Syllabus Information

1.1. Introduction

The subject Agri-food Marketing is of an introductory nature directed at establishing the fundamentals of marketing. Specifically, it deals with basic concepts, instruments and decisions related to the marketing field. The subject is divided into two main parts: the first part deals with the basic concepts of Marketing, the consumer’s buying behaviour, and marketing research; the second part is focused on the key variables and marketing actions (product, price, place, and promotion). All the units of the subject will be addressed with an agri-food company’s perspective.

1.2. Recommendations to take this course

The subject Agri-food Marketing is available on the Anillo Digital Docente (ADD) of the Universidad de Zaragoza https://moodle2.unizar.es/add/. This platform contains the materials and information about the contents of the course. The students can get the access keys and passwords for the ADD from the Secretary of the Faculty.

There are no prerequisites for taking this course. Students are strongly recommended to attend the theoretical and practical sessions. It is also advisable to study on a regular basis as well as to carry out the practical exercises and assignments in order to facilitate the comprehension of the theoretical contents.

1.3. Context and importance of this course in the degree

The aim of Agri-food Marketing is to introduce and habituate the students to the basic concepts, instruments and decisions related to marketing. This knowledge is essential to succeed in the current marketplace, where agri-food companies must have a customer orientation. In this way, the subject Agri-food Marketing helps to complement the interdisciplinary education of the Agricultural Engineer and allows him/her to integrate in the business activities of the company with the most appropriate knowledge and techniques. This training enables the students to obtain a projection and a profitable working methodology, with the highest quality, to compete in the currently globalised productive economy. 

1.4. Activities and key dates

The sessions of the subject will start on September, 18^th 2017, and will end on January, 14^th 2018. The specific dates regarding the key activities of the subject will also be arranged according to the official calendar. The students will be informed about these key activities through the subject’s program. The activities and key dates will be communicated through the Anillo Digital Docente of the Universidad de Zaragoza. The subject will consist of one theoretical and one practical session per week. The practical sessions will consist of teamwork, troubleshooting, practice with real cases, and commenting on and discussing readings and/or news. These activities will be announced beforehand, giving the students enough time to work on them.

2.1. Learning goals

The student, in order to pass this subject, must demonstrate the following results...

Identify, differentiate and assess the concept, scope, functions and importance of marketing within organisations, stressing those aspects related to the agri-food company.

Identify the main characteristics of the market in which the agri-food company operates and all the factors that may influence its performance: environmental factors, competitors, demand, segmentation, consumer behaviour, etc.

Analyse the marketing-mix policies of a real agri-food company. 

2.2. Importance of learning goals

These days, organisations in the agri-food industry need to be oriented towards their customers, to be aware of their needs and desires, in order to succeed in the globalised, extremely competitive market. In addition, following a marketing perspective, companies must design a marketing-mix plan taking into account all the factors that are under their control: product, price, place and promotion. This subject provides students with the tools to be able to assess the consumers’ needs and desires, and to develop marketing-mix strategies that can be appropriate and coherent to satisfy such needs and desires. 

3.1. Aims of the course

The subject and its expected outcomes respond to the following approaches and objectives:

The aim of this subject is to introduce and habituate the students to the basic concepts, instruments and decisions related to marketing. To do this, the commercial activities of the company will be analysed, stressing the marketing tools that favour the efficacy and efficiency of these commercial activities.

3.2. Competences

Basic Skills:

CB1. Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context

CB2. That the students can apply the broader (or multidisciplinary) acquired knowledge and ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within contexts related to their field of study

CB3. That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, includes reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments

CB4. Students can communicate their conclusions - and the knowledge and rationale underpinning - to specialists and non-specialists in a clear and unambiguous

CB5. Students must possess the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.

General Skills:

CG1. Ability to plan, organize, direct and control systems and developed production processes in agriculture and the agri-food industry, in a framework guaranteeing the competitiveness of enterprises without forgetting the protection and conservation of the environment and the improvement and sustainable rural development.

CG4. Ability to apply knowledge to solve problems in new situations, analyzing information from the environment and summarizing it efficiently to facilitate the process of decision-making in companies and organizations in the agri-food industry.

