Course · Marketing Fundamentals
Reach the right people
0.1 / What it's about
Good design knows what it is working for.
Marketing Fundamentals shows how offerings are designed for people and brought to them: from the target audience and the customer journey through to channels and metrics. The course is intended for designers and creators who want to substantiate their work strategically.
As a running example, Rheinrad features throughout the course: a small bicycle workshop in Kleinbasel that is launching a service subscription for commuters.
Key questions of the course:
QUESTION 1
Who am I actually designing for?
QUESTION 2
How do people go from first contact to purchase?
QUESTION 3
What makes an offer irresistible?
QUESTION 4
How do I know if my design is effective?
Course framework:
TARGET AUDIENCE
Designers
Apprentices in graphic design, prepress and media, freelance professionals, and anyone who creates communications.
SCOPE
6 × 90 mins
Plus final project; each module can also be used individually.
Format
Hands-on
Brief input, tools, and practice on your own project.
REFERENCE
Cross-references
Connections to brand strategy, design psychology, and UX & UI design (Module B, Flows).
0.2 / Learning objectives
After the course, you will be able to justify design decisions with goals.
After the course, you will be able to:
0.3 / Course content
All modules and sections at a glance.
Six modules, each with a core question and a tool. Click on a module or directly on a section.
MODULE 01
What is marketing, and what is it not?
MODULE 02
Who is this offer for?
MODULE 03
What journey does someone take before making a recommendation?
MODULE 04
Why this particular offer?
MODULE 05
Where do we reach whom, and when?
MODULE 06
How do we know if it is working?
0.4 / Procedure per module
Each module follows the same structure.
The rhythm stays the same, the content changes:
01
Introduction (10 mins)
A question or issue from everyday project life.
02
Input (20 mins)
Basics and best practices.
03
Tool (15 mins)
Explore the topic in the interactive tool.
04
Exercise (35 mins)
Application to your own project.
05
Reflection (10 mins)
What are you adopting into your workflow?
In each section, you will find a key takeaway in bold with a lightning bolt icon, an exercise behind the blue button, a read-aloud function, and, on many cards, examples behind the lightbulb icon.
0.5 / Record of achievement
In the end, you have a one-page marketing plan.
Final project: a one-page marketing concept for a real or fictional offer, featuring a designed creative asset as an example.
01
Understand
Need and marketing mix of the offering.
02
Target audience
Segment, persona and job to be done.
03
Journey
Touchpoints, emotional journey, and lowest point.
04
Promise
Positioning statement, headline and channel plan.
05
Trade fairs
SMART goal, metric and a planned test.
Evaluation criteria: clear target audience, plausible journey, concise value proposition, coherent channel mix, measurable objective and a creative execution that brings it all to life.
0.6 / Literature and Sources
Good marketing has foundations.
• Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (1980): Principles of Marketing
• Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. & Opresnik, M. O. (2015): Marketing Management
• Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G. & Smith, A. (2014): Value Proposition Design
• Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K. & Duncan, D. S. (2016): Competing Against Luck
• Sharp, B. (2010): How Brands Grow
• Kalbach, J. (2016): Mapping Experiences
• Ries, E. (2011): The Lean Startup
Please note: The years indicate the first edition; many titles are available in newer editions and in German.