This course offers a hands-on immersion in marketing consulting, guiding students through key analytical and communication practices inspired by leading consulting firms.
Our client will be Dole Company, a global market leader in fresh produce.
Throughout the semester, students will work in teams to solve one of Dole Italy’s real marketing challenges, applying structured problem-solving, focused analysis, decision-oriented thinking and senior-level communication. 

The Marketing Manager of Dole Italy will participate in four key milestones:
- Initial client briefing on a real marketing issue
- Client interviews conducted by student teams
- Mid-term progress presentations with feedback
- Final presentation and recommendations

While tackling the client challenge, students will be introduced to key consulting approaches and tools, including problem framing, issue structuring, analysis planning, synthesis, and storylining through the Pyramid Principle.
The course will also cultivate professional consulting skills—teamwork, structured communication, leadership, time management, and client interaction.
Throughout the semester, students receive feedback and evaluation at key moments of the consulting process. The external client contributes to the assessment by evaluating the clarity, relevance, and usefulness of students’ work at selected milestones, including the client interview, the draft recommendations, and the final presentation. The Professor is responsible for evaluating the rigor, structure, and quality of the analytical work and overall execution across the project.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Define and frame complex marketing problems using structured methodologies

• Prepare professional interview guides to gather insights from the client organization

• Break down multidimensional issues into manageable analytical workstreams

• Plan and execute targeted analyses that apply a first-principles approach to problem solving

• Synthesize data into clear, insight-driven findings and coherent recommendations

• Communicate solutions effectively through storylines, action titles, and the Pyramid Principle, demonstrating clarity, logic, and persuasion

• Collaborate within consulting teams, manage workflow efficiently, and interact with clients in a professional manner

Class attendance: crucial, since consulting topics and client work will be done in class.
An 80% participation rate is mandatory. After 6 unexcused absences, the student will be unable to participate in the final project, losing all the points assigned to it.

In case of an unexcused absence on the day of a graded assignment, the student will lose all the points of the assignment, unless absence is excused through a petition to the Dean's Office prior to the assessment day. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. 

Any other absence during the course will not be excused, regardless the reason.

Course Schedule (14 Weeks)

(Subject to adjustments based on client availability and project needs)

Phase 1 – Intro to the course and problem definition (Weeks 1–3)

Introduction to the course and to the marketing consulting mindset; differences between academic and consulting problem solving; structured problem definition, issue structuring, prioritization, and backward logic.
During this phase, the client presents the business challenge, strategic tensions, and expectations.

Phase 2 – Client interviewing and project focus (Weeks 4–6)

Development of interview guides; refinement of issue trees and priorities; translation of priorities into key client questions; synthesis of interview takeaways to clarify project focus.
During this phase, students conduct structured interviews with the client.

Phase 3 – Focused analyses and synthesis (Weeks 7–10)

Design and execution of focused analyses aligned with prioritized issues; selective use of marketing frameworks; interpretation of findings; synthesis of results into a coherent view of the problem and emerging recommendations.
During this phase, draft recommendations are discussed with the client for feedback on direction and relevance.

Phase 4 – Recommendations and executive communication (Weeks 11–14)

Synthesis of findings into clear, decision-oriented recommendations; introduction to executive-style communication, including pyramid logic, storylining, and action titles; preparation and delivery of a final executive presentation.
The course concludes with final presentations to the client and feedback.