Charities such as the Red Cross, Amnesty International, or Greenpeace are some of the most widely recognized organizations in the world. However, charity organizations often have fewer resources, personnel, and marketing budgets than their consumer-goods counterparts and thus need to be more creative to generate awareness for their campaigns, attract new donors, and retain existing ones. The aim of the course is to learn more about the challenges associated with the marketing of charity organizations that aim to further social causes.

The course examines the underlying fundamental principles and methods of strategic marketing in the charity sector, and will introduce students to marketing as a pervasive societal activity that goes beyond the selling of commercial products and services but communicating the mission and purpose of charity organizations. The course is structured as an empirical research seminar in which students will be actively be part of a research project that is carried out in collaboration with an Austrian charity. Within the course, students will also acquire insights, knowledge, and skills regarding experimental research design and the analysis of longitudinal experimental data sets.

After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• understand the challenges and complexities associated with the marketing function in charity organizations.
• formulate communication strategies for charity organizations and discuss how these communications can be amplified by integrating donors and using social media.
• discuss how charity organizations can increase transparency and overcome consumer skepticism.
• design and execute an experimental research study to test and compare the effectiveness of different donation appeals.
• analyze experimental data in order to draw implications for charity organizations.

Attendance during the course is compulsory (min. 80% to pass).

Please note that this course is a project-based course and therefore will not require all of the currently announced dates in the syllabus. We have a roadmap for the first 4-5 sessions and will then turn to a more flexible scheduling that matches the demands of the research projects at hand.

The course follows a research-based teaching and learning approach. Throughout the course, students are actively involved in a current research project that is conducted in collaboration with an Austrian-based charity organization. The project-based character of the course enables students to take agency for developing new ideas and generating knowledge through hands on experience. The supervisors guide through this process by providing tightly focused theoretical inputs, expertise on experimental research design, and knowledge on appropriate tools and approaches for data analysis. The sessions are highly interactive and facilitate critical discussions and problem-solving capabilities.

To complement this research-based learning approach with a practical perspective, the course further features two guest speakers who will give additional insights into the challenges associated with marketing in different charity domains. Moreover, it is planned to do an excursion in which we will experience charity work live in the field.

Grading will be based on the following criteria:

• In-class participation (10%)
• Literature quiz (20%)
• Research project: Interim presentation (30%)
• Research project: Final presentation (40%)

In-class participation and the literature quiz are graded at the individual-level. The research project is graded at the group-level. Nevertheless, we will use a peer evaluation and feedback to assess each group member’s individual contribution.

This course is part of the portfolio of elective courses of the Master of Science in Marketing program at WU. The course imparts in-depth knowledge in one or multiple selected specialized fields of marketing. The course builds on a strong foundation in marketing knowledge and skills which students acquire during the first year of WU's MSc Marketing program (this first year comprises 62.5 ECTS credits in total).

For MSc Marketing students, the successful completion of the following courses is a prerequisite for the admission to this elective course:

• Customer-Centric Management (7.5 ECTS)
• Consumer and Buyer Behavior (5 ECTS)
• Marketing Research Design and Analysis (7.5 ECTS)

Additionally, MSc Marketing students are prepared for this elective course by taking courses in the following fields during their first year:

• Global Marketing Strategy (5 ECTS)
• Marketing Communications (7.5 ECTS)
• New Product Development and Brand Management (7.5 ECTS)
• Marketing Engineering and Marketing Models (5 ECTS)
• Marketing Metrics and Performance Measurement (5 ECTS)

Moreover, this elective course builds on 45 ECTS credits in business administration which students had completed in order to be admitted to WU's MSc Marketing program.

If you have any further questions regarding the course content or organization, feel free to contact us anytime. During the course, we will also be available for questions in the classroom after each session. If you have any questions upfront, please write to pascal.guentuerkuen@wu.ac.at