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University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) · on Coursera

Introduction to Marketing

4.8(23,000) on Coursera·1.1M enrolled
Beginner 15 hours English University Certificate
SkillsMarketing strategyBrandingCustomer-centricityMarket positioningGo-to-marketMarketing concepts

Is this course right for you?

Our take
Worth it if you want the strategy behind marketing rather than platform tactics. It is free to audit and taught by Wharton faculty.

Good for: beginners who want the core concepts of marketing from a top business school.

Skip if: you want hands-on digital marketing tactics or tools.

Barbara Kahn and colleagues cover the three pillars — branding, customer-centricity and go-to-market — through frameworks and real brand cases that show where companies got it right and wrong. It is the business-strategy layer under the tactical channel courses, and a strong foundation if you want to understand why marketing decisions are made, not just how to run an ad.

It is concept-led and academic, so it will not teach you hands-on digital tactics or specific tools — pair it with a channel course for that. The certificate needs a paid Coursera subscription; the free audit covers the learning. The principles are durable and stay relevant (as of 2026).

Comparison · LBS

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About this course

Introduction to Marketing is one of the most enrolled courses on Coursera, with over a million learners, taught by Barbara Kahn and colleagues from Wharton's marketing faculty. It covers the three pillars of modern marketing strategy — branding, customer centricity, and what Kahn calls the 'Go to Market' strategy — through both frameworks and real brand cases that illustrate where companies got it right and where they didn't.

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Instructor

BK
Barbara Kahn
Coursera instructor
1.1M+ learners5 courses4.8 instructor rating

Taught by Barbara Kahn, Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor of Marketing at Wharton, alongside marketing faculty colleagues. Kahn is the author of 'The Shopping Revolution' and a recognized authority on retail and brand strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Three areas from three senior Wharton professors: branding and brand equity, customer centricity — taught by Peter Fader, who's well known for the idea — and go-to-market strategy. It's the thinking behind marketing decisions rather than a walkthrough of tools or tactics.

It's concept-led, not a how-to. You'll come away understanding brand equity, customer value and go-to-market strategy, not running an ad account or a campaign. That's the right expectation: a strong grounding for thinking like a marketer, and the wrong choice if you want hands-on digital-marketing tactics.

Both work. It's a complete course on its own, and also the marketing component of Wharton's Business Foundations Specialization, which adds finance, accounting and operations with a capstone. Take it alone for the marketing grounding, or as part of that broader business-fundamentals sequence.
Paid
Free to audit, paid certificate
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