Marketing Management Detailed Course Outline
Week 7 (Thursday, April 17)

“The marketing battle will be a battle of brands, a competition for brand dominance.  Businesses and investors will recognize brands as the company’s most valuable assets.  This is a critical concept.  It is a vision about how to develop, strengthen, defend, and manage a business . . .   It will be more important to own markets than to own factories.  The only way to own markets is to own market-dominant brands.”

— Larry Light, quoted by David A. Aaker in Managing Brand Equity, New York:  The Free Press, 1991, p. ix.

Topics Product and Pricing Strategies
Read Best:  Chapters 7 & 8
In-Class Activity

Video Case:  Ryannair:  Revolutionizing the Airline Industry
Case Assignment
For Discussion Only

Black and Decker Corp. (A):  Power Tools Division
Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the cause of B&D's 9% share versus Makita's 50%?

  2. How does the buying behavior of the tradesman influence the situation?

  3. What is Makita's competitive strategy and what role does Milwaukee (the #2 brand in the segment) play?
  4. What action alternative should B&D pursue?  (Note that the case asks for specific recommendations for a viable program to challenge Makita for leadership in the segment).
LINKS Decisions Due Q10 Decisions Due on Monday April 21 Noon.  The same decisions will apply in Q11 for this Double Run of LINKS.