Syllabus

Master of Business Administration

MBA 620: Marketing Innovation

Credits - 3

Description

Marketing Innovation is a course designed to introduce and provide tactical content in marketing for managers and future managers. It takes a very digital, innovation, and technology-driven approach to marketing, and graduates will learn how to research, design, build and implement marketing strategies and tactics for a variety of industries and contexts. As consumer behaviors evolve and product consumption becomes increasingly digital in nature, students will examine how marketing can be used to drive innovation, digital transformation, data-driven marketing segmentation, and product positioning. The course emphasizes practical applications, case studies, and strategic problem-solving.

Materials

Albrecht, M. G., Green, M. C., & Hoffman, L. M. (2023). Principles of Marketing. OpenStax. 

All other course materials will be provided and linked in Brightspace. 

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

  • Explain the role of marketing in managerial decision-making.

  • Create a comprehensive marketing plan.

  • Segment a market, target appropriate audiences, and position a product effectively.

  • Demonstrate proficiency in core marketing concepts and practices.

  • Investigate a market using online research tools and sources.

  • Analyze integrated marketing communications and their strategic use across channels.

  • Apply marketing theories and strategies to real-world industry scenarios.

Assignments

The culminating assignment for this course is an individual Comprehensive Marketing Plan (CMP) for SailGP, due in Week 7. Throughout the course, you will approach marketing from the perspective of a manager making decisions. Each week focuses on a different question: understanding the customer and market, choosing an audience, communicating value, evaluating pricing, considering strategic relationships, strengthening the offering, and determining how to reach and serve the customer.

You will use SailGP as a common case across much of the course, giving you an opportunity to examine the same organization from different marketing perspectives. Your weekly work is practice, not a set of sections that you will simply combine at the end. The SailGP case folder is linked in Week 1 of Brightspace.

In Week 7, you will step back and reconsider those decisions as a whole, refining or changing your earlier thinking as needed to develop and present an integrated marketing strategy for SailGP as a narrated executive presentation. In Week 8, you will change roles and evaluate a classmate’s recommendation from the perspective of a SailGP executive.

Week 1 – Customer Insight & Marketing Decision

Marketing decisions often begin with something a manager notices about a customer, competitor, or market. Practice separating observation from assumption, developing a managerial question, and identifying the evidence needed before deciding what to do.

Week 2 – Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning (STP)

Analyze the SailGP market, develop a segmentation grid, choose a target segment, and create a perceptual map. This work defines the audience and positioning strategy that later weeks will build upon.

Week 3 – Integrated Marketing Communications

Translate your audience and positioning decisions into an integrated communication strategy. Determine what SailGP should communicate, what you want the audience to think, feel, or do, which channels make sense, and how those channels should work together.

Week 4 – Marketing Analytics & Pricing Strategy

Calculate the break-even point for a product, clearly showing work and assumptions, and propose a pricing strategy that balances profitability, market expectations, and competitive positioning. Then prepare a Pricing & Analytics Decision Memo recommending how a company should respond when a disruption such as tariffs or supplier cost increases raises its costs.

Week 5 – Strategic Partnerships, Sponsorship, and Brand Activation

Evaluate one of SailGP’s existing sponsors or strategic partners. Consider strategic fit, audience value, activation, measurement, and whether SailGP should strengthen, expand, modify, or rethink the relationship.

Week 6 – Product, Innovation & Customer Experience

Examine SailGP’s broader offering and customer experience. Identify a meaningful customer need or opportunity and determine whether a product, service, experience, digital offering, or technology-enabled innovation would create enough value to pursue.

Week 7 – Channel Management & Comprehensive Marketing Planning

Determine how SailGP should reach and serve its target customer, then step back and consider the strategy as a whole. Revisit your earlier decisions, retain what still makes sense, revise what does not, and present one integrated marketing strategy to SailGP leadership.

Week 8 – Review, Challenge & Decide

Change seats. Instead of presenting the strategy, take the role of a SailGP executive evaluating another marketing leader’s recommendation. Consider the evidence, strategic alignment, assumptions, and tradeoffs, identify what you would pressure-test, and ask the question you would need answered before moving forward.

You will then respond to executive feedback on your own recommendation, deciding whether to defend, clarify, strengthen, or revise your thinking.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

AssignmentPoints
Academic Integrity Agreement1
Week 1 Discussion: Introductions and Marketing Decisions4
Week 1 Discussion: From Customer Observation to Marketing Decision5
Week 2 Discussion: Who Is the SailGP Audience5
Week 2 Deliverable: SailGP STP Strategy & Positioning Analysis10
Week 3 Discussion: Marketing Detective — IMC Campaign Audit5
Week 3 Deliverable 1: SailGP Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy10
Week 4 Assignment 1: Break-Even Analysis & Pricing Strategy5
Week 4 Pricing & Analytics Decision Memo10
Week 5 Discussion: The “Really?” Partnership Test5
Week 5 Deliverable 1: Strategic Sponsorship, Partnership & Brand Activation Evaluation10
Week 6 Innovation Reality Check10
Week 7 Comprehensive Marketing Plan15
Week 8 Discussion: The Executive Review5
Total Points100

Grade Scale

Grade Points Grade Point Average (GPA)
A 94 – 100% 4.00
A- 90 – 93% 3.75
B+ 87 – 89% 3.50
B 84 – 86% 3.00
B- 80 – 83% 2.75
C+ 77 – 79% 2.50
C 74 – 76% 2.00
C- 70 – 73% 1.75
D 64 – 69% 1.00
F 00 – 63% 0.00

