2023-2024 Undergraduate Bulletin

Marketing

Office: 
Daniels College of Business, Suite 480 Mail Code: 2101 S.University Blvd.Denver, CO 80208
Phone:  303-871-3317
Web Site: 
https://daniels.du.edu/marketing/

While advertising is part of marketing, it is not ALL of marketing. Peter Drucker, a very famous businessperson, describes the role of marketing in business this way:  "Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two--and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation.  Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business."

In our program, we will help you learn to solve marketing problems, to innovate, to think strategically, critically and creatively about the information with which you are presented, as well as to communicate your thoughts effectively. You will work in teams, you will think globally about marketing, you will be able to recognize the ethical and legal issues with which you may be confronted. You will also consider the digital opportunities available as you practice using your marketing knowledge to create value for customers, shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders of the business.

We will expect you to take responsibility for your learning by attending every class, contributing to your teams and to your class discussions, keeping your word, and reaching your goals. 

Marketing is an exciting area that addresses many of the changes taking place in business-to-consumer and business-to-business environments. Our field includes digital and other media promotions including working for either clients or ad agencies, planning social and mobile campaigns, and analyzing the results of your work. We prepare you to go into business-to-business sales or to be part of a global marketing organization, to work in supply chain management or in services marketing. Our internship program is one of the best in the college. You will have many opportunities available to secure at least one internship over the course of your studies. Students have found that the experience gained through the internship process has helped them better understand classroom discussion topics.

Along with the required major courses of consumer behavior, marketing research, professional selling, digital marketing, international marketing and integrated marketing strategy, you will take three electives chosen from a very broad selection of courses.

Marketing

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major Requirements

(185 credits required for the degree)

Minimum of 36 credits. Requirements include:

MKTG 2910Consumer Behavior4
MKTG 2930Methods of Marketing Research4
MKTG 3110The Power of Professional Selling4
MKTG 3480Foundations of Digital Marketing4
MKTG 3630International Marketing4
or MKTG 2945 Global Product Innovation
MKTG 3950Integrative Marketing Strategy4
Electives
Select three Marketing electives (3000-level courses).12
Total Credits36

Minor Requirements

The Marketing minor is available to all traditional DU undergraduate students. Students may not pursue both the Marketing minor and the Sales Leadership minor. 

24 credits, including:

MKTG 2800Introduction to Marketing 14
Electives20
Select five Marketing electives.
Total Credits24

Sales Leadership Minor

The Sales Leadership minor is open to all undergraduate students of the University of Denver. This minor advances the standards and best practices of the sales profession, and and prepares students for sales careers.  

Students may not pursue the Sales Leadership minor with a Marketing major or minor. Program requirements are listed below:

Prerequisite
Introduction to Marketing 1
Required
MKTG 3110The Power of Professional Selling4
MKTG 3130Selling in a Digital World4
MKTG 3140Sales Management and Leadership4
Complete two courses from the following8
Business-to-Business Marketing
MKTG 3370
Supply Chain Management
Topics in Marketing
Topics in Marketing
Foundations of Digital Marketing
Total Credits20

Requirements for Distinction in the Major in Marketing

Upon reaching 90 credit hours completed, students with a 3.50 cumulative GPA or higher, and a 3.85 Daniels GPA or higher, are invited to either create a portfolio of in-depth business experiences or to write a thesis to earn Distinction. See Daniels Undergraduate Programs or faculty in the department for more information. 

Marketing

This course plan is a sample schedule only. Individual course plans will vary based on incoming transfer credit, admission path to Daniels, prerequisites, availability of courses, minors, and other scheduling factors. You must meet with your Daniels academic advisor to develop an individual graduation plan for your specific needs.

