Marketing Department
B.S. – Marketing
The marketing department offers a portfolio of cutting-edge courses including marketing strategy, digital marketing, social media marketing, category management, analytics, communications, omnichannel marketing, marketing research, consumer behavior, and sales.
Given that marketing impacts virtually every facet of business, the marketing major is an excellent choice for students who wish to launch dynamic careers. Students may opt for our traditional program or select a concentration in social media and digital marketing or food and consumer-packaged-goods marketing.
B.S. – Marketing Program
The traditional B.S. marketing program focuses on marketing strategy and innovation. Students learn the essential drivers of marketing success including branding, pricing, product design, distribution, and promotion. Students graduating with the B.S. Marketing degree have the skills and knowledge to make a significant contribution to the marketing operations of virtually any enterprise from day one.
B.S. Marketing – Social Media and Digital Marketing Concentration
The concentration in Social Media and Digital Marketing provides students with crucial knowledge and skills to be leaders in the digital revolution. The focus of this concentration is digital content excellence across the consumer journey. Students become experts in social media, digital marketing, digital analytics, and content marketing to launch high-impact careers in this dynamic space.
B.S. Marketing – Food and Consumer-Packaged-Goods Concentration
The food and consumer-packaged-goods concentration prepares students for sales and management positions with food and consumer-packaged-goods manufacturers and brokers and for management positions with food retailers and wholesalers. Graduates have strong analytical, technical, and communication competencies that will enable them to add value to their place of employment from the first day of hire.
Courses
MKG 181 — Principles of Marketing (SS) (3 credits)
Marketing philosophies, influences, strategies, and practices. Topics include: strategic planning, environmental influences, marketing research, consumer and business markets, segmentation and targeting, international marketing, and strategies for products, prices, distribution, and promotion.
MKG 301 — Overview Global Food Ind (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course offers a broad introduction to the food industry in the United States as well as around the world. Focus will include agricultural production and practice, economics and pricing, distribution, wholesale and retailing. Critical social/cultural changes with impacts on the food industry will be covered as well as an understanding of global food supply and inequity in distribution.
MKG 305 — Integrated Marketing Communication (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course consists of essentially two modules. The first deals with product development issues and the design of global market offerings. The second deals with the planning, organization, implementation, and control of integrated marketing communications. Coverage of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling along with emerging and nontraditional tools, and their integrated management for the accomplishment of promotional objectives. It includes both a strategic focus as well as an emphasis on creative campaign development.
MKG 310 — Channels Management (SS) (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
The role of distribution channels in marketing. Analysis will focus on the coordination of all channel members from the manufacturer to the consumer. Topics include: wholesaler structure, channel strategy, channel coordination, channel communication, and channel conflict.
MKG 311 — Marketing Research (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
Study of contemporary research methods used to provide information for solving marketing problems. Topics include marketing-research design and ethics, data acquisition and analysis, and communication and application of results.
MKG 313 — Consumer Behavior (SS) (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
Study of consumer acquisition, consumption, and disposition of products and services. Focuses on decision processes and the psychological, social, cultural, and economic factors that influence them.
MKG 314 — Topic: (SS) (3 credits)
Prerequisite Must have taken MGT*160;
Case studies or directed investigations focused on current problems and topics that are increasingly of concern to modern businesses. The topics covered may be current issues in Marketing and/or involve new and emerging areas of study.
MKG 325 — International Marketing (SS) (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course looks at the economic, social, cultural, political, legal, and financial dimensions of international markets. Global marketing-strategy options and the conceptual and analytical tools needed to plan and implement them successfully.
MKG 333 — Category & Value Chain Mgt (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course focuses on the management and improvement of supply chain processes and performance. Students will explore key supply chain metrics, production planning, inventory control, order fulfillment and supply chain management and coordination. There will be an emphasis on the application of information technology utilized in the marketing of food with a focus on analytics associated with price, cost, merchandise, forecasts and performance metrics.
MKG 335 — Sales Communications (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course introduces key concepts of business-to-business marketing, salesforce management, and personal selling. Topics include the organizational buying process, segmenting business markets, and value creation. Principles of salesforce motivation, compensation, and deployment are also discussed. Students also master the personal selling process including techniques of need identification, need confirmation, closing and serving the account relationship. The course uses case studies, speakers, and role plays to understand and apply concepts.
