Spring 2015

MKTG 730 / 230 Instructor: Ron Berman

Digital Marketing and Electronic E-Mail: ronber@wharton.upenn.edu

Twitter: @marketsensei

Commerce Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday

3:00pm - 5:00pm, or by appointment

Description Prerequisites
The effect of the Internet and related technologies on business and social ! MKTG 101
institutions is more profound than that of any prior invention, including ! MKTG 611
the printing press and the internal combustion engine. Furthermore, ! MKTG 612
marketing plays a key role in shaping the modern consumption-led ! or consent of instructor
economies fueled by these technologies. MKTG 730/230 provides a
research-based and framework-driven approach to understanding digital
marketing and electronic commerce.
Over the next 10 years, I
The course is organized around three sections and utilizes relevant theory,
empirical analysis, and practical examples to develop the key learning expect many more industries
points. Guests from the entrepreneur, investor and digital communities to be disrupted by software,
participate, as appropriate. Part I presents the behavioral foundations for with new world-beating Silicon
understanding the environment in which online businesses operate, and Valley companies doing the
covers the relevant phenomena and theory from economics, marketing,
disruption in more cases than
and related fields. Part II examines online business models and institutions
including Internet retail, subscription and curated commerce, two-sided not.
markets, freemium products, collaborative consumption and so on. Part III
focuses on how digital marketing fosters online business growth. In
particular, we survey, critique, and evaluate common digital marketing Marc Andreessen, Why Software Is
methods and tactics. Eating The World, WSJ August
2011

Objective
The main goal of the course is to help participants understand and
evaluate online business models and digital marketing methods, from a
variety of perspectivesas analysts, consumers, entrepreneurs, and
investors. That is, we emphasize fundamental concepts rather than
specific tactics. We will also look at modeling approaches for executing key
marketing tactics. An ancillary goal is to establish the importance of theory
and empirical analysis as key facilitators of this process.

Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce

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 also understand how to
Goals improve conversion rates
of individual marketing
Upon completion of the course, participants will have a
campaigns, and how to
solid foundation from which to evaluate digital and
efficiently utilize email
ecommerce opportunities, and to participate in their own
marketing.

!
ventures.

Digital Marketing
Specific Learning Outcomes
and Social Media
Taking MKTG 730 / 230 will improve your familiarity with
the following subjects: You should be aware of the standard portfolio of digital
marketing tools, how to utilize them, and how to evaluate
their effectiveness.
Digital Business Models
You should understand the economics of digital
Assessment
environments and when some business models may
apply to a relevant venture, including freemium models Attendance and Participation: 10%
and building two-sided markets. Conceptual Assignment (A1): 15%
Analytical Assignments (A2, A3): 20%
Final Exam: 25%
E-commerce Business Models
Final Project (A4): 30%
You should understand the behavioral foundation of
various ecommerce business models, including Internet
Assignments are in teams of 2-3 students. Assignments
retail, subscription commerce, curated commerce, etc.
are due before class on the due date.

Online Marketing Optimization

Device Policy
You should understand how search engines work and
how this knowledge could be used to recommend how a Large(r) screens permitted for class related activity only.
site can improve its organic search rankings. You should No phones in class please.

Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce

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Detailed Schedule
Session Day Date Topic

1 Wednesday January 14 Introduction and Motivation

Monday January 19 NO CLASS MLK Day

2 Wednesday January 21 Digital Marketing Assets

3 Monday January 26 Frictionless Commerce and the Internet Law of Gravity

4 Wednesday January 28 The Long Tail

Guest: Jalak Jobanputra (Managing Partner, FuturePerfect Ventures)
5 Monday February 2
Assignment 1 Due
6 Wednesday February 4 Networks and Neighborhoods

