MKTG90049 · Marketing, Society and Sustainability
The Complete Exam Bible · S1 2027Marketing, Society and Sustainability
MKTG90049 Marketing, Society and Sustainability is a postgraduate (Master's-level) elective in the University of Melbourne's Melbourne Business School, Faculty of Business and Economics, worth 12.5 credit points and delivered as weekly on-campus seminars across Weeks 1-12. It is a conceptual, critical and case-driven subject rather than a quantitative one: there are no formulas or calculations, and the examinable content is a semester of named frameworks, definitions and typologies — the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the triple bottom line, wicked problems and systems thinking, marketing ethics, critiques of consumption, the SHIFT behaviour-change framework and the 7Ps social marketing mix, market exclusion and inclusive marketing, transformative branding, the circular economy and the green-growth-versus-degrowth debate, and the digital and AI future of marketing. Assessment is spread across five components: weekly class participation via entry-and-exit-ticket quizzes (10%), a 1500-word individual reflective essay linking your personal consumption to a chosen UN SDG (15%), a group oral presentation (10%) and a 2500-word group sustainability-intervention report (25%), and a final exam (40%). The final is a 2-hour closed-book on-campus digital exam sat on the computer via the LMS Quiz, with 15 minutes reading time, worth 100 marks in two sections — Section 1 is three roughly 300-word short-answer questions (45 marks) and Section 2 is two roughly 550-word long-answer questions (55 marks). No books, notes, calculators or dictionaries are permitted (note the older 2023 paper was open-book; the current rule is closed-book — confirm on Canvas). Every answer rewards the same skill: define a named framework, justify why it matters, and apply it to real or hypothetical examples. Your MKTG90049 mark feeds the Weighted Average Mark (WAM), and an H1 result means 80 or above.
What MKTG90049 covers
MKTG90049 runs as twelve weekly seminars moving from what sustainability and wicked problems mean, through marketing ethics, consumption critiques, social marketing, inclusive marketing and transformative branding, to the circular economy, degrowth and the AI-driven future of marketing. It is assessed by weekly participation quizzes, a reflective SDG essay, a group presentation and report, and a 40% closed-book final exam of applied short- and long-answer essays. This map turns each mined week into an exam-ready chapter.
How MKTG90049 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Class participation (Entry & Exit ticket quizzes) | 10% | Individual · weekly in-class quizzes |
| Individual Essay (1500 words) | 15% | Individual · reflective essay on a chosen UN SDG (Goal 8/14/16) linked to personal consumption · due Week 6 (updated date — confirm on Canvas) |
| Group project: oral presentation (groups of 3-4) | 10% | Group · 10-min presentation + 3-min Q&A, in-class Weeks 9 & 10 (slides due Fri Week 8) |
| Group project: written report (2500 words) | 25% | Group · sustainability-intervention recommendations for a chosen industry · due Week 12, Friday (11:59pm) |
| End of semester exam | 40% | Individual · 2-hour closed-book digital (LMS Quiz) exam, 100 marks · examination period |
A model short-answer: circular economy applied to consumer electronics (Section 1 shape)
- +4Define crisply (about 4 marks). State the three Ellen MacArthur / Esposito, Tse & Soufani (2018) principles in your own words: design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems — contrasted with the linear take-make-dispose model. One or two tight sentences; the marker wants the correct named principles, not padding.
- +4Justify why it matters (about 4 marks). Give two or three course-linked reasons: it cuts material cost and supply risk, reduces environmental impact and regulatory exposure, and aligns with SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production). Tie the justification to business value, not just ethics.
- +6Apply with exactly three distinct examples (about 6 marks, ~2 each). For electronics: (1) product-life extension via modular design and a repair/refurbish program; (2) resource recovery via a take-back scheme that feeds recycled metals back as circular inputs; (3) shifting ownership to access through device-as-a-service leasing. Each names a distinct circular mechanism — marks are lost if two examples collapse into the same idea.
- +1Close and manage length (about 1 mark). One sentence tying the examples back to the principles (each keeps materials in use or designs out waste). Keep to roughly 300 words — content beyond about 330 words is not marked, so a tight structure protects marks.
Key terms
- Sustainability (Brundtland / WCED 1987)
- Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The subject stresses three features: it is intergenerational (about time), interrelated (pursuing one goal must not neglect others), and uncertain — an evolving goal, not a fixed end-point.
- Triple bottom line / three pillars
- The idea that sustainability balances three pillars — environment, economy and society. The hardest sustainability challenges (a wicked-problem signature) sit at the intersections of the pillars, where a gain on one can be a loss on another.
- Wicked problem
- A complex problem with incomplete, contradictory and changing requirements: multiple stakeholders with opposing values, no definitive formulation of causes, and solutions that are better-or-worse rather than right-or-wrong. Sustainability issues are wicked problems and are never fully 'solved'.
- SHIFT framework (White, Habib & Hardisty 2019)
- Five psychological levers for changing sustainable consumer behaviour: Social influence, Habit formation, Individual self, Feelings & cognition, and Tangibility. A behavioural (individual-focused) approach, contrasted in the subject with the social-practice approach.
