Course Syllabus

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Semester & Location:

Spring 2026 - DIS Copenhagen

Type & Credits:

Elective Course - 3 credits

Major Disciplines:

Marketing, Business, Communication, Strategy

Prerequisite(s):

A minimum in basic marketing skills, e.g. an introductory course in marketing

Faculty Members:

Leif Rasmussen. Direct contact in connection with class hours or e-mail leif.rasmussen@dis.dk 

Time & Place:

Mondays and Thursdays 10:05-11:25

Classroom: F24-206

 

Course Description

The overall objective of the course is to enable students to understand a company/organization’s opportunities for growth by expanding its international sales and marketing activities. To demonstrate this understanding, the students (in groups of approx 5 persons) will produce comprehensive business plans (focusing on sales and marketing) based on real life business cases. The style of the report will be as if the students were working as consultants for the company. 

In general the course is very much focussed on experiental learning and application of marketing theories to real business.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will have acquired skills enabling them to:

  • Analyze and understand a company’s market situation with a focus on international opportunities.
  • Demonstrate how to build stronger brands and how to internationalize these brands.
  • Understand the cross-cultural challenges within international business and  communication.
  • Produce comprehensive reports (business plans) and presentations in groups, Final exam is a group presentation based on the final paper.

 

Faculty Leif Rasmussen

2008 -              CEO and owner of Trading companies

2008 -              Owner of cosultancy, Sales and Marketing Strategies

2008 -              Faculty at DIS, Copenhagen

1997 – 2008:  Member of Executive Board, Royal Unibrew

1995 – 2008:  Member/Chairman of Supervisory Boards.                                        

1987 – 1995:  Marketing Director, Danish Brewery Group

1982 – 1987:  Consultant and Account Manager, Ted Bates Advertising Agency

1982:               Cand. Merc, Copenhagen Business School

1975 – 1982:  Product Manager in retail and fast moving consumer goods

 

Readings

Textbook 1: Basic textbook  Andrew McAuley:  “International Marketing, Consuming Globally, Thinking Locally”

Textbook 2:  “Global Marketing and Advertising, Understanding Cultural Paradoxes”  by Marieke de Mooij. Selected chapters.

Also articles, presentations and company profiles will be used as part of the teaching and will be uploaded on Canvas.

 

Field Studies

The purpose of the field studies is to give students practical insights in companies to be analyzed and/or examine how companies implement marketing plans in real life.

 

Approach to Teaching

The course is focussed on application of marketing theories to real business, and students will be inspired to take part in discussions and planning of marketing strategies and operational plans. Discussions and critical thinking are key words for this course.

Lecturing: During the semester we will review key marketing concepts in an international environment. The importance of proper market analysis, research, and investigation of cultural differences will be discussed, as will the necessity of brand building, market research, market segmentation, cross border market communications, etc.

Case discussions and student presentations: Early in the course, real cases will be introduced.  This enables students to relate marketing therories and class discussions to real business. 

Group work and consultations:The remainder of the scheduled sessions will be used for group work and individual group consultations with faculty and external instructors.

 

Grading

Percent

Report and presentation of basic marketing tools (group)

20%

Written midterm exam (individual)

20%

Participation (individual)

25%

Marketing report (group)

35%

 

Academic Regulations

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due