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits
First-Year Seminar (FSEM)4WRIT 11224WRIT 11334
MATH 120014INFO 10104INFO 10204
BUS 14404ECON 102034ACTG 22004
Common Curriculum Course24Common Curriculum Course4BUS 10990
  Common Curriculum Course4
 16 16 16
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits
ACTG 23004FIN 28004BUS 30004
MGMT 21004MKTG 28004BUS 20990
LGST 20004INTZ 250141-2MKTG 29104
Common Curriculum Course4Common Curriculum Course4MKTG 31104
 Common Curriculum Course4Common Curriculum Course4
 16 17-18 16
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits
Study Abroad16INFO 20204MGMT 30004
Elective MKTG 29304MKTG Elective4
 MKTG 3630 or 29454MKTG 34804
 MKTG Elective4BUS 30990
  Common Curriculum Course4
 16 16 16
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits
BUS 38004MKTG 39504Advanced Seminar (ASEM)4
MKTG Elective4Elective4Elective4
Elective4Elective4Elective4
Common Curriculum Course4Elective4 
 16 16 12
Total Credits: 189-190
1

Fulfills Analytical Inquiry: The Natural and Physical World

2

Common Curriculum Requirements

3

Fulfills Scientific Inquiry: Society and Culture

4

 INTZ 2501 Exploring Global Citizenship: Preparing for Study Abroad is required for any student who studies abroad, and may be taken in any quarter within the year prior to studying abroad.

Common Curriculum requirements in the First Year are generally satisfied through the sequential full-year foreign language (FOLA) requirement.

Common Curriculum requirements in the Second Year are generally satisfied through the sequential full-year Scientific Inquiry: Natural requirement. 

MKTG 1988 Study Abroad Resident Credit (0-18 Credits)

MKTG 2800 Introduction to Marketing (4 Credits)

Marketing is, at its core, the interface a company has with its customers, and what could be more important in business? This introductory course is a must for any business professional, and anyone seeking to be a savvy consumer or to learn about promoting oneself. It is a challenging, hands-on course with an integrated approach to learning the basic fundamentals of the subject. It develops a student’s ability to make sound planning decisions using real information from the external environment to determine market feasibility for a real product. The course has a segmented approach, allowing students to practice application of important concepts in the classroom and engage in teamwork. The segments build upon one another to allow students to create a complete and logically reasoned marketing plan for their chosen product. In teams, students prepare a written report and deliver an oral presentation about their product. Prerequisites: (MGMT 2100 and INFO 1020) or Marketing Minor Non-Business 1. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in MKTG 2800 in order to progress further in MKTG major/minor courses.

MKTG 2910 Consumer Behavior (4 Credits)

What’s the real reason some consumers want a big SUV? Maybe it’s not for off-roading after all! This course is a fascinating look at why consumers buy what they do, and there is often more than meets the eye. CB uses frameworks from psychology and other disciplines to describe how consumers learn and how they make decisions about their purchases. The course also delves deeper into consumer demographic and psychographic characteristics and all of these concepts are then integrated and applied to designing appropriate marketing strategies for different segments. Students have an excellent opportunity to learn more about the human mind and practical applications for marketing efforts. Prerequisite: C- in MKTG 2800.

MKTG 2920 Business-to-Business Marketing (4 Credits)

Have you ever considered how a Fortune 500 company provides new computers for its 5,000-plus employees? Organizations are customers too, and the B2B market is the largest of all the markets, far surpassing the consumer market in dollar value. While the lines between B2B and B2C marketing are often blurred, B2B marketing strategies are often unique and more specialized. While consumers choose products based not only on price but on popularity, status, and other emotional triggers, B2B buyers make decisions focused more on valuable relationships, price and profit potential. Fostering relationships through compelling and relevant content is key. This calls for unique marketing techniques in approaching and building relationships with organizational customers, the dynamics of which will be explored and discussed in this class. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 2930 Methods of Marketing Research (4 Credits)

The modern marketing department is held just as responsible for the dollars it spends as any other business function. To be efficient, marketing professionals must learn to gather the information they need to make evidence-based decisions, understand current and potential target markets, and even generate new ideas. This course covers methods of collecting and analyzing market-related data. In addition to learning basic research concepts, students design their own surveys, collect data, conduct data analysis in Excel, and present results. Class activities in recent quarters have included a live focus group with the clothing retailer, Sport Couture and as a guest speaker, VP of research from Media News Group. The useful aspects of handling data in this course add essential elements to a student’s toolkit for professional practice. Prerequisites: MKTG 2800 and INFO 1020.

