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

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

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.