7 Monday February 9 Case: Webvan

8 Wednesday February 11 Online-Offline Substitution

9 Monday February 16 Network Effects, Two-sided Markets and Freemium Products

10 Wednesday February 18 Guest: Roee Adler (Executive Vice President, Product Management at WeWork)

11 Monday February 23 Reputation and Reviews

12 Wednesday February 25 Curated and Subscription Commerce

13 Monday March 2 Guest: Tracey Weber (Chief Operating Officer, Gilt Groupe)
Collaborative Consumption and the Sharing Economy
14 Wednesday March 4
Assignment 2 Due
Monday March 9 NO CLASS - Spring Break

Wednesday March 11 NO CLASS - Spring Break

15 Monday March 16 New Media Models

16 Wednesday March 18 Digital Promotion Tools and Tactics

17 Monday March 23 Online Advertising

18 Wednesday March 25 Guest: Ran Harnevo (former President, AOL Video)

19 Monday March 30 Advertising Measurement and Optimization

Case: Star Digital
20 Wednesday April 1
Assignment 3 Due
21 Monday April 6 Mobile Marketing: Linking Time and Location

22 Wednesday April 8 Guest: Guy Schory (Head of Corporate New Ventures, eBay) - Tentative

23 Monday April 13 Guest: Ben Lerer (Managing Director, Lerer Hippeau Ventures)

24 Wednesday April 15 Social Network Diffusion and Contagion, Social Media Marketing

25 Monday April 20 Case: Sephora Direct

Guest: Slava Rubin (co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Indiegogo) -
26 Wednesday April 22 Tentative
Assignment 4 Due
27 Monday April 27 Project Presentations

28 Wednesday April 29 Key Learning Points Summary

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About The Guest Speakers
The guests present material that complements our discussions. They have been chosen for their expertise in particular
aspects of e-commerce and digital marketing, and for their demonstrated success as entrepreneurs or investors. All
are engaging speakers who will add a good deal to our knowledge in this space.
JALAK JOBANPUTRA is the managing Partner at
FuturePerfect Ventures. A venture capitalist with 20
years of experience, she has invested in digital media,
enterprise software, broadband infrastructure,
healthcare IT, edtech, mobile & Internet. She
spearheaded the formation of NYCSeed in 2008 - a
seed fund for early stage startups in NYC. Today she is
actively involved in education reform and social
entrepreneurship.
ROEE ADLER is the Executive Vice President of Product
Management at WeWork, where he leads the
integration of the physical and digital worlds. Prior to
WeWork Roee was the chief product officer at Soluto
(acquired by Asurion), where he ran product,
marketing and business development, and led Soluto's
launch at TechCrunch Disrupt 2010 (where Soluto won
the start-up battlefield).
TRACEY WEBER serves as the Chief Operating Officer
of Gilt, where she is responsible for many of Gilt's
operations, including Gilt City, International,
Merchandise Planning, and Customer Service, as well
as new strategic growth initiatives. Prior to Gilt, Tracey
served as the North American Head of Internet and
Mobile and Global Product at Citi, EVP Textbooks And
Digital Education for Barnes & Noble, and President,
North America, at Travelocity through Co-Founding
SITE59.COM, which was acquired by Travelocity in
2002. Prior to joining Travelocity (SITE59.COM), Ms.
Weber had a successful career in management
consulting with some of the world's premier consulting
firms, including The Boston Consulting Group and
Ernst & Young.
RAN HARNEVO is the former President of AOLs Video
division, The AOL On Network. Prior to AOL he co-
founded 5min Media, the industrys first online video
syndication platform for news, entertainment and
lifestyle, which was acquired by AOL. Ran was an early
evangelist of syndication as a means for scaling video
businesses. During his tenure at AOL, the AOL On
Network grew to become the 3rd largest video
Digital Marketing and Electronic Commerce
distribution network in the US, providing diverse
content across 14 channels, including receiving two
Emmy Nominations. Prior to starting 5min Media,
Harnevo was as a reporter and deputy editor at Tel-
Aviv Magazine.
GUY SCHORY is responsible for identifying and driving
new ventures and innovation initiatives for eBay Inc.
Previously, Guy served as the Head of Product for
RedLaser, a leading barcode-scanning mobile
application and computer vision technology acquired
by eBay in June 2010. In this position, he helped grow
RedLasers user base to over 12M downloads and to
consistently rank among the Top 100 Free apps overall
on the Apple App Store.
BEN LERER is a Managing Director at Lerer Hippeau
Ventures and co-founder & CEO of Thrillist Media
Group. Ben was among Forbes list of Most Powerful
CEOs Under 40, AdWeeks Young Influentials,
Entrepreneur Magazines Top 5 Entrepreneurs of the
Year, and Silicon Alley Insiders 100 Coolest People in
Tech. He chairs the Board of Directors for the East
River Development Alliance, a New York non-profit
organization, and is an Associate Member of the
International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences
(IADAS). Mr. Lerer is an active mentor for NYC Venture
Fellows, TechStars and E[nstitute].
SLAVA RUBIN is the CEO and co-founder of Indiegogo,
a company dedicated to revolutionizing the way that
people fund what matters to them. Prior to Indiegogo,
Slava was a strategy consultant working on behalf of
clients such as MasterCard and FedEx for over a
decade. Slava is also the founder of "Music Against
Myeloma," an annual charity event that raises funds
and awareness for cancer research. Slava represented
the crowdfunding industry at the White House during
the signing of the JOBS Act and has played a crucial
role in working with the White House and the SEC to
finalize the rules and regulations for equity
crowdfunding.
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Cases And Academic (Reference) 10. Goldfarb, A. and C. Tucker (2011), Search Engine
Advertising: Channel Substitution When Pricing Ads to
Readings Context, Management Science.

