CM A117 - Strategic Brand Management*

Faculty
Charlotte F. Knudtzen & Tilde Heding, brand consultants

Course Coordinator
Mogens Bjerre, ass. professor

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Graduate status. It is recommended that the students have a basic knowledge of marketing from previous courses.

Course content, structure and teaching

The main aim of the course is to provide the students with a deep and varied knowledge of brand management and the role of this management discipline in a modern business. The course will introduce the students to different ways of conceptualizing brand management and equip them with the ability to understand different scientific schools of thought in the field, as well as apply them to real life situations.

The course will start with an introduction to general branding models and definitions as well as embed the discipline in a broader management setting. The core of the course rests upon a more thorough and scientific way of applying knowledge of brand management via knowledge of seven different schools of thought – namely the seven brand approaches described in the main text book of the course.

The seven brand approaches will be transformed into practical tools throughout the course when the students will be asked to apply them in class exercises, hence theory will be connected to practice.

The course's development of personal competences

In broad terms, the objective of this course is to develop a managerial perspective regarding brand management and the strategic role of branding. Our emphasis will be on the decisions associated with the formulation and implementation of brand management strategy in a strategic marketing context. More specifically, the course is designed to:

Enhance your understanding of brand management and related branding strategies and the interaction with the whole organization, in a world where brand management strategy
should take into account both domestic and non-domestic opportunities.
Give you a good understanding of the nature of organisational processes and their influence on brand management.
Provide you with insights concerning the interplay between branding, brand management, and brand management strategy.
Provide you with an insight into the chronological development of brand management enabling you to ponder the future of brand management in a more informed way
Provide you with a tool box of theories and methods in order to understand the role of consumers in creating successful branding strategies

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course the student is expected to be able to:

Identify relevant models, theories and concepts to solve strategic brand management problems
Critically assess the value and relevance of models, concepts and theories presented through the course in relation to their practical application
Understand and be able to discuss the assumptions that underlie the study of strategic brand management and a subject and the individual models, concept sand theories presented throughout the course
Apply these models singly or combined to fit the concrete case situation under study
Understand and analyse the relationship between internal and external factors influencing brand management by applying relevant models, concepts and theories

Further, the best students will be able to:

Reflect incisively and critically over the underlying causes of the phenomena they are studying
Relate the theories, concepts and models presented in this course to others they are familiar with from other courses
Synthesise and deduce new models that can be used to predict phenomena relevant to the study of corporate communication

Type of examination, exam aids and assessment

Oral exam on the basis of a synopsis.

Recommended literature

Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F. & Bjerre, M. (2009), Brand Management – Research, Theory, and Practice, Routledge, London (260 pages)

Compendium of extracts from the following textbooks:

Keller, K. L. (2003), Strategic Brand Management, Prentice Hall
Davis, S. M. & Dunn, M. (2002), Building the Brand-Driven Business, Jossey-Bass Davies
Kapferer, J-N (2008), The new strategic brand management : Creating and sustaining brand equity long term, Kogan Page, London

A selection of relevant academic articles

Last updated by Valgfagssekretariatet 28/01/2010