Align your marketing strategy with your growth
with Julie Channing
Available on demand
1-week sprint
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Welcome to the Marketing Principles Sprint
Marketing at a startup has wildly different needs than marketing at a multinational organization. We’ll teach you to shape a smart marketing strategy at every stage of growth, from establishing your brand to going global.
Module 1
Before setting the stage for marketing growth, it's important to start with strong brand foundations. This includes a unifying and unique narrative of who you are communicated through your brand's purpose, promise, and principles. These components then inform your brand's strategic whitespace, the space in which your company authentically interacts with customers and differentiates itself.
Lesson 1: Purpose, promise, and principles
By committing to a purpose, brands can stand for something bigger than simply what they sell. Focus on answering three questions - why you exist, how you make that happen, and what ideas drive your work - to determine your organization’s purpose, promise, and principles. Once set, make sure to continue delivering on your brand purpose to build authenticity.
Lesson 1 case study: Ben & Jerry’s
Ben and Jerry’s founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, created a business with the belief that ice cream can change the world. This belief has profoundly influenced how it conducts business through a linked prosperity model -- as Ben and Jerry’s succeeds, so too do all stakeholders connected to its business. The brand has used its success to take a bold stance across numerous social and environmental issues in the last three decades.
Lesson 2: Strategic whitespace
Once you’ve established your brand purpose, promise, and principles, use that information to decide where your company should play and grow - your brand’s strategic whitespace. This can be found by finding the intersection between your brand purpose, customer needs, and competitive differentiation. Leverage customer insights and identify new opportunities for growth.
Lesson 2 case study: Mailchimp
Mailchimp began as a side project of a web design agency to meet email marketing needs of small businesses. However, due to frequent requests, Mailchimp grew into the face of the company, amassed 14 million users, and was most recently acquired for $12 billion in 2021. Its success highlights the benefit of playing in a strategic whitespace at the intersection of brand purpose, customer needs, and competitive differentiation.
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Module 2
A marketing strategy's priorities depend on which of the five stages of growth it's in. Identify your organization's current stage, learn what it takes to get to the next one, and determine which of the four expansion strategies will help your firm scale thoughtfully and effectively.
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Module 3
Now that you’ve established your brand’s foundations and have priorities and strategies for growth, it’s time to move into execution! Arm yourself with a marketing roadmap and effective team to tactfully prioritize and carry out your goals.
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Module 4
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Begin measuring and tracking success metrics to understand your current progress across your team’s and company’s overall goals and objectives. This will identify areas of improvement and ensure you are on the right track towards success, regardless of your company’s stage or size. Marketing can also be one of the biggest investments on a company’s budget so there is a responsibility to spend it wisely.
Sample 1-week Sprint Calendar
Section courses are built around the tight schedules of busy, full-time professionals.
Mon
Tues
Weds
Thurs - Pre Sprint
Meet your TA and cohort
Fri - Pre Sprint
Watch a welcome video from your professor
Mon - Sprint week
Watch your day 1 lesson content
Tues - Sprint week
Watch your day 2 lesson content
Weds - Sprint week
Thurs - Sprint week
Attend a project workshop hosted by your TA
Fri - Sprint week
Mon - Post Sprint
Submit your project
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Professor and TA interaction. Our world-class professors and teaching staff are here to help you make the most of the experience.
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Lifetime network. Connect with professionals from 60+ countries and across industries to gain fresh perspective from like-minded leaders.
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High-impact project. Apply the frameworks and strategies from the sprint to a real problem at work.
