COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: BRAND MANAGEMENT

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BUS 524	B	2	3	0	0	3	7.5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Prof.Dr. Waldemar Adam Pfoertsch wpfoertsch@epoka.edu.al
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Elective
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Professional Master in Business Administration
Classroom and Meeting Time:	E-212
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	Mandatory
Course Description:	Consumer branding is the focal point of all businesses, domestic and global. Challenges in developing effective consumer brands must be integrated with the company’s short and long-term strategic and operational plans. One of the major goals is to identify branding issues in depth, experienced by marketing firms. Topics included are challenges and changes in marketing branding strategies that worked yesterday but likely will not fit tomorrow’s customer, managing the distribution channel to build brand equity, developing effective communication strategies in a digital environment, establishing effective global brands by region, issues-attributes-challenges in building domestic and global customer relationships.
Course Objectives:	A brand name, and its associated brand equity, is one of the most valuable assets any firm has. To allow students to apply learned concepts, this course addresses important branding decisions faced by organizations. The course objectives are: 1) to increase student understanding of the important issues in planning, implementing and evaluating brand strategies; 2) to provide relevant theories, models and tools for the making of brand decisions; and 3) to provide a forum for students to apply these principles.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Brands and Brand Management
2	Brand Leadership
3	Marketing Mix
4	Marketing Communications
5	Customer Needs and Segmentation
6	Customer-Based Brand Equity
7	Brand Positioning
8	Brand Performance
9	Brand Design and Structures
10	B2B Brand Portfolios

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Brands and Brand Management. In the first week, a review of brand management and brand leadership ideas will be made. The students will take also information regarding the various marketing communications which are developed today. For the following week, the students must read Chapter 1 from Keller Lane Keller's book (Strategic Brand Management) and Chapter 1 from B2B Brand Management Book. Besides, they should read "Decision-Driven Marketing" by Aditya Joshi and Eduardo Gimenez.
2	Customer Segmenting, Targeting, and Product Positioning. In the second week, the students will get information on how to understand customer needs, the criteria for segmenting the market, and the options available for positioning. The students will also get information about the concept of customer-based equity and how to build strong brands. One group from the class will present Case 1: Black and Decker and another one will present the topic: " Understanding Customer-Based Brand Equity in Albanian Consumer Market". For the following week, the students must read Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 from Strategic Brand Management Book.
3	Managing B2B Brands. This week, new concepts will be explained. The concepts include: developing and understanding the importance of brand management in industrial markets, leveraging brand associations in B2B Market, as well how to position a brand. During the third week, one group will present the "Lenovo- Bridging East and West" Case Study and another one "Leveraging Brand Associations in B2B in Albania. For the following week, the students must read Chapter 2 from B2B Brand Management Book, and Branding in B2B Firms by Kotler and Keller (2021).
4	In the fourth week, different concepts regarding the development of marketing and communication programs for brands will be explained. Then, the students will be able to understand the importance of social media as a promotion tool and the branded customer experience. For the following week, the students must read Chapters 4, 5,6,7 from Strategic Brand Management Book, and the article "Branding in the Digital Age" from HBR. Meanwhile, during this week, Sephora Case Study and "Social Media and the branded customer experience in Albania" Topic presentations will be organized.
5	In the fifth week, the students will get information related to the measurement of the brand performance, brand audit, emotion, and its role in brand building. Case 4: Harley-Davidson and Topic 4: Understanding the role of emotion and affect in brand building will be presented. For the next week, the students must read Chapter 8 from the Strategic Brand Management Book and Chapter 4 from B2B Brand Management Book.
6	In the sixth week, the following concepts will be explained, Branding Research and Brand Measurement, strategies that are related to the competitive advantage, and ingredient branding will be explained. For the next week, the students must read Chapters 9 and Chapters 10 from the Strategic Brand Management Book and Chapter 3 from B2B Brand Management Book. One student's group will present Bittrex and another one "Building a new brand in Albania".
7	Managing brand equity for long-term success. In the seventh week, the students will be able to get information regarding brand design and structures, brand extensions, and integrating marketing communications to build brand equity. Case 6: Vibhava Chemicals and "Integrating Marketing Communications to Build Brand Equity" Topics will be presented. For next week, the students must read Chapters 11 and 12 from the Strategic Brand Management Book, and Chapter 3 from the B2B Brand Management Book.
8	This week, the students will get information on how to manage B2B Multi-Brand Portfolios, develop and an understanding of the importance of multi-brand management, Brand Acquisition and Portfolios, and Multi-brand management of global-born companies. For the next week, the students must read Chapters 12 and 13 from the Strategic Brand Management Book. In the eighth week, Case 7: Daimler AG Trucks and "Multi-Brand Management of global born companies" will be presented.
9	During the ninth week, the students will get information related to designing marketing programs for H2H Brands, as well as how to manage the brands of H2H Companies. Case 8: Patagonia and the topic" Brand Management of selected H2H Companies" will be presented.
10	International Brand Expansion. During the tenth week, Case 9: Elobau and "Marketing Management of selected H2H Companies" Topic will be presented. For the next week, the students must read Chapter 7 from B2B Brand Management Book.
11	Preparation for presentation
12	Group Presentation
13	Group Presentation
14	Final Exam

Prerequisite(s):
Textbook(s):	Kevin Lane Keller. Strategic Brand Management. 4th Edition. 2013 (Keller) Kotler, Philip Pfoertsch, Waldemar (2006): B2B Brand Management, Springer Publishing, Heidelberg, New York (Kotler, Pfoertsch) Kotler, Philip, Pfoertsch, Waldemar, Sponholz, Uwe (2021): H2H Marketing: The Genesis of Human-to-Human Marketing Springer, Heidelberg, New York, (Kotler, Pfoertsch, Sponholz).
Additional Literature:	Michael Beverland (2021): Brand Management Second Edition Co-creating Meaningful Brands (Beverland) Keller, Kevin Lane (2009), “Building Strong Brands in a Modern Marketing Communications Environment” Journal of Marketing Communications, 15(2-3) 139-155. Aaker, David A., (1995) “Measuring Brand Equity Across Products and Markets” California Management Review, 38(3) 102- 120. Aditya Joshi, Eduardo Gimenez (2014) Decision-Driven Marketing Kotler, Keller (2021) BRANDING IN B2B FIRMS Segmentation and Targeting (HBS) “The Specificity of Luxury” (BM) “Branding in the Digital Age” (HBR) “Getting Emotional about Brands” (Gallup) “Viewing Brands in Multiple Dimensions”
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Be able to describe and identify all the components of Brand Management and how they affect and improve marketing decision-making.
2	Be able to design, implement and evaluate Branding strategies.
3	Be able to understand how “strong” brands are created and what should be done to maintain strong brands over time

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Professional Master in Business Administration Program
1	Integrate tools and concepts from business and economics to solve business problems.	5
2	Inspire an open minded-attitude through continuous learning and team-work.	5
3	Demonstrate ethical, social, and legal responsibilities in organizations.	5
4	Critically evaluate business case studies.	5
5	Manage business operations effectively and efficiently.	5
6	Report project results.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Presentation	1	25
Project	1
Case Study	1	25
Final Exam	1	40
Other	1	10
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	4	64
Mid-terms	1	5	5
Assignments			0
Final examination	1	3	3
Other	1	67.5	67.5
Total Work Load:			187.5
Total Work Load/25(h):			7.5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			7.5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

At the end of this course, the students must have increased their understanding of important issues, such as planning, implementing, and evaluating brand strategies, as well as applying the fundamental branding theories and principles.