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ICA 3-2: IN-CLASS ACTIVITY
Competitive Intelligence15
Learning Objectives. To have students (1) learn about what competitive intelligence is
and is not in order to benefit from this practice and (2) identify possible sources of information to
use when gathering, analyzing, and acting on competitive intelligence.
Nature of the Activity. To have student teams (1) compare and contrast what
competitive intelligence is and is not in order to benefit from this practice and (2) assess two
scenarios to determine what competitive intelligence should be gathered.
Definition. The following marketing term is referred to in this in-class activity (ICA):
• Competitive Intelligence: According to Fuld & Company, “This phrase refers to
legally and ethically collected information on a rival that has been analyzed to the
point where you can make a decision.”
Estimated Class Time and Teaching Suggestions. About 25 minutes, taught in class in
4-person teams.
• 5 minutes to explain the nature of this ICA and distribute the competitive intelligence
handouts to student teams.
• OPTIONAL: 10 minutes having students discuss two competitive intelligence-
gathering scenarios.
• 10 minutes to present summaries by student teams during the subsequent class period.
Materials Needed.
• Copies for each student, either in hard copy or electronically, of the:
– “Competitive Intelligence” handout.
– “Competitive Intelligence Brief” handout.
Steps to Teach this ICA.
1. Form students into four-person teams.
2. Pass out copies of the “Competitive Intelligence” Handout and the “Competitive
Intelligence Brief” Handout to each student.
3. Give the following mini-lecture about competitive intelligence:
15 The authors wish to thank Leonard Fuld, President of Fuld & Co. who assisted in the development of this ICA.
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“Competitive intelligence involves the legal and ethical collection of information about
an organization’s competitors. This activity is a critical part of an environmental scan
that an organization performs when developing or evaluating its corporate and
marketing strategies. After this information has been collected, marketers analyze it so
that they can make decisions to improve the effectiveness of these strategies. It is this
analysis that leads to ‘intelligence.’”
4. Assign each student team two descriptions and two misconceptions of competitive
intelligence.
5. Show Slide 3-51. Have the student teams perform these tasks:
a. Read the two assigned descriptions and misconceptions of intelligence from the
Competitive Intelligence Handout.16
6. Select one student from 2 or 3 student teams to give a brief report on the competitive
intelligence issues they summarized.
7. OPTIONAL: Have students respond to the following competitive intelligence
gathering scenarios. For each situation, read the description, ask 2 to 3 students what
competitive intelligence they would need, and then read the answer developed by
Fuld & Company.17
a. Scenario 1: New product rumor. Your best sources have heard a new product is
under development by a competitor. To protect your market share, you need to be
proactive. What kinds of competitive intelligence would you need to gather
quickly to act on the rumor?
Answer: The kinds of competitive intelligence you will need to gather include:
– Rumor verification – Price points
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b. Scenario 2: New competitor in your market. A new player has entered your
turf. It could be an entrepreneurial start-up firm, a joint venture between
companies in other industries, or a newly created division of a large
conglomerate. Whatever form this new competitor takes, your must learn how its
presence in the market will affect your organization. What kinds of competitive
intelligence would you need to gather quickly to respond to the new competitor?
Answer: The kinds of competitive intelligence you will need to gather include:
– Products/services: How do they compare to your own (features, value, etc.)?
– Short- and long-range goals
Marketing Lessons. While some people may object to competitive intelligence
gathering as the ethical equivalent of spying (the latter being both unethical and illegal),
organizations can and should use ethical means to gather, analyze, and act on information about
their competition. Who is responsible for the environmental scanning of competitive forces?
Usually mid-level managers, particularly those in the market research area. However, all line
and staff personnel should value its importance if not directly involved in its application.
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COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE HANDOUT (1)18
Business people misunderstand what competitive intelligence is and what it is not. Below are ten
descriptions and ten misconceptions of what intelligence is.
Competitive Intelligence Is…
Competitive Intelligence Is Not…
Information that has been analyzed to the
point where you can make a decision. The
Spying. Spying implies illegal or unethical
activities. While spying does occur, it is rare.
A tool to alert management to early warning of
both threats and opportunities. Given that
major industry changes can appear overnight,
A crystal ball. While intelligence does give
corporations good approximations of reality, both
near– and long-term, it does not predict the future.
A means to deliver reasonable assessments.
Competitive intelligence offers approximations
and best views of the market and the competition
available at the time.
Database search. Databases do not massage or
analyze the data. Humans do by examining the
data and applying their common sense,
experience, analytical tools, and intuition to make
decisions.
people. A research scientist sees it as a heads-up
deliverer of intelligence. You can find hints at
Comes in many flavors. Competitive
intelligence can mean many things to many
The Internet or rumor chasing. The Internet is
primarily a communications vehicle, not a
A way for companies to improve their bottom
line. Many firms have increased their revenues
and profits as a result of the decisions made
Paper. Paper is the death of good intelligence.
Think face-to–face discussion or a quick phone
call rather than paper delivery. Never equate
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COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE HANDOUT (2)
Competitive Intelligence Is…
Competitive Intelligence Is Not…
A way of life, a process. If a company uses
CI correctly, it becomes a way of life for
everyone in the corporation—not just the
strategic planning or marketing staff.