MKTG 2945 Global Product Innovation (4 Credits)

In this course, students learn how products are introduced and managed including developing an understanding of the product innovation process. Companies exist, thrive and prosper by delivering products and services to their customers. As customer needs and desires change and competitive offerings make product selection more difficult, companies must develop products and services that most closely match customer requirements at a maximized speed to market. This course provides students with principles, philosophies, concepts, techniques, processes and models of new product management, and also with the practical aspects of how to analyze and manage new product development issues and situations in the turbulent environments facing business organizations. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 2988 Study Abroad Resident Credit (0-18 Credits)

MKTG 3110 The Power of Professional Selling (4 Credits)

Do you want to have multiple job offers when you graduate? Studies suggest that students who embrace sales as a professional career are in greater demand than any other type of job. This course explores personal selling as an integral part of the promotional mix and an extension of the marketing concept. Students will learn how to create value for customers by producing and presenting a strategic sales plan. The course work includes opportunities to put theory into action through a series of team challenges that will enable students to hone individual selling and presentation skills. PREREQ: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3130 Selling in a Digital World (4 Credits)

Selling is no longer about knocking on doors and cold-calling strangers. Business has been disrupted by the integration of digital processes and communication. As power continues to shift to customers, sales professionals must be equipped to build relationships and create value in a digital world. In this course, students will learn how to leverage the power of digital selling in the way salespeople manage interactions with customers, solve problems, and measure their impact. Through lecture, activities, and weekly interactions with sales professionals, students will build on their foundation of sales concepts to learn how to create value for their future stakeholders. Prerequisites: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3140 Sales Management and Leadership (4 Credits)

Salespeople are the primary channel of communication between enterprise and customers and therefore, managing them is of paramount importance to sales organizations. Studies suggest that students who undertake sales curriculum are more likely to land a sales job upon graduation and have a higher success rate in their first position. This course uses lectures, case studies, and role-plays to cover critical topics in salesforce management and sales leadership including recruiting, training, deployment, compensation, and evaluation. Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3380 Supply Chain Management (4 Credits)

Today’s economy of globally sourced manufacturing, developing markets, synchronized e-commerce, international trade lanes, and intertwined economies demand supply chains of global reach to bring goods and services from around the world to local stores or even the consumer’s front door. This course addresses the challenges and illustrates the tools required to build, maintain, and expand global supply chains. The course develops the ability to make sound strategic, tactical, and operational supply chain decisions via an on-line simulation tool, and superior supply chain design and performance is taught through in-depth case studies from the world’s top 25 supply chains. Students will be able to connect improvements in supply chain design and performance to the financial performance of a firm. Cross listed with MKTG 4380. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3400 Introduction to Advertising (4 Credits)

Tap into your creativity and get some practical experience with this popular and omnipresent form of promotion! This exciting and dynamic course is intended to give the student a firm understanding of the principles and practice of advertising. It includes an introduction to advertising agency operations, and the many department functions. With “agency” team members, the student will create an advertising campaign, from strategy brief to execution, and present the work to an actual client. The real-life aspect of this course creates a memorable and very useful experience for undergraduate students. Recent clients for student projects have included McDonald’s and Eldora Mountain Resort. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3435 SXSWi: Marketing, Technology & Innovation (4 Credits)

This class is focused on documenting/sharing lessons learned from the SXSWi conference in Austin Texas, the premier innovation conference in the US. The course is divided into two distinct halves. First, we will research the SXSWi sessions around subject matter and speaker background as well as planning the final deliverable that summarizes the entire SXSWi event. The second half includes participation in the conference to learn the most up-to-date digital marketing techniques in social, mobile, data and usability. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3450 Advertising Media Strategy (4 Credits)

This is not your grandparents’ media landscape, or even your parents’ for that matter! And it is no simple task to reach today’s consumer with advertising. The world of media is ever changing; with the digital revolution, media planners and buyers face more challenges than ever. In this course, students learn the process of advertising media planning and the role it plays in campaign development. The course provides students an opportunity to create a media plan and creative materials and present them to a “real world” client. Recent clients for student projects have included General Motors (Cadillac) and Altitude Sports. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800 & MKTG 3400.