- Circular economy
- An economy designed to eliminate waste, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems, replacing the linear take-make-dispose model. Marketing's role is to identify circular value (circular inputs, product-life extension, resource recovery) and shift consumers from ownership to access.
- Purpose-washing
- Making empty claims about a social or environmental mission that are not backed by meaningful action — the umbrella term covering greenwashing (environmental claims) and wokewashing (societal claims). Distinguished in the subject from authentic brand purpose and transformative branding.
MKTG90049 FAQ
Is MKTG90049 hard?
It is challenging in a different way from quantitative subjects: there are no calculations, but there is a large volume of named frameworks, definitions and cases to hold in memory and, crucially, apply. The difficulty in this subject is precision and breadth — the closed-book exam rewards recalling the right framework by name (the three circular-economy principles, the five SHIFT factors, the seven ethical theories) and applying it to a fresh example under time pressure, not vaguely gesturing at 'sustainability'. Students who build a one-line summary of each week's key framework and rehearse applying it to new industries, rather than re-reading slides during SWOTVAC, tend to find it manageable. Steady weekly work through the participation quizzes also protects your WAM (an H1 is 80 or above).
Can AI help me with MKTG90049?
Yes, as a step-by-step study aid. Sia is an AI tutor built to mirror how MKTG90049 is actually taught and assessed at the University of Melbourne: it can walk you through the SHIFT framework, distinguish brand purpose from transformative branding, or structure a define-justify-apply short answer one step at a time, and it checks your reasoning as you practise. Bring your own past-paper or practice question and ask Sia to explain the model-answer structure. It does not do graded assessment for you — not the exam, the SDG essay or the group report — and University of Melbourne academic-integrity rules apply; use it to understand frameworks and rehearse exam technique, never to produce work you submit.
Where can I find past exam papers / practice for MKTG90049?
Start on Canvas, where the subject posts exam-preparation material, the assessment details and any released or sample questions. A Semester 2, 2023 paper has circulated (note it was open-book with a notes sheet, whereas the current exam is closed-book — so the question structure is a good guide but the exam-room rules have changed). Your weekly readings, lecture recaps and entry/exit-ticket prompts are the closest match to the applied questions. This guide also includes a re-authored practice exam that mirrors the paper's two-section shape with fresh topics, and you can ask Sia to generate extra define-justify-apply and case-brief practice in the same style and explain each step. Confirm exactly what is provided, and the open/closed-book status, on Canvas.
What are the MKTG90049 assessment rules and are there hurdles?
the official files show no hurdle requirement on any component — there is no separate minimum you must score on the exam to pass, though you should always confirm this on Canvas for your offering. The weighting is class participation 10%, individual SDG essay 15%, group presentation 10%, group report 25% and final exam 40%. Two rules to watch: word limits are enforced (content beyond the stated limit — about 330 words on a short answer, 550 on a long answer, and the essay/report word counts — is not marked), and the final is closed-book, so no notes sheet in the room. Essay and report due dates were revised across the offering, so confirm the exact dates on Canvas rather than relying on any single slide.
When is the MKTG90049 exam and what format is it?
The final is a 2-hour closed-book on-campus digital exam sat on the computer via the LMS Quiz, with 15 minutes of reading time and worth 100 marks (40% of the subject). Section 1 is three roughly 300-word short-answer questions (45 marks) and Section 2 is two roughly 550-word long-answer, often case-based, questions (55 marks); no books, notes, calculators or dictionaries are permitted. It sits in the University of Melbourne Semester 1, 2027 examination period (around June 2027) — confirm the exact date, time and venue on Canvas and the UniMelb exam timetable.
How to study for the exam
Treat MKTG90049 as a framework-recall-and-apply subject, not a reading subject, and rehearse weekly rather than cramming through SWOTVAC. For each week, write a single index card with the named framework, its components, and the key author (for example: SHIFT = Social influence, Habit, Individual self, Feelings & cognition, Tangibility — White, Habib & Hardisty 2019; circular economy = design out waste, keep materials in use, regenerate nature — Esposito et al. 2018). Because the exam is closed-book, drill recall until you can name every component without notes. Then practise the two exam moves separately: the Section 1 define-justify-apply short answer (about 300 words, three distinct examples) and the Section 2 case brief where you take a position and defend it with three or four course concepts (about 550 words). Rotate the industry each time — apply the circular economy to electronics, then furniture, then food — so you can transfer a framework to any prompt. Keep to the word limits, since content beyond them is not marked. Cover breadth first (be able to start every week's topic) then deepen the frameworks you find hardest. When a concept won't click, ask Sia to explain it a different way and set you a fresh practice prompt in the same style; it teaches the method and checks your structure, and never substitutes for your own graded work. Confirm the exam date, venue and open/closed-book status on Canvas and the University of Melbourne exam timetable.
Your AI Marketing tutor for MKTG90049
Stuck on a hard MKTG90049 question? Sia is AskSia’s AI Marketing tutor — ask any MKTG90049 Marketing, Society and Sustainability question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how the course is actually taught and assessed. Read this whole study guide free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
