Branding is a fundamental element of competitive strategy. This course will address the strategic importance of branding, provide theories and strategies for building, leveraging, and defending strong brands, and discuss current opportunities and challenges facing brand managers. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the application of these theories and strategies in practice. The course will utilize a combination of lectures, readings, cases, and guest speakers along with direct applications of the course content in a term project. Prerequisite: MKTG 300. Fall.