MKTG 3460 Advertising Creative Strategy (4 Credits)

This popular course provides an opportunity to go even further with advertising concepts and strategy. This course is designed to let the student experience the life of an ad agency team member. Students learn what it takes to collaborate with a team in creating brand-building, power ideas, and are given a campaign assignment by a “real world” client. Students work from strategy brief to execution, and present the ideas to the group, at times individually, and at times as a team. The course includes evaluation of one’s own work and that of others, application of theories about the presentation of information and images, and strengthening of presentation skills. The student’s work in developing a creative campaign should be based on past learning about advertising as well as class lectures and handouts. Creativity is emphasized in all tasks, from ad design through media selection to presentations. Recent clients for student projects include Nestle, Purina, and Leo Burnett USA. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3465 Data Science for Marketers (4 Credits)

Data is an essential part of (digital) marketing. In fact, data enables the promise of digital marketing: real-time feedback enabling businesses, marketing campaigns to pivot and become predictive. We’ll cover what it takes to become a data-driven organization and how to tell stories through data.

MKTG 3475 Mobile Marketing (4 Credits)

Smartphones are the device for today’s consumer. Mobile usage easily eclipses all other digital venues and you will be learning how to harness this ever-evolving field. Knowledge of mobile search, mobile applications, mobile advertising and location-based services are essential for today’s business leaders. This course will enable students to build creative mobile marketing campaigns that complement digital and traditional marketing strategies. This fast-paced course is a must for people interested in marketing. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3480 Foundations of Digital Marketing (4 Credits)

Knowing how to use digital marketing tools as part of an integrated marketing strategy is critical in today's marketplace. This course provides the knowledge and skills to plan and implement a digital marketing strategy using three powerful digital marketing elements • UX/UI - User eXperience design is one of the most difficult aspects for businesses to define and yet it's essential to map our when creating a holistic strategy. User Interface design is one part of the user experience and we will work together to show you best-in-class examples. • Facebook Advertising – Facebook is quickly becoming the hyper-targeted advertising platform for businesses of any size. You will walk through Facebook’s Blueprint training to help you understand what types of digital advertising are possible. • Email Marketing – Email has long been a staple in digital marketing. We will show you the ins and outs of this digital medium and teach you how to take control of this evolving channel. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3485 Search Engine Marketing: Google Analytics & Google Ads (4 Credits)

An understanding of consumers' search behavior provides deep insight into how people make purchasing decisions and form brand affinities. Search marketing is also the cornerstone of many digital marketing campaigns. This course provides a comprehensive foundation in search marketing and digital analytics as tools for any marketer, as well as hands-on experience with Google Ads and Google Analytics. You will be working with real-world clients, helping them to drive marketing ROI! Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3490 Social Media Marketing (4 Credits)

The digital marketing landscape has thousands of tools that marketers can utilize to increase revenue, execute on strategies and develop deep brands. This course will review the most essential of those tools: Google Analytics and Google AdWords. Our goal is to enable students to attain individual certification in Google Analytics and begin the process of getting Google AdWords Fundamentals certified. You will be working with real-world clients, helping them increase revenue! Cross listed with MKTG 4815. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3495 Tech in Marketing: Design Tools and Digital Foundations (4 Credits)