MKG 336 — Omni Channel Marketing (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course is to guide students' understanding of current merchandising principles and applications related to marketing wholesale and retail food, products and services. Emphasis will be on the application of economic principles, management tools and marketing principles learned in other courses to understand effective marketing practices by food producers, processors and distributors in response to the rapidly changing and highly diverse consuming public. Students will learn about issues of sales promotion, inventory management and assortment decisions used by manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers. Students will also be conversant in the issues and events that are shaping the future of the food system including issues of supply and safety.
MKG 354 — Marketing Analytics (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
In this course students learn essential marketing models and metrics for insight, presentation, and action. Topics include market segmentation, marketing mix modeling, product design, and forecasting. Students also develop experience using analytical tools including Excel, R, Sawtooth, and others.
MKG 381 — Digital Marketing Tactics (3 credits)
Prerequisite take MKG*181
In this course students learn the essentials of search engine optimization, inbound marketing programs, landing page design, and the strategic role of digital metrics in measuring marketing success. Students complete industry certifications in analytics and participate in creating, deploying, and measuring the impact of an inbound search marketing campaign for a real firm.
MKG 382 — Social Media Planning (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course introduces essentials of social media marketing including channels, network characteristics, social media planning, strategy, and media characteristics. Students also complete industry social media certifications and develop a content calendar with media samples for a real firm.
MKG 383 — Applied Digital Analytics (3 credits)
Prerequisite Take MKG*181
This course presents an overview of the role and impact of big data in marketing environments. Topics include customer data platforms, big data software and applications, data mining frameworks, and the role of big data in marketing strategy across the customer journey.
MKG 384 — Content Marketing Principles (3 credits)
Content marketing has become one of the most popular and effective digital marketing strategies. In this course students learn and experience the most common forms of content creation and deployment to systematically drive engagement and revenue to achieve marketing goals in both consumer and business-to-business environments.
MKG 403 — Marketing Honors Thesis I (WI) (3 credits)
Individual research of a substantive nature pursued in the student's major field of study. The research will conclude in a written thesis or an original project, and an oral defense.
MKG 404 — Marketing Honors Thesis II (WI) (3 credits)
Individual research of a substantive nature pursued in the student's major field of study. The research will conclude in a written thesis or an original project, and an oral defense.
MKG 490 — Strategy & Innovation in Mkg (3 credits)
This course examines current issues and strategies relevant to the marketing of food and consumer packaged goods. Students will learn and apply strategic marketing decision processes to identify, create and sustain value thereby enhancing the organization's competitive position. Students will also work in small group projects that address a business problem defined by the sponsoring companies. This hands-on experience will enable students to integrate knowledge from all areas (e.g. marketing, finance, management and operations) and apply their knowledge to provide real-world solutions. Complementing this experiential format will be a series of lectures, case studies, guest speakers and discussions.
MKG 493 — MKG Internship/Coop (6.00 credits)
A junior or senior work-study program providing relevant employment experience. The objective of the program is to integrate classroom theory and practical work experience, thus lending relevancy to learning and providing the student with a realistic exposure to career opportunities. Transfer students must complete a minimum of 15 semester hours in the major at Niagara University before enrollment. Registration is to be arranged through the chairperson.
MKG 495 — Marketing Internship / Co-Op (3 credits)
A junior or senior work-study program providing relevant employment experience. The objective of the program is to integrate classroom theory and practical work experience, thus lending relevancy to learning and providing the student with a realistic exposure to career opportunities. Transfer students must complete a minimum of 15 semester hours in the major at Niagara University before enrollment. Registration is to be arranged through the chairperson.
MKG 496 — Marketing Internship / Co-Op (3 credits)
A junior or senior work-study program providing relevant employment experience. The objective of the program is to integrate classroom theory and practical work experience, thus lending relevancy to learning and providing the student with a realistic exposure to career opportunities. Transfer students must complete a minimum of 15 semester hours in the major at Niagara University before enrollment. Registration is to be arranged through the chairperson.