Introduction to MARK 110: Consumer Behavior with Research Applications

Hello there!

I understand that there are glitches in our class schedule and room assignments that I hope will be resolved when we get back to school in January 2015. Here is a quick recap of administrative matters:

1. My class schedule and room assignment is shown above. For irregular students, you may choose any of the MARK 110 class schedule above, and let me know which one you are joining.
2. For regular blocks, kindly make sure that our room assignement is the final one, and please let me know before our first class next year: January 10.
3. You need to form 5 groups per class. 
4. You need to send me your class directory complete with mobile numbers, email addresses and listed according to your grouping.
5. Follow my on Twitter (@notty_romero) and/or Google+ so you can get regular updates about the class. 

For those who missed the first meeting, here are 2 slide decks that I presented:

About Me: A brief introduction about myself, especially for Entre 4-1 and 4-2 classes.

Introduction to the Course and Class Requirements:

Due to time constraints, only MM 4-2 have completed the Class Activity on What type of consumer are you (family/individual). For Entre 4-1 and Entre 4-2, this is an outstanding assignment that you need to submit as a group. Some Entre 4-1 students have already submitted via email. For those who have not done so, you have until Saturday, December 20.

The next assignment is another group assignment- a write-up on the types of people (consumer profiling) you meet in a particular marketplace (restaurant, mall, supermarket,etc). See instructions and samples in the presentation above. MM 4-2 and Entre 4-1 have already submitted last Saturday. For Entre 4-2 and irregular students, this assignment is due on Saturday, December 20.

For everyone, please find time to read the books/ references for this class during the holidays. Give yourself the gift of READING.

There are more things to do, and so little time left. Watch out for more announcements. Happy Holidays!

Welcome to Consumer Behavior

Hello, everyone!

I must apologize for missing a lot of classes this semester. I was only informed of my teaching assignment Week 2 November, and I had a hard time cancelling my Saturday commitments made prior to receiving the teaching load. Nevertheless, I am sorry.

Yes, the holiday is over. Our class will meet on Saturday, 6 December. See you then.

Meantime, some cathing up is in order.

Download the following reading resources for the course through the links below. I expect everyone in the class to have read at least Chapter 1: An Introduction to Consumer Behavior of Solomon et. al. by Saturday.

Main Text: Consumer Behavior: A European Perspective, 3rd Edition, Solomon, et al

Readings:  

1. Buzz or Zap: Consumer Psychology for the 21st Century, T.L. Brink
2. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini, PhD
3. Why We Buy, Paco Underhill

May I request MM 4-2 students to share these instructions to Entrep 4-1 and Entrep 4-2 blocks.

For Entrep 4-1 and Entrep 4-2, If you've found your way to this blog, happy landing!

We will use this space in the web as an extension of our classroom learning experience. Here you will find class announcements, summaries of discussions, and other important matters relating to our class. Feel free to leave a comment, or to start a discussion.

Other things that you should be ready by Saturday are the following:

1. A Gmail/Google+ account
2. A Twitter account 

Until then. Regards and #StaySafe.                 

International Marketing: Assignments for September 20

Hi there,

Please find below the topics for your reaction papers:

Democracy for sale

Breast-feeding: A Philippine battleground

Top 10 Super Bowl Commercials of All Time

Every Content Marketer Needs an EditorRethinking the 4 P'sThe New Mad Men Of Advertising Are... EverywherePublic Relations in the Philippines: It’s a ‘love’ thingSecrets of the Superbrands

The Silent Killer of New Products: Lazy Pricing
7 awesome QR code marketing campaigns
How to Market Test a New Idea

For the rest of the class, please find below your team assignments:

As mentioned last Saturday, September 20 is our last class day. September 27 should be devoted for the preparation of your paper. Guidelines have been posted and can be viewed here.

See you.

International Marketing: Assignments for September 13

Please see below the list of assignments for this week's session. I understand that the 8:30am class (MARK109-3) will also have their defense on Saturday, coinciding with our class. Therefore, MARK 109-3 will have no class on Saturday BUT reaction papers should be submitted as scheduled.

Here are the topics for your reaction paper. There are 6 videos to choose from. These are topics that are very much related to our previous topic: Channel Strategies.  Avoid duplication of topics, unless there are 7  people in your group.

