Mindful Marketing - MKTG 499 - People and Money | College of Business and Economics

Marketing 499, or ‘People and Money’, is a discussion-based class where students learn about Price, one of the four P’s in the marketing mix. Marketing 499 is the only elective that covers the price element and is often thought of the least by students.

What is 499?

Marketing 499, or ‘People and Money’, is a discussion-based class where students learn about Price, one of the four P’s in the marketing mix. These are elements that a company uses to connect to its target customers efficiently and effectively. The four P’s are:

Price
Promotions
Product
Place

Marketing 499 is the only elective that covers the price element and is often thought of the least by students. Students will discuss topics ranging from fairness, how companies set prices, psychological behaviors that affect how consumers make purchases, auctions, and much more!

Professor Cat Armstrong Soule also guides the class through interactive thought experiments to help students grasp concepts better. She isn’t the only one to teach the class through discussions, though; students get the opportunity to lead each other in groups as well!

The Professor - Cat Armstrong Soule

Professor Cat Armstrong Soule began teaching this class almost ten years ago. She introduced this non-standard elective during her interview with the marketing department. The inspiration for the course stemmed from her passion for behavioral pricing. Since Western didn’t have a course dedicated to pricing, she took the opportunity to create this class from scratch.

In an interview, Cat stated she “wanted to have the class because [she] feel[s] like students don’t get any focus on pricing, and pricing is extremely important . . . Undergrads got basically no exposure to it.”

Every topic, reading, and project is carefully selected-- which is truly what makes this class one of a kind.

Why you should take People and Money!

‘People and Money’ provides students with a unique perspective about pricing. The class takes an approach to business from the psychological standpoint of behavioral economics and consumer behavior.

How does our evolution impact the way we act in the marketplace?

How are we manipulated as consumers in our daily lives?

How do we form judgments about value, money, and prices?

If you liked Cat’s MKTG 382 (Consumer Behavior), then you are going to love MKTG 499.

What will you get from the class?

After taking marketing 499 students will have the knowledge of pricing which is the heart of a product's profitability and also integrated price with the decision-making process of consumers. Students will also improve their presentation skills and learn to work as a team.

What do previous students of this class think?

Students have expressed their gratitude for what they learned from the class, finding both the content and the transferable skills beneficial.

One former student mentioned that they use what they learned in that class every day at their job.

Dylan Maust, another student who has taken the class, notes that this class altered his mindset toward pricing as both a consumer and a marketer.

It “changed the way [he] see[s] pricing, and has made the concept of consumer perceptions about value and price much more interesting and detailed” to him.

People and Money is a fun and engaging class lead by a passionate professor who deeply cares about the subject material and her students. If you are interested on how a consumer mind works, and how it can be affected by pricing, this is the class for you!

Fun Fact:

The number for this class (499), comes from the anchoring effect, which is a pricing strategy that companies use to make customers feel a product is cheaper. $4.99 seems a lot cheaper than $5, since customers “anchor” to the first number they see!

Resources for your success!

If you have any further questions or concerns about the people and money course you can go chat with Cat, check out the course catalogue, or marketing electives page. Also check out the Marketing Connect newsletter and Marketing Minute podcast for additional info!

Testimonial

As students, we found the feedback from Cat and other current/past students to be useful information. In Cat’s class, you can guarantee to be engaged with useful discussions, lectures, and group work each class. You learn a lot about the relationship between pricing and behavioral economics and how it affects the marketplace.