GRA 6433 Theories and Methods in Marketing Communication

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017

GRA 6433 Theories and Methods in Marketing Communication


Responsible for the course
Klemens Knöferle

Department
Department of Marketing

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
Communication is a fundamental part of most marketplace transactions. In its purest form, price communicates the information necessary for a transaction. In most cases, however, marketers have to communicate more than just price in order to establish, sustain, and grow their business. So how does communication in the marketplace work? In order to address this important question, this course aims to provide a deep understanding of marketing communication as a field of scientific research.
The course will draw extensively on influential research in advertising and consumer psychology, and we will give detailed attention to theoretical and methodological challenges in these research areas. While the lectures are interspersed with practical exercises, this is not primarily a course on how to create advertising. Rather, the course focuses on the premises of how communication works, and how to assess communication effects.


Learning outcome
Knowledge outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, the students will have a sound platform of knowledge based on several fields of research:

  1. Theories and models of sensory perception, attention, memory, and emotion will form a basis that allows students to better understand consumers' information processing in the marketplace. Knowledge of these theories is a prerequisite to study how communications affect consumer behaviour.
  2. Theories of attitude formation and persuasion (e.g., dual process theories like the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)) offer rich insights into how consumers are influenced by the information contained in marketing communications. We will critically discuss these theories and their potential to guide managerial decision-making.
  3. In addition, we will take deep dives into more specialized fields of research (e.g., advertising language and music), which provide important insights for marketing communications.

Skill outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, the students will be able to

  • Address the managerial challenges of marketing communication in an analytical manner
  • Create experimental designs that can test communication effects based on solid theorizing
  • Present their own research in a clear and convincing way
  • Evaluate the internal and external validity of scientific research in the field of marketing communication

    Prerequisites
    GRA 4145 Brand Management or equivalent
    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 spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

    Compulsory reading

    Collection of articles:
    Compilation of articles

    Other:
    During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.


    Recommended reading

    Course outline
    1. Models of marketing communication
    2. Sensory marketing
    3. Attentional processes
    4. Memory and learning
    5. Unconscious influences: Priming and processing fluency
    6. Persuasion and attitude change
    7. Social influence techniques
    8. Advertising language
    9. Emotions in advertising
    10. Music in advertising

      Computer-based tools
      SPSS

      Learning process and workload
      A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

      The course is a combination of class room lectures and one term paper consultation session.

      Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.



      Examination
      The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
      - Term paper 60%, written in groups of max 3 students (in special circumstances individually)
      - 3-hour written examination 40%

      The term paper shall be submitted in three (3) printed copies, and additionally, one electronic copy through Ephorus in It's learning in order to scan for plagiarism.



      Form of assessment Weight Group size
      Term paper 60% Group of max 3 students
      Written examination 3 hours 40% Individual

      Specific information regarding student assessment will be provided in class. This information may be relevant to requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several components of the overall assessment. This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded using points on a scale from 0-100. The final grade for the course is based on the aggregated mark of the course components. Each component is weighted as detailed in the course description. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the points system and the mapping scale in the student portal @bi. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.

      Examination code(s)
      GRA 64331 continuous assessment accounts for 100% of the final grade in the course GRA 6433.

      Examination support materials
      Bilingual dictionary
      Permitted examination support materials for written examinations are detailed under examination information in the student portal @bi. The section on support materials and the use of calculators and dictionaries should be paid special attention to.

      Re-sit examination
      It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught. The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code. Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes. All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee. Please note that you need to retake the latest version of the course with updated course literature and assessment. Please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with the latest course description.

      Additional information
      Honour code. Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and are values that are integral to BI's honour code system. Students are responsible for familiarising themselves with the honour code system, to which the faculty is deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for academic misconduct. Issues of academic integrity are taken seriously by everyone associated with the programmes at BI and are at the heart of the honour code. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honour code, please ask. The learning platform itslearning is used in the teaching of all courses at BI. All students are expected to make use of itslearning.