As I said in my previous post, bringing practice to theory is empowering and facilitates the learning process. Even if we won’t implement our recommendations to the marketing plan of Whole Foods Market, diving through research in their marketing strategy and trying to apply the tools learnt in class to a real concrete case was very interesting. Having a true interest in organic foods made it of course easier as well as an overall enjoyable academic experience.

From now on, all I learned in COMM 296 will probably take 3 different shapes: there will be first of all the tools that I will remember in more or less details: They create for me a broad framework of understanding of marketing matters and I include here the micro vs. macro environment analysis, the segmentation/targeting/positioning process and the 4 Ps of the marketing mix. I will try hard to remember those.

Secondly, there will be elements that I won’t remember per se but that will ring a bell whenever I will encounter in the future these notions and concepts: These might be the details under each P of the marketing mix for instance.

Finally, let’s be honest, there will certainly be things that I will completely forgot very soon. It is always difficult, at the end of a course, to realize this fact: I will forget some aspects; I should have worked harder on this or that in order to have a real understanding of that or this… but after all: isn’t it always like that and didn’t I learn a lot? I multiplied by 500% my knowledge of marketing! That’s great news! My ethical bias on marketing also evolved and I know that there are alternatives and that marketers can try to understand people’s needs to genuinely meet them.

As far as this acquisition of competences and knowledge in the long run is concerned; the Whole Foods marketing plan assignment was definitely very useful. I am also looking forward to eating organic with my team 2 partners as soon as the semester will be over! 🙂