Syllabus: International Baccalaureate - Individuals and societies - Business management (Standard Level)
Module: Unit 4: Marketing
Lesson: 4.2 Marketing Planning

Introduction

Unit 4.2 of the IB Business Management Standard Level syllabus focuses on Marketing Planning—a core component that brings together theory, strategy, and real-world application. Positioned within the Individuals and Societies group, this unit challenges students to apply analytical thinking and decision-making to one of the most dynamic functions within any organisation: marketing.

This content is directly aligned with the official IB curriculum, offering students a comprehensive understanding of how marketing strategies are developed, evaluated, and adapted. For teachers, SLT, and careers leads, it’s a high-leverage topic—allowing integration of commercial awareness, workplace readiness, and curriculum-linked careers learning, while contributing to Gatsby Benchmarks 4 and 5.

Key Concepts

IB students studying Marketing Planning at Standard Level will explore:

• The Marketing Plan: Understanding its components, including marketing objectives, market research, the marketing mix (4Ps/7Ps), and how these are integrated.

• Marketing Audit & SWOT Analysis: Internal and external factors affecting marketing decision-making, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

• SMART Objectives: How effective marketing objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Marketing Strategies: Differentiation between strategies focused on growth (e.g. Ansoff Matrix), segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

• Constraints and Assumptions: Recognising limitations in budgets, time, market conditions, and assumptions used in planning.

• Ethical Considerations in Marketing: Ensuring strategies are not only commercially viable but also socially responsible and sustainable.

These topics collectively equip students with a toolkit for strategic thinking and critical evaluation of how businesses approach markets in a constantly changing environment.

Real-World Relevance

Marketing Planning is one of the most visible business processes in the real world. Consider:

• Apple’s product launches, where marketing planning dictates pricing, promotion channels, and audience positioning—an excellent case study for examining market segmentation and SMART objectives.

• Greggs’ vegan product rollout, which demonstrated adaptive marketing in response to changing consumer trends and ethical considerations.

• Netflix’s global expansion, using localisation strategies based on customer data insights—linking directly to targeting and positioning content.

These examples can be integrated into classroom discussion or used as stimulus material in assessment scenarios, helping students see marketing not as theory, but as active, evolving practice.

How It’s Assessed

In the IB Business Management SL course, assessment of Unit 4.2 falls under Paper 1 and Paper 2:

• Paper 1 (based on a pre-seen case study) may ask students to apply marketing planning frameworks to suggest improvements or evaluate strategy.

• Paper 2 Section C offers extended response questions requiring evaluation, justification, and recommendation—often using command terms like:

  • Evaluate

  • Recommend

  • Justify

  • Examine

  • Analyse

Students are expected to apply tools like SWOT, Ansoff Matrix, and SMART objective criteria within a given context. Supporting arguments with real-world examples is highly recommended for top-band answers.

Enterprise Skills Integration

Marketing Planning is a natural platform for building commercial awareness, problem-solving, and decision-making skills—three pillars of workplace readiness. This unit supports:

• Strategic Thinking: Through the formulation and evaluation of SMART objectives.

• Data Analysis and Interpretation: Using market research to inform decisions.

• Creative Problem-Solving: Addressing constraints with limited resources.

• Ethical Decision-Making: Evaluating marketing from social and sustainability lenses.

Skills Hub Futures and Business Simulations can reinforce these skills through live challenges—such as launching a product in a competitive virtual market—where students face real consequences and must defend their marketing strategy decisions.

Careers Links

Marketing Planning aligns directly with several Gatsby Benchmarks:

• Benchmark 4 – Linking curriculum to careers: Through live marketing challenges, students see how theory informs decisions made in roles like Product Manager, Marketing Analyst, and Brand Executive.

• Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers: Platforms like Skills Hub Futures embed real company case studies and employer feedback into marketing simulations.

• Benchmark 6 – Experiences of workplaces: Marketing projects simulate professional decisions in real-time environments.

Relevant career pathways include:

• Marketing and Advertising

• Market Research and Consumer Insights

• Product Management

• Digital Marketing Strategy

Students gain exposure to commercial language, tools, and decisions used in these fields—preparing them for future interviews or internships with authentic confidence.

Teaching Notes

Suggested Teaching Approaches:

• Case-Based Learning: Use case studies (e.g. Coca-Cola’s global vs local strategies) to spark discussion and apply marketing theory.

• Simulation Activities: Tools like Enterprise Skills’ Business Simulations provide real-time, decision-based learning aligned with syllabus content.

• SWOT Workshops: Have students conduct audits of fictional or real businesses, encouraging them to justify conclusions with data.

Common Pitfalls:

• Students often conflate marketing strategy with promotional activity only—ensure they understand the full scope including product, place, and pricing.

• Over-reliance on generic answers (“increase sales”) without SMART objective framing—model this explicitly.

• Failure to reference or evaluate constraints—ensure students consider budget, time, and market limitations in their responses.

Extension Ideas:

• Link marketing planning to other IB topics like finance (budget allocation) or operations (product lifecycle).

• Ask students to redesign a marketing plan using a sustainability-first approach.

• Invite a guest speaker from local industry or use employer videos embedded in Skills Hub Futures for direct employer engagement.