Reflecting on my time as an MMS student, I have come to realize that MMS 272: Marketing across Borders, Cultures and Demographics is the best class I have ever taken at Duke. The class not only allowed me to discover my passion for brand management, but it also exposed me to projects which were as close to the real world of marketing as it gets.
Unfortunately, MMS 272 will not be offered in the Spring 2020 semester, but if you are looking for a challenging yet rewarding class that will fulfill one of your four electives here is why you should take this class next fall:
You will be exposed to a great deal of hands-on experience:
While a smaller portion of this class will cover the theories and techniques on how to market to the world’s shoppers and consumers, 75% of your grade will depend on how well you and your group put this theory into practice.
The first big assignment is a consumer research project for which you pick or invent a product, conduct market research that entails a research survey, and hold one-on-one interviews and concept board testing. You will analyze consumers’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, establish important product features—the drivers of purchase and repurchase—, and write a research report which forms the basis of a marketing plan.
For the second project you will take that same product and develop a marketing launch plan in a foreign country. You will use your customer and product insights, define when and where you will make your product available for purchase, develop a communications plan, and shoot a commercial for the product you selected.
The third and final project is a semester-long brand manager computer simulation where you will be responsible for managing a business in Latin America or Asia. You will compete directly against other classmates and experience the realism of making business decisions in the classroom.
You will acquire skills relevant for after college:
This past summer I had the opportunity to intern as a brand manager for Procter & Gamble and a lot of what I learned in MMS 272 was directly applicable to my projects with P&G. Regardless of whether I had to develop a concept for a multi-brand promotion or establish a year round marketing plan with strategic customers in Austria, I felt confident and prepared because I was previously exposed to similar problems in MMS 272. The group projects in MMS 272 allowed me to gain valuable teamwork and leadership skills which I could apply when I had to work across business functions and with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
If you are passionate about marketing, consider taking Professor George Grody’s class. He will not only equip you with incredible marketing skills, but he will also provide you with valuable feedback on your work and wisdom from his own business career. The group-based approach of this class will teach you how to work successfully as a team and how you can leverage each team member’s unique strengths to make 1+1 equal 3.
One last piece of advice:
MMS 272 is not the only class that allowed me to succeed during my internship, but the work for this class very well mirrored the decisions I had to make as a brand management intern. The MMS certificate’s liberal arts approach to business education is unique because it allowed me to take advantage of the various disciplines and discover my own career path. My advice for you is to leverage the MMS interdisciplinary offerings and to enroll in classes that will help diversify your skill-set for the future.
Thanks to the MMS certificate and classes like MMS 272, I feel prepared for whatever comes after graduation.
Markets Management Studies
