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Carthage College: Consumer Behavior and Sales Force Management
January 2008
Completed teaching 2 subjects for the Accelerated Carthage Education (ACE) Program in Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The 2 subjects were: Sales Force Management and Consumer Behavior (and how it is used for Marketing Strategy Decisions.) Over-all the subjects involved 20 hours of in-class lectures, tests & videos and up to 100 hours of assignments, projects and cases. By the end of the classes, students had a better understanding of the role, importance and challenges of understanding consumers, designing effective marketing strategies and implementing successful sales programs that drive revenue, win market share and create profit in today's highly competitive business environment. Students who attended the course were highly-motivated professionals pursuing college degrees at night while working full-time day jobs with companies like Abbott Laboratories, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, Baxter, Hospira and Kenosha News.
Many thanks to Carthage School of Professional Studies staff for their excellent support which made the classes possible: Jason Ottman (Coordinator, tel 262 551 5795), Diane Keller (Director) and my mentor Rudy Ramos (Adjunct Professor, cell 262 880 9526).
Carthage Adult Education offers "the degree you need for the life you want."
13 years and 1200 "branded" students at Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo de Manila University, the country's leading Jesuit university, was where 1,200 students discovered and developed their personal brands (brands with their name on it) in a "required core curriculum" class called Marketing Management.
Ateneo was where I had the unique opportunity to leverage my full-time marketing profession during the day to enhance my teaching of marketing management at night for 3 years (1994 to 1997) at the Loyola Campus and at the Center for Continuing Education and for 10 years at the Graduate School of Business (1997 to 2007). I was offered this opportunity after successfully completing my own MBA degree at the Ateneo using the older, longer, thesis-based program from 1990 - 1994.
A key message of the marketing management course was that basic marketing principles can and must be applied to improve the brand positioning of the students- in their families, in their careers, now,and in the future. The students, regardless of their background or career plans, were really brand managers of their own personal brands. In order to be leading and profitable brands, they have to be able to position themselves to address the needs, wants and expectations of their primary target markets at home and at work better than competition.
Hopefully some of the students still remember some useful things from being part of the class: making an inspiring 20 year personal brand plan, 7 x 7 power points, personal brand launching and positioning, the i love marketing visual model, the case studies based on popular movies, and perhaps for many students- the many assignments and tests.
I too had a 20 year personal brand marketing plan to implement. The tactical execution of the plan changed when a unique opportunity presented itself that brought me and my family 10,000 miles around the world to the United States in July 2007. One of the most noticeable changes was in the US brand name to Joseph (from the common Filipino name "Bong" which unfortunately is more generally known to refer to a drug paraphernalia in the US) But the over-all strategy and the guiding vision and mission remains.
After 13 years, 43 classes and 1,200 students- my Ateneo door temporarily closed but a new one has opened.
