COURSE DESCRIPTION: Explores economics and management science approaches to improve marketing decisions and marketing interactions in such areas as strategic marketing, e-marketing, advertising, pricing, sales force management, sales promotions, new products, and direct marketing. The development, implementation, and use of quantitative models are emphasized. Students have the opportunities to learn how to use and evaluate models through quantitative assignments.

This was my favorite course I ever took at Iowa State. I learned more in this class than all other marketing classes combined because I saw the analysis and data that goes into making major marketing decisions. I learned various marketing techniques like regression, segmentation analysis, positioning, RFM modeling, conjoint analysis, and market basket analysis.

TERM PROJECT: The objective of this project was to develop a strategic marketing plan based upon the application of quantitative marketing analysis techniques to solve a real world problem. My team turned our focus to one of our team member’s small business, Soulfully Spruced, which handcrafts wooden signs and other goods. Because it was a newer business, they didn’t quite know their customers yet, so we decided to conduct segmentation analysis! The final presentation covered our data collection process, the variables we measured, and our recommendations based on the segments’ needs. I loved working on this project so much and saw the practical value in it. I then reached out to Sara Thompson, owner to phClean, and offered to conduct segmentation analysis for them since I had the analysis program for a few more months!

GRADE: A

PROFESSOR: Ju-Yeon Lee, Ph.D.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Marketing research techniques: problem formulation, research design, questionnaire construction, sampling, data collection procedures, and analysis and interpretation of data related to marketing decisions. Marketing research plays an important role in the decision-making of any organization because it is data and facts driven. This course is to provide students with an understanding of the key concepts and methods of marketing research and how to apply them to solve business problems.

TERM PROJECT: For the group term project, we had to pick an ISU or local business and conduct marketing research to solve a problem. Because another group member was a manager with ISU Catering, we decided to focus on ISU Catering. My experience with Hickory Park Catering offered another perspective on the issues in the catering industry. For our project, our research objective was to understand the impact of ISU Catering’s operational issues and how they can be improved, such as poor communication between management and employees, high employee turnover rate, and the effectiveness of training (on-boarding and continuous).

GRADE: A

PROFESSOR: Zhimin (Sherry) Xie, Ph.D.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Explores key topics and competencies that will help formulate a digital marketing strategy and power a digital marketing campaign. Digital marketing is a broader toolkit that includes search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, landing page optimization, social media marketing.

The professor also required us to get certified in Google Ads and Google Analytics over the course of this class. I was really excited when he mentioned this; that information and knowledge is very valuable as a marketing major.

TERM PROJECT: For the term project, we had to pick a real business and create an in-depth digital marketing plan for a new event. My group chose SXSW and we created a new event that offers a 4-day sports tournament for youth and adults. Our plan went into our various objectives, the profiles of our target segments, and the marketing mix which included 3 digital marketing promotions.

GRADE: TBD

PROFESSOR: Peter Schelfhaudt, MBA

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Analysis of major elements of strategic marketing management. Includes business simulations involving decision making using marketing tools from previous courses. Two main objectives include applying critical thinking to business issues and integrating various marketing knowledge in analyses and recommendations.

TERM PROJECT: During the entirety of this semester, we had a marketing strategy simulation on MarkStrat. As a team, we ran a company in an industry with 5 other teams. During 9 periods, we made decisions on R&D, advertising, commercial teams, marketing research, and positioning. I utilized excel to to proportionally allocate advertising and commercial teams based on the market share of the segments we were targeting. Ultimately, this strategy put us miles ahead of our competition and won the extra credit for placing in first! In our final presentation, we laid out our objectives, competition, and our marketing mix decisions.

GRADE: TBD

PROFESSOR: Andrew Crecelius, Ph.D.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Examines how customer data can be used to enhance decisions relating to acquisition, development, and retention. Topics include customer lifetime value, customers as assets, customer loyalty programs, and customization. To survive in today’s business environment, organizations have to become customer-centric. This course introduced the concepts, metrics, and analytical techniques used by firms to address this change.

GRADE: TBD

PROFESSOR: Sridhar Ramaswami, Ph.D.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Study of how consumers select, purchase, use, and dispose of goods and services. Includes analyses of how markets and others influence these processes. Application of concepts and methods of behavioral sciences to marketing management decision making. Develop an understanding of the practical importance of consumers’ beliefs and attitudes and become familiar with quantitative approaches in assessing them.

GRADE: A

PROFESSOR: Sandy Jennings-Hammond, MBA

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The introduction marketing class – the role of marketing in society. Markets, marketing institutions, and marketing functions with emphases on product, price, marketing communication, and marketing channel decisions.

TERM PROJECT: For our group project, we had to choose a real world business, introduce a new product, and create a marketing plan for it. Our group chose American Eagle and we introduced a product line that focused on pockets! This project was the first time I played with Canva for a report.

GRADE: A

PROFESSOR: Kayt Gabrielson, MBA

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Historical, social, economic, and legal aspects of advertising. Evaluations of advertising research, media, strategy, and appeals. Study of the creation of advertising.

I took this class before I took any marketing classes, and this sparked my interest in this industry! This is when I realized that marketing and advertising affects our day-to-day lives more than most people think.

GRADE: A

PROFESSOR: Joanna Schroeder, MBA