Everyone is encouraged to watch the videos or read the articles, even if it is not yet your turn to make a reaction paper.

How containerization shaped the modern world - Sir Harold Evans

Amazon. Facebook. Now Google drones?

Walmart Supply Chain

Inside FedEx's 'Superhub' During Christmas Rush

A Behind the Scenes Look at Starbucks Global Supply Chain

We are Maersk - We make change happen

I'm expecting a lively discussion on Saturday. See you then.

International Marketing Debate: Best Speakers and Best Teams

As already announced in class, this is to put on record the best performing speakers and the best performing teams during our Face Off: The International Marketing Debate. 

First, here are the best speakers and what the jury said in picking them as such:

In choosing the best speaker, we based it on the following criteria: first is the content of the speaker’s topic, how comprehensive and concise it is in describing the said issues. Next is how the speaker delivered his topic and accepts the questions and arguments that the opposing team conveyed. And last one is by how the orator works with his team. 

As a result, the best speaker/interrogator is Sarah Tabaniag from the negative team because she handled her questions confidently together with her partner. She was straight forward with her interrogation and see to it that everything goes with their plan. 

Louie Erickson Pascual from the negative team is chosen as the best speaker in Topic 2. Although his team didn’t win as the best team, Pascual had shown an amazing effort and quality for bringing his team through his words and counter arguments as the opposing team bombarded them with intimidating interrogations.

The first debating team were all good and they all had the potential to be the best speaker, but there was one who stood out from them all. He is Adam Rafael Senica from the Affirmative team. We chose him because we saw in him most of the qualities included in the criteria. He is the closing speaker in the said team but you will definitely notice him, because he showed his awareness and knowledge about both the Affirmative and Negative side. You will see the confidence he has and the informative response he gave to the rebuttals of the negative team. Mostly, he showed the right manners in the debate: loud and clear voice, no unnecessary movements and eye contact to each other.

For the second topic, we decided to choose Arjelyn Armenta to be the best speaker. Ms.Armenta for us is the most efficient in both Affirmative and Negative. You will see, that she attentively listens to the questions thrown by the Negative team and she is good in giving her response. In her speech, you will definitely understand what she wants to deliver and clarify to the Negative side (sic). She spoke well and clearly. 

The best speaker is RuzelleAlcantara who spoke well in her arguments and used the documents available to their team. She also delivered a good closing speech. 

 The best speaker is Charlene Salazar who delivered her argument well and used the documents in her argument. Teamwork was also visible, most especially because arguments were not repeated and the group organized their arguments.

The best performing teams were chosen based on Evidence (substance of facts and arguments), Delivery (debating skills and organization), Interpellation (quality of questions and answers), and the quality of Rebuttal Speech.

The best performing teams in the order of class assignments are the following:

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Again, congratulations to all groups for giving a good fight. I also commend all Special Teams for dutifully exercising their role as moderator and jury during the debate.

From my previous post, may I remind everyone what the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) tells us about the importance of debate.

The process of debate offers profound and lasting benefits for individuals, for societies and for the global community as a whole. With its emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication, independent research and teamwork, debate teaches skills that serve individuals well in school, in the workplace, in political life and in fulfilling their responsibilities as citizens of democratic societies. Once students have learned how to debate, they are better able to critically examine the pronouncements of their political representatives and to make informed judgments about crucial issues. - International Debate Education Association

Week 3 Assignments

Here are the assignments for our next meeting: 28 June 2014. Since Mark 109-3 is not yet settled down with our own classroom, please refer to Week 2 Assignments instead. (If you have news about our permanent classroom for the sem, please tell me. Thanks).

For all students: Required reading of Chapter 2 of Onkvisit and Shaw (Trade Theories and Economic Development), plus reading and sharing of current events in International Marketing.

UPDATE! Sorry for the confusion. I have mixed up the group assignments. Let us all revert to what was agreed during class. Can somebody from Block 1 and 2 post the group assignments in the comment section below? Thank you.

Group 3: Reaction Paper on the following topics:

Uber teams up with Tesla in Shanghai

Puregold ties up with Japan convenience store giant

With Burger King Set to Sell Burgers for Breakfast, Who Rules Fast Food?

