Course 2024-2025 a.y.

Topics include some or all of the following:

·         Evolutionary foundation of consumer behavior.

·         Neuromarketing.

·         Emotion.

·         Attention.

·         Sensory marketing.

·         Memory.

·         Language.

·         Brand personality.

·         Social and personal influences.

·         Advertising.

• Define relevant psychological constructs and effects.
• Describe contemporary models of consumer behavior.
• Recognize psychological influences on marketing performance.

• Apply relevant psychological constructs and effects in specific contexts
• Apply contemporary models of consumer behavior to design or improve marketing campaigns, especially to components that are related to memory, attention, language, logo design, visual and auditory branding, as well as person-based branding.
• Evaluate existing marketing campaigns and assess to what degree they successfully apply contemporary models of consumer behavior 

• Lectures
• Practical Exercises
• Individual works / Assignments
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

The learning experience of this course includes, in addition to face-to-face lectures, individual assignments in form of assigned readings throughout the semester, and for each one, students submit a brief (1-page) summary of the reading. These individual assignments are aimed at improving students learning and comprehension of academic articles and contemporary consumer behavior theories. In the group project, students form small groups, and work on a company of their choice. Specifically, they evaluate the existing marketing campaign of that compny (.i.e., logo, auditory and visual branding, advertisements, product packaging, spokepersons and influenncers, digital marketing, ect-.) and propose potential improvements to the companies marketing campaign. Finally, we will do a parctical in-class branding exercise by running a small scale experiment in class to assess the power of branding for food products.

10% discussion sheets: There are 5 readings throughout the semester designated “DS”, for Discussion Sheet. For all 5 of these readings you must submit a brief report (DS) of your reflections on the reading and any questions that arose from the reading. Discussion sheets must be submitted, using the provided form, via the course website at least one hour prior to the class for which it is assigned. No exceptions will be made. Your completion of each DS will be rewarded on a pass/fail basis, and the number of DSs that you complete successfully will determine your grade on this component of the course.

40% group presentation: Students will form small groups, and will give an in-class group presentation on a selected topic. The group presentation allows students to present their group project in which they showcase their understanding and application of contemporary models of consumer behavior to design or improve marketing campaigns.

50% final exam: A 40 minutes written exam will consist of 30 multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, diagram, and short-answer questions on the materials covered in class. The multiple-choice questions are mainly aimed at testing the learning of the concepts, methods and tools illustrated in the course material and their correct understanding.

100% final written exam (same as attending students): A 1-hour written exam consisting of 60 multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, diagram, and short-answer questions on the textbook. The multiple-choice questions are mainly aimed at testing the learning of the concepts, methods and tools illustrated in the textbook and their correct understanding.

Course slides posted on Blackboard, plus the readings that are the basis for the discussion sheets (DS1 to DS5):

DS1    Blake, A. B., Nazarian, M., & Castel, A. D. (2015). The Apple of the mind’s eye: Everyday attention, metamemory, and reconstructive memory for the Apple logo. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68, 858-865.

DS2    Dass, M., Kohli, C., Kumar, P., & Thomas, S. (2014). A study of the antecedents of slogan liking. Journal of Business Research, 67(12), 2504-2511.

DS3    Kohli, C., & Suri, R. (2002). Creating effective logos: Insights from theory and practice. Business Horizons, 45(3), 58-64.

DS4    Peck, J., & Childers, T. L. (2006). If I touch it I have to have it: Individual and environmental influences on impulse purchasing. Journal of Business Research, 59, 765-769.

DS5    Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(3), 472-482.

Babin, B. J., & Harris, E. (2018). CB (8th Edition). Cengage Learning.