Course

Marketing 460 Marketing Strategy (Capstone) Spring 2026

Assignment

Students are asked to role-play this scenario: They have been hired by the Starbucks Board of Directors to assess Brian Nichols’ “Back to Starbucks” turn-around strategy.

I was initially inspired by various AI/higher ed subject matter experts including Ethan Mollick, who advocated having students critique the output of AI. I then adapted and augmented that kernel idea, including NoteBookLM usage, a role-play format, and leveraging a presentation/video recording as the deliverable (vs. a traditional report).

The learning outcomes I’m focused on are:

1. Critical thinking and application of Marketing/Business strategy frameworks
2. Responsible use of AI – including quality of source information used
3. Ability to tell a cohesive story by combining qualitative and quantitative analysis

I attempt to “scaffold” the learning process during the semester. This is the second larger individual strategist assignment in the class. In the first, AI usage is not mandatory and students are allowed to pick any company to apply a SWOT analysis and one additional strategic marketing framework (such as Porter’s, Ansoff Matrix, Three Cs).

In the second assignment, AI usage is required, but with additional guardrails:

1. Requiring usage of NotebookLM.
2. Requiring an AI-generated SWOT analysis, which students critique based on their own analysis and interpretation.
3. Students add additional analysis using other frameworks covered in the class, including customer portfolio analysis and strategic metrics/KPIs.

Assignment Instructions and Rubric (PDF that opens in Google Drive)

Results

Because NotebookLM is the required AI tool, students learn how the quality of the information they put “into the notebook” impacts the quality of the output (unlike AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini where the user does not see the information sources).

Critical thinking strengths (or gaps) come out – their claims on whether they agree/disagree with the AI output illustrate whether they can back up their claims with additional evidence.

Storytelling becomes the differentiator. Because additional frameworks beyond SWOT are required, students are urged to provide an overall point-of-view in addition to checklisting basic requirements. A portion of the grading rubric addresses whether they are conveying solid verbal delivery and presence to the Board.

Requiring a 10-12 slide presentation delivered via video (as opposed to a 3-5 page report, which could easily be generated by AI) tackles the concern about AI overreliance that we’re all trying to address. (Although some students now use AI-generated slides, often they don’t effectively deliver the presentation because they didn’t generate it and they don’t catch factual errors.)  This also reinforces our course discussions about the growing importance of presentation skills in light of AI trends.

Contact

I will be adjusting this assignment for Fall 2026 and each time I teach the course based on feedback and my own continued learning. Please email me if you’d like an update.