Taking Marketing Digital

To help you create effective digital marketing strategies, Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education offers Taking Marketing Digital. By exploring social networking, mobile marketing, online communities, viral marketing, wikis, and blogs, you will learn how to build brands in a highly networked world.

What You Can Expect

Through dynamic lectures, case studies, and small group discussions, you will gain exposure to the latest techniques and tools for improving your organization's interactive marketing and brand-building efforts. You will return to your organization well positioned to implement digital strategies that deliver measurable results.

Your Course of Study

HBS faculty members specifically structured the curriculum to help executives understand the current trends and best practices in digital marketing. In this highly focused program, you will learn how to leverage these innovative strategies in order to gain competitive advantage for your organization.

Who Is Right for the Program

This leadership training program is designed for senior marketing executives responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategy in midsize-to-large product and service companies.

What You Can Expect

Improving Your Organization's Performance

In an industry marked by media fragmentation and proliferating channels, companies must embrace new media and fresh ideas to keep pace with the rapidly changing media habits of today's savvy consumers. However, navigating a vast array of media channels and options can present formidable obstacles for even the most experienced marketers.

To help business leaders meet these challenges, this program presents groundbreaking research and pioneering techniques in digital marketing. By exploring an array of timely topics—among them social media, multichannel strategies, real-time research, managing personal information, list valuation, and productivity measurement—you will strengthen your ability to develop successful interactive marketing and branding strategies for your organization.

Taking Your Skills to the Next Level

As you engage in a multifaceted curriculum that incorporates case studies, group discussion, and team activities, you will enhance your ability to:

"Taking Marketing Digital was a powerful and rewarding experience with threefold value. The professors and cases helped me see my challenges in new ways. With so much great content, I could give my team a comprehensive overview of how digital developments will affect our marketing. And I met people from around the world who face similar issues, giving me valuable contacts for the future."
Sue Chernoff [Partner and EVP of Marketing], Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., U.S.

Your Course of Study

The curriculum is designed to tackle the critical issues facing organizations that seek to harness the power of digital marketing. Through classroom discussions, real-world case studies, team-based activities, and web-based tools, you will focus on two key and interrelated disciplines: skill building and strategy development.

In this carefully structured leadership training program, you will:

Acquire the Knowledge and Skills to Enhance Interactive Marketing Efforts

Develop Measurable and Actionable Digital Marketing and Web Branding Strategies

"I came to the program to get the HBS faculty's perspective on the current state and evolution of digital marketing. Not only did I come away with a deeper global understanding, but I also learned how participants from other regions approach the same challenges. Now I'm better able to develop media and communication opportunities for our clients, and business opportunities for our company."
Winnie Chan [Managing Partner, Business Development–North Asia], MediaCom, China

Who Is Right for the Program

Designed for senior marketing executives in product and service companies, this program is highly beneficial for individuals who are responsible for the firm's marketing strategy.

Typical titles include:

"The teachers are excellent, the methodology is great—and the possibility of expanding your network by meeting smart people from all over the world is priceless. My main objective was to have a better understanding of new trends in digital online marketing. Now I can be a better leader as I guide my team on best-of-class online marketing."
Milton Beck [Director – Retail and Entertainment] Microsoft, Brazil

Meet the Program Faculty

Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Taking Marketing Digital is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors. Our faculty members are widely recognized for being skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.

Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.

Bharat N. Anand, Henry R. Byers Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Strategy Unit; and faculty cochair of "Effective Strategies for Media Companies: Leading Strategic Renewal."

John A. Deighton, Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Marketing Unit; and faculty chair of "Taking Marketing Digital" and "Marketing Strategies for Profitable Growth—China."

Benjamin G. Edelman, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Negotiation, Organizations and Markets Unit.

Anita Elberse, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Marketing Unit.

Sunil Gupta, Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration. Head of the Marketing Unit.

Karim R. Lakhani, Assistant Professor of Business Administration and Richard Hodgson Fellow. Member of the Technology and Operations Management Unit.

Mikołaj Jan Piskorski, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Richard Hodgson Fellow. Member of the Strategy Unit.

"The teachers are excellent, the methodology is great—and the possibility of expanding your network by meeting smart people from all over the world is priceless. My main objective was to have a better understanding of new trends in digital online marketing. Now I can be a better leader as I guide my team on best-of-class online marketing."
Milton Beck [Director - Retail and Entertainment], Microsoft, Brazil

Admissions

Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.

Fees, Payments, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.

No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.

If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

Requirements

Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.

HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.

Language Proficiency

We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.

Application Process

Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.

To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.

If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.

If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.

Complete Your Application

Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.

Meet the Deadlines

We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.

Notification of Acceptance

We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.

The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.

Need help?

For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).