CG5 - Ability to pass on their knowledge and findings of their studies or reports, using the means that communications technology allows and taking into account public knowledge receiver.

CG6 - Ability to manage or supervise multidisciplinary and multicultural teams to integrate knowledge in complex decision processes with limited information, taking social, ethical and environmental responsibility of their professional activity in tune with the socio-economic and natural environment in which it operates.

CG7 - Ability to develop the necessary skills to continue learning independently or directed, incorporating his professional activity new concepts, processes or methods derived from research, development and innovation.

Specific skills:

CE18. Appropriate knowledge and capacity to develop and implement its own technology in marketing research.

CE19. Appropriate knowledge and capacity to develop and implement its own technology in marketing and in the commercialization of agri-food products. 

4.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)

The students must show that they have achieved the expected learning results through the following evaluation activities.

There are two assessment systems in the first call:

1. Continuous assessment: in this case, the student will take two written exams that will assess their learning of the theoretical and practical contents of the subject (assessments E1 and E2) and they will also carry out practical activities type T1 and T2. Each of these activities will have the following weights in the final mark of the student:

- Assessment E1: it consists of a written exam involving the first three units of the subject. This test will make up 20% of the global mark (2 points). The test will be carried out in the second fortnight of October.

- Assessment E2: it consists of a written exam involving the last four units of the subject. This test will make up 30% of the global mark (3 points). The test will be carried out in the last school week of December.

The tests E1 and E2 will consist of theoretical, practical and a mix of theory and practice questions about the contents addressed in the syllabus of the subject and applied to real cases or situations.

- Practical assignment 1 (T1): it consists of a project involving one or several units of the syllabus. The results of this project will be presented in a written report and will be also orally presented in class, followed by a subsequent discussion with the professor and the classmates. This project will be carried out individually and makes up 30% of the global mark (3 points).

- Practical assigment 2 (T2): the student will carry out the following activities: handing in of essays, summaries or comments about marketing news or texts, practical exercises, cases or readings. All these activities will be developed and discussed in the classroom. Each activity will be carried out in the practical sessions of the subject. The activities will be implemented either individually or in groups (depending on each case) and make up 20% of the global mark (2 points).

In all these activities, a minimum of 3 points (out of 10) will be required in order to pass the subject through this system. The specific dates regarding the key activities of the subject, as well as the dates of the exams, will be announced beforehand and will be published in the Anillo Digital Docente of the Universidad de Zaragoza, ADD, https://moodle2.unizar.es/add/.

2. Global assessment: the students who do not take the continuous assessment system, who take it but fail to pass the subject through this system, or those who want to improve their marks, will have the right to take a global exam which consists of a written exam which will be scheduled according to the official calendar of the center, as well as to carry out the practical assignment T1 presented previously. Specifically:

- Written exam: this written exam will include all the units of the subject. The exam will make up 70% of the global mark (7 points). Out of the 7 points, 5 points will deal with the theoretical and practical contents of the subject (through short-answer questions and/or essay questions related to real situations and cases), and 2 points will be assigned to questions related to the readings, exercises, and practical cases with will require the student to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. The exam will be scheduled according to the official calendar of the center where the subject is taught.

- Practical assignment 1 (T1): it consists of a project involving one or several units of the syllabus. The results of this project will be presented in a written report and will be also orally presented after the written exam corresponding to the global assessment. The project will be carried out individually and makes up 30% of the global mark (3 points). Should the student took the continuous assessment system and carried out this activity, it will not be required to carry out the project again insofar the mark is above 3 (out of 10).

The students that reach the 50% of the mark through the continuous assessment systems will not be required to take the global assessment. Nevertheless, in the first call, and in case that the student uses both assessment systems, the highest mark will be considered as the final mark.

The assessment in the second call will be carried out only the global assessment system described previously. As in the first call, the student will not have to carry out the practical assignment T1 if he or she already presented in the previous call (regardless the assessment system) and obtained a mark above 3 (out of 10). 

