General Information


Prerequisites


  • BUS 312 Principles of Marketing
  • BUS 310 Statistical Analysis for Business Decisions

Please inform the instructor if you haven’t taken either course.

Course Description


This course delves into marketing analytics, emphasizing a systematic and analytical approach to decision-making. Using the free software r, students will gain hands-on experience applying date analytics techniques and case studies to scientifically address marketing challenges. The course explores the “first principles” of marketing strategy, serving as a guiding framework for organizations navigating analytics opportunities and challenges in the contemporary data era.

  • All customers are different

  • All customer change

  • All competitors react

  • All resources are limited

What Will Class be Like?


Teaching Methodology

The course adopts the “Tell-Show-Do” sequence, offering a dynamic and hands-on approach to learning marketing analytics. Through a combination of lectures, practical demonstrations, and active engagement, students will acquire the necessary skills to apply scientific methodologies to marketing decision-making.

Lecture Content

Lectures, supported by the textbook “Marketing Analytics Based on First Principles” by Robert W. Palmatier, J. Andrew Petersen, and Frank Germann, will explain key concepts and models essential for a scientific marketing approach. The theoretical foundation provided in lectures will serve as the “Tell” phase.

Hand-On Application

The “Show” phase involves the application of concepts and models using software tools integral to the course. R and RStudio, as free and powerful data analytics tools, will be employed to provide students with hands-on experience in resolving real-life marketing problems. These practical “Do” applications are designed to reinforce theoretical understanding and build analytical skills.

Texts and Course Materials


Text and Course Materials

  • Required Text: Marketing Analyrics Based on First Principles, by Robert W. Palmatier, J. Andrew Petersen, and Frank Germann

  • Software: R and Rstudio. R is a free data analytics software; RStudio is a free integrated development environment (IDE) that helps you be more productive with R; You can download them here: R and RStudio

  • Computer: Students are required to bring a laptop to the class. Any laptops with Windows (Windows 7 or higher)/Mac/Linux OS with a minimum of 4GB RAM are available to use R and RStudio. An iPad does not support R.

Assignments and Assessments


Class participation (Individual)

All students should read each assigned book chapter as well as the four cases. Please bring name cards to classes. I emphasize quality of participation much more than quantity. Your contributions will count for more if you build on the comments/insights offered by others (including me) in the class. The purpose of class participation is learning. So, do not attempt to dominate the conversation.

Model replication assignments (Individual)

This course focuses on “learning by doing.” I will show you in class how to estimate the various models covered in the course using R. You will then be asked to replicate these models outside of class. The purpose of these replication assignments is to get first-hand experience with these models and build a marketing analytics toolkit. In the assignment, you should demonstrate (e.g., through screen capture) that you successfully replicate the class results. Beyond replicating the models and results discussed in class, you will also be asked to provide a brief (about half a page per assignment) summary of what the model does and when to use it.

Case Analyses (Team)

We will be covering four cases in this course. You will work on these cases as part of your learning team, and each member of the team will get the same grade. Each case will focus on a different First Principle. I will provide specific questions for you to answer. Please see the due dates in the detailed schedule. I will briefly discuss the cases. Your case analyses should highlight your ability to communicate the results of the case in a managerially relevant and implementable manner.

Midterm/Final Exam (Individual)

The midterm and final exams will be a closed-book exam, and cover all content discussed in the course. The exams will include multiple-choice and true-false questions. Details will be discussed in class.

Assessment Components

The grade components will be weighted as follows:

  • Class Participation: 10% + α

  • Replication Assignments: (10; 2% each) 20%

  • Cases (4; 5% each): 20%

  • Mid-term Exam: 15%

  • Final Exam: 35%

Important Course Policies


Students with Disabilities

Any student who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability is invited to contact me privately. I would be happy to work with you, and the KOKUA Program (Office for Students with Disabilities) to ensure reasonable accommodations in my course. KOKUA can be reached at (808) 956-7511 or (808) 956-7612 (voice/text) in room 013 of the Queen Liliʻuokalani Center for Student Services.

Academic Honesty

The University expects students to maintain standards of personal integrity that are in harmony with the educational goals of this institution; to respect the rights, privileges, and property of others; and to observe national, state, and local laws and University regulations. All work submitted in this class must be your own. Cheating, plagiarizing, gaining unfair advantages over others, or otherwise violating the University of Hawaii Student Conduct Code will not be tolerated. Any and all such violations will result, at minimum, in a failing grade for the assignment or exam. If you have questions about this policy or what constitutes proper conduct, please see me.

Detailed Schedule


Note: This class schedule is tentative and may change as the term proceeds. All changes to the class schedule will be announced in class and posted on Laulima.

Date # DoW Subject Reading Homework.Due
01/10 1 Wed Introduction Chapter 1
01/12 2 Fri R Basics Handout
01/01 3 Wed R Basics Handout
01/01 4 Fri R Basics Handout
01/01 5 Wed MP1: Consumer Heterogeneity Chapter 2
01/01 6 Fri Cluster Analysis for Segmentation Chapter 3
01/01 7 Wed Discriminant Analysis for Targeting Chapter 4 Replication: Cluster Analysis
02/02 8 Fri Perceptual Map for Positioning Chapter 5 Replication: Discriminant Analysis
02/07 9 Wed Case 1 Preparation Handout Replication: Perceptual Map
02/09 10 Fri MP2: All Customers Change Chapter 6
01/02 11 Wed RFM Analysis Chapter 7 Case 1 Submission
01/02 12 Fri Logistic Regression Chapter 8 Replication: RFM
01/02 13 Wed Case 2 Preparation Handout Replication: Logistic Regression
01/02 Fri Mid Term
01/02 14 Wed MP3: All Competitors React Chapter 10 Case 2 Submission
03/01 15 Fri Survey Design & Factor Analysis 1 Chapter 11
03/06 16 Wed Survey Design & Factor Analysis 2 Chapter 11
03/08 17 Fri Conjoint Analysis 1 Chapter 12
01/03 18 Wed Conjoint Analysis 2 Chapter 12 Replication: Factor Analysis
01/03 19 Fri Bass Model Chapter 13
01/03 Wed Spring Break - No class
01/03 Fri Spring Break - No class
01/03 20 Wed Case 3 Preparation Handout Replication: Conjoint Analysis
01/03 Fri Good Friday - No Class
04/03 21 Wed MP4: All Resources Are Limited Chapter 14 Replication: Bass Model
04/05 22 Fri Marketing Mix Model 1 Chapter 15
04/10 23 Wed Marketing Mix Model 2 Chapter 15
04/12 24 Fri Experiments 1 Chapter 16 Replication: Marketing Mix Model
01/04 25 Wed Experiments 2 Chapter 16
01/04 26 Fri Case 4 Preparation Handout Replication: Experiments
01/04 27 Wed Special Topics Case 4 submission
01/04 28 Fri Special Topics
05/01 29 Wed Wrap-up