Course
description
Sustainability
marketing is a major area of social marketing, which means marketing for the
public good. This encompasses marketing efforts aimed at changing behavior in
socially desirable ways—for instance, encouraging the consumption of healthier
foods, increasing exercise, encouraging sustainable behavior, etc.
Sustainability
marketing more broadly also includes the examination of businesses operating in
environments for which sustainability is a concern as well as businesses that
offer sustainability-related products, services, product/packaging
modifications, etc.
Berea’s
sustainability efforts provide an excellent environment in which to explore
these topics. We will take full advantage of these resources with tours that
might include the college farms, the Farm Store, Deep Green dormitory,
Ecovillage, and the college forest.
Because
the course is a service-learning course, a significant portion of the class
will be devoted to a service learning project. We will be working with the
Berea Farmer’s Market to develop a strategic marketing plan for the
organization. The work that will be conducted in order to product this plan
will have four primary components:
·
Secondary
research on the marketing environment for the industry, which will include visits
to neighboring markets and grocery stores;
·
Primary
research surveying customers and potential market customers for the purpose of
developing strategic marketing recommendations;
·
Analysis
of social media analytics and best practices in social media to deliver a
strategic social media marketing plan;
·
Design
of new promotional materials (e.g., newsletter, farmer profiles, etc.) and
media recommendations for the market.
Required
texts:
Martin, D., & Schouten, J. (2012).
Sustainable Marketing. Prentice Hall.
ISBN# 978-0136117070.
Shuman, Michael H. (2007). The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local
Businesses are Beating the Global Competition. BK Current Publishers. ISBN#
978-1576754665.
Additional
readings will be posted in Dropbox. Students will additionally be required to
bring to class readings from the popular press related to sustainable business
in their areas of interest.
Required
field experiences:
Lexington. We will visit the Lexington farmer’s
market, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Wal-Mart, with the goal of constructing a
market profile for each as part of the primary research for the
service-learning project. These site surveys will examine the marketing mix
factors (product mix, price, place/supply chain, and promotional mix) and
market segment profiles (“personas”) for each location with the goal of
creating perceptual maps to position the Berea farmer’s market.
Course goals
1. To examine the
marketing threats and opportunities facing businesses operating in the
sustainability environment.
Objectives
1a. Students will demonstrate an
understanding of the role of business in both creating and providing solutions
to sustainability-related problems.
1b. Students
will conduct secondary research of the farmer’s market environment for the
purpose of making strategic marketing recommendations, including visits to
neighboring markets and grocery stores.
1c. Students
will develop a strategic marketing plan for the Berea Farmer’s Market.
2. To examine
the role of consumer behavior in the sustainability environment.
Objectives
2a. Students will demonstrate an
understanding of the role of consumers in both creating and providing solutions
to sustainability-related problems.
2b. Students
will be able to make connections between the academic literature on consumer
behavior and real-world sustainability issues.
2c. Students will make specific
marketing recommendations based on data obtained from social media analytics
for the farmer’s market facebook page and secondary and primary research data.
Assignments
Service
Learning Project (40% of grade), Objectives 1b, 1c, 2c.
Each
of you will be assigned to one of the project teams above to prepare a
strategic marketing plan for the Berea Farmer’s Market. Each team will prepare
their own written report. A communications manager for each team will serve on
an executive committee charged with assembling each team’s report into the
marketing plan, as well as preparing a presentation of the plan to the market.
40
points on the project will come from the team’s written contribution to the
plan (marketing research report, strategic social media plan, etc.) A more
detailed description of each report is provided below, although the specific
details of the reports will be specific to each team.
30
additional points will be awarded to the presentation. The executive committee
will present the plan to the Farmer’s Market at their first July meeting—the
date of the final exam, on Tuesday, July 8. Although the communications
managers will deliver the presentation, all team members are expected to attend
and contribute to presentation content.
30
points will be awarded to peer review, based on a multi-dimensional assessment
of each team member’s rating of each member’s contributions to the project.
Team
quizzes (20% of course grade). Objectives 1a, 2a, 2b. Every three chapters you
will take a quiz using the immediate-feedback assessment technique. You will
take this quiz individually and then again in your team. Points will be awarded
based on the average of your individual and team performance. Additional
details and instruction will be provided in class.
Chapter
outline and discussion participation (20% of course grade). Objectives 1a, 1b.
