Course syllabus for Marketing and communication

The course aims to give the students the opportunity to understand market driven prerequisites for creating successful market offers. The course also aims to enhance and deepen the students’ ability to express themselves both orally and in writing in Swedish and English. In addition, the course is designed to increase the students’ awareness of text production and linguistic measures for effective language for specific purposes.

The course aims are that course participants shall have the opportunity to acquire:
- Knowledge and understanding of market analysis, market planning and marketing.
- Certain ability and skill to critically search for, gather, analyze and evaluate information in order to solve complex problems regarding market analysis and marketing.
- Certain ability to present and discuss information, problems and solutions regarding market analysis and marketing in speech and writing and in dialogue with different audiences.

- Prepare and carry out studies of a market to find market conditions and prerequisites for market offers.
- Describe the building blocks of a business model, and apply business model thinking when developing a market plan.
- Describe methods for situation analyses and their components (incl. business intelligence, industry-, market-, and company analyses).
- Describe methods for strategy development.
- Apply methods to identify customer needs and translate these customer needs into market offers.
- Select and analyze information in order to develop market offers 
- Compile a market plan.
- Explore and talk about relevant professional and/or academic issues in relevant ways in English or Swedish.
- Analyse and critically, but constructively, review discipline specific and academic material.

The students should obtain basic understanding of areas connected to parts of a market, how the market characteristics affects market offers etc. The students should understand the importance of designing a market plan.

The course is focused on understanding the customer and other market factors that the producing company need to take into consideration when developing market offers. Understanding of marketing concepts, such as customer needs, competitive situation, positioning and segmentation as wel as how these concepts affects the design of market offers, is central to the course.

The course has two sections connected to the development of products (goods or service) :

1. The first section focuses on understanding the market and the conditions that product developers must take into account for a market offer to be successful. The section also includes an understanding of the market demand for the product design and features. Concepts such as customer needs, customer behavior and customer preferences and translation to market offerings are key . Within the area, concepts such as business model, strategy, competitive advantage and business mission are also critical.
2. A second section covers marketing in connection with a product. The design of market offers and marketing management is central in this section. In the field , different models , methods and practices around marketing is processed. The area covers basic theories of marketing of goods , services related to both industrial marketing (Business-to-business) and consumer markets (Business-to-consumer).

Market plans are central to the course.

The examination consists of two main parts:
1. Project, including compulsory elements (i.e. exercises and presentations)
2. Written, individual examination

Final grade is given when both parts have been passed. Final grade is given on the scale TH (i.e. Fail, 3, 4, 5) based on the individual examination.

All written course material, including lectures exercises, is included in the material to be examined.

Alternative examination types may be used.