MASTERING MPM CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

MASTERING MPM IN-COMPANY PROJECT

Participants will use the results of the MPM Self-Assessment Audit to develop a one page project proposal that will be submitted to the program's Examiner for approval. The proposal will focus on one key MPM area that could improve the organization's marketing effectiveness. Once approved, participants will fully develop a plan to implement their proposals. The project is intended to serve as a program deliverable that can be taken to the participant's organization and operationalized.

The in-company project is a central part of overall program. The project is intended to allow course participants to gain an in-depth appreciation of the issues surrounding MPM and to demonstrate this appreciation in the final project report. In addition the project affords participants an opportunity to apply and test some of the concepts and frameworks presented in the readings and webinars. MPM Certification is contingent on successfully completing the project to a level which the External Examiner deeps to demonstrate MPM compentency.

Each participant is required to produce a report on a topic of their choosing. The report should be based on MPM issues arising within the participants own firm and reflect their responses to the MPM Self Assessment Audit.

A one page overview of the project proposal should be emailed to the External Examiner for approval.

The final deliverable should be written in the style of consultancy report addressed to the company’s management. To this end it is essential that the report should have a high level of practical relevance for the firm. The report (30 pages max excluding appendices) should again be emailed to the External Examiner.

The report will typically include the following sections

1. Executive summary
2. Introduction / Aims
3. Background
4. Methodology / Approach
5. Findings
6. Analysis
7. Conclusions / Recommendations
8. Bibliography
9. Appendices

The in-company projects will be assessed on three equally weighted criteria

1. Managerial relevance.
2. Degree to which aims have been met
3. Demonstrated appreciation for the issues, challenges and best practices in MPM

As the final deliverable is to be written in the style of a consultancy report, our strong recommendation is that you should prepare the report with an internal (company) audience in mind. This will help to ensure that the report maintains managerial relevance – one of the three criteria specified above. Ideally, you should submit the report to your company management prior to submitting it to the Academic Director. However, this is not a requirement of the program.

MASTERING MPM ACADEMIC DIRECTOR

ROBERT NELSON Bob managed the CMO Council's MPM Task Force team and was a co-author of the CMO Council's landmark MPM Report. He has over 30 years of experience marketing both consumer and technology global brands, both on the company side and through his brand optimization consultancy, nelsonbranding. Bob held a variety of senior-level marketing positions with Samsonite, Memorex, Kensington, U.S. West, and Internet start-ups and has consulted with brands as diverse as Driscoll's Strawberry Associates and the Shop At Home television network to Expedia.com. He co-developed several technology global branding practices studies and also conducted research to evaluate global communication strategy effectiveness. He holds an M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University, where he also served as an adjunct advertising professor.