research and Practice
Academic Honesty
The nature of scholarly endeavour, dependent as it is on the work of others, binds all members of the University community to abide by the principles of academic honesty. Its fundamental principle is that all staff and students act with integrity in the creation, development, application and use of ideas and information. This means that:
Further information on the academic honesty can be found in the Macquarie University Academic Honesty Policy at http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Grades
Macquarie University uses the following grades in coursework units of study:
Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Grading Policy which is available at:
http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grading Appeals and Final Examination Script Viewing
If, at the conclusion of the unit, you have performed below expectations, and are considering lodging an appeal of grade and/or viewing your final exam script please refer to the following website which provides information about these processes and the cut off dates in the first instance. Please read the instructions provided concerning what constitutes a valid grounds for appeal before appealing your grade.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Since its last offering in Session 1, 2016, the Brand Audit report has been replaced with a Brand Development presentation. All the other assessment components remained unchanged.
This unit also uses research from the following specialist brand management, marketing management, advertising research, consumer behaviour, and business journals:
Marketing, advertising, branding, and consumer research journals
Management journals
Media and Communications Studies journals
Industry Databases:
IBIS Australia
http://clients1.ibisworld.com.au.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/reports/au/enterprise/home.aspx
MarketLine
http://advantage.marketline.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/
OneSource
WARC
http://www.warc.com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/Home.aspx
Who is who in Australia
http://connectweb.com.au.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/search.aspx
This unit gives students the opportunity in assignments to practice applying research findings to real life brand management and sustainable business contexts and problems in global and local settings.
This unit also gives students the opportunity to conduct research.