Product and Brand Management

Objective

To equip the students for an entry-level career in Product and Brand Management through an understanding of the concepts, application of these concepts through real-life cases and familiarity with tools used for decision-making in product and brand management.

Contents

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in Product Management such as product portfolio, product life cycle, new product development and product-related decisions
2. Participate in decision-making related to Product Management using appropriate tools and frameworks
3. Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in Brand Management such as Brand value proposition, Brand equity, Brand personality and Brand architecture
4. Participate in Brand strategy formulation and implementation
5. Imbibe emerging trends and challenges in product and brand management

Outline

Unit-1 PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

•  Product hierarchy – Product mix – Product line decisions – Role of the product manager
• New product development process – Diffusion of innovation theory – New product failures

Unit-2 PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

• Concept of Product Life Cycle – Stages in Product Life Cycle
• Strategic considerations in Product Life Cycle – Marketing implications

Unit-3 ELEMENTS OF BRANDING

• Brand identity – Brand image – Brand personality – Brand positioning –
  Celebrity endorsement – Sensory branding

Unit-4 BRAND MANAGEMENT

• Brand portfolio – Brand relationship spectrum – Brand architecture
  Brand management decisions – Brand strategy process – Branding dilemmas

Teaching Method

1. Participation in class discussions is essential. Students have to actively involve themselves in a group project of their choice based on their interest and specialization stream.
2. Students across specialisation streams can bring in their perspectives and cross-fertilise ideas to create effective communication campaigns.
3. Attendance is mandatory as absence of one member can disrupt the team work and class presentations that may be scheduled.

Prerequisites

Formal requirements:
Full-time student in the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences

Academic requirements:
This course builds up on the basic marketing offered on campus. As the language of instruction and assessment will be English, students need to be fluent in English - both in terms of oral and written communication.

Assessment

1. Test (25 points)
2. Assignments (2x15 = 30 points)
   a. Analysing and fixing a new product failure (15 points)
   b. Writing a position paper on a branding dilemma (15 points)
3. Case analysis & presentation (Group) (25 points)
4. Continuous assessment (Classroom participation) (20 points)

TOTAL – 100 points

Literature

1. Steven Haines (2019). The Product Manager’s Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Succeed as a Product Manager, McGraw-Hill.
2. Jean-Noël Kapferer (2012). The new Strategic Brand Management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking, 5e, Kogenpage.
3. Kevin Lane Keller and Vanitha Swaminathan (2020). Strategic Brand Management: Building, measuring and managing Brand Equity, 5e, Pearson

Additional materials will be provided via LMS.