The Filipinos who made Singapore, Singapore

Filipino Fast Food Taste Test

Binalot eyes Middle East expansion
Sun, sea and surfing

You are however still free to pick another topic if you so decide. Just remember to link me up to the original article for my reference. 

Group 4: Report on Chapter 2 of Onkvisit and Shaw (Trade Theories and Economic Development), including Case 2.1 The United States of America vs The United States of Europe. Remember the criteria for effective presentation- informative value, interactivity and creativity.

Note on presentations (this applies to all sections/blocks): If you require a multimedia projector to play video/s, please tell me ahead of time. The videos should be uploaded in the Google Drive before the class if you wish to use my computer. If you cannot manage that, you may bring your own laptop. For security reason, I will not allow you to access your files through my computer using a flash drive. Powerpoint presentation is not allowed.

Group 5: Graphic recap of the presentation.

Group 1 and Group 2: Rate the presentations using the criteria above.

Read again the instructions for the assignments in my previous post if you want more clarification.

See you in class. Please come prepared.

Class Card Distribution on Wednesday

First, congratulations to the following students for getting a score of 1.00 (or equivalent to 98-110 points) in the Final Exam:

1. Jacklyn Maute 
2. Jesa Alysa Pita
3. Patricia Ann Claridad
4. Joana Marie Desabille
5. Louie Ericson Pascual

Class cards and exam answer sheets for all sections will be distributed on Wednesday, 26 March 2014 at 8:00 in the morning. We can meet up first at the vicinity of CME office then look for any available room at the 3rd or 4th floor of Gusaling Lacson. Kindly spread the word.

There are some of you however who doesn't have grades yet from the Panel. These are the groups that were late in submitting their Strategic Marketing Plan. Hopefully I can get your grades from the panel by tomorrow (March 25).

Allow me to say that it was a great experience for me to be your instructor in this class, despite the limitations and shortcomings. Whatever your final grade will be, please always remember that learning does not stop in school, and grades are not the sole determinant to success- but it matters!

Finally, let me leave you with a few words from Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain- American author and humorist who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel.

See you around!

Creating the Table of Contents Using Microsoft Word

Hi guys,

Based on the submissions so far, I've noticed that you are having difficulty formatting a Table of Contents. There is an easy way and I'm sharing the video tutorial with you below.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Arnold

Gentle Reminders

Hi folks,

Please be reminded of the following, as agreed in class last Saturday:

1. Each group needs to upload the most recent version of your paper to Google Drive. We need to make sure that all your papers are fit for final printing and submission to CME. Please also use new file naming convention: MARK 106[Section] [Company Name] [Final]. All updated files should be uploaded on or before Saturday, 1 March.
2. Deadline of submission is on Saturday, 8 March. Printed on a hard bound black cover.
3. It should have an Approval Sheet right after the cover page, and right before the Acknowledgment page. Your Page 1 is the Executive Summary. All pages before the Executive Summary, are counted as i, ii, iii, and so on. To illustrate:

Page A: Hard Cover (same with Title Page)
Page B: Inside front cover (blank)
Page C: False cover (blank)
i. Title Page
ii. Approval Sheet
iii. Acknowledgment (optional)
iv. Table of Contents

Page 1: Executive Summary
...and so on.

The Table of Contents (ToC) starts with Executive Summary. All the rest are preliminary pages and should not be included in the ToC.

A sample of an Approval Sheet is shown below (click to enlarge).

Online consultations continue especially for those who were required to revise their papers. My communication lines are always open to you. Just let me know in advance should you need real time feedback. I'll be on the road on a business trip most of the time this week so please bear with me.

That's all for now.

Cheers!

Recap: Panel Presentation

Congratulations to each of you for surviving the panel presentation last Monday and Tuesday. You all did a good job, really, considering the limited time that was given to you to prepare and submit your Strategic Marketing Management Plan. Good job!

Before we started the panel presentation last Monday, I gave a short opening remarks addressed to you- my students- and to the members of the panel to set the tone of the panel presentation. Here is a screenshot of my notes (there might be some changes of a few words or phrases during actual delivery but the essence remains the same) for those who were not there to hear it. 

In summary, 9 groups passed the oral defense while 3 groups were not as lucky. For those who were less successful, don’t fret: we are here to learn, and failures are part of the learning process.

“Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Here are some of my observations from the whole exercise, and I hope you’ll use these as valuable lessons (you may also add your own list of ‘lessons learned’ in the comments section below):

1. Unfavorable comments from the panelists stem from your lack of understanding of your industry and even of your company. 
2. Most papers were not supported by a simple consumer research, even as simple as asking your family or classmates about your chosen product.
3. People notice it when you Copy-Paste what you are writing in your paper. Stop that habit. Do not plagiarize.
4. Experience what you are writing about- see, feel, taste, smell it so you can have better credibility.
5. Read. The quality of your writing and speaking reveals your lack of grasp of what's happening around you. 
6. Improve your presentation skills. You should learn to engage your audience, and not just read from the screen or from your notes.
7. Improve your writing skills.   

Lastly, I’d like you to read Steve Jobs’ graduation speech at the Stanford University given on 12 June 2005. I’m sure many of you have encountered this before in one way or another, but it is important to be reminded again by the powerful words of this one great man.  

Or watch the video. (Better yet watch the video while reading the speech- or turn on the subtitle).

See you again on Saturday, 22 February. I'll post soon our agenda for the next meeting.

Cheers!

Break a leg!

Here's to wish you good luck on your oral presentation tomorrow and Tuesday!

And for some useful tips to effective public speaking, remember these:

1. Know your material very well. Mastery of your topic- industry, market, company and strategy- is half the work done.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice. There might not be enough time to practice, but you may start thinking of what you will be saying by organizing your thoughts on every opportunity.
3. Relax. This is part of your learning process. Your panel wants you to succeed. What can't kill you will make you stronger. But if you are not hurting, you are not growing. So pain is a friend.
4. Don't be defensive. Some of you call this exercise the "oral defense", but the best way to survive this is by NOT antagonizing your panel. Be friendly but not cutesy. Be serious but not snobby. Take all in, calmly. Thank your panel for each of their suggestions. Explain briefly and plainly.
5. Support each other. Speak as a team, work together as a team. 

Cheers- Arnold

Poll Results

Here's how your class voted on the suggestion to cancel class tomorrow to give you more PRODUCTIVE time to write your paper and prepare for the oral presentation on Monday and Tuesday:

Class/Group	VOTE
MARK 106-1
Remington Hotel	A
Camella Homes, Inc.	D
Philippine Seven Corporation/ 7-11	D
Digitel Mobile Philippines/Sun Cellular	D
MARK 106-2
Honda Cars Philippines	A
Sun Life Financial Philippines	A
PLDT	A
RGC Foam Group/ Uratex	D
MARK 106-3
Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc.	A
San Miguel Brewery	D
Island Overseas Transport Corporation	A
2Go Group, Inc.	A

For MARK106-1, since majority of your class wanted to hold a session, we shall meet tomorrow at the same time and same place.

For MARK106-2 and MARK106-3, I am available tomorrow from 10 a.m.-12 nn and from 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the PLM Library- both for online and offline (face-to-face) consultation.

The CME office has posted today the schedule of your oral presentation. Thanks to Candy Ignacio for sharing this photo. See below.

The oral presentation will be held at the TOP Room, according to Dean Gamus. You are also requested to prepare food, token for panel members and other arrangements. I am not familiar with this practice therefore I am requesting Block officers of the 3 sections to meet and agree on how to deliver this request from the Dean. Ask your seniors how they did it in the past year.

Lastly, each section/class/block would have to draw lots to determine the order of the presentations. I trust the class officers can also facilitate this process. Please let me know thru SMS the final order of presentations.

That's it for now. Keep working on your papers.

Cheers--- Arnold

Your Scorecard

Here are your group scores for your midterm exam:

These are low scores, alright but don't get discouraged. Remember that your papers are works-in-progress. You can still get a good final grade if you do things right.

Midterm Madness

We have crossed the half-mark of the semester. In two weeks, you will be presenting your Strategic Marketing Management Paper to CBE Faculty for critiquing.

As I have previously emphasized, reading your textbook will certainly help you catch up with the lost class time. I do really hope that you are reading your reference book.

Your midterm papers are way below my expectations. To be honest, most of the papers that were turned in are not 3rd year college level outputs. I'm sorry to tell you this but I think it is time to step up. I can see your potential to excel, or at least to submit a respectable output but I think most of you are not yet into this class. Papers like this one need time, effort, and a lot of brain work. There are 7-9 people in your group, use  that to your advantage. More importantly, as what Steve Jobs said above, puso, kelangan may puso!