“Software is eating the world.” That was the quote from Marc Andreesen way back in 2011. His point was now that software had disrupted the tech industry, it was now evolving into every other industry. Agriculture. Mass transit. Construction. Everything. This prediction has become true with companies like Google and Uber. We’re at a point where coding/technology are now a matter of literacy. We are going to work together as a class to make you more literate. We are going to learn how to utilize digital design tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create brand imagery. We’ll then move on to learn HTML/CSS and APIs: the building blocks of the Internet. We’ll also spend some time prototyping software such as Axure and tap into memes and Gifs. This will be a tactical, hands-on, and fun class. Cross-listed with MKTG 4845. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3630 International Marketing (4 Credits)

The shrinking planet and constant pressure to maintain a firm’s growth mean that global marketing continues to grow in importance. This course introduces the various economic, social, cultural, political, and legal dimensions of international marketing from conceptual, methodological and application perspectives, and emphasizes how these international environmental factors should affect, and can be integrated into, marketing programs and strategies. This course provides students with methods for analyzing world markets and their respective consumers and environments, and to equip students with the skills in developing and implementing marketing strategies and decision making in international context. It is designed based on a combination of lectures and discussions of relevant concepts, case analyses of real global marketing issues, videos and readings from the business press, country snapshots, and a group research project in which student teams launch a discrete product in a foreign country of their choice. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3635 International Consumer Behavior (4 Credits)

The focus of this course is to introduce the complex role that consumer behavior and consumption plays within an international context. Knowledge of customers is one of the cornerstones for developing sound business strategies, and there is a need to better understand the diverse aspects of consumer behavior that marketers must cater to in the global marketplace. As the study of consumer behavior draws upon marketing, psychology, economics, anthropology, and other disciplines, the added complexity of understanding it beyond ones’ home market results in additional challenges and opportunities. Consumer behavior attempts to understand the consumption activities of individuals as opposed to markets, and as this course will demonstrate, consumption activities are not universal. The course will focus on both consumer behavior theory, as well as the integration of regional, global, and cultural variables that marketers must account for in developing marketing programs in strategies. Topics such as global consumer culture, values and consumption, international consumer attributes, international social and mental processes, will be used to help comprehend and explain the convergence and divergence of consumer behavior in the global marketplace. The goal of this course is to provide a more concrete understanding of how marketers account for similarities and differences in the development and implementation of marketing practices, in the field of advertising, product and service development and usage, retailing, and communications. Cross-listed with MKTG 4635.

MKTG 3640 Services Marketing (4 Credits)

The unique challenges of selling the “invisible” characteristics inherent to services marketing are identified and addressed in this course. You will investigate customer requirements, alignment of service design and standards, service failure and recovery strategies, and the complexity of long-term customer relationships relevant to service organizations. Because of the difficulty in describing and depicting service development, you will design a service blueprint that serves as an innovative tool in the strategic process. In addition to relevant industry speakers, experiential learning through field trips contributes significantly to your overall understanding of the service environment. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3650 Innovation Strategies (4 Credits)

This course is a fresh and dynamic course, which both challenges and leverages traditional marketing thinking in new and creative ways. Students read a variety of pieces from contemporary thought-leaders in the world of business, marketing, philosophy, and education to give context and perspective to innovative thinking and ideation techniques which are relevant and necessary for today’s marketing leaders. Hands-on activities, reality-based projects, and interactive debates are the hallmarks of this course. Recent guest speakers have included William Espey (CMO, Chipotle), Justin Breseler (VP Marketing, Visit Denver) and recent alumni. One past Innovation Strategies student recently said, “After going through this intellectually stimulating class marketing no longer feels like consumer manipulation but rather it feels like strategy, design, and solutions that can come together and make culture and business better – it is really important.” Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3660 Sports & Entertainment Marketing (4 Credits)

There are few products about which consumers are more passionate than their sports and entertainment expenditures, so this topic is always an exciting one in marketing. This course provides an in-depth look at the processes and practices of marketing sports, concerts, film and other entertainment. The course emphasizes the practical use of advertising, promotion and public relations in creating athlete or entertainer images, providing a quality fan experience, promoting sponsorship or driving event ticket sales. Cross listed with MKTG 4660. Prerequisite: MKTG 2800.

