RSM250 Principles of Marketing Study Guide: STP, the 4 Ps and the Cases
Practice RSM250 on Rottly with exam-style questions and explanations.
See RSM250What RSM250 is
The calendar describes RSM250 as an introduction to the basic concepts, theories and methods of contemporary marketing, built around a framework for developing marketing efforts and creating a marketing plan. The topics named are market research, consumer behaviour, segmentation, product policy, pricing, distribution, communications, sales and direct marketing. It is normally taken in first year and is not eligible for CR/NCR.
How it is graded in Fall 2026
From the published Fall 2026 outline (LEC0101 and LEC0201): class participation and attendance 15%, Dynamic Study Modules assignments 10%, research requirement 3%, case group presentation 10%, case group report 17%, and a final term exam worth 40%. These add to 95%; the outline's schedule covers the rest, and your section's syllabus is the authority.
The thing to notice: 42% of the course is participation plus the group case, and none of that can be crammed. The final exam is 40%, the same weight as in RSM219 and RSM100.
Week by week
Week 1: Introduction to marketing. What marketing is and is not, the marketing concept, value and exchange.
Week 2: Value creation, market research and consumer behaviour. Primary versus secondary research, the consumer decision process, and the psychological and social influences on it. Expect definitional questions and "which stage is this" scenarios.
Week 3: Segmentation, targeting and positioning. STP is the spine of the course. Bases for segmentation (demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioural), criteria for a good segment, targeting strategies, and positioning statements and maps. If one topic is guaranteed on the final, it is this one.
Week 4: Products. Product levels, the product life cycle, and new product development.
Week 5: Brands. Brand equity, brand elements, extensions, and the risks of stretching a brand.
Week 6: Marketing communications. The promotion mix, push versus pull, integrated marketing communications, and how to set a communications budget.
Week 7: Case: Bose. The first case. Read it twice, once for facts and once for the decision the case is really asking about.
Week 8: Channel distribution. Channel structure, intermediaries, intensive versus selective versus exclusive distribution, channel conflict.
Week 9: Pricing. Cost-based, value-based and competition-based pricing, price elasticity, skimming versus penetration, and psychological pricing.
Weeks 10 and 11: Cases: Ikea and Glossier. Two more cases, both about how a brand's positioning and channels reinforce each other.
Week 12: Group presentations. The case group presentation and report are due in the final exam period per the Fall 2026 outline; the presentation week is when the frameworks have to come together.
How to prepare
1. Learn the frameworks as tools, not lists. The final rewards applying STP or the 4 Ps to a scenario you have not seen. Rottly's RSM250 quizzes are built that way: a short situation, then the question.
2. Show up and speak. Participation is 15% and attendance is part of it. One considered comment per class is enough; silence costs more than a wrong answer.
3. Do the Dynamic Study Modules on time. They are 10% for doing the reading, and they are the closest thing to a weekly quiz the course has.
4. Treat the cases as exam prep. Bose, Ikea and Glossier are chosen because each illustrates the frameworks from the weeks around it. Summarize each case in one page using STP and the 4 Ps, and you have most of your final review done.
5. Flashcards for the vocabulary. Marketing has a lot of named concepts (brand equity, channel conflict, penetration pricing) that are easy to half-know. Rottly's decks for each module cover them.
AI in RSM250
The Fall 2026 outline states that students may not use AI tools for taking tests, writing research papers, creating computer code, or completing major course assignments, and adds that the tools may be useful when gathering information from across sources. Read the full policy on the outline before using anything for the case report.