GRA 6143 Corporate Branding and Storytelling
GRA 6143 Corporate Branding and Storytelling
The course prepares students to analyze and understand corporate branding, its psychological and sociological basis, fundamental concepts, and its role in strategic management. It integrates traditional perspectives of corporate branding with a focus on brand storytelling. Students apply concepts and theories related to developing and managing brand stories.
The course bridges theory and practice, integrating content from lectures and guest speakers with course assignments, case analyses, and small-group exercises. The coursework culminates in a final brand-storytelling project and presentation.
GRA 6143 Corporate Branding and Storytelling presents a shift in corporate branding strategies that include environmental and social governance issues as one of three "megatrends" causing a paradigm shift in corporate branding. Students examine business cases concentrating on brand authenticity and sustainability themes and investigating brand alignment vis a vis environmental and sustainability corporate values.
By the end of the course, students should:
- Understand the nature and components of corporate brand strength and brand equity – the set of assets (or liabilities) associated with a brand that adds (or subtracts) value.
- Understand how corporate brand architecture and metanarratives.
- Understand the psychological and behavioural foundations of brand equity.
- Have in-depth knowledge of the foundations and structural principles of story and storytelling.
- Have in-depth knowledge of narrative transportation theory
By the end of the course, students should:
- Think critically about corporate brand stories.
- Identify the relevance of storytelling based on corporate goals (reputation, identity, brand differentiation, etc.)
- Identify brand narratives
- Analyze relevant (and at times competing) stories inside and outside of an organization.
- Create strategies for restructuring and aligning brand stories across different stakeholders.
- Manage corporate brand stories (organize and coordinate storytelling, transmedia storytelling, etc.)
This course prepares students to reflect critically and act strategically to manage corporate brands. The course promotes creativity and innovation in developing brand equity with brand storytelling. By the end of the course, students should be able to integrate traditional and narrative perspectives on corporate branding and reflect on the ethical dilemmas involved when approaching corporate branding through storytelling.
Topics covered:
- Corporate Branding and Positioning:
- Brand positioning strategies
- Brand differentiation.
- The Vision-Culture-Image (VCI) Alignment Model.
- Brand Storytelling
- In the context of changing communication mediums and technologies
- Elements of a story
- Maintaining brand positioning and brand equity with brand narratives
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- Identity and cultural archetypes
- Determinants of brand personality
- Corporate Storytellers
- Business stories
- Founder stories
- Customer stories
- Organizational storytelling
- Brand Communities
- Digital communities
- Customer stories
- Multiplatform Storytelling
- Transmedia narratives / multiplatform storytelling
The course includes cases representing diverse corporate branding opportunities and challenges.
Evaluation/Examination
The course evaluation includes a final reflection based in-class activities, specific deliverables, and the student learning process; and a final brand story research paper and presentation.
Throughout the course, each student will work on a brand. No two students can work on the same brand.
The research paper demonstrates knowledge of concepts presented in the course and the ability to analyse and assess brand stories and strategically manage brand storytelling. The presentation emphasises communicating the ideas in practice and delivering recommendations.
The report and presentation integrate the key insights from the brand audits, brand analysis, group work and individual assignments developed throughout the semester.
The course incorporates lectures, case discussions, and in-class group activities. Students read and analyse case materials, articles, and book chapters to contribute to small group in-class discussions.
Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it will be challenging to achieve the learning outcomes and perform satisfactorily on the course assessment without participating in class. It is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in a missed class session.
All parts of the assessment must be passed in order to get a grade in the course.
The examination for this course has been changed starting acadmic year 23/24. It is not possible to resit the old version of the examination.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Disclaimer
Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Portfolio Assessment PDF Exam/hand-in semester: First Semester Weight: 30 Grouping: Individual Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: A selection of assignments completed throughout the semester and a reflection. Exam code: GRA 61432 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Submission PDF Exam/hand-in semester: First Semester Weight: 70 Grouping: Individual Duration: 3 Week(s) Comment: Research paper Exam code: GRA 61433 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 36 Hour(s) | Students are expected to attend every lecture. |
Student's own work with learning resources | 70 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 18 Hour(s) | |
Examination | 36 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.