MKTG 3704 Topics in Marketing (1-4 Credits)

Topics in Marketing.

MKTG 3705 Topics in Marketing (4 Credits)

MKTG 3950 Integrative Marketing Strategy (4 Credits)

You may have heard the saying that “The journey is as important as the destination.” In organizations the corollary is that strategic planning is as important as the plan. As a result, the planning process has become increasingly important for all business functions (e.g., production, accounting, R & D, marketing). The objective of this course is to enable students to utilize a rigorous planning process to develop marketing programs. This activity involves integrated problem solving using concepts, theories, and primary and secondary information, and is characterized by logical use of facts leading to alternatives, which in turn lead to solutions. By the end of the course students should be able to develop effective marketing programs, and to understand the applications and limitations of the principal planning tools a marketing manager has at his/her disposal. This course needs to be taken within 2 quarters of graduation. Prerequisites: MKTG 2800, MKTG 2910, and MKTG 2930.

MKTG 3980 Marketing Internship (1-8 Credits)

We learn by doing. That’s what a marketing internship at Daniels is all about. Recent studies show that one to three internships on a resume go a long way towards landing that first job in marketing. At Daniels, we network with some of the top marketers in Denver and across the US. Our marketing students have worked at National CineMedia, Integer Advertising, Bank of America, Enterprise, Northwestern Mutual Insurance, eBags, Crispin-Porter + Bogusky, Einstein’s, Johns Manville, Ski Magazine, the Pepsi Center, 15 Million Elephants, Flextronics, Merrill Lynch, Dish Network, AEG Live, Altitude Sports & Entertainment, and the list goes on. Not only will you earn school credit, you may very well land a paid internship, and eventually a full-time job. Course requirements include an internship report that covers your experience on the job, a study of the industry, and what you learned from your company. It’s a win-win course where you put into practice the marketing concepts you’ve learned at DU, and discover new marketing tactics from your company co-workers. “Thanks to the University of Denver for fostering this partnership and providing such great students.” (NCM Media Networks). Prerequisites: marketing major and instructor's permission.

MKTG 3988 Study Abroad Resident Credit (0-18 Credits)

MKTG 3991 Independent Study (1-10 Credits)

Independent study provides opportunities for the capable student to do special work under individual supervision in areas not covered by class offerings. Undergraduate students should demonstrate qualities necessary for interested and intensive inquiry. The topic and outline must be agreed upon by the student with the approval of the instructor and department concerned. Restricted to marketing majors. Prerequisites: Marketing major and instructor's permission.

Faculty

Melissa Archpru Akaka, Professor, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Yashar Atefi, Associate Professor, PhD, University of Houston

Daniel Wayne Baack, Professor, PhD, Saint Louis University

Ana Babic Rosario, Associate Professor, PhD, HEC Paris

Ali Besharat, Professor, PhD, University of South Florida

Jack Raymond Buffington, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Marketing, PhD, Lulea Technological University, Sweden

Theresa Meier Conley, Associate Professor of the Practice of Marketing, PhD, University of Denver

Michele L. Cunningham, Teaching Professor, MBA, University of Denver

Jenny Dobmeier, Teaching Assistant Professor, MBA, University of Denver

Aaron Scott Duncan, Teaching Assistant Professor, PhD, Fielding University

Steven W. Hartley, Professor and Department Co-Chair, PhD, University of Minnesota

Michael Myers, Teaching Associate Professor, IMBA, University of Denver

Pallab Paul, Professor and Department Co-Chair, PhD, University of Arizona

Tia Marie Quinlan-Wilder, Teaching Associate Professor, MBA, University of Denver

Cristin Cornell Tarr Teaching Assistant Professor, MBA, University of Denver

Charles Patti, Professor, Emeritus, PhD, University of Illinois

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