Marketing

Fairfield University offers students the opportunity to study marketing in the contexts of a broad liberal education and a dynamic and flexible business curriculum. Here, students develop the skills to determine the product and service needs of consumers, as well as the challenges of creating and delivering these products and services, of pricing them right, and of letting the market know about them via traditional and non-traditional methods such as social media and digital advertising. 

Marketing majors learn marketing’s primary functions related to consumer behavior, market research, and marketing strategy, and then take specialized courses that lead them toward the jobs they want.

  • Marketing Major
    • Concentration in Digital and Social Media Marketing
    • Concentration in Marketing Communications
    • Concentration in Fashion Marketing (in collaboration with Florence University of the Arts)
  • Marketing Minor

MKTG 1101 Principles of Marketing    3 Credits

This course introduces the fundamental concepts and theories that drive day-to-day marketing decisions. A thorough understanding of the marketplace (consumer or business-to-business) is at the heart of such decision making. In this course, students will learn to identify and satisfy customer's wants and needs. The core tools that enable managers to move from decision-making to action are addressed, namely: product development, pricing, channel management and structure, and promotions (including advertising and sales). Additional topics include global marketing, societal and marketing ethics, and digital marketing. Students are required to work in a team to construct a marketplace analysis for a chosen product/service. Previously MK 0101.

MKTG 2212 Consumer Behavior    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, sophomore standing.

This course provides students with an understanding of the behavior of consumers in the marketplace, using an interdisciplinary approach that employs concepts from such fields as economics, psychology, social psychology, sociology, and psychoanalysis. Topics include motivation, perception, attitudes, consumer search, and post-transactional behavior. Previously MK 0212.

MKTG 2221 Sales and Sales Management    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, sophomore standing.

This course is intended to give the student an understanding of the important role of the sales function in the overall marketing effort of the firm and in the firm's overall success. The course focuses on the sales process (prospecting, making presentations, handling objections and closing the sales), and the management of the sales force (recruiting, training, motivating, compensating, and supervising salespeople). Ethical issues in selling and new technologies that impact the sales effort are also covered. Previously MK 0221.

MKTG 2231 Advertising    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, sophomore standing.

This course focuses on strategic management of a firm's integrated marketing communications, the most notable element of which is advertising. It emphasizes the importance of seamlessly and synergistically coordinating numerous promotional mix elements to create a uniquely memorable voice with which to communicate and engage the target audience in a lasting relationship with the firm's brand. Topics include advertising message strategy, creative strategy and execution, media strategy, and various relationship-building promotional tools. Also discussed are current events and ethical issues in advertising and promotion. Through activities and projects, students prepare for careers in advertising and related industries. Previously MK 0231.

MKTG 2241 Digital Marketing    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, sophomore standing.

In this course, students will undertake an applied perspective towards marketing on current digital platforms (company's website, social media platforms, etc) and will learn how to adapt the traditional marketing strategies onto the digital space. Topics to be covered include website design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), online advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, and web analytics. The course is designed to get students to think like a digital marketing professional, and to give them experience with industry-relevant hands-on assignments and exercises. Previously MK 0241.

MKTG 2251 Social Media Marketing    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, sophomore standing.

The course takes an in-depth look at social networks and social media platforms (e.g., blogs, discussion forums, Facebook, Twitter, other forums of user-generated content) from a strategic perspective. The primary focus of this course will be on understanding social media as part of a brand's marketing communications, how to build strategies and tactics to help brands differentiate and rise above the noise on the social web, and how to track their effectiveness. Topics to be covered include constructing a brand strategy on social media, engaging influencers, content development, social media analytics and measurement, and social media platforms. Previously MK 0251.

MKTG 2261 Sports Marketing    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, sophomore standing.

This course is offered to address the growing interest in the sports industry as a business career. The course will provide an overview of how sports marketing can work as a component of a fully integrated marketing communication strategy. The course is designed to help students better understand the sports consumer, and how corporations and sports organizations can apply core marketing concepts to help achieve their business objectives. Marketing strategies such as market segmentation, target marketing and the marketing mix are covered within the context of sporting event sponsorships and professional sports teams. Additional topics such as sports governing organizations, sports media, licensing and hospitality will be covered. Previously MK 0261.