A job for one, smart person. One person
cannot do it all. At best, a CI coordinator
keeps management informed and ensures that
others in the organization become trained in
ways to apply this tool.
Directed from the executive suite. The
best-in-class intelligence efforts receive their
direction and impetus from the CEO. While
the CEO may not run the program, he/she
dedicates budget and personnel. More
importantly, the CEO promotes its use.
Software. Software does not in and of itself
yield intelligence. Data warehousing and
data mining software packages can, in some
cases, analyze data. However, true analysis is
a process that involves people reviewing the
information and making strategic decisions.
Seeing outside the organization.
Companies that successfully apply
A news story. Newspaper or television
reports are very broad and not timely enough
Both short- and long-term. A company can
A spreadsheet. “If it’s not a number, it’s not
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COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE BRIEF HANDOUT
Names: _____________________________________________________
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Connect Application Exercises
Application Exercise 1: Economic Forces
Activity Summary: This click and drag activity helps student understand the differences
between gross income, disposable income, and discretionary income. Each of the dragable items
(pre-taxes, spent on needs, taxes change, post-taxes, spent on luxuries, after needs, and savings)
provides the student with a mouse-over hint to help the student properly classify the
characteristic.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Economic Environment
Learning Objective: LO 03-03 Discuss how economic forces such as macroeconomic
conditions and consumer income affect marketing.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: This activity provides a perfect starting point for a discussion on personal
finance and financial responsibility. Provide students with a list of typical starting salaries for
Application Exercise 2: Scanning the Marketing Environment
Activity Summary: This click and drag activity addresses the concept of environmental
scanning by asking students to classify trends into the appropriate category. Social, economic,
technological, competitive, and regulatory trends are presented to students for classification.
Wide-ranging trends from increased diversity to barriers to entry are included with pop-up hints
for each of the trends to aid students in classification.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Macroenvironment
Learning Objectives: LO 03-01 Explain how environmental scanning provides information
about social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory forces.
LO 03-02 Describe how social forces such as demographics and culture
can have an impact on marketing strategy.
LO 03-03 Discuss how economic forces such as macroeconomic
conditions and consumer income affect marketing.
LO 03-04 Describe how technological changes can affect marketing.
LO 03-05 Discuss the forms of competition that exist in a market and the
key components of competition.
LO 03-06 Explain the major legislation that ensures competition and
regulates the elements of the marketing mix.
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AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could challenge students to identify a trend currently occurring
in the marketplace that is not addressed in the textbook. After each student has identified a trend
Application Exercise 3: Geek Squad Video Case
Activity Summary: In this 8-minute video case, the impact of technological change and the
evolution of Geek Squad is explored. The television evening news program-style case explains
how the Geek Squad business began and how it creates value from the perspective of its founder.
Follow-up questions are presented to the student covering topics including macroenvironmental
forces and value creation.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Demographic Environment, Social-cultural Environment, Technological Environment
Learning Objectives: LO 03-02 Describe how social forces such as demographics and culture
can have an impact on marketing strategy.
LO 03-04 Describe how technological changes can affect marketing.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors can use the Geek Squad case to discuss how the changing
technological factors affect the general cohorts differentially. Begin the activity by creating a list
Application Exercise 4: iSeeit! Video Case: Macroenvironmental Scanning
Activity Summary: In this straightforward whiteboard animation video, macroenvironmental
factors are introduced using Hope Springs bottled water. After watching the 3-minute video,
students are asked five follow-up questions related to social, economic, technological,
competitive, and regulatory factors.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Macroenvironment, Economic Environment, Technological Environment, Competitive
Environment, Political and Legal Environment
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Learning Objectives: LO 03-01 Explain how environmental scanning provides information
about social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory forces.
LO 03-02 Describe how social forces such as demographics and culture
can have an impact on marketing strategy.
LO 03-03 Discuss how economic forces such as macroeconomic
conditions and consumer income affect marketing.
LO 03-04 Describe how technological changes can affect marketing.
LO 03-05 Discuss the forms of competition that exist in a market and the
key components of competition.
LO 03-06 Explain the major legislation that ensures competition and
regulates the elements of the marketing mix.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 1 Easy
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors can follow up this introductory video with a quick Jeopardy-
style game which could easily be created with questions from the Kerin test bank. The
Application Exercise 5: Performing an Environmental Scan of Today’s Marketplace
Activity Summary: In this click and drag activity, students drag ten macroenvironmental factors
to their corresponding macroenvironmental force category (social, economic, technological,
competitive, or regulatory). Examples of the draggable items included in this activity include
trends such as firms using drones to deliver packages, the increasing number of millennials in the
workforce, enhanced regulation of the ATV category, and the use of autonomous bots in
construction.
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Macroenvironment
Learning Objectives: LO 03-01 Explain how environmental scanning provides information
about social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory forces.
LO 03-02 Describe how social forces such as demographics and culture
can have an impact on marketing strategy.
LO 03-03 Discuss how economic forces such as macroeconomic
conditions and consumer income affect marketing.
LO 03-04 Describe how technological changes can affect marketing.
LO 03-05 Discuss the forms of competition that exist in a market and the
key components of competition.
LO 03-06 Explain the major legislation that ensures competition and
regulates the elements of the marketing mix.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Analyze
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Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors can follow up on the topic of macroenvironmental factors with
a discussion about where firms would likely locate the information to complete an environmental