The Transformation of Marketing
FYSEMR 40D
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Marketing, as you will find in this seminar, refers to the set of activities needed to form and sustain a healthy business by fostering meaningful exchanges between the organization and its chosen customers. Marketing helps create value for consumers and extract a share of that value for the organization. We will spend time understanding the fundamentals of marketing management and examine how recent technological, economic, cultural, and societal developments have affected the marketing field.
We will first cover the central themes of customer behavior, strategic marketing analysis, innovation forecasting, and brand management. Then we will explore how marketing has dramatically evolved in recent years due to: the AI and social-media revolution; the increasing shift from human-based to digital-based interactions with customers; firms’ desire to globalize; societal and political trends affecting consumer preferences; and the call for companies to exhibit greater social responsibility. In examining these themes, we will also draw upon research from the domains of psychology, sociology and economics. Each session will have assigned pre-readings that may include case studies, book chapters, and articles.
The discussion and material covered in class will rely upon these readings. During the term, each student will identify a marketing phenomenon they find intriguing and that reflects concepts covered in class. Students will prepare a one-page summary of this marketing phenomenon and communicate it in a short presentation. The final paper for the seminar requires students to analyze a case study and turn in a short write up.
Class Notes
First-Year Seminars are available only to first-year students. You may apply to both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 First-Year Seminars via the FYS lottery between July 6 and August 6, 2026 at 11:59PM-midnight.
You may apply to as many seminars each term as you would like, but we recommend you apply to at least six in fall and three in spring.
As part of your application, you must provide a brief statement on why you are interested in each seminar. You will be notified of lottery results for both fall and spring seminars at 5 pm on August 11. If you are unsuccessful in the lottery, you may still join any seminar with open seats. A list of open seminars and instructions on next steps will be available on the First-Year Seminar Program website August 11 at 12 Noon.
Not Available for Cross Registration
