Great brands stand for many different things in the minds of customers. But they all succeed in generating consumer interest, loyalty, even passion… and enormous value for the companies that manage them.

Our focus is on strategic and creative management of brands. We will examine how innovative managers create brands that connect with customers by studying customer lifestyles, tapping into cultural meanings, managing customer experiences, and executing brand strategies across touchpoints—from naming and visual identity to advertising, new media, retail, packaging, product innovation, and service. We will also touch upon brand valuation and analytics, but these topics are covered in more depth in other classes.

Class sessions will combine lectures, case studies, industry speaker perspectives, and group exercises.

The course will be providing an integrated brand-management model.  The concepts and tools of this six-step model will be presented and discussed in various class session. Students will apply the model as part of Part I of their final group presentation.

Students are evaluated for their ability to master new concepts, think strategically, and generate truly creative solutions to everyday branding challenges.

Bernd Schmitt

Robert D. Calkins Professor of International Business

Professor Schmitt is Robert D. Calkins Professor of International Business at Columbia Business School. He researches, teaches, and advises corporations on branding, innovation, creative strategy, and customer experience.

Schmitt is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Consumer Research and co-founder of TPM (Theory and Practice in Marketing). He has authored and co-authored more than 70 academic articles in marketing and psychology...

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