11. McKinsey and Co. (2012), Turning Buzz Into Gold.

Cases
12. Nunes, J. and X. Dreze (2006), Your Loyalty Program
1. Webvan: Groceries on the Internet (HBS Case
is Betraying You, Harvard Business Review.
500052-HCB-ENG, Revised March 25, 2003).
13. Rutz, O. and R. Bucklin (2010), From Generic to
2. Star Digital: Assessing the Effectiveness of Display
Branded: A Model of Spillover in Paid Search
Advertising (Stanford GSB Case, M347-PDF-ENG, Mar
Advertising, Journal of Marketing Research.
6, 2013).
14. Trusov, M., A Bodapati, and R. Bucklin (2010),
3. Sephora Direct: Investing in Social Media, Video, and
Determining Influential Users in Internet Social
Mobile (HBS Case 511137-PDF-ENG, June 25 2012).
Networks, Journal of Marketing Research.

Academic Readings 15. B. Skiera, N. Nabout (2012), PROSAD: A Bidding

Decision Support Engine for Profit Optimizing Search
1. Bell, D. and S. Song (2007), Neighborhood Effects and Engine Advertising, Marketing Science.
Trial on the Internet: Evidence from Online Grocery
Retailing, Quantitative Marketing and Economics.

2. Bell, D., J. Choi, and L. Lodish (2012), What Matters

Most in Internet Retailing Sloan Management Review.

3. Blum, B. and A. Goldfarb (2006), Does the Internet

Defy the Law of Gravity? Journal of International
Economics.

4. Choi, J. and D. Bell (2011), Preference Minorities and

the Internet, Journal of Marketing Research.

5. Choi, J., D. Bell, and L. Lodish (2012), Marketing and

IS-Enabled Customer Acquisition on the Internet,
Management Science.

6. Dellarocas, C. (2010), Online Reputation Systems:

How to Design One That Does What You Need, Sloan
Management Review.

7. D. Mayzlin, Y. Dover, and J. Chevalier (2012),

Promotional Reviews, Working Paper USC Marshall
School.

8. Dreze, X. and A. Bonfrer (2009), Real-Time Evaluation

of Email Campaign Performance, Marketing Science.

9. Goldfarb, A. and C. Tucker (2011), Online Display

Advertising: Targeting and Obtrusiveness, Marketing
Science.

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