MKTG 2311 Marketing Research    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101; ECON 0278 or MATH 1017 or MATH 2217 or PSYC 2810 or SOCI 3610; sophomore standing.

This course gives students an appreciation of the role of marketing research in understanding customers to better address their needs and wants, as well as in reducing the risks associated with marketing decisions. Topics include problem formulation, research design, data collection instruments, sampling, data analysis, and communication of results. Students will get hands-on experience with different stages of the marketing research process. Previously MK 0311.

MKTG 2980 Internship    1 Credit

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

Students may take two semesters of internship, approved by the department. Students must be matriculated in the Dolan School of Business and have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Enrollment by permission only. Previously MK 0393-0394.

MKTG 3321 Marketing Channels    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, junior standing.

This course provides a management focus and managerial framework to the discipline of distribution and channel management, emphasizing the design and management of marketing channels as a key strategic tool in satisfying the needs of the customers in the new millennium. The course integrates theory and practice, and applies them to the decision-making processes. The course also discusses the importance of the Internet as a marketing channel for the distribution of goods and services. Previously MK 0321.

MKTG 3322 Business-to-Business Marketing    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, junior standing.

This course examines the characteristics that differentiate industrial from consumer marketing. Topics include the nature of industrial demand; buyer characteristics; industrial market research; competitive bidding; selling of industrial products; sales and advertising strategies in marketing to business, government, and non-profit organizations; and practices and policies in the distribution of industrial goods. Previously MK 0322.

MKTG 3331 Media Strategy    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, junior standing.

This course examines the basic processes involved in strategic media planning including budgeting, selecting media forms and media vehicles, media timing, and media audience measurement. Students understand the role of traditional and non-traditional media, as well as new media such as the Internet, as channels for communicating promotional messages to consumers. The course also covers varied media allocation models. Previously MK 0331.

MKTG 3332 Public Relations Strategy    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, junior standing.

This course looks at the primary functions of the public relations profession in managing and building an organization's reputation. Key areas of study include understanding stakeholder expectations, exploring a variety of communication messages and publicity tactics that inform and engage audiences, leveraging mass market communications channels and understanding the measures of public perception. The course presents public relations as a central part of a communication strategy that impacts the success of the organization. Previously MK 0332.

MKTG 3341 Brand Management    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, junior standing.

This course focuses on one element in the marketing mix: the product. It examines such questions as how should a firm effectively and efficiently manage its current product line and develop potential new products. Consideration is also given to strategic planning. Previously MK 0341.

MKTG 3342 Contemporary Issues in Marketing    3 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101; junior standing.

This seminar on current marketing issues familiarizes students with the latest issues, events, and problems in marketing. The subject matter for the course draws upon recent events in marketing and course materials are derived from current periodicals and cases. Previously MK 0342.

MKTG 3980 Internship    3 Credits

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Students may take two semesters of internship, approved by the department. Students must be matriculated in the Dolan School of Business and have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Enrollment by permission only. Previously MK 0391-0392.

MKTG 4312 Global Marketing    3 Credits

Attributes: INEL International Studies / International Business Elective, WDIV World Diversity

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, senior standing.

This course instills in students an appreciation of the complexities encountered in marketing products and services in global markets. The course discusses differences that exist among consumers in different cultures and also provides students with an understanding of the role of external elements such as economic, political, legal, cultural, geographic, and social environments on the formulation of a firm's marketing strategy in foreign markets. Previously MK 0312, MKTG 3312.

MKTG 4990 Independent Study    3 or 6 Credits

Prerequisites: MKTG 1101, senior standing.

This is a special program involving independent study and research under faculty guidance. Open only to seniors majoring in marketing and approved by the department chair. Students must have an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher. Previously MK 0397-0398.

Professors

Chaudhuri
Li
Micu, A.
Micu, C.
Rajamma

Associate Professors

Bose Godbole
Cavallo
Ligas
Naderi, chair
Sciandra
Sharma

Assistant Professor

Hour

Instructors of the Practice

Bechard
Blum
Greenan
Marella
Natlo

Lecturers

Cavanaugh
Demilio
Faranda
Kelly
McTague
Noble
Schmitt
Sullivan
Tsilibes