B8679: Digital Marketing
Term: 2019 Summer Block
Dates and Times: August 5 to August 9, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Classroom: TBA
Prof. Kinshuk Jerath
Associate Professor of Marketing
521 Uris Hall
(212) 854-2294
[email protected]Instructor office hours: TBA
TA: TBD
TA office hours: TBD
Course Description
Digital marketing has become an essential component of any firm’s marketing strategy, but managers are
still grappling with this medium which is continuously evolving as well. In this course, we will develop a
systematic understanding of digital marketing by learning concepts and tools whose applicability will
endure even as specific technologies and implementation procedures change. We will conduct an in-depth
study of display advertising, search advertising and social media marketing, at both the tactical and
strategic levels. We will invest a significant amount of time on outcome and effectiveness measurement
methods and campaign evaluation metrics. Towards the end of the course, we will discuss a host of varied
topics such as mobile marketing, media planning, privacy issues and digital ad fraud.
The course will be primarily lecture and discussion based, with cases and real-world situations used to
anchor class discussions. Throughout the course, we will invoke academic papers that develop relevant
theories and subject them to rigorous scientific tests. Group assignments will reinforce, and extend,
concepts learnt in class. Finally, students will conduct (in groups) company analyses for digital marketing
companies. We will also hear from a number of industry speakers.
By the end of the course, students will gain a solid understanding of digital marketing topics, and the
knowledge to navigate (and “cut through the hyperbole” in) this yet-evolving industry. They will also
learn to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate marketing impact. Many of the learnings will be
applicable beyond digital marketing.
1
Overview
Day Topic(s) Required Readings Due that day
Introduction: Key ideas; Setting up simple
campaigns
-- Programmatic Advertising primer
Day 1 Display Advertising: Industry structure and
-- The A/B test: Inside the Technology
8/5 (M) economics; Measuring impact; Randomized -- OS 1 (7:00 AM)
that’s Changing the Rules of Business
experiments
-- Star Digital case
Guest Speaker: Alberto Brea (Executive
Director, Engagement Planning at OgilvyOne)
Search Advertising: Sponsored search;
-- SEO 101, Beginners Guide to Search
Search engine optimization; Evaluation -- OS 2 (7:00 AM)
Day 2 Engine Optimization
metrics -- Assignment 1
8/6 (Tu) -- How Much of Your Audience is Fake?
Guest Speaker: Callie Reynolds (VP of (11:30 PM)
Account Management, Moat)
Attribution
Social Media Marketing: User engagement
Day 3 -- Attribution Modeling Overview
on social networks; Social advertising -- OS 3 (7:00 AM)
8/7 (W) -- Ford Fiesta case
Guest Speaker: Tim Reis (Director,
Traditional Managed Agencies at Google)
Social Media Marketing: Online word-of-
mouth; Influencer marketing; Viral marketing
Day 4 Mobile Marketing -- Assignment 2
-- How You Can Use Geo-Location
8/8 (Th) Guest Speaker: Jon Chang (Digital Marketing (11:30 PM)
Director, Kickstarter)
Company Analysis Presentations
Advertising Budget Allocation: Marginal
returns within media; Interactions across media -- OS 4 (7:00 AM)
Day 5 Guest Speaker: Mike Brown Jr. (Partner, -- Final Company
8/9 (F) Bowery Capital) Analysis Reports
Company Analysis Presentations (6:00 PM)
Wind Up
2
Evaluation
1. Class participation and preparedness—individual (30%)
a. Attendance and in-class discussion and work—20%
b. Pre-class surveys—10%
2. Two group assignments—group* (25% each = 50%)
3. Company analysis project—group** (20%)
* Group assignment teams should ideally have three members; two and four member teams will be allowed.
It is preferred but not required that team composition be the same for both assignments.
** Two group assignment teams can join for one company analysis, therefore, company analysis teams
should ideally have six members.
Class Participation and Preparedness—Individual
Several criteria are considered when evaluating your class participation. This includes the quality and the
quantity of the class participation. High quality class participation includes comments that add to our
understanding of a situation. High quality class participation can be supported with qualitative and/or
quantitative analysis. Your comments should take into account the comments and analyses of your
classmates. Participation should move our discussion forward. Finally, you need to be present in class in
order to receive a strong class participation score. Attendance is mandatory in every session.
There will be a number of pre-class questions you are asked to answer via online surveys. These have to
be completed individually and submitted before 7:00 AM of the day of class. Many of the pre-class
questions do not have a unique answer as they depend on how one interprets and uses the data and other
information. My expectation is that you would respond thoughtfully to the questions, giving reasonable
justification for your answers. You will get full points for a good attempt.
Home Work Assignments—Group
There will be two home work assignments. The first will be on Measuring Advertising Effectiveness
Using Field Experiments and the second will be on Advertising Attribution in a Multichannel Scenario.
More details will be provided in the assignments.
3
Company Analysis Project—Group
Each group has to pick a company related to digital marketing that is a leader in its “category” and
conduct a thorough analysis of this company and its relevant landscape. Digital marketing is a high-
innovation field with many exciting companies being created regularly that provide novel solutions to
advertisers, publishers and developers. Through this project, the class will collaboratively create and share
a comprehensive collection of innovative and cutting-edge solutions provided by companies for different
aspects of digital marketing.
As an example, a group could choose the company Brandwatch, which is in the “social media listening
and analytics” category. The company analysis may address the following points:
• What is Brandwatch’s offering and what important problem does it solve for its clients?
• How would you define Brandwatch’s broader solution or technology category? How recent is the
category and what is its history? How big is this category? What is Brandwatch’s operational
footprint? Who are its competitors?
• What is unique to Brandwatch’s offering that differentiates it from other similar offerings? Was this
always Brandwatch’s offering and what is the company’s history?
• What important relevant problems does Brandwatch leave unsolved?
• What is the expected future of this company and the category?
While choosing the project, you should consider both the company as well as the category it operates in.
Below are some examples of leading companies in their respective industries that you may choose from.
Two groups cannot choose the same company although different companies in the same industry is OK.
Company Solution or Technology Category
360i Integrated digital marketing
Adroll Retargeting
Outbrain Native advertising
RocketFuel Programmatic advertising
Convertro Ad attribution
WhiteOps Ad fraud
Kargo Mobile ad serving
Yodle Local internet marketing
SEOImage Search engine optimization
Optimizely A/B testing
Hootsuite Social media management
Once you have an idea of the company that you would like to analyze, discuss with the professor (over
email or, preferably, in person) for approval and possible adjustment/advice. This should be done before
the start of the third day of the course.
Each group will make 15-minute company analysis presentations starting on Thursday and Friday.
The final deliverables for the project, due on Friday, August 9 at 6:00 PM, are the following:
1. A set of 7-10 slides addressing the above points. This can simply be your presentation slides. This
will account for 18% of the course grade.
2. ONE slide highlighting the main points of your company analysis. This will be shared with all the
students in the class. Submitting this will give you 2% of the course grade.
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