Schedule

Fall B Session Dates: 10/28/2026 – 12/18/2026

Week 1: Wednesday – Sunday
Week 2: Monday – Sunday
Week 3: Monday – Sunday
Week 4: Monday – Sunday
Week 5: Monday – Sunday
Week 6: Monday – Sunday
Week 7: Monday – Sunday
Week 8: Monday – Friday

WEEK TOPICS ASSESSMENTS DUE
1 Foundations of Marketing Innovation
  • Week 1 Discussion: Introductions and Marketing Decisions
  • Week 1 Discussion: From Customer Observation to Marketing Decision
  • Academic Integrity Agreement
  • Initial Discussion Posts due Friday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Discussion Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Academic Integrity Agreement due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
2 Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning (STP)
  • Week 2 Discussion: Who Is the SailGP Audience
  • Week 2 Deliverable: SailGP STP Strategy & Positioning Analysis
  • Initial Discussion Posts due Friday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Discussion Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Assignment due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
3 Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
  • Week 3 Discussion: Marketing Detective — IMC Campaign Audit
  • Week 3 Deliverable 1: SailGP Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy
  • Initial Discussion Posts due Friday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Discussion Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Assignment due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
4 Marketing Analytics & Pricing
  • Week 4 Assignment 1: Break-Even Analysis & Pricing Strategy
  • Week 4 Pricing & Analytics Decision Memo
  • Both Assignments due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
5 Strategic Partnerships, Sponsorship, and Brand Activation
  • Week 5 Discussion: The “Really?” Partnership Test
  • Week 5 Deliverable 1: Strategic Sponsorship, Partnership & Brand Activation Evaluation
  • Initial Discussion Posts due Friday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Discussion Responses due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Assignment due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
6 Products and Digital Products
  • Week 6 Innovation Reality Check
  • Assignment due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
7 Channel Management & Comprehensive Marketing Planning
  • Week 7 Comprehensive Marketing Plan (narrated executive presentation)
  • Post your presentation in the Week 8 Discussion
  • Comprehensive Marketing Plan due Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
  • Presentation posted to the Week 8 Discussion by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET
8 Review, Challenge & Decide
  • Week 8 Discussion: The Executive Review
  • Initial Discussion Post (Executive Review of a peer) due WEDNESDAY at 11:59 PM ET
  • Discussion Response (reply to your reviewer) due FRIDAY at 11:59 PM ET

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Enrollment and Retention Counselor is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Please reach out to your student success team member.

UNE Libraries:

  • Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
  • Research by Subject: Business & Entrepreneurship Collection
  • Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.

UNE Student Academic Success Center

UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:

Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their student success team member and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week 

Phone: Mon-Fri: (207) 602-2487

After Hours/Weekends: (877) 518-4673

Career Ready Program

UNE Online supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

Passing Grade Statement

A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the course. A grade lower than 80% will result in you having to repeat the course. Obtaining two "Fs" in the program may result in dismissal from the program.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement

Generative AI (GenAI) applications (like ChatGPT) have proven to be powerful and effective tools, and students are encouraged to become familiar with and use them. However, as with any tool, students must use GenAI in ways that support their roles as learners and professionals. The use of AI in academic work falls under our academic integrity agreement, ensuring that all AI applications are used in alignment with our commitment to honest and responsible learning.

In situations in which AI tools are used as a resource, students must:

  • Ensure that all submitted academic work adequately demonstrates student learning (i.e., that the student, rather than a machine, has met the learning outcomes related to the assessment).
  • Acknowledge, in written assessments and extra-curricular applications, the role played by AI tools in producing the student’s work (this can usually be done in a citation or by including a session transcript).
  • Take ultimate responsibility for accuracy of results, think critically about them, and never substitute them for professional human judgment.
  • Monitor GenAI output for bias and risks for vulnerable populations and underrepresented groups.

As GenAI continues to evolve, students should also stay abreast of best practices and changing risks and benefits.

Please note that individual courses or assignments may have specific guidelines regarding AI use — please refer to your faculty’s directions or assignment instructions for details.

The Student Orientation has a module "Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Students", please refer to this module for more information about navigating the use of AI.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

UNE uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. 

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements.

Late Policy

Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace. In a professional environment, deadlines matter because work impacts teams, clients, and decisions, and this course reflects those expectations.

Quizzes and Tests: 

Quizzes and tests must be completed by the posted deadline .

  • No late submissions are accepted
  • Students are encouraged to plan accordingly, as these are time-sensitive assessments

Assignments: 

Each assignment includes an automatic 48-hour grace period after the posted deadline.

  • No penalty
  • No explanation required

After the grace period:

  • Up to 5 days late: 10% deduction per day
  • More than 5 days late: Not accepted without prior instructor approval

Discussion posts:

Discussion activities depend on timely participation and peer engagement and therefore do not include a grace period.

  • Initial posts: Must be submitted by the deadline; late initial posts are not accepted
  • Response posts: May be submitted within 48 hours after the deadline for up to 50% of the response post grade.

Students are expected to communicate proactively if they anticipate difficulty meeting a deadline. In cases of significant or unforeseen circumstances, extensions may be considered at the instructor’s discretion.

UNE Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your Enrollment and Retention Counselor if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. Tuition charges may still apply. Students are strongly urged to consult with Student Financial Services, as course withdrawals may affect financial aid or Veterans benefits.

Attendance Policy

Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Business will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET of the first week. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean’s Office.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
  2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
  3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
  4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
  5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.