Each
of you will be assigned a text chapter from Schouten and Martin to outline and
present one class day during the session. This chapter outline will serve as
the basis for class discussion.
On
these lecture/discussion days, one member from each remaining team will bring
an article from business, industry or sustainability news that relates the
chapter material to the area of the project for which that team is responsible.
These chapter outlines and articles will form the basis for class each day. Suggested
resources for these articles will be provided.
Additionally,
some of this discussion time will be devoted to the book Small-Mart and to
allow each team to touch base with me and with each other regarding progress on
the service-learning project (although it is expected that the majority of this
work will take place outside of class). Chapter assignments will be made after
teams are assembled on the first class day.
Other
reflection and writing assignments (20% of grade). Objectives 1a-2c.
Each
class day you will write a brief reflection integrating course material and
discussion material. On many class days, more specific direction will be
provided for these reflections based on course content, such as on days we have
supplemental readings, tours, field experiences, or video cases. You will turn
in this journal at the end of the course for 5% credit.
Additionally,
each weekend you will write a longer formal reflection paper integrating your
journals for the week to submit on Mondays week 2, 3, and 4. Each of these will
be worth 5% of the course grade.
The
final reflection paper will document your experiences on the project. This
paper will require you to integrate the work that you conducted with text,
lecture, and discussion material, including what you have learned in our
supplemental book Small Mart.
Additional details will be provided.
Grade
components:
Project:
written report: 40 points
Project
presentation: 30 points
Project
peer review: 30 points
Project
grade 100 x
.4
Quizzes
@ 20 pts. each 100 x .2
Chapter
outline 10
points x 2
Discussion 10 points x
2
Reflections
@ 20 pts. each 100 x .2
Total: 100
points
Key Dates
Week
1 reflection paper: Monday, 6.16
Week
2 reflection paper: Monday, 6.23
Week
3 reflection paper: Monday, 6.30
Final
reflection paper: Monday, 7.6
Quiz
Dates (tentative): Friday, 613, Friday, 6.20, Wednesday, 6.25, Monday, 6.30,
Thursday, 7.3.
Final
written report and presentation due Tuesday, July 8.
Formal
presentation delivered to Farmer’s Market Tuesday, July 8 @ 6 PM.
Course
schedule (subject to change based on campus tours and field experiences)
Day
|
Date
|
Topic
|
Reading
|
Assignment
|
M
|
6.9
|
Introduction
(NO CLASS)
|
1
|
|
T
|
6.10
|
Project
introduction and team assignments
*Berea
farmers market orientation @ 3 PM
|
||
W
|
6.11
|
Sustainable
marketing strategy
|
2
|
|
R
|
6.12
|
Ethical
dimensions of sustainable marketing
|
3
|
|
F
|
6.13
|
Quiz 1
The
marketing environment and process
|
4
|
|
M
|
6.16
|
Consumer
behavior and sustainable marketing
|
5,
Griskevicius et al.
|
|
Lexington field trip
|
||||
W
|
6.18
|
Video case:
Food Inc.
|
||
R
|
6.19
|
Measurement
and research for sustainable marketing
|
6
|
|
F
|
6.20
|
Quiz 2
Marketing
segmentation, targeting, positioning
|
7,
supplemental reading
|
|
M
|
6.23
|
Global
problems, global opportunities
|
8
|
|
T
|
6.24
|
Sustainable
products and services
*Guest:
Nancy Gift
|
9
|
|
W
|
6.25
|
Quiz 3
Sustainable
branding and packaging
|
10
|
|
R
|
6.26
|
Marketing
channels and sustainable supply chain
|
11, food
hubs guide
|
|
F
|
6.27
|
Video Case:
Who Killed the Electric Car?
|
||
M
|
6.30
|
Quiz 4
Sustainable
Pricing
|
12
|
|
T
|
7.1
|
Sustainable
marketing communication
*Guest:
Joan Pauly
|
13
|
|
W
|
7.2
|
Sustainability
in the promotion mix
|
14
|
|
R
|
7.3
|
Quiz 5
Digital media
in sustainable marketing
|
15
|
|
F
|
7.4
|
No class: July 4
|
||
M
|
7.7
|
Reading day
|
||
T
|
7.8
|
Practice
presentation @ 10 AM
*Farmer’s
Market Meeting presentation @ 6 PM
|
Final
report due
Final
reflection paper due
|
|
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