Marketing is frequently defined as “the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, and people to create exchanges that will satisfy individual and organizational goals.” It is both an art and a science.

Mathematical models and Operations Research techniques have been used in marketing for several decades. The IT computing and telecommunications revolution has made it increasingly possible to make fact-based, data-driven decisions in marketing. It has led to increasing use of techniques in marketing such as data mining and revenue management that have expanded the role of OR in marketing. Professional training in Operations Research in a marketing context can lead to interesting careers that provide opportunities for innovation and advancement. Academic and industry groups engaged in this kind of work use names such as Quantitative Marketing, Financial Engineering, Marketing Science, Data-driven Marketing, and Analytical Marketing.

Students who elect this concentration will be introduced to the essentials of marketing strategy, data mining and other techniques, and data management to support marketing decisions. In particular, at least one of the projects offered under the Applied Operations Research option will have a strong data mining and marketing component.

Students with no prior background in Operations Research and Information Engineering may require an additional summer or semester to complete the MEng program with this option. At present, this option is offered on a pilot basis.

Required Courses

As part of the overall MEng program, students in this concentration must take a three- or four-credit hour approved course in each of the following areas.

• Marketing Management (e.g., NCC 5030, NCC 5530, NBA 6220, or HADM 7410)
• Database Technology (CS 3300 or CS 4320)
• Statistical Data Mining I (ORIE 4740)
• Data-driven Marketing (NBA 6390)

Elective Courses

Additional courses related to the concentration are not required, but are offered in several units of the University including ORIE and are recommended for consideration. These include courses in topics such as marketing strategy, revenue and yield management, game theory, empirical methods in machine learning and data mining, marketing research, marketing models, marketing and e-commerce, design of manufacturing systems, and behavioral economics. Such courses may only be used as MEng electives where consistent with overall ORIE MEng requirements.

The Data-Mining and Analytical Marketing Design Project

The engineering design project for the concentration is done as the MEng project in ORIE 5980. In particular, at least one of the projects offered under the Applied Operations Research Option will have a strong data-mining and analytical marketing focus and will be designated as the design project for the Data Mining and Analytical Marketing concentration.