I shall be posting your scores soon. Meanwhile, you may check your Google Doc to see my comments. Some of you have seen it already, and has started asking questions. Let's get the ball rolling.

Here are my general observations on your submitted documents:

1. Many of you don't write in prose. This is an academic paper, so it is expected of you to discuss each of the assertions that you made. Do not write in bullets. You need to explain and expound. Use bullets, graphs and tables only to emphasize or to summarize an idea.
2. Be intellectually honest. Many of you do not cite your sources. It is not a point against you if your data comes from others as long as you use footnotes or end notes. Make original analysis from the data you have.
3. Use recent data, 2010-2013 are most helpful. Remember, you should be spotting a trend here for your market and industry. Data from 10 years ago is not as helpful as recent ones, especially if a recent one is available.
4. The Analysis of External Environment should be looking at current forces or factors that may affect your firm/industry. External means outside of the firm. Focus on the things, events, trends that are currently happening or will happen in the near future. Your analysis of external environment will help you predict the future. A correct prediction of the future scenario will help you come up with a more appropriate and responsive strategy. You should be able to identify your correct industry and get to know the factors that affect the firm: buyer power, supplier power, barriers to entry, power of substitutes, and extent of industry rivalry. To be able to do all these, you must know the size and characteristics of the industry where your firm belongs, the competitors, and the customers.
5. The Analysis of Internal Environment on the other hand looks at the present capability of the firm- on what is INTERNAL to the company. Look at the company's tangible and intangible assets, evaluate each one and identify whether it is a strength or a weakness. Look at the company's value chain- how they transform inputs into outputs- and what activities are supporting this transformation. Identify their strong and weak spots. Having done both SWOT and VCA, you may proceed with finding the competitive advantage of the firm.

Your papers will be rated based on what you have submitted so far. But I expect you to continue working on revising, improving, and adding more substance to these sections of your paper. On our next meeting, we will be discussing the rest of the sections moving towards submitting a draft document that is ready for presentation to the panel.

See you on Saturday!

PS. Please rename your Google docs using this protocol: Mark106-<section> <Company Name>

Strategic Marketing Class Recap: Day 2

Dear fellow learners,

By now you should be ready to undertake an analysis of external and internal environments - the first step to any strategic management process. 

Below is the topic outline that is due on Sunday, 26 January 2014, 12MN 11:30 p.m. or before midnight strikes. This should be prepared in a Google Doc/Google Drive document. All members of your group should have editing access to the document, including me. I will track your progress online and will give feedback as soon as I can. To better understand how Google Drive/ Google Doc works, you may view the tutorial video below, or click here for Part 1 (Introduction) and here for Part 2 (Composing Google Docs). Your group's output shall serve as your midterm examination.

Below is the topical outline and writing guide.

ANALYSIS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS

I.                 

          Market Situation & Analysis

External Audit or analysis of the macro-environment.

Issues which may have an indirect effect on your company. Some of the most significant opportunities and threats for the business may be found through analysis of changes and trends in the macro environment.

Tools: PEST: Political, Economic, Social & Technological; may include other factors such as Ecological, Legal/Regulatory, Cultural depending on the market that your company serves.

II.              

          Competitive Environment & Market Analysis

Audit of the industry and market environment.

Evaluation of the competitive environment in order to develop and sustain competitive advantage for the business. This section should identify where the main current competition stems from and where it may come from in the future. In addition, this section looks at likely actions from competitors in reaction to moves your business may take.

Tools: Porter’s 5 Forces

III.      

          Situation Analysis

Audit or analysis of the firm’s internal environment.

Process of internal appraisal, examining elements of the business and their effect on the organisation. This should include appraisal of all functions of the business and also includes the profit-making potential of the company and the facility to exploit identified opportunities.

Tools: SWOT, Value Chain Analysis, Sources of Competitive Advantage, BCG 

Send me a message on Twitter or Google+ if you have questions/ clarifications. We can also have a Google Hangout if you wish to have a live online consultation. Just let me know in advance.

Good luck!

PS. The presentation materials used in our last lecture can now be accessed in Google Drive or by clicking this link. I divided the slides into 3 parts.