The World's Leading Strategic Marketing Simulation
Develop strategic marketers through the industry's most realistic marketing simulation.
Markstrat is the world's leading strategic marketing simulation, helping MBA programs, business schools, executive education providers and global organizations develop strategic thinking through realistic competitive decision-making.
Built on sophisticated mathematical market models and validated by more than 40 published academic research articles, Markstrat enables participants to experience the complexity of real markets in a safe, engaging and measurable learning environment.
Why Markstrat Stands Out
The Most Realistic
The Most Researched
The Most Trusted
Unlike many business simulations that simplify business decision-making, Markstrat recreates the complexity of competitive markets using sophisticated mathematical models that simulate how customers, competitors and technologies evolve over time.
Participants don't simply learn marketing concepts. They experience the consequences of strategic decisions in a realistic, competitive environment that has become the benchmark for strategic marketing education for more than four decades.
Built on Confirmed Market Models
The most realistic strategic marketing simulation on the market
Markstrat is powered by sophisticated mathematical models that replicate realistic competitive market dynamics. Every decision influences future market conditions, requiring participants to think strategically rather than simply optimize short-term results.
✔ Dynamic customer behaviour
✔ Competitor reactions
✔ Evolving market segments
✔ New technology adoption
✔ Long-term strategic consequences
✔ Multi-year business planning
Why Markstrat Feels Like Managing a Real Business
Markets don't stand still. Neither does Markstrat.
Throughout the simulation, customer needs evolve, new technologies emerge, competitors respond to every strategic decision and market segments shift.
Strategies that succeed today may fail tomorrow.
Participants must continuously reassess their positioning, pricing, product portfolio, R&D investments and communication strategy as the market changes around them.
This realistic market evolution is one of Markstrat's defining characteristics and a key reason why it remains one of the world's most respected marketing strategy simulations.
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What Participants Learn
By completing the Markstrat strategic marketing simulation, participants develop practical experience in:
- Strategic marketing planning
- Market segmentation
- Targeting and positioning
- Pricing strategy
- Product portfolio management
- Innovation and R&D investment
- Competitive analysis
- Demand forecasting
- Financial decision-making
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Long-term strategic thinking
Instead of memorizing frameworks, participants learn by making decisions, seeing the results and adapting their strategy over multiple simulated years.
Key Concepts
Brand portfolio management
Segmentation
Positioning strategies
Put into practice
Manage established and emerging markets
Conduct market and competitor analysis
Essential marketing tools
Research & development
Product portfolio and launches
Sales and distribution strategies
Markstrat features
- Modern interface and intuitive navigation
- Beneficial and memorable learning experience.
- Available in 8 languages: Web versions in English, Spanish, Chinese and Portuguese and installable versions in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese.
- Built-in assessment tools
- Accessibility compliant (WCAG and ACR/VPAT)
- Real-time AI Assistant to support learners inside the simulation
Competition
- Team vs. Team (direct)
- Team vs. AI (indirect)
Proven to Develop Better Strategic Decision-Makers
Unlike most business simulations, Markstrat has been evaluated through decades of academic research and corporate studies.
A published study among managers in a large corporation found:
93%
agreed Markstrat is a realistic simulation of competitive market forces.
91%
would recommend Markstrat for management development.
Managers described the experience as:
"Extremely lifelike."
"Very competitive marketing environment."
"It didn't feel like a game."
Managers also reported changing real business decisions after completing the simulation by applying insights to pricing, positioning, segmentation, competitive analysis and forecasting.
Source: Management Perspectives on Markstrat: The GE Experience and Beyond.
Pick your industry
B2C-Durable Goods
Markstrat’s classic version allows participants to design and implement a marketing strategy in a completely fictitious electronics market. The new web platform features modern vocabulary and industry settings matching today’s durable consumer goods market realities.
B2B
This marketing simulation software features vocabulary, market and industry settings that are adapted to B2B situations. It addresses challenges of B2B markets, such as direct VS indirect distribution.
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B2C-Consumer Goods
This version features vocabulary and industry settings that are adapted to fast moving consumer goods markets. It addresses challenges behind consumer goods marketing strategies such as repeat purchases, retention rates, private labels or share of shelf space.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a strategic marketing simulation?
A strategic marketing simulation is an experiential learning tool that allows participants to manage competing brands in a realistic market environment. Teams make decisions on pricing, product development, communication, segmentation and positioning while responding to changing customer needs and competitor actions.
Why is Markstrat considered one of the best strategic marketing simulations?
Markstrat combines sophisticated mathematical market models, realistic competitor behaviour, evolving customer needs and decades of academic research. It is used by leading MBA programs, business schools and corporations around the world and is supported by more than 40 published research articles.
How is Markstrat different from other business simulations?
Unlike many business simulations that rely on simplified business models, Markstrat recreates evolving competitive markets where customer needs, technologies and competitor strategies change over time.
Participants must think strategically, collaborate effectively and continuously adapt their decisions as the simulation progresses.
What is the objective of Markstrat?
Participants manage the marketing division of a large company and compete against other companies in a highly competitive and complex market.
The goal is to work effectively together as a team to make smart decisions to maximize the Share Price Index (SPI) of their company.
Which aspects of marketing will participants learn with Markstrat?
How many participants can play together?
How long will Markstrat take to complete?
- Over the course of a semester (suited for academic programs)
- Intensive 4.5-day course (suited for both academic and corporate programs)
- 2-day highly intensive course (suited for both academic and corporate programs)
How do I get started?
The use of Markstrat is strictly reserved to registered instructors. The registration process will allow you to be uniquely identified in the StratX Simulations database and this will give you access to our instructor dedicated homepage.
Go to the Registration page and select ‘An instructor or Teaching Assistant’. You will be asked to enter your personal details.
Your registration will be validated by StratX, as soon as the information provided has been checked. This should not take more than 48 business hours.
Once validated, you will receive instructions on how to implement the simulation into your specific program.
What instructors say about Markstrat
“Each time we use Markstrat, we see an amazing transformation in our students into highly analytical, confident, and finance-savvy marketing decision makers. The students have a lot of fun competing among themselves in highly engaging marketplace scenarios.”
- Lewis Lim, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing Practice, Nanyang Business School