5.1. Methodological overview

The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards achievement of the learning objectives. A wide range of teaching and learning tasks are implemented, such as lectures, teamwork, problem-solving activities and case studies, as well as the discussion of texts and papers.

5.2. Learning tasks

The course includes the following learning tasks: 

• Lectures introduce the theoretical concepts together with real examples which facilitate the comprehension and application of these concepts, encouraging student participation. These lectures will deal with the following topics:
1. Introduction to marketing
2. Introduction to the consumer's buying behaviour
3. Introduction to marketing research
4. Product-related decisions
5. Price-related decisions
6. Place-related decisions
7. Promotion-related decisions

• Problem sets, presentation of real problems and cases, elaboration and presentation of projects, discussion of current and emerging topics, essays and interactive activities. All these activities will be carried out both inside and outside the classroom, individually or in groups.
• Tutorials: the professors will supervise the projects carried out by the students, clarify their doubts about the theoretical and/or practical contents of thecourse, and propose specific tasks in which the theoretical concepts will be put into practice.
• Autonomous work: it includes the study of the theoretical and practical contents, the solving of practical exercises, the development of individual and/or group activities, and the search for and analysis of information, among others.
• Assessment.

5.3. Syllabus

The course will address the following topics:

Lectures

TOPIC 1. Introduction to Marketing and basic concepts

• 1.1. Concept of marketing
• 1.2. Basic notions in marketing
• 1.3. Marketing instruments
• 1.4. Marketing functions within the company
• 1.5. Evolution of strategic marketing orientations
• 1.6. Discussion questions

TOPIC 2. The consumer’s buying behaviour

• 2.1. The market and the consumer. Basic concepts
• 2.2. The consumer’s buying decision process
• 2.3. Drivers of the consumer’s buying behaviour
• 2.4. Market segmentation

TOPIC 3. Introduction to marketing research

• 3.1. Concept of Marketing Research. Uses and applications
• 3.2. The marketing research process
• 3.3. Classification and typology of marketing research
• 3.4. Information sources
• 3.5. Marketing research techniques

TOPIC 4. Product

• 4.1. Concept of product
• 4.2. Classification of products
• 4.3. Product-related decisions
• 4.4. Product development
• 4.5. Product life cycle
• 4.6. Product portfolio

TOPIC 5. Price

• 5.1. Price as a marketing tool
• 5.2. Drivers of pricing
• 5.3. Pricing methods
• 5.4. Pricing strategies

TOPIC 6. Place

• 6.1. The concept and functions of distribution
• 6.2. Distribution channel
• 6.3. Choice of distribution channel
• 6.4. Distribution strategies
• 6.5. Main trends in Spain

TOPIC 7. Communications

• 7.1. Concept and communications tools
• 7.2. Personal sale
• 7.3. Sales promotion
• 7.4. Public relations
• 7.5. Advertising
• 7.6. Communications strategies

Practice sessions

• Session 1. TOPIC 1 Market orientation: Aquarius case
• Session 2. TOPIC 2 Nespresso Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• Session 3. TOPIC 3 Questionnaire evaluation (I)
• Session 4. TOPIC 3 Questionnaire evaluation (II)
• Session 5. TOPIC 4 Choosing the proper brand
• Session 6. TOPIC 4 Blind tasting vs. unveiled tasting: the power of the extrinsic product attributes
• Session 7. TOPIC 5 Exercises on pricing methods (I)
• Session 8. TOPIC 5 Exercises on pricing methods (II)
• Session 9. TOPIC 6 New distribution trends in the food and agriculture industry: Franchise, Internet
• Session 10. TOPIC 6/7 Merchandising
• Session 11. TOPIC 7 Advertising styles in the good and agriculture company

5.4. Course planning and calendar

Provisional course planning

This calendar is illustrative and it may change depending on the development of the sessions and on the group needs. Nevertheless, the planning and timetable of the lectures and practical classes, as well as of the assessment activities and the delivery of the projects, will be communicated in advance via the virtual platform (ADD) of the Universidad de Zaragoza.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

The updated recommended bibliography can be consulted in: http://psfunizar7.unizar.es/br13/egAsignaturas.php?id=9692